Surfing Through "American Idol"

No wonder this show is so popular. In the early seasons, the group auditions were the least interesting. But they've done a better job the last two years of catching backstage drama when kids in each group don't get along, some won't rehearse, others party and take it easy, etc. The result? Lots of drama including the twin Darrel bizarrely quitting the show (we later found out he'd gotten the mistaken idea his brother had been cut) and then begging to be reinstated, the crying cowboy proving why he wasn't dubbed the singing cowboy (the kid should never have been put through), a girl who left one team for another and then wisely defected back again right before their performance and on and on. It was great fun and compelling TV. I still see a weak crowd of men, however. (And those kids who butchered a standard while doing their worst Rat Pack imitations might be cute as Paula said, but they sure can't sing.)