American Idol's Not So Magnificent 7

I really liked last night's idea of having each of the contestants dish on the others.  The performances, though, were pretty forgettable.  Here's my breakdown of where we stand with only 7 contestants left.

People I Can't Stand

Scotty McCreery: He's right at the top of this list. And it seems like the judges are beginning to agree with me by FINALLY addressing his weird microphone holding routine and lack of anything remotely interesting.  But now I'm equally baffled - he knows it's weird to hold your mic like a flute yet he keeps doing it!  What's wrong with this guy?  And who is voting for him?  Everyone says little girls, but don't little girls vote for attractive guys? He seems like a good kid and a nice guy but attractive isn't a trait I'd expect to be attached to Scotty.  Besides all that, I can't stand him because he said that "Swingin" was a LeAnn Rimes song.  I'm assuming that was just so that it fit with the night's theme of recorded after 2000, but it's still terrible.

Steven Tyler:  That's right, I'm bringing the judges into this now.  Steven seems like a little brother - if he doesn't have the spotlight on him for 30 seconds he starts tugging someone's pigtails or knocking over lamps just to make everyone look at him.  He was great during auditions but has gone slowly downhill since.  He was so proud of that stupid lipstick on his cheek last night - he kept it there the whole night and was dying for someone to ask him about it. Thankfully no one did.  So weird.

James Durbin: Another case of nice kid, annoying performer.  Just vote the guy off and send him on tour already so he can dream up pianos exploding and midgets dancing and lightning striking through each of his songs.  It's funny how they act like he's special because he dreams up cool things to do on stage.  Although I am glad that he takes advantage of Idol's budget and creative license to do something other than stand there and sing.  I just feel like he's trying so hard to be a "Rock and Roll guy" that it comes across totally fake, from the Eeyore scarf tails to the manufactured arena rock each week.  Whatever.  (and yes, I realize that the two contestants I can't stand most are favorites to win it.  Just shoot me.)

Jacob Lusk:  I must admit, I didn't even listen to his song last night. All of his vocal histrionics are just too much for me.  I thought it was strange that Randy told him he needed to let go more and blow out the roof, when two weeks ago they told him hold back more and only rev up for one or two parts of the song.  Very confusing judges.  Jacob lost me when he did "Man In the Mirror" and said that if he was voted off it would be because America couldn't look in the mirror.  Lame. And not true. If he gets voted off it's because he isn't that good and we're tired of his diva act.

Contestants that were already voted off coming back to sing a song:  This was the worst part of the night. Naima was overacting so badly that I think the camera actually melted.  Pia was obviously trying hard to prove that she could be fun and dance around on stage. Paul was bored and waiting for the bus to leave so he could get on tour (and wearing rose suits again - geez).  Thia and Karen ... well, they were just as noticeable during this as during the actual show - so not very noticeable.

People I CAN stand

Randy Jackson: He's like a crazy uncle. He tries just as hard as Steven Tyler does, but he tries to be a cool kid. It's painful sometimes to watch him want to be included with the other famous singers and try to make funny comments.  Last night he gave some good critiques and overall I think he knows his stuff and seems to care about these kids.

Haley Reinhart: She really has a great voice that's fun to listen to but she's just. so. boring.  I thought her song was amazing last night but her personality just put the audience to sleep.  She has no presence on stage and doesn't command anything. Her song choices have been massive hits or misses.

Casey Abrams: I kind of loved him kissing J Lo last night. You could tell that he was half mortified/half thrilled after he did it. Kind of like the kid who pulls off Santa's beard. He's just so talented and fun to listen to.  Sometimes he gets a little too interested in growling and yelling and forgets to be good at singing but he has all of the natural creativity and James forces.

J. Lo: She's been kind of a revelation on this show. She hasn't been near the diva that I expected and you can tell she cares about the kids. I think she takes her judging seriously and even though she has a tough time being harsh or coming down hard on anyone she's been the most reliable judge.  And I don't think she's going out among the masses during commercials and hanging out with Lauren's mom or anything, but she has been pretty approachable and human - which is more than I expected.

People I Actually Like

Lauren Alaina:  She just cracks me up.

Ryan Seacrest:  He really is the hardest working guy in show business. But he's so good at keeping that show on the rails. I don't have any idea how much he ad libs throughout the night but he's so natural with everything that it makes the show more fun to watch.  I'm afraid with anyone lesser in his role these episodes could be a real drag.

So what do you think?  Who's going home tonight?  My pick is Jacob but I've been wrong every time before this.