Jordin’s just 17 and Liza Persky knows what that means.

That’s it for this season. Thanks for tuning in. Liza’s going home. This is her now.

The magnanimous Liza Persky gives her all in this week’s two-part show:

It was Latin week on American Idol and Liza Persky is muy caliente!

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The delectable Jennifer Lopez tried to help the Idol contestants get their Latin rhythm on. She did a good job but the contestants struggled. Fortunately, the Idol Critic never struggles. She reviews this week’s show and wonders:

- Can Melinda Doolittle do sexy?

- Why was Micky Dolenz in the audience?

- What exactly are goose pimples?

- Why doesn’t LaKisha listen?

- Where do Haley’s legs take her from here?

Contestants come and go, but in the refrigerator of life the Idol Critic is a magnet of joy.

Enjoy Liza’s latest and join in the water cooler debate.

Four more American Idol contestants exited stage left, leaving the 12 finalists in place. Idol Critic’s Liza Persky breaks down this week’s competition and asks the important questions:
- For a man who embraces his baldness, why does Phil Stacey always wear a hat?
- Who is Gina Glocksen and what was up with those song lyrics?
- Will Lakisha’s Auntie and Momma get their own show?
- And what the hell was Antonella Barba wearing this week?

Tune in now because Idol week isn’t over until the Idol Critic sings.

Welcome to the debut of Idol Critic, the show that gives you the water-cooler buzz about America’s favorite show. Liza Persky, child of television, gives you a review of the show the morning day after.

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I created the show with my partner, Peter Hauck. And to make it, we brought in Mary C. Matthews and Liza Persky, the producer and star behind one of my favorite internet series, 39SecondSingle. I’m rooting for Liza to stay single so she has nothing better to do midweek that sit on the couch and watch Idol.

We rushed this up so be nice about the temporary design at our site. It’s my fault. We’ll have more features coming soon.

What would make us most happy is if you make your own reviews of the reviews of Idol. Put them up on Blip or YouTube and tag them “idolcritic” and we’ll find them.

Make sure to come back next week for episode 2!

LATER: The New York Times reports on the unbeatable ratings juggernaut that American Idol is proving to be:

Kelly Kahl, the chief scheduler for CBS, summed up the “Idol” factor this way: “This is a big monolith sitting out there. It’s the ultimate schoolyard bully.”

If any of Fox’s rivals had hopes that this year might signal some hint that the monster — NBC favors the term Death Star — would finally betray some sign of weakness, those hopes were dispelled in just a week. Most television shows, no matter how successful, fall off sometime after their second or third season, but against all expectations, and most of the historic record of network television, “American Idol” has come back for its sixth season bigger and stronger than ever.

Last year at this time, five weeks into its season, “American Idol” was roaring along as television’s most-watched show, with an average of 31.7 million viewers (up substantially from its fourth season, when it averaged 28.3 million viewers over the same five weeks).

Improbably, this season the show has done even better, averaging 33.5 million viewers over its first five weeks. For perspective, at this point “Idol” could lose half its audience and still rank among the top 10 shows on television. And no one dares predict when this phenomenon will fade.

“Idol” is creating ever more powerful shock waves. A growing number of television executives have begun to regard “American Idol” as a programming force unlike any seen before. Jeff Zucker, the new chief executive of NBC Universal, said, “I think ‘Idol’ is the most impactful show in the history of television.”

Yes, even bigger than Anna Nicole.