[over3Owithabrain]

Listening to the performances a second time - I came up with this:

-Taylor's vocal performance was superb. The song was so obscure and his mannerisms so uncharacteristically subtle, that is was easy to lose sight (or sound) of how clear, smooth and strong he sang. It was IMHO the best vocal of the night.

-When Mandisa gets real loud, she sounds pretty bad. Far too shrill.

-Pickler was awful. The song and her singing warrants her being booted off. But she won't be, not yet anyway.

-I know we all love to hate on Paris, but she can blow. She sings with a vibrancy and her range seems limitless. She is indeed a pain in the patoot though.

-I still don't have McPheever. She sings great low, not so great high. She has the white glamour girl niche though, which should get her far.

-Ace sucked. Scar-rubbing does not an Idol make.

-I think Lisa is a doll but she may be sent back to the dollhouse tomorrow. She needed a big time performance and didn't deliver one.

-Bucky will live to under-enunciate another day.

-Elliot hopped around like a frog, but he sang well. His stock is slowly rising on this show I think.

-Simon was dead-on about Chris. Every performance is the same. He wasn't even good at it tonight, yelling more than singing.

[silent_jonny]

-Ace sucked. Scar-rubbing does not an Idol make.

But the scar is all he has! :)

[Wolfstar]

Thanks for your assessment of the contestants' performances last night. I agree with you completely.

[grania]

-Elliot hopped around like a frog, but he sang well. His stock is slowly rising on this show I think.

I really, really like your analysis. About that "Eliot can't dance" routine. He danced like my date did at my HS Junior Prom. It's not enough to pull my vote from Taylor, but it does put him in my top four.

Only place I disagree with you is Kellie. She (and Eliot) are the non-professionals up there. I see her doing situation comedy on TV some day, but with some singing thrown in. Kellie's life probably changed for the better from this experience, even if she doesn't win it all.