海角大神

This American Idol article serves as a cautionary tale and aims to teach readers two important lessons. 聽

1) Never fast forward through the final moments of American Idol, especially when millions depend on you to analyze and report all things Idol.聽(OK, so maybe a million is stretching things but it never hurts to put it out into the universe, haven't you ever read The Secret?) If you are a bit fast-forward trigger-happy you might have missed the shocking announcement that it won't be the top 24 but the top 25. (Well, perhaps not shocking, since I predicted last week that they wouldn't be content with just 24. I told you you'd be amazed by this humble Idol analyst's predictions!). 聽 聽

2) Never trust Nigel Lythgoe, the Machiavellian producer of American Idol.

Last night at the end of the show, American Idol announced that one of four rejected boys will return to the show next Tuesday to compete for America's vote. Of the four boys the show might regurgitate, is Jennifer Lopez's favorite, Johnny Keyser. 聽Those who have read this Idol critique in the past know that the elimination of Johnny Keyser was celebrated from the rooftops. 聽That being said, it is highly likely that Johnny will be the boy chosen to be the 25th thorn in this writer's side. 聽That's just the way fate works. 聽

But let us not forget there are three other contenders that fate must toy with come Tuesday. 聽

1. David Leathers, Jr.:聽David's voice is so like a young Michael Jackson, and the nation has a soft spot for Michael since his early passing. 聽Certainly Idol would love to take advantage of that sentiment by showcasing David and touting him as the next Michael Jackson. 聽Well, that would no doubt cause a backlash, they would probably just heavily imply it. 聽You know how good Idol can be with subtle innuendo . . .
2. Jermaine Jones: 聽Jermaine is the gentle giant of Season 11 and it was kind of heartbreaking to see his dreams crushed Thursday night and watch a grown man sob on his mother's breast. 聽But Jermaine's deep reverberating voice will probably not be mainstream enough to compel viewers to pick up the phone. 聽Idol knows this too, so while adding him to the running makes sense because the audience is still feeling sorry for him, they aren't likely to waste the final spot on a contestant who won't last very long.
3. Richie Law: 聽If Idol wanted to fill the void left by the recent cancellation of soap operas,聽All My Children and One Life to Live (as if anything ever could) they could further exploit the tensions between Cowboy Richie and Heejun. 聽It certainly would be entertaining to watch Heejun give voice to what so many other contestants who deal with Richie are thinking but not saying. 聽In the end though, like Jermaine, chances are voters will not rally behind Richie.

The prediction is that Johnny Keyser聽and his super-sized ego will return to the stage.聽 That alone would be enough to inspire throwing things at the television and that's just the kind of reaction Nigel was hoping for. 聽Another prediction is that they will announce a聽 "surprise" 13th girl to the competition as well and聽Lauren Gray will definitely be in the running and probably the chosen one.

What do you think? 聽Who do you think will return? 聽Who do you WANT to return?