Idol Madness: John vs. THE PICK

John Stevens, "Music of My Heart", season three

vs.

Kellie Pickler, "Bohemian Rhapsody", season five

Lindsay here, and sorry, we probably should have told you that Brenna wrote the first Idol Madness blog (AND created the bracket, for which she rocks my world), and I wrote the second and now the third. You know, I have to say, for the most part, I don't feel too badly for contestants on American Idol, or any other reality competition show for that matter. I mean, come on. You audition for a show that millions of people watch and the premise is to be JUDGED--you set yourself up for it, holmes. Don't try out if you don't want to be ripped apart.

That being sad--John Stevens was one of the only contestants EVER on any reality show (and I watch a shitload, believe me) that I actually felt sorry for. The kid was getting death threats at one point in the competition--I think it may have been after Jennifer Hudson was voted off, which was a total crock, but anyway. The point is, John Stevens totally knew he was wearing out his welcome on the show, but what was the kid supposed to do? Quit? Really though, how he got away with this song on "Latin" night still blows my mind. Just because Glo-E sang it, doesn't make it Latin.

And then there's the Pick. In hindsight, I think we should have all given the Pick more of a chance. That chick is awesome and is probably one of the most hilarious contestants ever to grace the Idol stage. I would love to pound a couple of beers with her and say words with more than four syllables so I could watch her drunkenly try to process them. And as Simon told her two years ago, she's ballsy. Did her twangy take on one of the greatest songs of all time make us cringe? Hell yes. Did we secretly covet how great she looked in those leggings and hooker boots? Well, maybe that was just me. And even though the judges all praised her up and down for this, at the time, we kind of hated her. But we love her now! So for that--we're giving the win this round to John Stevens. Go red! See you in the Elite Eight!