Chris, I can certainly see things from your viewpoint. The truth of the matter as I see it is that the judges really don't matter much. Almost anyone would pick a similar batch of 100 finalists or so, and then whittle a similar batch to 24. And after that, no matter what the judges blather on about, it's the tv audience that votes and decides. . . believe it or not. (I can't believe a lot of their choices! Such as when they voted off Jennifer Hudson. . . who is slaying moviegoers now in "Dream Girls." I KNEW that woman was the shit!)
The main appeal for me? My wife LOVES the show, when it gets down to the finalists. It's allowed her to grow an interest in music, and it opened the door for me to show her other musicians and singers. I showed her several versions of Summertime that I thought were far more intriguing than Catharine McPhee's for example, and she understood why I thought so and enjoyed the comparisons. Before AI, this would NEVER EVER have happened! I really get a kick out of Helen discovering a joy in music. . . . I really am grateful to Idol for that.