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Welcome back to "AI Aftermath," where we explore Idol's past. Each week, as one more American Idol hopeful is eliminated from the competition, we take a look back at contestants past who were eliminated in the same week. We'll examine how they did on the show and what they've been up to since their eliminations. In honor of Michael Johns' elimination last week we'll be looking at other eighth place finishers.

This week: 8th place finishers, featuring featuring A.J. Gil (Season One), Rickey Smith (Season Two), Jon Peter Lewis (Season Three), Nadia Turner (Season Four), Bucky Covington (Season Five) and Haley Scarnato (Season Six).

American Idol's season six winner Jordin Sparks and first runner-up Blake Lewis are hitting the studios to record their individual debut albums. With possible release dates as early as Thanksgiving, America will learn soon enough if the latest batch of Idols are "turkeys" or not.

Jordin said, "I'm trying to mix everything together. I'm loving all the songs I'm recording, so hopefully that will come off the album when you listen to it and you'll be able to feel the emotion."

With 70 million votes pouring in after last week's American Idol, it's pretty safe to say that hardcore fans of the show do exist.

Luckily, the American Idols Live tour dates were released yesterday and should help to alleviate the fan depression that comes along with the shows looming finale.

The tour is slated to occur between July 6th and September 22nd and lands at 50 different locations across the country and includes a stint in Canada.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Haley Scarnato is talking about life after American Idol, and wearing other people's hair.
  
• Carson Daly is a Fanjaya! (And it's because of the hair?!)
  
• A scene from The Office causes Wikipedia major problems with their entry on "negotiation."
  

The video's embedded below, or you can download the file directly (Quicktime required). You can also subscribe to this podcast via our feed.

Oh man, not one, but two celebrity guests tonight. Uh, how were we so lucky? That means a full hour show...

You'd think a ten percent ratings drop from last year would motivate them to keep it simple, but Idol's sixth season is still picking up new fans and continuing to find new ways to keep us entertained -- even when that means morphing into something other than the beloved original format.

I wonder if turning American Idol into a variety show is a good thing? No longer is it only a singing show but also a telethon for the needy, an outlet for songwriters and a place where celebrities go to sell a few CDs and pretend they sing better than the contestants. All they need now is a stand-up comic and a cooking segment.

(S06E29) They certainly did cram in a lot of stuff in tonight's episode, didn't they? Wow, my head is still spinning. As much as I complain about the hour-long results show giving us way too much unnecessary filler, I felt they did their best tonight to at least keep the show entertaining. And I appreciate that, even though it may have been a bit too much.

Besides, don't they know all we really want is the RESULTS. Enough with the tease. Let us have it! How many of you skipped the festivities, TiVo'd the thing, and then fast forwarded to the very end?

Me, I watched the whole thing. Of course, I had to. It's my job. But whether you watched it all, or zipped to the end, the results were the same. Someone went home tonight -- and it wasn't Sanjaya.

(S06E28) So who exactly thought a Latin-themed night was a good idea for American Idol? I fully expected tonight's performances to be painful. However, I really didn't expect Sanjaya to sing in Spanish and give one of the better performances of the night. Unbelievable. Just when you think Idol has no more surprises left, you witness something truly shocking.

Jennifer Lopez, looking rather svelte, took time out from her busy schedule to mentor the finalists and help them find the passion in the Latin-themed music. Unfortunately, not many of them truly found their inner Latin beat. J.Lo excitedly gushed that she watches American Idol at home, and she does have her favorites. Yeah, so we've heard.

(S06E27) We are slowly inching our way closer to the grand finale, which means that another finalist has to go home tonight. I know, it's sad, but this is the only way we'll get closer to crowning a new American Idol.

Tonight, the finalists are separated into three different groups of three on stage. One group is the Best Three, one is the Middle Three, and one is the Bottom Three. And looking at the breakdown, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess which group is which.

(S06E25) Two important questions will be answered tonight, Ryan says. "Who's going home, and how will Sanjaya wear his hair?"

Blake is safe. LaKisha is safe. Phil IS in the bottom three. Melinda is safe. Chris R rebounds from last week's bottom two and IS safe. Sanjaya (yawn) is safe AGAIN. Haley IS in the bottom three. And Jordin, of course, is safe. Which means, either Chris Sligh or Gina is in the bottom three, but we won't know who until the end of the show.

Fast Forward. Turns out CHRIS SLIGH joins PHIL and HALEY in the bottom three. But Philly is sent back to safety once again.

SLIGH vs. SCARNATO? Who's going home? Randy says it's a tough call. Paula says they both deserve "warmth" from the audience. Simon thinks it's "Bye, Bye Curly."

In case you were wondering, I think the words were:

"As I look around
I see things remind me
Just to see you smile
Made my heart fill with joy
I'll still recall
All those dreams we shared together
Where did you run to, boy?"

Personally I've never really heard the song and had to look the lyrics up. I've never been much of a Diana Ross fan, and apparently neither was Haley.

(S06E18) Paula is momentarily missing when tonight's show begins, but is back just in time to get things started. After last night's snoozefest, I'm hoping the girls will wake up this competition. And luckily, I'm not disappointed.

It's "just a different show" with the ladies, as Randy points out early. The girls pick better songs that showcase their voices. And their voices are just better than the boys anyway. The women seem to understand that NOW is the time to show us what they've got. Gina finally finds her comfort zone. Melinda gives another flawless performance. And LaKisha, Stephanie, Jordin, and Sabrina prove they are solid, Top 12-worthy contestants.

My guess is that Antonella's luck has finally run out. And Haley is just out of time. But the remaining six ladies are going to give us a heck of a battle. And one of them is going to be the next American Idol.

(S06E15) Ryan tells us that the guys had an "incredible show" Tuesday night. Hold on a minute, Ryan, back up. Sure the boys were better than the week before, but I certainly wouldn't call their show "incredible." To quote Randy Jackson, "It was just ahright."

Besides, after tonight's Top 10 Ladies show, I'm more convinced than ever that this year's American Idol will be one of our fine ladies. I also think that it's going to be a tight race to the top between our lovely divas -- Lakisha, Melinda, Jordin, Stephanie, and Sabrina.

But tomorrow two unlucky ladies will be going home. Who will it be?

(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."