Mariah's problem is that she doesnt want to hurt any of these contestants feelings. Many of these contestants idolize her. Imagine how it would feel if your idol criticized you? I think instead of being negative,Mariah looks for the positive in each performance and advices on what they can do BETTER next time. She is not the best judge but she is the BEST teacher on the show. Mariah is not the blame for Idol, its a boring show period, no matter who you bring on there, the show will still be boring. We watch for the talent not the judges. So lets not blame the judges when you have sub-par talent.