Carrie Underwood looked and sounded great at the 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards over the weekend and it’s not a fluke! We’ve seen Carrie looking great before — well, OK, all the time– and she did manage to take home two CMA awards at the recent award show.

And although Carrie Underwood may be the most popular “American Idol” ever according to a recent poll, she’s got some young and blonde competition on the way — and she answers to the name of Taylor Swift. Taylor took home the award for Best New Female Vocalist.

“American Idol” had it all this season — talented singers, a David Archuleta for the prepubescent crowd, visits from pop royalty, stinging comments from Simon Cowell as usual, and jaw-dropping commentary from Paula Abdul. With all that provided on the show, why have some fans and observers found it a dull slog as the show builds to its David Archuleta vs. David Cook finale on Wednesday?

It seems contestants who were good but not memorable made for only mediocre television, according to show watchers. Where was the drama, the unpredictability, the oddball personalities? Where was the fun? I can’t believe I’m saying this… but maybe the show needs more idiots like Sanjaya?

Such criticism of this season’s show is ironic given the heat “Idol” took last year when Sanjaya Malakar, way more a hairstyle than a singer, held the spotlight of a semi-captive audience. Or remember the reaction when dancin’ man and over-rated singer Taylor Hicks won the title in 2006, relying on charm rather than skill?

Producers of the Fox show made an effort this year to go for vocal gold over glitz, and this is the thanks they get. We want good singers and bad singers, too! Viewer Mike Anderson chimed in with:

“The only thing that kept the entire thing from being excruciatingly boring was (apparent frontrunner) Michael Johns being voted off and the shiver it seemed to send through everyone. Because the talent level was so high, nothing anyone did was surprising.”

Dave Della Terza has long relished mocking “American Idol” on his Web site, VotefortheWorst.com, but counts himself among this season’s disappointed viewers. Dave said:

“In past years people would ask, `Do you hate “American Idol?”‘ I’d say it’s fun to make fun of, it’s so bad,” he said. “But this year, honestly, I’m so sick of the show. … It’s almost a chore to watch at this point.”

He’s hearing the same thing from visitors to his site and seeing it in the numbers, with traffic down about 50 percent. A major complaint cited by Della Terza: The contestants have remained cyphers. In other words, Jason Castro’s dreadlocks showed more character than any contestant.

“What do you really know about David Cook? All you really know about David Archuleta is his dad is annoying,” Della Terza said, referring to reports of backstage meddling.

“I think that’s why Sanjaya was so successful. Every week, he was coming out and showing personality. He flourished in a crowd of people who didn’t have personalities,” Della Terza said.

“American Idol” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe isn’t buying the criticism. He says the talent this year has been “phenomenal” and he expects the David Cook vs. David Archuleta finale will be the “humdinger” that judge Cowell colorfully predicted last week.

Bob Lefsetz isn’t buying it. The music industry analyst says flatly that “the bloom is off the rose” after so many years. “Even if the new Aretha Franklin came on,” he said, “people would say, `Seen it. I’m going to watch something on YouTube.’”

Damn I can’t believe we haven’t seen or heard much from Kelly Clarkson since mid last year sometime. At least we know that she’s still alive. These pictures show the American Idol star leaving KOI restaurant. Hopefully Kelly won’t wait so long to go out now…that or we’ll do a better job finding more on her!

Paula Abdul made an appearance at the Fox Upfront After Party looking as good as ever. Normally when I see Paula she is of course judging American Idol and always manages to see half way lit up while doing so.

I really think she is part of the reason that I do not watch much of American Idol anymore. That and the fact that most of the contestants annoy me or can’t sing worth a damn. I could win that shit easy if I really tried!

Producer and judge Simon Cowell says he believes contestant David Cook should be crowned the winner of “American Idol.” In an interview with Blender, Simon admitted that he believes David “deserves” to win. Simon said:

“I think he’s done more to deserve it over the eleven weeks. He’s taken more risks, he’s done things with certain songs that have been more interesting. If I’m gonna base it on who has done the best performances over the live shows.”

If you are a David Archuleta fan, then you probably watched “American Idol” on Wednesday and saw them take a trip home with him to Salt Lake City, Utah. As moving as this trip home with David was, and as consistent as this kid has been over the season, something about him is totally off. The few times I have caught the show (OK, I watch it religously and even forums the forums), David Archuleta has seemed completely forums.

He really does have talent, but it also seems like he’s really well “baked.” You know, graaaass maaaaan. I’m not saying he’s a drug user, but he needs to wake up and smell the f#&king coffee! Actually, it might help if he took a couple puffs. But on the bright side, this dude has 13-year old girls throwing themselves at him and he’s still got a year before it’s not legal anymore.

But forget him, vote for David Cook — because he deserves to win!

Ryan Seacrest came to the defense of Paula Abdul Wednesday during American Idol’s live results show. Addressing Tuesday’s broadcast when Paula critiqued Jason Castro’s second song before he performed it, Ryan spoke up to put an end to gossip about his costar. (Paula defended herself earlier, calling the awkward moment an “honest mistake” on Ryan’s KIIS-FM radio show.)

“Last night the judges were thrown a curve ball on the air, which is just part of a live show,” Ryan said from the stage while a nervous-looking Paula watched from the judges’ panel. “But it sparked a lot of gossip about Paula. And I read some of this online this morning and just for the record, the rumors — they’re not true. She’s part of our family and we love her.”

Paula looked touched as the audience clapped and both Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell gave her a kiss on the cheek, which prompted Ryan to joke, “I think Simon still wants to hook up with her.”

It was a hectic night on “American Idol,” with the final five each crooning two Neil Diamond songs. Instead of the usual format, in which the judges critique each hopeful after their performance, Randy, Paula and Simon were asked to take notes during performances and offer their opinions at the end of each round. The new format threw off Paula Abdul — she critiqued both songs from Jason Castro — even though he had only sung one! “The second song, I felt like your usual charm wasn’t — it was missing for me. It kind of left me a little empty,” says Abdul, “the two songs made me feel like you’re not fighting hard enough to get into the top four.”

Randy Jackson cleared up the confusion by reminding Paula that Castro had only sung once. Even judge Simon Cowell, who had his usual harsh critiques for the aspiring Idols, admitted that the new format had also thrown him for a loop. “This was officially the strangest show we’ve ever done,” Cowell said at the end of the show, “but I like that. It’s kind of a bit chaotic tonight.”