American Idol Shocker…

..at least that’s how most news reports described Chris Daughtry’s elimination from American Idol Wednesday night. Apparently, it came as a shock to Chris himself too.

I’ve already said in my AI post last week that any of the final five deserve to win the competition. That’s why I hardly consider Chris’s exit shocking. AI, after all, is a popularity contest first, singing competition second. Staying on in the finals hinges not on whether the finalists’ performance was “the bomb” or simply just bombed, but on whether or not AI’s millions of viewers still want you filling up their TV screens in future telecasts. It’s as simple as that. If you honestly believe AI is a talent show in the real sense of the words, then how come Kellie Pickler made it to the Top 6, while Mandisa, who's one hell of singer, got cut rather early?

In fairness to Chris, he did relatively well on Elvis night, while bombshell Katharine McPhee fared a lot worse. He can sing, there’s no doubt about that, but he just sorely lacked the charm that made Bo Bice stand out last season. Plus, there’s just something annoying about a supposedly hard rocker in the Creed or Nickelback mold appearing on something as mainstream as American Idol. For many rockers, Chris was nothing more than a poseur.

Now that it’s down to three, I’d still say the same thing: Taylor, Elliott and Katharine all deserve to become the next American Idol. But they’ll have to do more than deliver smashing performances if they want to be it.

I don’t know about the two guys, but there’s something Katharine can do to sway the votes her way: Show more skin, most especially cleavage. I know it’s a bit crude, but she has done that in the past, and I’m certain it has helped her escape elimination throughout the competition. If she does that next week, she’ll have a lock on the horny male vote, which is probably roughly half of American Idol’s voting population.

If it’s any indication, she was all wrapped up when she sang “All Shook Up” on Elvis night, then found herself in the bottom two with Chris.