[kevkrom]

Well... an interesting night all around, and a clear separation of three tiers. Nights like these really tell you who can sing and who is just some sort of gimmick.

1. Elliott - Was it perfect? No. But he had the style, the energy, and the personality (don't know what Simon was thinking) down. My Grade: A-
2. Katharine - Once again, she delivers a performance just short of great. There was some inconsistency, but when she was good, she was very, very good. She's also learned how to work the camera pretty well. My Grade: B+
3. Paris - Now starts tier #2. This should have been a great performance, but it was just missing... something. I'm not sure what. Was the song just too "old" for her? Another curious thing, when I closed my eyes and just listened, I didn't think it sounded as good. My Grade: B
4. Taylor - On the opposite note, this performance felt "flat" (not pitch, but energy) and I wasn't impressed... until I closed my eyes. The opening was a little weak, and I think that makes the difference between him and Paris this week. My Grade: B
5. Chris - Well, give him the "exceeds expectations" award. I still don't think he has a great voice (everything but the lower register sounds forced and he has some support issues in the higher register), but the only reason he's this low is that the four contestants who are better singers delivered good performances tonight. My Grade: B
6. Ace - Hmmm. The boy cleans up okay, and things started well. Then, the wheels fell off. It's almost as if he only rehearsed half the song, because the second half didn't have the same energy, focus, or connection to the audience. My Grade: C-
7. Kellie - Why did she even come out on stage? She just stood there, had no energy, no passion, and didn't sing the song well at all, including a huge amount of pitch problems. She even had diction issues, which is really strange given her tendencies to over-exaggerate everything when she speaks or sing. To top it all off, she was simply boring. My Grade: F

Overall rankings:

1. Katharine McPhee (+1)
2. Paris Bennett (-1)
3. Elliott Yamin (NC)
4. Chris Daughtry (NC)
5. Taylor Hicks (NC)
6. Ace Young (NC)
7. Kellie Pickler (NC)

[montag813]

2. Paris Bennett (-1)

Is this a joke? Paris is SO overrated. Cover your eyes and see what a limited range she has compared to Katherine. Paris has no chance to be the next Idol, nor should she.

[montag813]

Elliot would be in the top 3 were it not for his gross teeth. He sort of whitened them after 8 weeks, but they are still crooked, sharp and just weird. My wife and sister can't focus on anything else when they watch him.