to some extent, I get why Simon Cowell's leaving (if the rumours are true and he *is* leaving).

it's just getting effing boring.

the standard's nowhere near what it used to be, like in season one when there was Tamyra Gray as the second runner-up.

or season two with Clay Aiken as first runner-up.

I mean, these people didn't win but they were amazing, and there were so many brilliant contestants who never even got into the top five.

but that was an indication of how high the bar was.

now they let all sorts of crap in.

I get they're trying to make the show interesting but there are way too many guitarists/singer-songwriters this season.

idkidk maybe they're just trying to appear more contemporary as well.

but hey, plenty of contestants in previous seasons could play the guitar/piano but they never did it onstage.

or at least they kept it to a bare minimum.

this season, everybody's taking it out.

it's so utterly predictable, boring and gloomy.

I can't believe how unexciting AI has become.