We’re back with a new look, and a bunch of new features.  Here are some of the highlights:

• Improved voting form
• Integration with Facebook
• Blog feeds from popular American Idol fan sites

We’ve also created dedicated pages for all episodes and contestants:

Episodes - In addition to rating performances, we’ve provided a sampling of each episode’s judges comments from Simon Cowell and the gang.  There are fan comment boxes where you can converse with your fellow American Idol fans, using either your Facebook or Google accounts.

Contestants - Every contestant will have their own page, chock full of information:

• Age/location/occupation/general information, taken straight from the American Idol episodes
• Fan comments with Facebook or Google users
• Average performance ratings from all our users
• AI judges comments from each episode
• Google image searches on the contestant
• Comments on the contestant from other American Idol fan blogs
• Ability to mark a contestant as a “Favorite” Idol

I’m really excited for this upcoming season, and I think this site will be a fun companion while you enjoy watching American Idol.  Ready to explore the new site?

Go to Episodes home page | Go to Contestants home page

I love it.  Good job Kris Allen!

I refuse to put that horrible Kara Dioguardi song on this ratings list.  Vote on Adam and Kris’s first 2 songs ONLY.

Sure, she has some huh-annoying huh-singing quirks.  But man, that girl can sing.

Has there ever been a better exit performance?  That performance was AMAZING, and she’s LEAVING??!?!

I didn’t realize how big a fan I was of her.  Loved her first performance in the Top 36.  Of the top 3, I don’t feel like I have a favorite among them.  Little did I know, Allison was my fav.  You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.

Am I a little dramatic?  Yes.  I just hope she ends up being the next Daughtry, and not the next Taylor Hicks.

Based on most recent predictions, our users predict Danny Gokey will be going home!  The Danny Gokey who has never appeared in the bottom 3.  It’s pretty close between him and Kris Allen.  I guess we’ll see tonight!

UPDATE:

• MSNBC users have Danny as the lowest-rated Idol this week (Link)
• So do Burke and Bunny (Link)
• Laura from idolreview.net thinks so too (Link)

So I guess it would be a surprise if Danny DIDN’T leave?  Adam and Allison have the highest rated performances this week.

Remember to rate this week’s performances.  The duets are in there, with a different rating for each contestant in the duet.

People coming to the blog often get here asking what the elimination order has been.  Well here it is:

Elimination order:

• Top 13 – Jorge Nunez and Jasmine Murray
• Top 11 – Alexis Grace (others in bottom 3: Michael Sarver, Allison Iraheta)
• Top 10 – Michael Sarver (b3: Matt Giraud, Scott Macintyre)
• Top 9 – Megan Joy Corkrey (b3: Anoop Desai, Allison Iraheta)
• Top 8 – Scott Macintyre (b3: Anoop Desai, Lil Rounds)
• Top 7 – None, (Matt Giraud saved, b3: Lil Rounds, Anoop Desai)
• Top 7 again – Lil Rounds, Anoop Desai (Allison Iraheta)
• Top 5 – Matt Giraud (Adam Lambert, Kris Allen)

Of the remaining contestants, Allison has shown up in the bottom 3, 3 times!  Adam and Kris experienced it for the first time last week, and Danny Gokey has never been in the bottom.

Hello everyone,

If you happened to rate performances Tuesday night, I might not have logged them properly.  Please rate the performances again!  I’ve added Facebook Connect and Google Friend Connect to the ratings form, which will allow you to track all your ratings and predictions over time.

Thanks again everyone!

I’ve added a Twitter feed to the far right column, so I can communicate my quick thoughts on the American Idol performances without polluting the main blog space.

Check it out, show some love for the blog.

Confession: I’m a big fan of Kris Allen because his singing style is so reminiscent of Jason Mraz, who is also one of my favorite performers.

It’s not only his funk-influenced guitar strumming that I dig.  But it’s also the clarity of his tone.  His voice sounds as smooth as water.  Jason Mraz has that same quality; they share such a pure tone.

I’d love to see them perform together in the future.  What a combination of guitar awesomeness that would be.