Chris Daughtry Was Robbed.

I don't know if it fits the theme of this blog, but there's more to me than highbrows. Yeah, my wife and I love American Idol. (Every singer and would-be singer I know watches--some in secret.) Here's a run-down: Kelly Clarkson was so versatile, but during season one I still thought AI was just like all the other unscripted so-called "reality" shows--so I didn't watch. Then I heard Clay Aiken's season two audition. Key word: heard. For me, it's all about the voices, although the presentation matters. But Clay's voice was unique.

UNIQUE: adj. one of a kind.

Then there was Fantasia. Her voice was always a little odd, but great nonetheless, and what made her special was her styling, her creativity. Last year was fun with Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood (another singer who could do it all). This year my favorite during auditions was Taylor. He is fun and always interesting and great and refreshing. But then I heard Chris Daughtry. Again, key word here: heard. And what a voice. Unique.

You know what they say about avoiding songs that are too closely associated with some great singer? Katherine McPhee, for example, suffered when she sang a Whitney song but not as well as Whitney. And this is a huge problem on a live television show. It's hard for any live performance to match a product that's been polished and refined in a recording studio. But Chris Daughtry never had such problems. Every time Chris began singing I found myself preferring his voice to the original. And tonight he got cut.

Oh well, I've always said American Idol might be more foolproof if we were calling to vote people off. But who knows? In the end, it's just another game show. Just another bit of so-called "reality" television. And it just happens to be one of the most moral, most entertaining, most compelling shows out there. But I may skip the rest of this season. (And what happened to Mandisa? She deserved better.) I think we all know Taylor's going to win. And I like him. But--the music business all comes down to what you hear. I hope Taylor's voice is enough after it's stripped of all that personality and showmanship (and Taylor's great there; don't get me wrong).

But Chris Daughtry was extraordinary and I hate to see him go. Then again--if they gave Josh Gracin a record deal, they'll give Chris one--here's hoping the album can do what so few AI albums have ever done, and capture just a little of the quality that made him great on the show. Clay's albums, for example, lacking the drama of a singer trying to win a huge competition, have largely been a dissapointment.

Chris Daughtry, you will be missed.

P.S. Okay, so he wasn't robbed. In fact, it was predicted by a telephone busy-signal tracker called DialIdol.com. (Would be nice to see those results from the Aiken-Studdard contest.)