Chris was great last night. His only problem was going first. Whoever goes first is at a big disadvantage, especially if everyone else does well.
I think that's why Ace beat out Bucky by a nose last week.
"Great" is an exaggeration. Much better than expected? Sure. But not "great". If you still have it on TiVo, play it back but listen instead of watch.
Chris was, at best, the 4th best singer of the night, and probably 5th (Elliott, Katharine, and Taylor were clearly better; Paris is a toss-up). With The Pickle™ in no danger of making the bottom three thanks to voters who don't care that she isn't very good, 4th best of the night when there were seven singers still spells bottom three.