The problem with absolutism is that eventually you have a tyrant, and he ruins all the fun.
Simon Cowell may know what works in the music business these days, but he is making sure that the actual show from which his success actually comes is a boring, interminable rehash.
Cowell, whom apparently people listen to, made a specific point of giving his thumbs-down to Nick, arguably the only person in all of the 36 semi-finalists with even a smidgen of personality. By nixing him, he is carrying on with the formula from last year, where he axed Josiah Leming, definitely a character worth having on the popularity-contest-cum-singing-competition that is Idol. Instead, we will have the torch-song wailer, the disingenuous widower, the "lovable" bumpkin, 2 or 3 faux rockers, and the rest of the usual forgettable cast.
And so the tyranny goes. Cowell will be solely in charge of the Wild Card episode, I'm sure, and Nick is therefore ineligible. Good. Now I'll have more time for being productive, since Idol hasn't a chance of being captivating. Pity: Nick made me laugh, and he wasn't half a bad singer either.