TVSquad

What could be more uninspiring than Ryan Seacrest's love tips on Idol this week? ... Hmmmm, I could think of a couple performances, actually. And that's a bad thing, since Ryan isn't exactly an icon of wisdom. But, I don't want to talk about what I didn't like this time -- call it a break through in therapy, if you like. Instead, as much as I hate to say it, I want to pick up the Paula Abdul torch and talk about what was good and great about the past couple nights.

But first, a couple questions need to be answered: How is the order of the performance decided? And if two contestants pick the same song, who gets to sing it? Also, is The Colbert Report the best TV show on the air? Yes.

So this week I spent my days in "The Big Easy," celebrating Mardi Gras like it's supposed to be celebrated! I'm not sure if it was the loud music in New Orleans that damaged my ears (or maybe it wasn't) but the boys vs. girls week had a clear winner. One thing is for sure -- this is a woman's world from here on out. The girls blew the house down ... with the boys in it.

I'm going to go over the people who stood out to me the most this week (good and bad). Going through all 24 would be a pain in my ass and honestly, I still don't remember all their names. So let's start with the boys:

Do you remember back when the catch phrase "I'm going to Disneyland" was big? I remember saying it all the time after running over home plate during pick-up kickball games with my brothers. It was the quintessential victory phrase. It was almost as big as classic lines like "Where's the beef?" or "Whatchoo talkin' about Willis?" Saying that meant things couldn't get any better. Without any specific phraseology, except for maybe Ryan's annoying "after the break," I think Idol's results show format has found the yin to that yang.

None of this "You've just won [whatever], what are you gonna' do next?" Instead, with the camera practically up your nose, it's "You just lost your big shot to fame a fortune." I'm pretty sure going to Disneyland isn't next on the "to do" list. And, if that weren't enough, they have to bust out the microphone one last time and remind us why we didn't vote for them in the first place. Man, what a series of therapy sessions in-the-making.

Looks like it could be a girl's year this year. After 26.2 miles of Idol watching over the last couple nights, I'm pretty spent. Thankfully, this week's installment of Idol ended on the proverbial high note and left me wanting a little more. All big voices and beat boxing aside, though, the one question rattling around in my brain is what kind of record do these contestants plan on making after the show is over?

So far, it isn't clear -- and it ought to be. A major part of Chris Daughtry's success now is based on the fact that early on, he established what he was all about and never strayed too far from it. The same could be said about Carrie Underwood and country music.

This is the point of the competition when the country is forming it's opinion of the top 24, and if they don't send out clear messages about who they are artistically we'll form our own conclusions -- which generally ends in confusion.