Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee delivered their performances to a nation of judges on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, at the Aladdin, Trenyce (an “American Idol” finalist from the Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard season), debuted in "V: The Ultimate Variety Show" to become the first former “Idol” contestant to land a regular Vegas gig.

(photo by KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/AP)

This is hardly as glamorous as it sounds. She will be working two shows a night shoehorned into a parade of primarily front-of-the-curtain acts like magicians, comedians, jugglers or anything else that can take place in front of a stage while the backstage of a big production does a set change. The genius of “V” is that by putting together a string of these intermission acts the producers have created a show that is competitive with far more expensive productions like “Splash” and “Jubilee.” But “V” is hardly the star-treatment side of show business for the performers. Performing in “V” is at best solid work in a field where it is hard to land a job.

Still, Trenyce is certainly only the beginning. Former American Idol performers do seem natural candidates to headline in Las Vegas. First off, they have talent and personality that the public takes to like a cute dog licking our collective faces. And, at least as important, the show has given them a head start on branding. So I watched the two-hour finale last night with an eye toward who would make the best Vegas headliner.

In his column in the "Review-Journal" entertainment reporter Mike Weatherford  ferrets out some details of Simon Cowell's Las Vegas plans while interviewing a Vice President of Fremantle Media:

One of the most successful organizations in Las Vegas is the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. They are the ones responsible for the "What Happens Here...." advertising campaign as well as generally credited with helping grow our brisk convention business.  Of course, this public/private organization with a roster of well juiced locals on the payroll generates its share of controversy. But for now LVCVA is perceived as a real winner for the community and so there has been no need for the sort of finger pointing and blame that would push awkward questions about LVCVA's very unique existence onto any agenda.