‘American Idol’: 21st Century Man

First of all, what set Steven Tyler off? After Casey, as usual, put a little too much oomph into a Maroon 5 song, Tyler went off on a long expletive-filled rant that was bleeped by the censor who had his hands full last night. Judging by how long the drown-out tone was used, I'm guessing our resident rocker was using compound obscenities.

But why? Maybe it was having his daughter Mimi in the audience. Perhaps he wanted to show her that being on an amateur karaoke show hadn't completely defanged him. Rock on, you rebel!

I much preferred Randy Jackson's assessment of the song. "What I love about Casey," he said, "is it's always surprise, surprise, surprise." Vintage Gomer Pyle.

It was a curious anachronism on a night when Idol went daringly au courant. Songs from this millennium? It was almost as if the teen contestants were performing tunes they actually knew. Radical!

The night started off with the six contestants who have already been eliminated returning to perform together. It was a reminder of just how quickly you forget the people after they're booted. Ashthon? Karen? Were they really on the show?

For the first time, I felt sorry for Scotty last night. It was like the judges were under orders to actually judge instead of heaping praise on everyone. Scotty was up first, which means he got the brunt of it.

Randy even called his performance "boring". Heavens to Betsy!

Scotty had been advised by Jimmy Iovine to lively up his act. Apparently Scotty took that to mean he should make his eyebrows do vigorous pushups.

On a side note, exactly what is under Iovine's permanent cap? Snakes?

James was up next and quickly restored the judges to love fest mode.

Steven thought James' outfit was futuristic. "Mad Max meets Starship Troopers on Melrose". Actually his getup reminded me of Adam Ant.

You could see James' puzzlement when Tyler praised him for taking the song all T-Rex. We're doing songs of this millennium, remember, Steven? Try and get your mind out of the '70s and back in the gutter where it belongs.

Haley came out next with something we rarely see on Idol: a suitable song choice -- Adele's "Rolling in the Deep". . BTW, did you notice the two young blondes backup singers? (They were also used by Stefano and Lauren.) That's Destinee and Paris Monroe, two singing sisters from Egg Township in Jersey.

My, how Idol has changed. Remember how Brooke White was pilloried in season seven for stopping and starting at the beginning of the song? The judges told her that was a cardinal sin.

When Jacob did the same thing last night (see video below), the judges roundly praised him for his composure. Season ten: an era when the contestants could do no wrong.

While we're at it, "Dance With My Father" may be the least Luther-like song in the Vandross canon. It was spilt milk that Jacob insisted on crying over.

Prediction for tonight: Stefano, Jacob and Haley in the bottom three.

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