It's all downhill for 'American Idol'

The thing that puzzles me about "American Idol" is that the show gets more popular as it progresses through the season. I mean, obviously the finale is going to get the highest ratings because that's when the winner is announced. But to me, the show declines in quality with each episode. The first four episodes are terrific television, as we see all the delusional, no-talent hacks perform their unintentionally hilarious auditions for the three judges. Easily the best part of the show, the opening round is where we get the best insults from Simon and the most outrageous characters (like guys who wear lime-green suits).

In the next round featuring the 32 semi-finalists, even though there's less humorous embarassment, it's is at least somewhat intriguing because we meet eight new contestants each week.

But starting with tonight's episode, the next 12 weeks are just the same people singing over and over again. Viewers can form their opinions of the contestants after one or two episodes, so why do the show's ratings keep increasing every week? To me, the show is no-longer must-see viewing... Until the finale, that is. I mean even I want to see whether Ruben can pull off the win.