American Idol runner-up David Archuleta, 17, will have close supervision as he hits the road for the summer’s American Idols Live! Tour. His father Jeff, who had his backstage privileges revoked in the final weeks of Idol, will be on the tour bus with his son and the other top five guys (Michael Johns, David Cook, Chikezie and Jason Castro).

“I forgot about that,” David laughed coyly to PEOPLE when fellow Idol Carly Smithson asked Michael Johns if anyone on the guy’s bus snores. “Just your dad,” quipped Johns at the L.A. press day for the Pop Tarts presents American Idol Live! Tour 2008, which kicks off in Brooke White’s hometown of Glendale, Ariz., on July 1.

“We don’t have dancers on the tour so we are utilizing Jeff Archuleta as our break dancer at the end,” Smithson joked. “He came in with his hat all bent and this big T-shirt on and he looked all like street kid!”

But David also explained that his parents will mostly likely switch off when and where they can. “I think they’re going to trade when we go to Utah,” he said. “If she has time, you know it’s all a matter of how things work out, because she has the other four kids to look after, and they all want her.”

There will be two buses on the tour, one for the men and one for the women. “It’ll be quite the experience,” said a slightly apprehensive Archuleta.

Added Smithson, whose husband will be back in San Diego during the 3-month tour, “It’s important to keep your family as normal as possible, especially for [David].” –Jed Dreben

“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.’”

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.”