American Idol has been plagued with bad news cycles this season. The press pounced on the program like a hungry shark that smelled blood in the water. Choruses of “The worst season ever?” and “Is Idol over?” rang out across the country, and every blogger or critic who posted the queries on their websites and publications only furthered this media pile-on until it became something close to common wisdom. I’ve worked in politics and you would be shocked by how quickly a story is blown out of proportion… but you will also see just how damaging it is when that does indeed happen. The ratings shrank throughout the season. Why? What can explain that? The same phenomenon that explains why people like to back a winning horse and jump off a sinking ship. When something becomes “media common sense” we react in the worst of ways.

» Read more: The NGH Report – American Idol 9’s Top 2: “If you make a salad, I’ll eat it.”

Ryan walked down that staircase and began to announce the contestant’s future porn star names: “Elliston Ohio, Mount Prospect Illinois, and Cool Texas.” Oh, wait. I’m sorry? That’s just their hometowns? Well, I don’t care so much about that. Honest mistake, though you have to admit that Cool Texas is a perfect name for the co-star of a “Debbie Does Dallas” remake.

The show stayed rather on track this episode and didn’t really do much that I could really harp upon, but I do need to say my peace on one piece of business. The phrase “you are what this show’s about” needs to be stricken from the television lexicon (unless you are saying it on Lost, because, I mean, damn, someone tell me what that show’s about!) and never used on this program again. We know what the show is about, Kara. Maybe you’re a little new to the program, but stop acting like the rest of America is! We’ve been watching for nine years; we understand the concept better than you!

This episode was all about setting up a competition environment for next week. They desperately needed a competitor over the past few weeks so Crystal Bowersox wouldn’t run away with it and they were very lucky that Lee Dewyze stepped up to fill that plateau. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he is getting undeserved praise (clearly the night belonged to Dewyze) but you are kidding yourself if you don’t realize that Idol needs to make this a horse race to draw better ratings.

So, speaking of that horse race, let’s see what the rankings say!

3. Casey James – If I had to explain why Casey will be eliminated in third place in one sentence it would be “Casey James is not a fighter.” This is a man with incredible talent but lackluster ambition. Casey couldn’t care less about being a famous star because he is quite happy with who he is at the moment. “Okay It’s Alright With Me” was average and a terrible, boring, personal song choice that did nothing to inch him closer to the finish line. “Daughters” was a song that fit Casey like a glove, or, you know, anything else that can be fitted, but it wasn’t enough to advance to the final around. Hell, it wasn’t nearly enough. The only chance Casey had at making the top 2 was to come out this week and fight tooth and nail and land a surprise sucker punch to one of the two frontrunner’s foreheads. He failed to do that. The end. NOT SAFE.

2. Crystal Bowersox – The pirate teeth were back! Maybe that’s why Crystal hasn’t been as phenomenal lately… she ran out of Whitestrips. I think Crystal has clearly done enough to make the finale, but if she wants to win this next week she really can’t phone in one performance, because you know Lee won’t. His confidence won’t let him. Lee Dewyze still doesn’t believe he belongs on that stage so every week he tries to prove that he does, mainly to himself, and comes out looking like a passionate underdog. Crystal needs to find a strategy to counter that and fast! My suggestion? Play the artist card… I mean, really play that artist card. Be as “Crystal” as possible next week and let it all hang out. “Come To My Window” felt rushed at the beginning, and there were a few sharp moments throughout the song, and the harmonica was unnecessary, but at least it felt genuine and impassioned. “Maybe I’m Amazed” was a great song choice and really allowed her to wail and, once you got past the lyric issue, created an incredibly cool moment for Bowersox. But, still, this show is about being a character to the American people, and Crystal needs to go back to her roots to win this thing. NEVERGOINGHOME.

1. Lee Dewyze – Lee; shave. Well, Lee arrived ready to play the game and came out looking like a champion. I don’t care if you think some of the praise he received wasn’t deserved, this is politics now and the momentum is certainly in his favor. Now, the question becomes, has he peaked too soon or is there more yet to come? “Simple Man” was the best personal song choice of the night and oozed passion from the usually doe-eyed Dewyze. Hey, that rhymes. Someone make a sign! Of course, when Kara said, “Round One goes to Lee!” I wanted to stab a fork through her leg. Can someone explain the idea of “rounds” to Kara and clarify why there can’t be “rounds” when they are only singing two songs… because two is an effing even number… Anyway, the big moment of the night was Simon’s song choice, “Hallelujah,” or as I like to refer to it, “The Song That Advances Everyone To The Next Round.” Hey, did Lee get the finale gospel choir a week early? Favoritism!! In all honesty, this version was epic and really did cement Lee’s position as the one to beat going into next week’s season finale. The question is… can he batten down the hatches and hold off the inevitable Bowersox storm that will soon be arriving or will he drop his guard, just once, and fall so close to the finish line? Man… I’m like a poet. NEVERGOINGHOME.

Who should go home?

Casey James

Who will go home?

Casey James

See you next time!

NGH

It’s official. Casey Jones is trying to out douche Lee with his chin fuzz. It’s like they both forgot the shave one area under their lip because they were too busy buying bedazzled shirts from Hollister. STOP IT. Oh, hey, Ryan started the show! Nice dramatic head turn there, guys. You really nailed the timing on that one. Yep, not one of messed that up. Insert eye roll here. » Read more: The NGH Report – American Idol 9’s Top 4: “Can’t Cuss on T.V.!”

Here’s what I got out of this episode: Harry Connick Jr. was an incredible mentor. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been upset to see these mentors sign on to do the show and then put absolutely no effort into their jobs. Harry was a worker. He was a vocal teacher, he helped with interpretation, he wrote the arrangement, he brought his band on board, and then he played piano for every single one of the Idol contestants. That is true dedication and should be matched by every mentor on this show. Harry cared about these kids and you could really see that in every action he took. Bravo, sir. » Read more: The NGH Report – American Idol 9’s Top 5: “The piano was a bit pitchy”

A paint salesman! A glass blower! A mother! A construction worker! An outrageous excuse to go overboard with the camera’s zoom function! That’s right. It’s American Idol. The top 6 put on a great show this week that has to be one of American Idol’s best nights in a long while. Every single contestant was fighting tooth and nail to advance to next week and I could feel the tenacity dripping onto my lap!

Oh, no wait, that’s just my Arby’s Beef N’ Cheddar making a mess all over my new pants. Damn. That’s what I get for eating fast food roast beef sandwiches while playing with a brand new Shake Weight I found on the street. Stupid choices beget stupid accidents. But, back to Idol! » Read more: The NGH Report – American Idol 9’s Top 6: “All aboard the Shania Twain”

We’ve finally reached “Idol Gives Back” week so I can only assume that Idol will be giving me back the money I just spent on my taxes! What’s that? American Idol doesn’t handle taxes? Well, then someone has given me really bad information because I filed my taxes with Ryan Seacrest and not with the IRS. It’s okay. I just sent in Monopoly money anyway… no big loss. Oh, hey look, there’s Randy. He’s wearing the bead necklace that he recently made at camp! Look how proud he is! » Read more: The NGH Report – American Idol 9’s Top 7: “I’m distracted by the leaves.”

It’s very interesting that the two contestants who went home this evening were the two most pimped contestants at the beginning of the season. They were the two original frontrunners and they both seemed to hit a wall once they made it to the semi-finals. Also, Adam Lambert returned to give us yet another spellbinding performance on the Idol stage and I hope we see his record sales take off tomorrow because he is a legitimate talent and this show would love to hold him up as a success story. So, we’ll take a moment and talk about the two eliminated contestants and then we’ll talk about a few moments that caught my eye. » Read more: The NGH Report – Thoughts on American Idol 9’s Top 9 Pt. II Results