This will be American Idol's first season without Simon. Personally, I think the show is going to flop without him because he's the only real critic they've ever had (seriously, Ellen?), and his criticism is a good chunk of the entertainment value (with the rest being the contestants making asses of themselves on national television!). Is Simon still on TV over in UKland? If so, could you guys shed some light on what he's doing?

One of my friends along with a friend of a friend think a good replacement for Simon on Idol would be Dr. House.

So, this year's judges are Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler. That's going to be.....interesting. At least we still get to play a drinking game to how many times Randy says "pitchy."

It seems to me that most of the Idol winners have -not- become super stars. The only ones that I still hear about on a regular basis are Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood (See Narnia, with new music by Carrie Underwood!!! ). Sometimes it's the runners-up that do better, ie Adam Lambert or Clay Aiken (that guy creeps me out). Oh, and Fantasia has own TV show. I tend to think about her because she looks exactly like Matt Stone's wife.

But, I wish they would tone down the product placement on the show. They've got Coca-Cola logos in view at all time, and annoyingly enough, pop-up Ford ads onscreen during the show. =| Also, the padding. An episode of Tosh.0 did an excellent job of mocking that: "THIS....(long pause)...IS...(long pause)...AMERICAN IDOL!" One thing I hate on reality shows and games shows is how long they draw out suspense and fake-out the winner before telling them they've won, like: "Well, gee, I'm so sorry Bob but YOU HAVE JUST WON!!!!!"

Feel free to add on to my ramblings, Acrio told me to do it.