American Idol finalists sang two Neil Diamond songs each last night. Aside from the hour seeming incredibly rushed, it was highlighted by a strange incident that may ruin the show... forever!

Okay, that may be a tad dramatic, but here's what went down:

After the first series of performances, the contestants gathered on stage to hear quick critiques from the judges on their initial renditions. Randy Jackson said "yo" and "dawg" a few times, Simon Cowell was disappointed in all of them - and Paula Abdul critiqued a performance that hadn't happened yet!

After criticizing Jason Castro for his first song of the evening, Paula went right on babbling about his actions in the second. Just one problem: The dreadlocked heart throb had only sung one song at that point.

So... was Paula rambling about nothing? Or, was she reading from a script based on the finalists' rehearsals?

The second possibility raises the question of whether or not American Idol is scripted. Take a look at Abdul screwing up right now:

As for the performances themselves, none really stood out.

Castro and Brooke White ought to be in the bottom two, as we'd lean toward booting Brooke if only because she wrote a few lyrics down on her hand. You can't do that if you're aiming to be a professional.

Check out pics of the Idols singing Neil Diamond songs now. Click on each photo to enlarge...