No surprises this week in the results, after a mixed bag of Michael Jackson songs, but the judges and producers really split the American audience with their declaration of a new rule for this season: the "Judges' Save." Jump the cut for a debate about the efficacy and legitimacy of the judges' increasing efforts to save their favourites.

These early rounds are always a mixed bag, as the "also rans" and "make weights" are eliminated to leave the hard core of really good acts at which point the competition finally becomes interesting both because every artist remaining is worth listening to, and the voting can become unpredictable.

And it's that very unpredictability that the judges are now reserving a single chance to undo. For one week only, at any time, and as long as they are all agreed, the panel of judges can save an act from elimination. On the week they choose to do this, no-one will go. But the next week, the TWO acts scoring the fewest votes will be sent home.

Faced with previous shock eliminations (Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson to name but two), it's easy to understand the reasoning behind this rule, and roughly half of the reaction to the new rule has been at least accepting of that reasoning if not entirely positive. It's impossible to guess whether Daughtry or Hudson would have gone on to win their respective seasons (5 - eventually won by Taylor Hicks - and 3 - Fantasia Barrino) or whether the assumption that they lost out because of bad song choices or complacent voters is accurate, but as easy as it is to understand, it's easy to be cynical too.

Cowell and co. must hate the thought that a worthy winner (and, I'm sure in their eyes possibly, a more worthy winner) has slipped through their fingers. That the profit machine that is American Idol should have its overall value decreased even slightly by the vagiaries of the voting public. But above all there's the clear and arrogant signal that they believe they know best what we want to listen to.

First they introduced the "wild card round," so that an entire section of the final 12 (or 13 as it is this year - with again the extra finalist being a judges', rather than a voting public's, choice) is made up of second chancers, and now they give themselves another extra vote, resulting potentially in a contestant being given not one but TWO extra chances after being binned by the viewers.

This anti-democratic move has not gone down too well in America. And ironically the two contestants who left at the end of the first week - Jasmine Murray and Jorge Nunez - were both survivors of the wild card week. Is that irony, or is it a backlash from the voting public? Maybe the 33 million people who voted in week 1 of the finals are effectively saying to the judges and producers: "Look, we've told you once. We don't rate these people. No matter how many times you bring them back, we still won't like them. It's not their choice of song that's bugging us, it's that they can't sing them very well."

I'd certainly put the other two wild card contestants - Anoop Desai and Megan Corkrey - in the bottom half of the show this week and what do you know? Amazingly those were the very two acts who shared the stage with the eventual losers. Yet more proof that the voters have not changed their minds.

So, since I'm on the subject of the bottom half, and therefore by implication the top half, here's how I thought Michael Jackson week played out among the acts that weren't eliminated. Briefly, because it's old now, and we should already be looking forward to next week's Grand Ol' Opry theme. Argh, Country! God help us.

Top Half:

Lil - The Way You Make Me Feel
She just proved what I said last week - she's totally comfortable on the stage and has a great voice.

Danny - PYT
Great voice, great guy. Didn't make with the sob story as much this week, which is a good thing. He doesn't need it.

Michael - You Are Not Alone
Probably at the bottom of the top half for me. Or, given that there's 11 left, let's sit him bang in the middle between top and bottom halves. He's a nice guy but a bit of a lounge singer.

Allison - Give In To Me
Brilliant. Didn't think she had it in her, but blew me away.

Adam - Black Or White
Again I hadn't really noticed him before this week but I loved this performance. So much for the doubters who thought the "final 13" was an artificial ploy introduced because the producers thought they'd have to drop him after the Internet photo "scandal."

Matt - Human Nature
Pretty much exactly what I expected from him. Solid.

Bottom Half:

Scott - Keep The Faith
It was OK, but a little weak I felt. The sympathy vote will continue for a while - probably for as long as there are weaker singers left in the contest - but he'll be out midway.

Kris - Remember The Time
I still don't get this guy. I guess the mindless tweenies are voting for his looks because his performance was weird and the singing bland.

Anoop - Beat It
Painful. The judges called it karaoke but I've heard better than this at karaoke. A definite candidate for elimination next week.

Megan - Rockin Robin
Another exceedingly weak and embarrassing performance and, like Anoop, if Megan survives another week then she'll be gone the week after.

Alexis - Dirty Diana
Didn't like this at all, she was trying way too hard. Maybe when she calms down a bit she'll improve - she's been better earlier in the competition - but for now definitely in the bottom half.

So that's all for this week. Next week's guest singers are Carrie Underwood (no! really?) and Randy Travis.