• Carly Smithson and Michael Johns are, arguably, two of the most talented contestants still in the running. And they are, arguably, two of the least likely to win for reasons that are entirely beyond their control.

They're not American. Smithson is Irish and Johns is Australian.

If it comes down to the final two and Archuleta is up against Smithson or Johns, you've got to think the Utahn will have it made. Are Americans going to vote for a non-American as the next "American Idol"?

Doubtful.

Hey, any of the six Americans would have to be favored against one of the non-Americans. That's not nice and that's not fair, but it's human nature.

• David Cook is not only Archuleta's toughest competition onstage, but now he's got the sympathy factor working for him. Not only was he taken to the hospital after he performed last Tuesday, suffering from heart palpitations and high blood pressure, but there were the reports that Cook was stressed because his cancer-stricken brother has suffered a setback.

Just to reiterate, "American Idol" is all about who gets the most votes.

If this were "Survivor," the remaining contestants would be forming an alliance to eliminate Cook.

Of course, if this were "Survivor," they would have teamed up against Archuleta a long time ago.

ACCORDING TO RAMIELE Malubay, the 'Idol' finalist eliminated last week, there's not much chance of the remaining contestants turning on one another in "Survivor"-like fashion.

"Honestly, we never really thought of it as a competition until, like, Wednesdays when someone has to go home," she said in a conference call with TV critics. "It's really weird. We'd, like, help each other. We're a big family. We're not out to get the other person kicked off or anything.

"When we help each other, we really help each other. It's genuine, and it comes from the heart. We don't sugarcoat things just for the camera."

WITH MALUBAY — who's an inch shy of 5 feet tall — out of the competition, that leaves Archuleta as the shortest remaining finalist at 5-6ish.

"I'm older than Archuleta, and he walks by me all the time and pats me on the head like I'm his little sister," Malubay said.

SIMON COWELL ISN'T such a bad guy, according to Malubay, who didn't hear many kind words from the "Idol" judge on the show.

"He's a very nice guy." she said. "Backstage, when I left the show, he came and he was like, 'Oh, cry on my shoulder."'

Cowell also told her repeatedly that it was her song choice that had done her in.

"I really do believe in my heart that he says the things he says (because) he just wants us to be better," Malubay said. She added that "sometimes he overdoes it" because "it's TV, but he just wants us to be better. He didn't just pick us to pick us. He saw something in us, obviously, and he wanted us to do well."

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com