(S06E13) "The votes are in," Ryan says to start off the show, and this, my friends, is what we've all been waiting for, isn't it? It's finally OUR turn. Tonight we send four people packing, crushing their hopes and dreams in front of a live audience and millions more watching from home. This is true, live, exciting entertainment. And soon we'll know who's in, who's out, and if our favorites are safe...or not.

But first, the judges sum-up their thoughts about the competition, so far. Randy says he thinks this year it's gonna be a "girl's race," but Simon still thinks two or three guys show potential. Paula says the boys have only one way to go, and points up towards the heavens. Unfortunately, she's wrong. Some people can definitely spiral lower and lower (Sundance, Sanjaya, and Antonella, I'm pointing at you) and we'll all be here to watch.

(S06E12) Okay, we're all in agreement -- Tuesday night's "Top 12 Boys" show was boring and uneventful. I thought so. Those of you who commented thought so. And even Paula thought so.

Paula says, "It was a rough first night...you learn after your first performance where you have to go, where you have to pull back, and where you push for it." And amazingly, perhaps for the first time EVER (okay, maybe there has been one other documented time), Simon agrees with Paula, calling her advice "wise words."

Ah, the infamous Seattle auditions. That was the show that caused all the controversy. Simon was too cruel. The parade of wacko contestants was relentlessly brutal. Before the show even aired, Simon had publicly denounced the Seattle turnout as "the worst bunch of miserable contestants EVER." Even Paula agreed, labeling the auditioners as "unusually fantastically delusional."

Seattle was the butt of Idol's jokes, deemed a pool of untalented crazies. Yet here we are, down to the Top 24, and the last laugh may be on Simon. A total of FIVE semifinalists were found in that "atrocious" city. In comparison, only one semifinalist was found in Birmingham, lovingly dubbed "Idol Country" by the show's writers.