Taking into consideration that this is a singing competition


Droid -- Well, it USED to be designed as purely a singing competition. I think the decision to now allow instruments throughout the competition has sent a message from the producers of the show to the audience that they wouldn't mind the show moving from a pure singing competition to more of an overall performance/talent competition. Simon Cowell even used the phrase "talent competition" this week when reviewing David C's performance.

As American Idol continues to evolve in this direction (which I personally love), voting is going to be affected more and more by the instruments that are used. We already know that for years now voting has been highly influenced by stage presence, dancing, charisma and other things besides just the vocals. The days of this show being just a singing competition are over and frankly, I couldn't be happier as it separates the true musicians from the window decorations with decent voices.

That being said, I thought Kathryn McPhee did a stellar rendition of Harrison's "Something" last night. She has really come a long way from all of that "Over the Rainbow" nonsense of season 5! She seemed much more mature, seasoned and vocally solid in just two short years. I thoroughly enjoyed that.