American Idol Season 8 Episode 30: The Top 7 Results

Each week the results show opening clip about how The! Competition! Is! Getting! Fierce! gets more hyperbolic and hilariously over-the-top. Just when I think this show has topped itself, it hits a new level of melodrama.

The Ford commercials this year have sucked so much. This one is about the finalists on magazine covers, set to “Freeze Frame.” I feel like a past season has already done this exact commercial to this exact song.

Now that Scott’s gone, the producers go overboard this week having the finalists run up and down the stairs in the group performance, to “Maniac” from Flashdance. They sound good on it but nobody is wearing an off-the-shoulder torn sweatshirt, which is disappointing.

The top 7 went to the 17 Again premiere and got to rub elbows with Zac Efron and an overly excited Leslie Mann, who enjoys meeting the kids but really wants to see Simon. Zac’s also in the audience and plugs the movie some more, looking a bit embarrassed about it, not to mention a little unwashed. A shower before live TV would’ve killed you, Efron? True story: I was offered sneak preview tickets for both 17 Again and State of Play, both of which are for tonight. If you think I’m going to see the smart political thriller based on an acclaimed BBC miniseries, you’d be wrong. I feel no shame.