(L-R) Top 4 contestants Joshua Ledet, Hollie Cavanagh, Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips onstage at FOX's American …Although I am hoping that Jessica Sanchez will get enough votes and emerge as the next American Idol, I firmly believe that viewers should not participate in the judging. It is true that the viewing audience only started voting when Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler whittled down the thousands of auditionees to the top 25. From this group, the top 5 males and the top 5 females with the most number of votes advanced to the next round. Each judge then had to pick one contestant from the wild card round to join them. Once the 13 were chosen, the judges could still save one contestant from elimination. Ultimately, however, it's the viewers who have the final say.

By adopting this system, "AI" has become more of a popularity contest than a talent show. At first glance, this may be a smart move since the winner is the singer who gets the most number of votes so it follows that he or she will also sell the most number of albums. Not true.

Of the 10 "Idol" winners who have

(L-R) Top 4 contestants Phillip Phillips, Hollie Cavanagh, Joshua Ledet and Jessica Sanchez backstage at FOX's …(UPDATE) Jessica Sanchez escaped elimination on "American Idol" this morning (Thursday evening, U.S. time) when Skylar Laine and Hollie Cavanagh landed in the Bottom 2. Eventually, it was Skylar who was sent home by the American viewers.

Next week, the battle will be for the Top 3 spots and there is a strong possibility that Jessica will survive another elimination round and face off with Phillip Phillips and Joshua Ledet the week after. Hollie will probably be sent home. That's my wish, anyway.

If Jessica does land in the Top 3, she will have equaled the accomplishment of Jasmine Trias who landed in third place in Season 3.

But getting to the finale will be a more difficult task to accomplish. Phillip and Joshua are tough opponents.

Phillip: Kept alive by female tweens

Phillip Phillips has gotten lukewarm feedback from the judges yet he has never landed in the Bottom 3. This week, he crooned his way through his two songs, "The Letter" and "Time of the Season" and never moved from his

Miriam Quiambao (NPPA Images)In 1999, Miriam Quiambao slipped and fell onstage at the Miss Universe beauty pageant but regained her composure and went on to place second in the prestigious contest. Recently, many people believe Miriam slipped again and she's having a hard time extricating herself from the controversial comments she made on Boy Abunda's talk show, "Bottom Line" on ABS-CBN. Boy's guest was Bems Benedito, Ladlad party list representative but it was Miriam's comments that generated a lot of attention.

Miriam should have known that when she expressed strong opinions on sensitive topics like sex and religion, she was opening herself up to controversy. True enough, the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community and its sympathizers threw brickbats at Miriam.

It didn't help when she made the following remarks in her Twitter account: "Homosexuality is not a sin but it is a lie from the devil. Do not be deceived. God loves gays and wants them to know the truth."  Later, she would post, "No offense

Jessica Sanchez (FOX via Getty Images)Pinoy viewers in the U.S. didn't have to wait long before Jessica Sanchez made it to safety in the first 15 minutes of last night's "American Idol" results show (Friday morning, local time).  Jessica is now one of the top 5 finalists.

Elise Testone was first on the Bottom 3. Hollie Cavanagh and Skylar Laine would join her later as the show went on. The results show airs tonight at 6 p.m. on RPN 9 and Channel 14 on Sky Cable.

In the end, it was Elise, a regular at the Bottom 3, who was sent home.

Underwhelming performance

When I watched Jessica sing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" last night, I had an uneasy feeling. She hit her notes alright but a rocker she's not. It was a brave choice for the 16-year-old but very few singers can do justice to the most recognizable of Queen's songs. It was a forgettable number and I was worried that she would again be in danger of elimination.

Despite her underwhelming performance, the judges were all kind to her. Steven Tyler thought, "Freddie Mercury

Cheesa Laureta (Photo courtesy of NBC)In last week's elimination show, Cee Lo Green saved FilAm singer Cheesa Laureta from going home. Yesterday (Monday, US time), Cheesa managed to survive elimination when Cee Lo sent James Massone packing. James did a weak version of Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" and deserved to leave the show. That left Cheesa, Jamar Rogers and Juliet Simms competing for the two slots today. The viewers chose to save Jamar Rogers who was aided by a fiery set and back-up dancers as he sang "It's My Life."

Cheesa and Juliet had to perform again and impress their coach to stay on the show. Cheesa sang Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone." For the life of me, I don't know why she would choose a song that deals with departures. Juliet  tackled Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn." Blake Shelton believes Juliet should stay because the fans would applaud that decision. Christina Aguilera admits that although Cheesa has "gone a long way," she's always been a fan of Juliet. Cheesa is in tears as she waits for Cee Lo's

(L-R) Contestants Jessica Sanchez, Colton Dixon and Phillip Phillips and host Ryan Seacrest onstage at FOX's 'American …The viewers have spoken. Jessica Sanchez lives to fight another day on "American Idol." After escaping elimination last week by the skin of her teeth, courtesy of the three judges, Jessica convincingly proved to the American audience that she deserves to continue performing on "AI."

Of course, I didn't see the results show on TV as it will only be aired tonight on ETC (Channel 9 on terrestrial TV and 14 on Sky) but Jessica's victory was all over the Internet this morning. That's because the show aired Thursday evening in the US which is Friday morning in the Philippines. The Internet also contained the names of the three singers who were in the bottom three, Hollie Cavanagh, Elise Testone and Colton Dixon. To add to the suspense and make sure viewers stayed till the conclusion of the show, Ryan did not get to Jessica till the last 10 minutes of the show when he revealed that she was safe. Finally, Ryan announced that it was Colton who was going home.

I did watch the Top 7 perform last

Lena Headey as Queen Cersei Lannister (Photo courtesy of HBO)Spending tens of millions of dollars on a miniseries was unheard-of in the TV business until HBO upped the ante with "Band of Brothers," " Rome ," and quite recently "Game of Thrones (GOT)." All three have become certified mega-hits and "GOT" is now on its second season in the US. Local viewers will finally get a chance to continue enjoying the series when the first episode of Season 2 airs Saturday, April 21 at 9 p.m. on HBO and 8 p.m. on HBO HD.

To promote the new season, HBO invited entertainment media to an advance screening at The Fort with Senior Executive for Communication Angela Poh, flying in from Singapore to host the event. When I got the invite, I wondered what gimmick the publicists had lined up for us. In February, the cable network was pushing "Luck," a miniseries about horse racing starring Dustin Hoffman. The press briefing was held at the Manila Polo Club where we viewed the premiere episode, listened to a lecture on horses and participated in betting on which horse

(L-R) Annalie Forbes, 2nd RU; Nicole Schmitz, Bb. Pilipinas International; Janine Tugonon, Bb. Pilipinas Universe; …Last night, I watched the Bb. Pilipinas 2012 beauty pageant where the following emerged as winners: Janine Tugonon, Bb. Pilipinas Universe; Nicole Schmitz, Bb. Pilipinas International; and Katrina Jayne Dimaranan, Bb. Pilipinas Tourism. I hope they do as well or better than Shamcey Supsup, third runner-up in Miss Universe 2011.

I have my own list of winners for their onscreen appearances so congratulations to the following:

● Shamcey and Venus Raj for doing a fine job as program hosts. They were comfortable with the English language and shone on the TV screen.

● Risa Hontiveros Baraquel, for translating her question in English into Pilipino and asking the contestant to answer in the language that she's more comfortable with.

● Binibini No. 7, Patricia Lae Ejercitado, for giving the most real answer of the evening Asked to recall the biggest obstacle she ever faced in her life, she said, "There was a time in my life that I doubted the existence of God but I realized that it was just