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!

Last night's American Idol proved that a little gay bar lapdancing isn't fatal to one's prospects on the FOX talent show, and David Hernandez sailed into the top twelve. Is it just me, or does that just make him more interesting?

Unfortunately, it was the end of the road for Danny Noriega who had a received a lot of press for his "out there" attitude and sassy talking back to Simon Cowell. Love him or hate him, there's no denying the boy stood out in a crowd, and I for one am sad he didn't make the cut into the top 12.

You can check out Danny delivering a fierce rendition of "Chain of Fools" in the clip below. He should've sung that for sixties week.

For more in depth coverage of American Idol check back Monday for our new weekly video blog, Idol Chat with Jim & Penny. No doubt Jim Verraros and pal Penny Frulla will have some thoughts on Noriega's fate and Hernandez's prospects.

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.

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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.

Terri Colombino, Austin Peck

Two "breaking" news items just crossed my desk about shows we have been discussing in depth of late.

First, Out.com just posted their contribution to the Nuke coverage currently bursting forth from the media with comments from As the World Turns's Austin Peck (Brad) and Terri Colombino (Katie). The ATWT duo get up to the sort of erotic shenanigans that fans of Nuke can only dream of locking lips, legs, and other matching body parts.

Colombino says she and Peck won't suffer the same fate with their sex life because "I have a vagina." And Peck says producers were scared off because Luke and Noah are two men. He also boasted he had a vagina as well. Okay, not really, but this is a soap opera so maybe that is next.

Out also quotes an unnamed actor who says the producers are in a panic about the protest and rethinking their decision to keep Nuke kiss-less. Unless they're thinking about getting rid of Nuke altogether. Nelson Branco, who wrote the article for Out, concludes by suggesting that maybe the producers will end the whole controversy by just getting rid of Nuke altogether. Well, I guess that covers all the bases!

TVGuide.com just reported that American Idol's pole dancing contestant David Hernandez won't be dumped for giving dudes lapdances. Says AI executive producer Ken Warwick, "The truth is we're never judgmental about what people do to earn a living. They've gotta put food in people's mouths.”

Ken goes on to say that if David had done some sort of porn, then the outcome might be different. He also adds that the American public might not be so forgiving. "If the public doesn't like him, then they'll get rid of him."

I guess this means Hillary and Barack aren't the only ones with their careers at stake with the voting public.

Speaking of Hernandez, no doubt AfterElton.com's resident Idol experts Jim Verraros and Penny Frulla will have more to say on the lap dancing brouhaha in their next Idol Chat with Jim & Penny video blog.