This year of American Idol has certainly been an interesting one, replacing Paula Abdul with Ellen DeGeneres combined with the announcement that Simon is leaving at the end of this year has seriously changed the dynamic between the judges bordering on self-satire and I can't really blame them. With a thinning talent base(it has been 9 YEARS!!!!), the judges have lost interest. It's too bad too, this years group does have some talent, but they are very rough and could use some guidance. Ellen was a nice addition, but Paula tripping on painkillers mid-show could never be replaced, Randy & Kara are milking the exposure for all they can(and rightly so) while Simon has dialed out, and a little nastier then usual, but not having Paula next to him has given him new energy for X-Factor in 2011. LOL! :) Performances from the remaing ten have been all over the map...but we saw a little promise tonight, not surprising since historically this is the week, people get down to work. ...