I agree about the California 'theme'. I think it was just an excuse to have some sort of a theme and still keep it wide open for anyone to be able to pick a song from the genre of their choosing, but it made no sense whatsoever. I know that since Nigel came back they've wanted to stay away from forcing people to sing in a different genre - so that the audience will get a better idea of what each contestant is really about. But some of these themes are ridiculous! I think it serves them better to have genre theme nights and force the contestants to think outside the box every once in a while. Now, I'm not saying do a 60's R&B theme night, but R&B in general could be a theme. I think overall the shows and performances are better when the contestants are forced to think and work a little harder to make a song work for them. But on the other hand, that's also when a lot of trainwreck performances happen - when someone picks the absolute wrong song in that same situation.