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Tonight's episode featured what has become one of the true highlights of each season of American Idol, the group song competition. Groups struggle with personalities, egos, work ethic, and musical talent in order to hammer-out the best performance possible. This caustic mixture always produces entertaining results.

From these group performances came immediate cuts, and then a subsequent paring of the lot to a mere 44. Tomorrow's episode will see the group being cut down to the final twenty-four for the studio performances.

Shoo-ins:

1. Paris Bennett (the girl with a singer mom)
2. Mandisa Hundley (the big stage lady)
3. Travis (the grey-haired guy. My early favorite.)
4. The bald-headed step dad
5. The black curly-haired model-looking girl
6. The girl with the dad in jail. Something Pickles...
7. One or more of the teenage crooner-types. (My money is on William Makar. I'll bet he's more versatile.)
8. Elliot Yamin. (Good singer. I can't think of much to describe him.)
9. That curly-black-haired girl whose mom is a singing coach. (Looks like Val from 90210.)

My Observations:

• Terrell and Derrell Brittenum stole tonight's show. As long as those guys stay on, they'll draw big ratings. Idol has found their villians for the year. I thought that both of these two "going into business for themselves" with their groups on-stage was so not-cool.
• More Brittenums: Derrel -thinking that his brother had been eliminated- quit the show in a fit. Upon learning of his mistake, he begged forgiveness. You can't make something like that up!
• When the groups are rehearsing, they put way too much effort into choreography. The competition is won and lost according to harmonies and melodies. Plus, dances can be too distracting.
• All those clean-cut young men on-stage at one time seemed like a bit much, didn't it?
• I was surprised that Tyra Schwartz (the young lady who switched groups) was cut. I thought that she did well. (Every year there has to be a girl who hates her group.)
• Did that belly-dancer girl make it to the next round? How about that girl who had the laryngitis?
• One guy, Mark Whitten, was stuck in a group with two battling girls: Marcy Smith (nice figure), and Brenna Gethers (being groomed to become the next villian of the series.) One has to feel for poor Mark, being thrust into all that. Men fight, but just not like women do.
• They did a "Brokeback Mountain" spoof with the cowboy group. -I know that wasn't the most original observation that I have ever made, but this was one of the times where one of my previous weblog entries portended future Idol events.

Let's see who makes the final twenty-four. So far I have predicted nine. What do you think?