Forget Corey Clark, Frenchie Davis, Sanjaya Malakar, Antonella Barba and treatment of Special Olympics and diseased auditioners for “American Idol.” Last night’s controversy involving Paula Adbul’s notes might have launched most scandalous incident in “Idol” history.

After each contestant performed only one of two Neil Diamond songs for the night, Abdul’s out-there commentary at the halfway mark felt wrong from the moment she uttered them:

Jason, the first song I loved hearing your lower register, which we never really hear. The second song, I felt like your usual charm wasn’t—it was missing for me, it kind of left me a little empty. And the two songs made me feel like you’re not fighting hard enough to get into the top four. … Oh my God, I thought you sang twice!

But Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Slezak didn’t just make things clearer for me by providing the transcript of Abdul, whom I first dismissed as being her usual, loopy, possibly medicated self. The gaffe, scarily, now feels far more monumental than that. I can’t phrase my opinion any better than Slezak, so I’ll just quote him directly:

Paula’s blunder heard ‘cross the nation … can only be explained one of two ways:

A. Paula took notes during Idol dress rehearsals and used them (at least in part) to critique the televised live performances.
B. Paula was reading from notes given to her by the show’s producers.

Either way, Idol has some serious explaining to do.

For a show that—while handily remains No. 1—has been steadily losing ratings, the last thing it needs is a scandal involving credibility, which has always been an issue for a show that refuses to release voting results.

Faithful Remote Access readers might remember that, two weeks ago, I complained the judges’ comments during Mariah Carey week felt eerily scripted:

It’s as if all of the judges before the show wrote their remarks about each contestant based on preconceived attitudes—fair or unfair—and read them off a TelePrompTer.

Hmm….

And while I do plan to offer my own commentary momentarily, Slezak’s case gains credibility as he lays out more evidence:

I don’t for one second buy the explanation given by Paula herself, that she was momentarily confused and was reading her notes for David Cook; if that was the case, how come she changed course, seconds later, and told Cook he was ‘fantastic’? And I find it hard to believe Paula’s flub was simply the result of her boarding the La-La Express; her critique of Jason’s performance was far too specific. (Note the use of ‘charm,’ a noun attributed to the Dreadlocked Dude all season.)

Maybe I was just still in I-miss-Carly hangover, but at the time I just dismissed Paula as being out of it. But imagine if Randy Jackson or Simon Cowell were the one to make these remarks? It’d be more obvious that something was afoot.

Abdul, it turns out, this morning addressed the controversy on the radio show of none other than Ryan Seacrest, who just happens to be the host of “American Idol.” Here’s what went down, according to EW’s PopWatch:

• She saw Castro (and only Castro) singing his second song, ‘September Morn,’ during dress rehearsal (after she dropped off some friends and family to watch it).


• During the live show, the judges asked for pen and paper to write down their comments as Castro sang his first song, ‘Forever in Blue Jeans,’ so they were a bit distracted from his performance.


• When Ryan threw the second curve-ball at the judges and brought out all five Idols for the first-half recap, Paula said, ‘I got lost in my notes.’ Basically, she was confused about what she was supposed to be talking about, and since she had seen Castro sing both his songs, she went ahead and critiqued both of them.


• She also mentioned that she had written her notes about David Cook on the same sheet of paper as her notes about Jason Castro.


• Simon, of course, gave up on taking notes before he’d even really begun. ‘It was crazy for us,’ said Paula. ‘In seven years, we’ve never had to do that.’


• She did not once express any remorse or concern about what her comments may have done to Castro’s chances in the competition, and his confidence when he finally did get to sing ‘September Morn’ live.

Ryan then went on to state emphatically that none of the Idol judges have any of their comments pre-scripted, a comment that Paula then seconded.

Sorry, I’m not buying it. Especially since she can’t seem to keep her story straight: According to PopWatch, she told “Entertainment Tonight” the incident happened because she “mixed up her critiques for Castro and Cook.”

But assuming Abdul actually did base her comments on the dress rehearsal—and not on producer-issued notes—this should reinforce that judges should be banned from seeing all performances until the show tapes or goes live (depending on the week).

Also, maybe it was just a difference of opinion, but I thought Syesha Mercado’s first performance—by far the best of the first set—was rather contemporary, yet Simon Cowell dismissed it as “old-fashioned.” And all the comments about how she’d be destined for Broadway felt like a broken record that was printed on vinyl during Andrew Lloyd Webber week. Was this judging pre-scripted… or just monotonously consistent?

Controversy or not, you might ask, “So what?” Well, one judge’s dismissal can mean the end of the road for early contestants before voting rounds, and powerfully suggests that the voting public should do the same once the Top 24 begins. If the judges’ credibility is questionable, then the show is trying to steer viewers into voting certain ways for certain contestants. But in a way that strengthens the cases of both “Idol” cynics and believers, would producer-influcenced judges even matter if sought-after voting totals aren’t even revealed? Yes, it turns out. Winners, and losers who make it far enough to be remembered in the competition, are vying for record deals that can make or break their music careers, meaning the difference between making millions and touring internationally or vanishing into the ether of “reality” TV obscurity.

So how does “Idol” respond to this controversy on-air tonight? Deny, deny, deny? Admit that the judges are, as we’ve always somewhat suspected, beholden to the prods of producers and Fox executives? I’m guessing “Idol” give the Cliff’s Notes version of Abdul’s “explanation.” And, maybe, as a “shocking twist,” the producers will be “kind” enough to eliminate no one this week (then cut two next week) as a result of the controversy.

No matter what happens, producers will hope viewers will drink the Kool-Aid and pretend it never happened.

But it most definitely did.

(Photo by Sam Jones/FOX.)