So tonight's wild card round of American Idol proved one thing: there's a reason why some people didn't get past the Glendale auditions.

Tonight's show also proved you can indeed shoot the piano player, as they ditched the guy who played the last four weeks and went with a karaoke-style backup, replete with background vocals. I don't think this was particularly fair, as there were certainly some contestants who'd have performed better with this accompaniment than with piano only (Patrick and Jennifer Fuentes come to mind).

In any case, camera whore Kimberly Caldwell started things off, and apparently her mugging for the camera is directly related to the quality of her performance. In her semi she got lens time as much as possible, and was in the top 3. Tonight she hardly did the phrase camera whore credit, and didn't do as well. But all is not lost for camera whore Kimberly Caldwell, as you will see.

She was followed by Clay, the goofy-looking guy whose looks are apparently very hard for Randy and Simon to get past. He sang "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," in what may be (finally!) the first Elton John cover in show history. He nailed it (inasmuch as a contestant on this show can). Clay's performance was clearly the best of the night, and if he doesn't go through there's a fix in.

Then came Nasheka, back from last week's show. She was about as good as last week, which is to say she was also about as not good. I don't get her appeal. And given the changed format, Patrick may have gotten stiffed (not that I think he'd have gotten through, but this set up suits him better). Anyway, the curse of the one-named contestants continues.

Then comes a run of Simon's imported ankle, three of the four "mistake cuts" from Glendale, all of whom also happen to be highly toothsome. Except that the trio - Carmen, Olivia, and Janine- fail to impress. Carmen sings the "country" song "Can't Fight the Moonlight" and is very meh. Olivia (who reminds one of Andrea Corr or a pre-eating disorder Lara Flynn Boyle) sings something that I can't remember, perhaps because she was being drowned out by the music. Janine (the love child of Alyssa Milano and Jennifer Love Hewitt- think of the money Vivid Video could make on that concept) sings "We Belong" by Pat Benatar, and even she knows she's off.

Chip comes back from last week with better threads (Simon insulted Chip's sweater) and a better performance with Michael Jackson's "Rock With You." Paula and Randy love the improvement, Simon shall not be moved. Again. To this point Chip's probably the second-best performer of the night, and Simon couldn't care less. I don't think Chip is blowing me away, but I'm at a loss to explain Simon's distaste for him. Then again, so is Simon, as he can only point to "song selection," which is to American Idol as obstruction interference is to Hockey East refs; you use it when you want to make a call but can't justify it any other way.

Anyway, Chip's followed by Aliceyn, who was featured on the "best and worst" audition special as someone who may have gotten a raw deal. And Aliceyn shows why, giving a pretty good rendition of Sarah McLachlan's "Angel." Except that that was the song she sang at her initial audition. And in Glendale. It is apparently the only song Aliceyn knows. Somewhere, camera whore Kimberly Caldwell adjusts her pancake.

Finally there's Trenyce, who got passed over way back from the first show. She says she did some "digging" for her song tonight, which is the little known "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green. Apparently her digging consisted of watching at least one tape of last year's show, where the song was performed something like five times. She is the first woman to do it, I suppose. And she sings it pretty well, but is another person in Simon's doghouse. He blames being in a bad mood, and can't justify it further. I think he's sad that he won't get to watch Carmen, Olivia, or Janine in tight pants week in and week out.

It turns out that America only gets to choose one finalist, and the judges pick the other three. I don't know if that means that all the judges have to agree, or if each one gets a pick. In any case, I have to think that Clay gets through; America's been pretty good about voting for the best vocalists, and Paula could just eat him up with a spoon. I would also go with Chip and Trenyce, solely on performance. Simon may not have liked them, but they both showed growth from their semis and deserve a break better than the Simonettes, who were better left back in Cali.

This leaves an interesting choice for the last spot. Aliceyn performed better, but with a song she's been working on since the fourth grade. Camera whore Kimberly Caldwell didn't do as well, but there's a history of the judges liking her voice. Putting her in the finals also revives the "feud" with her and Julia, at least for one week. And there's a definite favoritism for the contestants who've gotten the most camera time over the course of the series. Finally, Simon needs some young thing to ogle. Camera whore Kimberly Caldwell, get ready for your close-up. Ack.