There's only one certainty in life: taxes.

I'm not so sure about the death part yet. My gut hunch is that people around me eventually get tired of my crap and leave.

And I paid mine, but it tore a big hole in my jeans. You want to hear something doubly crazy? I'm going to have to hire a CPA from here on out. Yes, I got some valuable advice from one this tax season, but it only served to make me realize how valuable a CPA can be if you're trying to do business outside your main job.

Alas, it's done, and I'm feeling lighter in the pocket.

However, there is actually another certainty in life: By about this time every year, I get tired of Idol. Tired of the crappy arrangements. The cheesy band. The contestants. All of it.

I still love the drama, but I always have an urge to go listen to a Dylan record after getting my Tuesday night fix. And that fix was in the form of Mariah Carey night.

Argh. I hate Mariah Carey ... but oddly enough, I like many of her songs. Just not her nor her singing them.

And I treadmilled my way through another week of Idol fun and yuks, including an emotional moment when David Cook got high praise from Simon Cowell while Cook's (likely) dying brother sat in the audience with a doctor and nurse on standby.

Sorry. I have a tremendous, tremendous empathy for anybody watching a loved one waste away with anything, particularly cancer. So, I was glad Cook gave an original, romantic movie type of spin to "Always Be My Baby," one Mariah song I really, really like.

The thing with Cook is that he is the whole package, but he's not the best singer by a mile. David Archuleta is, and the kid did it again with When You Believe, a song I think I loathe.

Jason Castro was also at the top of his hazy, lazy game, styling "I Don't Wanna Cry" in his own mellow ways. These three -- the men of Idol -- are safe as can be.

The women will be fighting in a cage match tomorrow night, in pudding, to determine who goes home. I think it'll come down to Syesha Mercado and Brooke White, with Mercado whippin' Brooke's tail. She's so fragile.

But Brooke also sucked tonight. No other way to put it. I felt for her because she started rushing her song, "Hero," midway through because she was botching the vocals. Couldn't stay on pitch.

However, as I told our fair USA Today friend, Bill Keveney, this competition is an exercise in building a fan base. Period. And I think Syesha just doesn't have that base of Idolators, Idolheads, whatever you want to call them, to keep her in the competition.

So, my only prediction is that it will be a female to go home this week. In fact, it's a guarantee, although I would like to make a side prediction that many more "Mariah Carey nights," and I'll be ready to cut myself by the time Idol Season 7 is over.