Tuesdays are turning out to be watershed nights for reality TV fans.

On ABC, celebs are getting the boot every Tuesday on Dancing with the Stars, while the performance drama on American Idol plays out across the dial on Fox. Of course, Idol is killing ABC's hoofers contest in ratings and pure entertainment -- and last night was no exception.

Predictions are always dangerous in Idol land. But last night's tribute to Dolly Parton proved a few things: much as people like to slag off Parton, she is the world's most underrated songwriter and vocalist, offering a surprising bounty of quality tunes for the Idols. And the field is quickly collapsing to two tiers -- with David Cook, David Archuleta, Carly Smithson, Brooke White and Michael Johns on one tier, and everybody else below.

By all rights, Syesha Mercado should be up there, too. but she keeps tackling these big R&B tunes that her voice isn't quite big enough to dominate. And you have to demolish those classic songs to get any love from the judges -- or viewers. Though she provided a wonderful take on I Will Always Love You, it was an expected move and it wasn't different enough from the Whitney Houston version to impress Simon & Co.

Strange as it sounds, I think Syesha's still in danger because she made the same mistake Chikezie did; going for the R&B jugular on a show which doesn't care about that style, anymore. But South Florida moppet Ramiele should be given her walking papers tonight -- she's too bland to make an impression.

The pressure is also becoming a real factor for the Idols. David Cook apparently was taken to the hospital after the live performance, suffering from high blood pressure and heart palpitations. It couldn't have helped that former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell and his fans have been complaining that Cook got credit for an arrangement of the hit song Billie Jean that Cornell released on his 2007 record Carry On.

No wonder Cook and host Ryan Seacrest had a conversation last night where he detailed every arrangement he copped for past idol performances. (full disclosure: after listening to Cornell and Cook's versions over the past week, I still like Cook's voice better) 

Steve Gutenberg was ejected as well from Dancing with the Stars -- a bloated production suffering from the fact that they're still shaking off the also-rans. Once the Adam Carollas and Marissa Winokur's are gone, we'll have a real contest going.