TV tip: "American Idol"

We hardly knew ye, Erika Van Pelt! The singer - the South Kingstown, R.I., resident who was a member of the Chorus of Westerly and who performed at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods - finally got voted off last week. It wasn't a shock. She'd languished in the bottom 3 for two weeks prior and was a judges' wild-card entry for the top 13. So it wasn't her Liza hair-makeover that finally did her in (although it couldn't have helped). It was that the people who vote most for "Idol" are tween and teen girls. Who do they call in to support? Cute boys and girls that look like, well, tween and teen girls. Van Pelt, 26, looks and sounds like a woman, with her not-anorexic figure and her deep rich alto. But, hey, she made it to the top 10, which means she goes on the "Idol" concert tour. And she was always supported by mentor/recording legend Jimmy Iovine, which says more about her talent than a popularity vote. So keep watching "Idol," America, but remember what you're missing.

- KRISTINA DORSEY