The decision to ban Tickle Me Archuleta's whacko stage dad from rehearsals has dominated American Idol since late last week, overshadowing The Top 3 and next week's finale. The rumors about Little David's papa turned out to be true, and the crap hit the fan last week when Daddy Dearest switched up the lyrics for Stand By Me to include lines from Sean Kingston's Beautiful Girls , which samples the classic song. The producers had told him this was not allowed because the show didn't have clearance, but David A. sang it anyway during the live show costing AI untold dollars in royalties.
Not that it matters at this point. It's definitely a David Archuleta vs. David Cook finale, so I hope Syesha Mercado is packing her bags. Tonight's show was merely a formality. The Top 3 sang three songs — one chosen by the judges, one of their choice and one selected by the producers. It was, in a word, boring.
David Archuleta: Paula picked Billy Joel's ballad And So It Goes and he knocked this one out of the park. It would turn out to be Squinty Elmo's best performance of the night. What's up with the Members Only jacket and skinny tie? Is that back in fashion? I got a closet full. David's choice was Chris Brown's With You. Hilarious! Hearing the little puppy sing about kissing and hugging a girl, not to mention calling her "my boo" had me rolling on the floor. Simon accurately described it as a "chihuahua trying to be a tiger." Awkward and skeevy are more like it. The producers selected Dan Fogelberg's Longer , a 70s soft rock ballad that has enough schmaltz to put the average listener into a coma. For a show trying to be hip, the producers proved they are a bunch of oldsters who not only don't have their finger on the pulse of today's youth, but may not have a pulse themselves.

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