TVSquad

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that it's been a couple of years since I've seriously watched American Idol. I've caught episodes here and there, but haven't sat down with a full season in a while. I bring this up because I'm not sure if it's just that I've been away from it a while or if this year's group of finalists is especially good. We're still not even to the Top 10, and no one's performance was a complete disaster. Sure, I had my favorites, but nobody embarrassed themselves, which seems new to me.

What I love/hate about the results show is how, even if the contestants manage to get through the performance show embarrassment-free, that inevitably comes to an end the next night. Between the Ford commercial and the group sing, I have never watched a results show without spending a good portion cringing.

Speaking of cringing, tonight's result is kind of surprising, and I think it's going to polarize a lot of people. Someone who I thought would make it pretty far in the competition got the lowest number of votes. But does that mean he or she is going home?

The list of singers agreeing to appear on FOX's Duets, a contest that pairs regular celebrities with singing celebrities, is a mixture of has-beens, legends, and Michael Bolton. The singers are: Cyndi Lauper, Smokey Robinson, Chaka Khan, Clint Black, Dionne Warwick, Patti LaBelle, Brian McKnight, Macy Gray, Kenny Loggins, Richard Marx, Randy Travis, and Aaron Neville. That's actually a pretty impressive list. I think many of those singers have done guest appearances on American Idol.

Now... who would make an interesting pair? I wouldn't be surprised to see Nicollette Sheridan coupled with her fiance, Michael Bolton. How about Punky Brewster with Cyndi Lauper? And Johnny Fairplay with Macy Gray?

The series debuts August 29th. The celebrity pairs will be eliminated each week by judges and viewer votes.