Idol Chatter from the Good Doctor, Part Deux

I got to thinking about the winners of the past season, and contemplating Randy's question for the ages: What do they all have in common? None of them required on-the-job training, for one (that's for you, Sarah). But I came up with something else: during the competition they proved that they "know who they are." Carrie is the only one that I think had an "identity crisis" about mid-way through the competition, but otherwise we all knew she was a country singer. We knew Ruben would bring us some high quality R&B, and Taylor was adancin' fool with almost too much energy.

This is one reason I don't have high hopes for people like the Amazing Opera Girl. She flipped in and out of styles at will a la Josh Gracin. Remember when all of a sudden he had this extreme southern drawl? That was weird. It suits him now, but at the time it was unexpected. In the beginning, switching styles with the theme for the week works out for a lot of contestants, but ultimately this lack of true identity and personal style works against them. Ruben took some heat for seeming to plateau, but he just proved week in and week out that he was so good, his improvements seemed minimal.

I'm looking forward to seeing who will step forward during Hollywood and the early weeks and show some style. And "I'm unique" is not an endorsement of personal style.

It's usually just plain weird.