Tuesday night, a bazillion viewers and I were watching American Idol. This was the first “live” episode of the season, which featured the show’s top 12 female vocalists.

Performance after performance, Simon Cowell and the rest of the show’s judges shared with the contestants how they had simply failed to “stand out” among their peers. I was struck especially by the judges’ recommendations.

“You’re trying too hard to mimic Adelle or Duffy.”

“It’s all about song choice. You need to find the right song for you.”

And for me, one of my favorite Simon quotes is always…

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