How American Idol Dumps the Singers It No Longer Wants

These types of talent competitions and won and lost based on when the competitors perform in relation to one another.

Leading off is an automatic danger area, because people can forget about you by the time the other nine singers are done. Remember, voting doesn't open up until after the show.

Singing dead last is also a vulnerable spot. You've seen all the other contenders and likely you will have one or two performances you have no chance at challenging, placing you into "bottom three" territory.

It's also not good to be stuck in the middle, where a narrow-attention-span American viewing public will be tied up on a cellphone or fooling around on the Internet during the show.

Now, catching a Simon Cowell verbal barb during the show? That can cut either way. If Simon is right-on, then you're sunk. But if he makes a loose comment that doesn't fit the performance and draws enormous "boos" from the audience, then you can ride that wave all the way to the next round.

Ideal spot: Third. Just because the audience is warmed up and technical glitches are ironed out by the orchestra and production folk.

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