Big news breaking Friday from American Idol regarding David Archuleta. His father, Jeff, is apparently the stage father from hell (so says TMZ) and has been banned from Idol.

Jeff Archuleta will be allowed to sit in the audience, but he can no longer be backstage or participate in anything production related. Whether he's really a stage-father-from-hell is highly subjective; however, the reason he's being banned is pretty straightforward.

Now, I'm sure the good folks at DavidArchuletaFanBlast.com will comment another 20 times telling me to quit bashing the kid, but read on before making that judgment.

Jeff is being banned because David sang lyrics from Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls" during his Tuesday performance of "Stand By Me." For those who don't know, "Beautiful Girls" is basically "Stand By Me" with different words.

The problem is that by doing so, David violated copyright right there on live television. It cost Idol a gob of money. My guess is it probably cost them about $15,000 to $25,000 for a one-time television use. I'm not totally up on my music royalty rates considering I haven't earned any in seven years.

According to TMZ, "Producers sent him an e-mail telling him the lyrics could not be changed. They were beyond pissed when David sang the song with Kingston's lyrics during the live show."

Yes, I understand Idol's position on the matter, and I would be willing to bet that Jeff is probably overbearing. Probably a stage dad from hell. I'm willing to bet Jeff makes as many headlines the next couple of years as his kid, and I would not be surprised at all to see a reality show in his future.

However, sorry. It was a brilliant move for David to add that lyric. Jeff's advice was spot on. It completely modernized the tune, giving it current appeal, a current sound. Yes, they were merely words, but "Stand By Me" is a 47 year-old song known pretty much only by adults.

"Beautiful Girls" is a hit today.

I bet Jeff would be willing to pay the fee himself.

And I'm guessing that if we were to ask Jeff, he'd do it again. And I totally don't blame him. However, if David does it on his own again, might he be disqualified?

Let's just say that the odds of David singing "Stand By Me" again on this show are zero.

High drama.

I've said it from the beginning: I think The Kid is by a mile the most talented singer on Idol this season. However, whether Archuleta wins or even makes it to the finale, I think the show will be more than glad to be done with him.

But that's what they get for soliciting contestants who are virtually pros already.