On ‘Idol,’ image is
everything, and nothing

A story helps
For auditioners unsure of which "Idol" box to fit into, it helps to have a good story.

Pursuing a life in the ministry makes for a good story, as does living on a farm, as Carrie Underwood proved last week. Both those candidates had good voices, yes, but so did more than a dozen others this week who made it through to Hollywood, yet didn't have their auditions shown on TV.

A New Orleans candidate named Michael had a great story. His parents, both singers, had met when his mother had stormed out of the club she had been working at, seeking a new job at the very club where her husband-to-be was working. And Michael, a large fellow, was incredibly polite and friendly to the judges, choosing the great song "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?"

He kind of shouted the words, the volume veering as if a small child had hold of a volume knob and was spinning it from left to right with abandon. But neither Paula nor Randy could hear this, apparently, or maybe Michael's charm had them swayed. Against Simon's wishes, they put him through.

In addition to being polite and personable, Michael is a large fellow, built along the Ruben Studdard mode. That's acceptable for a male contestant on "Idol." But even a few extra pounds on a female contestant are grounds for dismissal.

Just ask the goofy, pink-clad triplets who sang last week. Simon bluntly told them they were all overweight. OK, but their problem was not the weight, but that they were trying to dress in the "Idol" sexy looker mold, and the weight was no help to them. Oddly, not one of them called Simon out when he mentioned the weight problem, never pointing out that Ruben had won the whole thing with more than a few extra pounds.

One singer on Tuesday night's show, dreadlocked David Brown, had the shyness and strong religious background the show loves, but more than that, he had a solid, soaring voice.

"The real ones, they don't need to do nothing but sing," said Randy Jackson in his endorsement of Brown. But longtime "Idol" watchers know that's about as untrue as a statement can get.

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper is MSNBC.com's Television Editor

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