Three potential winners, four likely losers, and a curious aversion to the word "disco"

Another week, another Idol.

And the show suffered without Nadia.

But at least Bo was back in top form. As Simon said, Bo's performance was the only authentically good one of the whole night.

Carrie was significantly weaker than she's been in weeks, partly due to poor song choice. As for Smeagol, even when he's good I still think he sucks and tonight he wasn't particularly good. Plus he wore eyeliner, which only made him look more frightening than normal.

And now, without Nadia, they're the only ones who count.

This article, which was written before tonight's show, is a smart look at the season so far. But I'd strongly disagree that none of the remaining singers are "exciting." Fantasia probably wrecked the curve for just how great viewers can expect the contestants to be but she pretty much carried last season by herself, especially in the final weeks. I don't buy into the hype that this season is the best so far in terms of overall talent, but I do think we might be watching more future hitmakers in action than ever before.

Bo, Carrie and Smeagol could all be very successful on pop radio and the album charts. Assuming they will in fact be the final three I think they'll all get record deals and will have stronger collective sales than the previous most successful final three (season two's Ruben, Clay and Kimberley). Each of them are strong in a specific genre and that should provide them with a decent base. If they get the right songs they all have the potential to cross over to bigger things (admittedly a very big if).

The most exciting thing about this season though is that, right now, any of them can win. I'm not even sure which two will actually make the finals.

If the season plays less exciting than it actually is, and each individual episode comes off a little underwhelming, I'd lay the blame directly with the rest of the bunch. They're all adequate, but none of them give truly exciting performances. They just take up space. Sure it's possible that any of them could make it to the final three, but that would be met with as much disgust as Jasmine Trias' final three position was last season.

That said, I'll admit I thought Anthony was second best this week. Up-tempo is his strong suit and if teen pop was still in fashion he'd have a good chance at success. But the emphasis of my praise belongs on this week, and he's already proven that although he can pull out a surprisingly good vocal on occasion he's mostly getting by on cute.

That goes double for Vonzell. This week she performed her second song off the Bodyguard soundtrack (she must've been thrilled to learn Whitney's version was a cover). I'd guess that Ms. Solomon can count her entire cd collection on one hand. Sure she's sweet, but I just can't shake the feeling that there have been many girls in previous seasons who were more deserving of success (starting with Tamyra and Jennifer but also Christina, Trynece and LaToya). But maybe I'm just bitter she's outlasted Nadia.

I don't have much of anything to say about Anwar. He's just sort of... there. But his dancing was tonight's comic highlight.

And please let this have been Scott's last show. He was better than he's been the past couple of weeks but Simon nailed the secret of Scott's limited appeal. He's just an "ordinary" guy who has turned his unattractiveness into a virtue. I was with him at first but he's not a compelling performer or a consistent vocalist and personality has never been his strong suit. That just leaves him with underdog appeal, and this simply isn't a competition for underdogs.

But no matter what happens we've still got a couple weeks to go before the fat has been trimmed and the show genuinely gets exciting (and for Smeagol haters everywhere, a little bit terrifying).