Michael Johns got the boot.

OK, perhaps it's a little much to say that his demise on the show was a real shock. That word should be reserved for the truly surprising and implausible, such as the odds of Paula Abdul delivering 10 cogent sentences in a row. When you're down to the Top 8 contestants on "American Idol," we all know that the electorate is fickle. Just ask Chris Daughtry. (Who, it should be said, is doing very well, thank you very much.)

Still, the audience -- and especially the contestants -- did seem stunned when Ryan Seacrest delivered the news. Felicia Matlosz and I, who have been blogging "AI" all along, were surprised as well. Johns was in the Bottom 3 along with Syesha Mercado and Carly Smithson, and if there were any Las Vegas bookmakers in the house, I'm sure they would have given either of them much higher odds to go home than Johns.

Felicia writes: I'm flabbergasted that Michael Johns was sent home. Yes, his poser-rocker lacked authenticity, but he did not deserve to be booted. It should have been Syesha Mercado (at least she and Carly Smithson, my other non-favorite this week, were in the Bottom 3).

Donald writes: I'm with you there, Felicia. I was fully expecting Carly to get dumped. Michael might have had a slightly off night, but I figured he'd be safe for at least another couple of weeks -- at least until Syesha, Carly, Jason and even Brooke have been bounced.

Felicia writes: What happened? My theory is this: With each week, Johns was losing ground on two fronts. First, viewers who dig rock music were voting in ever-increasing numbers for the real rocker in this competition, David Cook. Second, the squealing teen girl votes not only were locking in on David Archuleta but gravitating more to Jason Castro as well. Those kinds of desertions would weaken Johns, as well as his mostly mediocre song choices.

Donald writes: Still, it's not as if David Cook's performance was all that strong this week, either. Perhaps you're right that this competition is ever more dominated by teen girls. If that's the case, we'll wind up with a final competition between David Archuleta and (shudder) Jason Castro, and if that happens, I might as well suffocate myself with old copies of Tiger Beat magazine.

Felicia writes: So now, finally, after weeks of sitting through less-than-average shows, AI has grabbed my attention again. I can't wait for next week.