'Idol:' Sundance into the sunset

Which powerful voting bloc do we have to blame for this sad affair? Sundance, his beard and his tear ducts are out; Sanjaya and his hair remain. Sabrina is gone; Haley, whose name Simon swore he couldn't remember last night, is now in the Top 12. Can't pin it on "Vote for the Worst" this time, since their pick, Antonella, is finally going home.

That's why I'm going with an unlikely coalition of grandmas and tweens. It might have been brilliant, after all, for Haley to play to the Disney Princess crowd; twelve-year-olds are expert texters, and the older members of Sanjaya's fan base are suckers for, you know, wholesome music. I do feel bad for Haley and Sanjaya, given the judges' reaction; Paula, in particular, looked as if she'd just opened the fridge and found some rancid meat. Remember how giggly she used to get over Kevin Covais last year? You'd think she'd want to squish Sanjaya, too, but she just wants to kick him to the curb. And the poor kid looked despondent. Quick, somebody get him a juice box.

I wish Jared could stay. I think I'd swap him out with Phil, if I had the choice, but I suspect the 'tweens and grandmas had their way here, too. Interesting that this was such a newsworthy night, as voting goes; it really stepped on the super-hyped Major Announcement about Idol going Oprah and trying to use its vast powers for global good. And I don't mean to sound too cynical here. People are paying attention; why not pay it forward? If they can get the tweens to care about African poverty and Gulf Coast reconstruction, I'll forgive them for Idol Camp.