Pre-Pool Issue: Spoiled Surprises

As a way of getting started AND trying to clarify the rules as best as possible before the pool begins, here's an issue that was raised by a poolie:

"It occurred to me that a lot of this season's musical guests are being spoiled. (Mariah! McCartney!) Does that complicate your plans to have people guess the musicians being covered?"


I’ve been worrying about that. That’s part of the reason I put a cap on the points you can get when “your” artist gets a theme week for themselves. Here’s how I’m thinking it: I’ll make full disclosure on the spoiled musical guests, which will give you poolies a choice. Take the “sure thing” 3 points on Mariah or Paul or whoever, or else take your chances that on the whole season, there will be more, say, Stevie Wonder or Whitney Houston or Dionne Warwick songs performed, enough to make it worthwhile to take the chance. The sheer amount of Stevie songs performed in semi-finals last year (even before Stevie week) makes me think that’s a gamble maybe worth taking. Also: it’s Mariah. She’s not above flaking. I think there’s still enough of an element of chance to make it worth it.

So: your thoughts? Questions? Comments? Ridiculously premature smack talk?