The LA Times breaks down the reasons to watch (and skip) tonight's AMA's

I was reading this LA Times Music Blog, Pop and Hiss, article the other day about three reasons to watch this year's American Music Awards (which are tonight on ABC) and three reasons to skip them, and I found it to be pretty accurate...at first.  But there was something American Idol related towards the very end of the article that I found curious.  First, here are the reasons the author lists to watch:

1. Rihanna- the article notes her song "Russian Roulette" has "instantly catapulted Rihanna from a singles artist to a serious force to be reckoned with."

2. Lady Gaga - the author points out that "in the absence of Kanye, Gaga can be counted on for some sort of spectacle..."

3. Because the Bears are on - A classic quote:  "Heck, you can slap Adam Lambert, Carrie Underwood and 50 Cent together for a medley of Broadway hits of the '40s, and the three of them doing the foxtrot would make for more captivating television than the Chicago branch of the National Football League."  I'm a long-time Bears fan, but there's no denying the inherent truth (and hilarity) behind this statement.  

Here are the reasons listed for skipping:

1. In a week and a half, the Grammy nominations will be announced - the author notes that this is really just a pre-season warm-up.

2.  One of the music stories of 2009 is not scheduled to be present - Of Taylor Swift, the author notes:  "The country superstar may very well end up with 2009's top-selling album, and her absence is a glaring omission, especially considering she has six nominations."

And this is where the author sort of loses me...

3.  There's no suspense - This is the author's analogy to show how little suspense there is at the AMA's:  "Imagine taking 'American Idol' winners Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson and David Cook, placing them together in a new 'best of the Idols' category, and asking the public to vote all over again. That's sort of what the American Music Awards are like."

If the author is trying to say A + B = C, I'm just not getting it.  How could a competition between Kelly, Carrie, and David offer little suspense?  They are all huge artists in their own right, with David having quite a bit less time to reach his true star potential.  But to me, this competition would be highly suspense, and I truly don't know who would win.  Do you?  Perhaps it's because, as the blog author says, "the American Music Awards are based largely on data from Nielsen SoundScan, meaning the public has already voted for these artists with their dollars."  But if those Idols were voted on today, I'd have to say there's no telling what would happen, despite the fact that they have been voted on in the past.  Jussayin'.