Last week on American Idol the contestants were forced to dip into the Beatles catalog again - with very mixed results. Jim Verraros and Penny Frulla talk about the performances and also why they think a closeted gay contestant would benefet by coming out while on the show. Jim and Penny also open up the viewer mail bag. It's a fun week on Idol Chat. Check out their video blog after the break!

Last week on American Idol the top 12 contestants sang Beatles tunes, and Jim & Penny have a field day dishing on Chikezie's triumph, David Archuleta's crash & burn, the untimely passing of David Hernandez, Amanda Overmyer's Beetlejuice pants, and Kristy Lee Cook's frenetic banjo butchery of "Eight Days a Week" They also open up the viewer mail bag. It's a fun week on Idol Chat. Check out their video blog after the break!

It was eighties week on American Idol so Idol Chat hosts Jim Verraros and Penny Frulla pulled out their polo shirts, shoulder pads and rhinestones to critique the top sixteen performances. They also discuss...

• Why exotic dancing in a gay strip club doesn't necessarily mean you're gay.
• Whether Danny Noriega deserved to be voted off this week.
• Why David Archuleta may be sitting in the Princess Diana seat with no lap belt.
• How Jim nearly beat pancreatic cancer... in this week's top Yahoo searches.

Check out their video blog after the break!

Over the years we've discussed at length the curious relationship that Planet-Eating Karaoke Voltron American Idol has with its gay contestants and gay fans. For one, there has yet to be an out gay contestant on a show that is essentially a televised cabaret act. For another, the gay-baiting between Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest is utterly nauseating. Is Idol stuffing its contestants in the closet, or are the gay contestants intimidated by the unwelcoming environment?

This year two contestants in particular have raised this discussion to a new level of coverage in mainstream media. First, David Hernandez was revealed to have a past working as a stripper at a gay club. Now, I personally have issues with mainstream press calling this a "gay scandal". Was he caught having sex with a man? No. Was he photographed at an ACT UP! rally? No. Let's face it, people get into the entertainment industry to make money, and a lot of straight guys have no problem taking it off for gay men (thankfully).

His proximity to gay men and willingness to accept their cash does not make him gay, and it does not qualify as a legit "gay scandal". What, is anyone who works for a gay man at risk of being splashed all over the tabloids? I think we need a more specific term for people who are revealed to have pasts that included working with or for gay men without implicating their sexualities in the process.

How about "gay-adjacent"? I'm more comfortable saying that Hernandez was revealed to have a "gay-adjacent" past than that he was caught in a "gay scandal".

And then there's Danny Noriega. Do we know if Noriega is gay? No, we don't (unless you want to take his in-character rapping at face value). But his flamboyance and lack of concern for putting across a traditionally masculine image are certainly admirable on a show that regularly denounces male contestants for being "girly", and many gays have embraced him as a Sister Suffrigette for gay visibility. So maybe he's "gay-adjacent" too ... and no, I'm not saying that because he's standing next to Seacrest.

 ,

But is he being laughed at, and not with (like Sanjaya Malakar, who became a gay punchline - despite not being gay, or openly so - and a laughingstock for breaking the mold)? And will the voters (whoever the heck they are) opt to keep these gay-adjacent fellas in the ring? Last night Cowell made a crack about Hernandez "stripping it down" and Noriega gave seacrest a "mm-hmm" that would put Christian from Project Runway to shame.

Only time will tell ... in the meantime, our resident Idol expert Jim Verraros (an out former finalist, so, uh, he'd know!) will keep everyone up-to-date on our Idol Chat weekly vlog.

This week we start a new weekly video blog with Jim Verraros, top ten finalist from the first season of American Idol. Post-Idol, Jim has gone on to a successful recording and film career, but he's making time to join friend Penny Frulla each week for Idol Chat.

Last week on American Idol, the top 20 remaining contestants sang "songs of the seventies" and also shared something "surprising" about themselves. Jim & Penny dish on the best and worst performances and offer up some surprises of their own: Among them, Jim recalls being serenaded by an 11-year-old David Archuleta, and Penny awards the coveted "Marcia Brady Trophy" to the most tearful contestant.

Please join us in offering a warm AfterElton.com welcome to Jim & Penny, and check out Idol Chat after the break!