TVSquad

No surprises tonight with Lakisha going home. She's had a great run and lasted a lot longer than I expected, to be honest. Not that I think she isn't good. She's great; but I expected that, since she and Melinda have a similar thing going on, one would have canceled the other out a lot sooner -- like Fantasia and Jennifer Hudson.

During tonight's episode, I found myself thinking about results shows in general. I remember it being especially hard on the crew and production staff almost as much as the contestants. What you don't see while the camera is practically shoved up the teary-eyed contestant's nose is that on the other end one of the tattooed operators is trying to hold back his emotions too. I always heard Debbie, the stage manager, say at the start of most results shows something to the effect of "I hate this part."

I've said before here on the blog what I hated most; those song and dance numbers were a freakin' doozy. Almost as bad was waiting to see what Ford had concocted for us that week. We only had a day of shooting to get that little Ford spot done, so it was anyone's guess how they'd turn out.

As a side note, I think the production of those has gotten better over the last couple years, but the time constraint is still evident in the quality.

Despite all the tension and build up to Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I always looked forward to the shows -- that was when we had the most time to rest. The song selection was over, there weren't any more dance rehearsals or Fantastic Four-style schmooze fests to be had. Just a sound check and a dress rehearsal. And the actual show, of course.

Then, after the results were in and the final appearances for the night were made, everyone had dinner together and said their goodbyes. Early the next morning, your AT&T-sponsored phone stopped working and a car would be waiting to take you away for a week on a press tour. Kind of a downer really. Then, it was off home to wait for the finale. That should be a quick trip for Lakisha.

Jon Peter Lewis was a finalist on the third season of "American Idol." His newly released debut album, "Stories From Hollywood," is available everywhere online and can also be downloaded at americanidol.com. Visit Jon's Web site for more.