On last night's American Idol, the 13 remaining contestants performed songs by their personal idols. Results were, for the most part, expected (Shania, Selena, MJ), but one contestant, Paul McDonald, deviated from the norm by singing a little Ryan Adams.

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No, not Bryan Adams- Ryan Adams. With an "R." A lot of people probably don't know who Ryan Adams is. Music theologian and cultural critic Jennifer Lopez certainly didn't. Maybe you don't know who Ryan Adams is (and that's okay! I'm here to educate). Ryan Adams is an awesomely talented (subjective, I know) alt country musician who, in his younger days, had a major penchant for hissy fits and public breakdowns, has dated a slew of beautiful famous people and is now married to Mandy Moore. He used to be in a band called Whiskeytown and now has a very successful solo career. He's legitimately great! Which is why it's so odd that his music would appear on Idol.

When you look at Paul McDonald himself, I suppose it's not so surprising that he chose to sing Ryan Adams' "Come Pick Me Up." We've talked about Paul before. He fancies himself a singer-songwriter, wears Nudie suits and band jackets and does weird little leg jigs. He has an obnoxious warble to his voice, which, according to Randy, makes him like Wilco (no, it doesn't), a sound that Idol might finally be ready for. All of these things could add up to a great and refreshing contestant, but, unfortunately, they don't. Something about Paul is just... fake.

What makes Ryan Adams and Jeff Tweedy (Wilco's frontman) great musicians is exactly that- they're great musicians. They can play their instruments well, they write strong lyrics and they're powerful (though occasionally volatile) performers. As we've seen before, Paul writes terrible lyrics, is an adequate guitar player and has a quirky confidence that is off-putting rather that alluring. If they wrote a slapstick comedy about the alternative music scene, he'd be the antagonist who has used an alternative facade and cheesy showmanship to achieve mainstream success, which he then rubs in the face of the protagonist (in my dream, Paul is played by a bearded Neal Patrick Harris who is wearing a lot of eyeliner).

To be honest, I feel like an asshole writing this. Maybe if I saw Paul busking at my subway stop, I would shake my head and say, "Why can't that guy be getting more attention instead of these damned Idol kids?" Is he actually a breath of fresh air? Is it awesome that he's singing something that's not "I Believe I Can Fly"? Please, Idol watchers, tell me if I'm wrong!