Idol Chatter & Voice Views

More music.

That was one of my very simple suggestions on how to improve American Idol last year at this time.

What do we get instead?

More judges, less music.

Yes, folks, again this week, prepare to be shortchanged. Oh, if you go to the Idol Web site, you’ll be greeted by a promo that reads: “Judges’ Choice: 2 songs, 1 that the judges choose and 1 they pick for themselves.” As though that’s some sort of big deal.

Last year, we got three songs per contestant when the field was reduced to three.

Remember Syesha’s saucy version of “Fever?” How about David Archuleta’s ill-fated attempt to immitate Chris Brown. Maybe David Cook’s brilliant version of “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face?”

It’ll be the third straight week we’ve had less music in our Idol. Last year, when the field was reduced to five, contestants starting singing two songs each. This year, we got one. Last week, they threw in two duets, but we still heard two fewer songs than at the same stage a year ago.

So add the shortage of singing to the list of changes for season eight that I hope Idol scraps for season nine. Just a hunch, but if Idol fans were polled on whether they wanted to see more performances by the contestants or more comments from the judges, I’m guessing the contestants would win out, by a landslide.

On to the rankings:

3. Kris Allen (3rd last week): Kris has gone a long way on good looks and likability, but when’s the last time he really wowed us with a performance. By singing “Falling Slowly” during Movie Week, four weeks ago? I’d go back farther than that, to week four of the finals, when he performed “Ain’t No Sunshine.” That’s a long time to go without a truly memorable performance for someone on the verge of making the season finale.

2. Danny Gokey (2nd last week): Even the shriek that pierced ears all over Idol land couldn’t earn Danny a boot from the competition. Here’s guessing he won’t pick an Aerosmith anthem for his song choice. And the judges like him too much to put him through such misery again. I know there are an awful lot of Danny fans out there, but he ranks as one of the most mediocre contestants to make it this far since Taylor Hicks. Which means I support he has a chance of winning.

1. Adam Lambert (1st since the season started): Two performances were memorable from Rock Week: the first song of the night, when Adam sang “Whole Lotta Love” solo, and the last performance of the night, when Adam sang “Slow Ride” with Allison Iraheta. Enjoy it while you can folks, because it’s been a long time since we’ve seen an Idol contestant be this good, week in and week out.