Editor's Note: This is a weekly guest post from the TV staff at Film.com. Check back here on Wednesdays for more Film.com stories about your favorite shows: Big Brother, The Amazing Race, Dancing with the Stars, Survivor, American Idol and America's Next Top Model.

By Susan Young, Film.com

Oh Kara mia. What will we do with you?

Kara DioGuardi's honesty is starting to win me over slightly, but that might just be a result of Randy Jackson becoming even less noticeable, Paula Abdul kicking some of her crazy to the curb and Simon Cowell's
going over to the zen side.
I'm concerned Simon's been knocking back some major kava. Sure, he gets a little testy at times, a bit surly, but he's not the Simon we've seen in the past. Even his murky parables have been tossed in the rubbish bin.

Se we're left with the Paula and Kara show, with Paula actually making some sense this season. Good for Paula. Bad for the season, which needs her loopy. Without the Paula-Simon snipe fest, what do we have left?

Coming up from behind is New Judge – so dubbed because most of the contestants can't remember her name.

Last week, New Judge biffed it – twice. First, she humiliated an aspiring country singer, who actually thought she had something resembling a singing voice. Kara thought it was all a joke because she read on the contestant's resume that she had been voted most humorous in high school.

Ha, ha. Oh. No. Turns out the teary-eyed contestant really did think she had a voice instead of pipes that would make you run for the plumber. But these things happen. Don't cry for her, Kara. She'll be fine after a little therapy.

The real slip of the lip was when Kara recognized contestant Joanna Pacitti, who previously was signed by A&M Records. Kara, don't you know "American Idol" likes to keep those little facts buried in the backyard?

Apparently, the only reason why Louisville contestant Brent Keith Smith got a gold ticket without mention of his appearance on Nashville Star was because Kara didn't know him.

The outing of Joanna ticked off a lot of fans who actually think American Idol is about giving an unknown a chance. Have they not been paying attention to the show?

Last season, Carly Smithson came on with a major record label past. There was some outcry of foul play, especially when random Google searches under her maiden name of Hennessy revealed she already had an album released on a major label – MCA Records. Carly also had been featured in a Wall Street Journal profile that estimated the record label had spent more than $2 million to promote an album that had only sold 378 copies in the first week of its released.

That's a major tanking by any measure.

In fact, five of the top seven finalists in last year's competition had signed with record labels in the past and had released albums. The rules say they cannot be under a record contract when they appear on the show, but doesn't restrict anyone who once had a record deal.

So is American Idol really about uncovering hidden talent gems who would otherwise never have a shot in the dream?

Simon has always said that this is a television show, and anyone with talent could get a recording contract if they tried hard enough. For some, popping into the Idol spotlight just puts them on the express route.

So do you watch American Idol to see some undiscovered singer get a shot at stardom, or do you watch to root for the best singer to represent what you think should be The Next American Idol?

If all you're looking for is entertainment, then it doesn't really matter if the singers have a record in their past or not. But if you think this is all about giving unknowns a shot, then perhaps you've been tuning in to the wrong show.

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