Ryan says every week that the competition is really starting to heat up. They’re all going to go up in flames by the time we get to the finals. Country music is about the story. That’s true enough…but it’s hard to get across the story of a country song when it gets butchered down to a minute and a half.

Phil Stacey
Where the Blacktop Ends by Keith Urban

It’s about time for Phil to go to my mind, and he’s going first, aka the death position. Meh. I don’t hate him, I just don’t like him. A lot of that actually sounded not bad, but the last note was, uh, not good, and some of his bits were really corny. I will agree with the judges to the extent that he was a lot better than he’s been for the last several weeks. But that’s like last week when Sanjaya was a lot better than he’s been before. IOW, not saying a whole lot.

Jordin Sparks
Broken Wing by Martina McBride

Yeah, I probably wouldn’t choose a song sung by the guest coach. But Jordin’s one of the best singers here, and if she can get the country vibe, she’s probably fine. And yep, she’s fine. The first half built a little slowly (perhaps a few shaky notes, but were they on purpose?), but the second half powered right through and was totally awesome. Gave me shivers. :) And woo Simon! Now that Haley’s gone, I’m switching my girl-votes to Jordin.

Sanjaya Malakar
Something to Talk About by Bonnie Raitt

Okay, do they have like an entire production staff person just devoted to thinking up new bad ways to fix his hair? Honestly. Putting me off my appetite like that just isn’t cool. Corny, boring, yeah. I usually disagree when the judges call things karaoke, but that’s totally what that was.

LaKisha Jones
Jesus Takes the Wheel by Carrie Underwood

Ooh, taking on former Idol songs is not generally recommended. I think I’m over LaKisha. She’s oversinging, and breathing weird. Yeah, definitely not that great. A little flat in places, weird enunciation…I hoped it would improve over the chorus, but it really didn’t that much.

Chris Richardson
Old Dirt Road by Rascal Flatts

A little nasally, but Becky tells me it’s supposed to be that way. I mostly liked it. But I don’t know how much of that is because I like him. Not my favorite of his, though. Actually, I sort of agree with Simon…it wasn’t bad, but it was sort of forgettable. But I still wuv him. ;)

Melinda Doolittle
Trouble is a Woman by Julie Reeves

Hee, sassy Melinda doing a fast song! Sounding good! Yeah, Melinda’s awesome. But we already knew that. But everything just worked perfectly together, her vocal, expressions, movement, everything. She’s a total pro. Outstanding. What else can you say? But yeah, thank you Simon for telling her to quit with the surprise at being praised.

Blake Lewis
When the Stars Go Blue by Tim McGraw

Heh, he looks so preppy tonight. Except for the tats, of course. Ooh, loving the falsetto. Chills! Yeah, I’m head over. He could probably suck and I would still like it. But it didn’t suck, it worked really well. He’s so adorable.

Best Tonight: Jordin, Melinda, Blake
Bottom Three: Phil, Sanjaya, LaKisha

Posted in American Idol, music, television