THE BOOT

Susan Pierce: Daughtry deja vu!

Last Thursday’s surprising elimination of Michael Johns made me flash back to Season 5 when Chris Daughtry was expected to make it to the finals but got an early boot.

I expected Michael Johns would make it to at least the final four. He had the looks, the stage presence and a great voice. How can viewers vote him off and keep Brooke White, who does the same thing each week and is sooooo boring?

The only explanation I can think of is either it was due to “Idol’s” primary voting demographic (ages 9-17) or his position as the first singer last Tuesday. You’ve got to have a really great performance for voters to remember you after they’ve heard seven others.

Christine Simmons: It seems like every season we get surprised at this stage in the game.

I really think that Michael simply didn’t connect with the younger viewers who have those super fast fingers for text voting. I would imagine if you’re a 13-year-old fan, Michael would look more like your dad than a teen heart throb like David Archuleta seems to be.

THE BUSTIER

Christine: OK, Susan, I can’t let this week go by without mentioning Paula Abdul and her clothing Tuesday, or rather, her lack of clothing. This is a family show, and if Paula had sneezed it would have become an adults-only show very quickly. At 46 years old, she’s still a beautiful woman, but come on, do we really need to see all that cleavage?

Susan: I agree. She was laced in and pushed up so tightly it was uncomfortable to even look at, much less for her to have to wear. Who was she trying to impress?

THE BENEDICTION

Susan: The choice of the religious praise song, “Shout to the Lord,” to close Wednesday night’s “Idol Gives Back” both surprised and impressed me. In an age when television keeps religion at arm’s length, unless they are making fun of Christianity (case in point: Dale, Rusty Cartwright’s roommate on “Greek”), it was amazing to see the top-rated television show take such a stand.

Of course, message boards lit up Thursday morning with people who said they were offended. One jerk even e-mailed “Entertainment Weekly” that he called and asked for his donation back because of it.

But I appreciated “Idol” recognizing that all blessings — those being shared by that night’s donors and the ones being received — come from a higher power.

Christine: I agree.

Another point is that “Idol Gives Back” is not something that they have to do, and I don’t think it has anything to do with ratings. I haven’t seen any other major shows donating the time and effort to focus on the needy. With stars such as Brad Pitt and Eli and Peyton Manning showing up, I imagine there were many viewers tuning in who normally wouldn’t.