American Idol has been in my blood since 2002 when I was in the audience for Kelly Clarkson’s win. That “Moment Like This,” coupled with my 5-year involvement as a judge for Windy City Gay Idol, has compelled me year after year in this column and online to write with passion on the subject, often times being a very vocal critic.

This year, it was tough to muster any passion to write about the dying show. On top of the fact that the “themes” are getting older at 10 times the rate the show is getting older, we’ve now pulled focus off the contestants an onto the miserable judges. Now, I do have a fondness for early Nicki Minaj (when she rapped instead of trying to be a Rihanna Barbie) and Mariah’s mid-period material is still pretty amazing, but these two as panelists were a deadly combo from the start. Anyone who had a modicum of entertainment knowledge would know that you don’t put these two temperamental NYC divas on the same panel. If you’d picked one or the other plus Randy, plus some other man or really drab looking girl (see Missy Elliott), the chemistry might have been sweet, but as we all know now *surprise* there was tension. This palpable disdain for one another was not entertaining in the least but was about as uncomfortable as being stuck in an elevator with Alec Baldwin and Kim Bassinger. Then to add insult to injury they brought on the blander-than-actual-toast Keith Sub-Urban and kept on Randy Jackson who should have bowed out with Paula and Simon.

Speaking of which, with the exception of J-Lo last year, they’ve still never found that right combo of judges like the original three. If rumors are true, next year we may be looking at Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and Adam Lambert at the panel, and I find that far more refreshing than an attempt at pairing Jennifer Lopez with anyone. Besides the fact that they could all be bought for half of what Mariah charged, they all know the struggle and what it takes to succeed even if only one of the three actually won. As we all know on Idol, that’s not what matters; it’s how you play the game, after.