..Fan favorite Mario Vazquez withdrew from "American Idol" on Sunday, and producers called in the son of a baseball Hall of Famer as backup. Vazquez, 27, cited "personal reasons" for his withdrawal and no other details were available, Fox announced in a statement. The New York City singer, who works with emerging musical artists, had been picked by many fans and three fellow finalists as a favorite to win the competition. Fox bumped Nikko Smith, the son of baseball great Ozzie Smith, into Vazquez's spot because Smith got more votes than Travis Tucker when both were voted off Wednesday, the network said...

(---- read the rest of the story here.)

So there goes another talented singer... Seriously, Vasquez's performance is one of those which I look forward to each week and without him, I suspect the show would not be as much fun. Already a major front-liner in the competition with numerous fan-sites dedicated to him (and a judges' favorite to boot), he had been tipped as one of those most likely to win this season's American Idol by both avid AI viewers and industry critics.

Of course, like any other kaypoh citizen of kiasu-infested Singapore, I'm dying to know the actual reasons of Vasquez's withdrawal, especially since there are only a couple of days left before the first show of AI's themed nights airs on television. Forum boards are rife with speculations (which are mostly without factual basis) about his withdrawal and the most peculiar (or idiotic) of which are as follows;

a family member died and he had to go home

he has a cold or something like that and maybe he'll be back in a few weeks

mario felt it was so wrong that nikko smith didnt make it to the top 12, and thus he gave up his spot for nikko.

he did something in his past (implied: has a criminal record, committed something too gross or horrible to be mentioned)

his mom didnt let him continue on with the competition

he received death-threats on account of rumors accusing him of being gay

While it's true that there are "rumours" on the internet which point toward Mario's controversial sexual orientation, these are, insofar, still unproven. A number of things could have initiated these allegations, albeit all of them requires a stretch of the imagination to be wholly credible --- Perhaps he's just too much of a pretty-boy? Perhaps he speaks of his mom just a tad too much? Perhaps his lashes were too long? Perhaps he's just too stylish? Perhaps the judges' incessant compliments about his undeniable charm bear deeper connotations; could they be euphemisms for his homosexual characteristics??? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...

Amid these conjectures, extrapolations and second-guesses, I know one thing's for sure; Mario's absence in the competition will be sorely missed.

 8:41 PM