dear Paula:

I like Blake. You like Blake. Let's call a spade a spade, though. This week, he was not original -- yet you praised him for his originality and for making the show "cool." You do realize that most of his performances are very-circa-1980's, right? You probably don't remember the 80's very well, because it was during the height of your career and all, but it may surprise you to know that the whole synth-rendition of songs is not actually a new thing. Beat-boxing and break-dancing are also from the era that our dear Blake seems to champion. Last night, he sang Love Song without any real variation to the original Cure version nor the 311 version. There was nothing "Blake" about it and there was a lot of Robert Smith in it. Am I the only one to notice that this is the second 311 song he has covered from their Greatest Hits album? I just am so befuddled by Blake being original in your eyes, when others are not. (I am also a little afraid that Blake might think that 311 is the original artist, given that he was 6 or 7 when The Cure debuted this song on the Disintegration album.)

In fact, other than a select few performances, everyone sings their songs almost exactly like the original. I fail to see where this imaginary line that one might cross over is located. Most of the time when Idols do their own rendition of song - you, the judges, hate it. You tell the contestants to take risks and be original, yet crucify them for doing just that -- with the exception of Chris Daughtry's Johnny Cash song last year.

You tell people to branch out of their comfort zone and then tell Gina she's not being true to herself when she does. However, when LaKisha and Melinda continue to pick predictable songs from artists that are completely in their comfort zones - you praise them. Lakisha was entirely boring last night -- sure, she has an amazing voice, but only with the same exact kind of songs. I mean they BOTH chose Shirely Bassey songs the week of British Invasion, which could only be considered loosely related to that genera. (My good friend Jackson was right, Lakisha is starting to annoy me. Her best performance, so far, has been her first.)

What a hoax your judging has been! Do you guys even listen to yourselves? Half the time you just mimic what the guest-performer has to say or what Randy just said. The other half of the time, you are all over the place either physically or figuratively. I suggest that you, the judges, start to take your own advice and start being original, yourselves. Consistent would be an improvement, too. I'm as bored with your comments as I am with Simon's t-shirts. I mean, seriously, why doesn't he dress-up a little?