JB- About the contestants this season…Country, country, country is what comes to mind when I think of Jaydee Bixby - certainly unique and entertaining. Do you think that sort of Elvis style will get him far?

ZW- I kind of see him the mould of the Joss Stones or the Harry Connicks or the Michael Bublés. The retro thing has done incredibly well and it's well packaged and well thought through with all the right songs.

You can reinvent yourself…he's more rockabilly than country, if you ask me. And rockabilly made a big come back in the '80s, it could do it again. I think he could certainly do that as a career, just like Joss Stone at 16 reinvented her as this soulful, gospel-y, R&B reinvention of soul music. I think someone could do that with him. Whether or not that's going to be able to win this show, that's going to be a tough call because for me it hangs on just how specific the Elvis comparisons become and whether or not in doing that genre he can stand out with some uniqueness that's his own aside from having dyed black hair and sideburns.

JB- Well, that's something that on American Idol that Simon would say to contestants is that if you're young do young stuff not old.

ZW- But he's not a new performer choosing to sing old material; he's the reincarnation of an old performer. It's a different thing. He's a fantastic party trick.

JB- On the show we often see, the audience gives the contestant a standing ovation after a song, not very often from the judges. So, number one, can you recount how many times you stood up after a song this season, and two, what is it that makes you leap to your feet?

ZW- I stood up after Kahlila's performance when she was voted off, not during her real performance, but her performance on the night that she was voted off. It's the only time I stood up this year, I think. I might've stretched my legs aside from that.

First of all, you can get caught up in the moment of comparing the art of the people that you know and love or people you're involved with only to themselves and being really excited for them, and you're not necessarily having the same reaction you would have if you were at a concert of people that you didn't know. Because in Idol land we end up having a relationship with these people, whether we want to or not, just from seeing them over and over again and knowing what they've been going through trying to accomplish what they're doing that you could really get excited for them, that they really hit one out of the box as far as their talent is concerned and not necessarily always keep in mind what you really should be, what world-class really sounds like and what genius really sounds like.

I saw k.d. lang sing at the Canadian Hall of Fame dinner, I certainly jumped out of my chair when she was done. She hit things that people could not hit. There was a phrasing and a build and a dynamic in what she was doing and richness and a texture of tones and stage movement and emotional connection with the lyric. It was unbelievable; it was a tremendously effecting performance.

On Idol I don't think anyone's done that this year. I think Matt Rapley sang the crap out of "Whipping Post." It was certainly by far the most exciting performance that we had in the top 22 or top 10 so far this year. The only thing comparable was Montana's performance this year, which was a great moment for her and for us. She really did what we wanted her to do. There was reason why we put her through in the first place, and she accomplished it in that moment. But aside from that we haven't had anything that was that devastating. I haven't choked up that much this year.

JB- Maybe unless Ben trips up or something, then you would.

ZW- Ben seems to be tripping over everywhere in the last couple of weeks. I don't know what the hell's wrong with him.

JB- Drinks before the show maybe?

ZW- No, that's not Benny's style. Definitely not.

JB- Do you think sometimes you're too harsh on the criticisms? Do you watch the show back afterward?

ZW- Sometimes. Most of the times I do at least to some extent. No, I don't think I'm too harsh. Sometimes you listen back and you go 'I wish the monitor mixes were better or I could've had two or three listens and critiqued it in a way that would've been in the studio before I was required to pass judgment.' But my job is not constructive criticism; it never was. It's not even constructive criticism during the audition phase or during the top 200, although there I do spend a lot more time with people that I actually care about because it will be one of the few moments that I'll ever get to give them some real input into what I think they could do better.

If you talk to Matt Rapley or some of those other people, certainly a lot of the constructive criticism that I did with them made a difference in where they are now. But my job is to use the logic of all the experience that I have in this business and make an instant assessment and tell them as clearly as I can exactly what I think of what they did, and it doesn't have to be in detail because there's only 15 seconds to say it. A lot of the esoteric or whether or not the phrasing was bang on or if they were in the pocket really is not going to translate to the audience. I'm trying to have an impact on the audience; I'm not trying to have an impact on the singer. Sometimes I may choose to give them some insight into it, but that's up to me.

My job is to tell the audience what my judgment is of that, and of course, it's not very helpful to say, 'I didn't like that.' It's much more helpful to say why, but that doesn't mean I'm there to go chapter and verse. I'm trying to help these kids get to the next level of it.

There's (Debra) Byrd from the American Idol show who works with our kids to try to explain to them what the reality is after the show. My responsibly is to the audience, and being harsh…you think I'm harsh… I'm sure you've sat around with people and watched the show who are petty and harsh way beyond what I am. A guy walks out and says, 'God, what the hell is he wearing?' and they don't even listen to him sing.