From the first time we heard him last year, Shannon and I (particularly Shannon) knew that we wanted Taylor to win American Idol. But at no point we were tricked into thinking that he was the best singer. American Idol isn't really a singing contest. You'll note that Ryan never says, "Vote for who you think the best singer is." He says, "Vote for who you like." Really, the object is to make people watch the show, and then buy the album. They don't need the best singers to win, they need the most popular people to win. It does so happen that for the most part those two groups over lap, but if they could get 40% of America to watch a show about the worst singers in the country, they'd do that, too. (Oh, wait, they do. It's the first 6 weeks of American Idol.)

A few thoughts from last night:
- The guys have improved. They went from crummy to ok.
- Phil Stacey really needs to either have more hair on his head, or less hair on his eyebrows.
- Last season I complained that Chris sang the same song every week. Honestly, he might have been, I really couldn't tell them apart. This year, however, everyone seems to be the same singer. The guys really feel like they're the same person over and over again. I don't see anyone that can do some Chris type alternative rock. I don't see any blues or jazz from anyone but Sundance. Last night was like 90 minutes of the soft rock station that I never listen to.
- I can only assume it was 90 minute of it, I gave up about an hour in.
- Even during Chris Sligh's performance (one of the better male singers and probably the most entertaining person) I was thinking one thing: I wish Lakisha was next.