the top 11 vs. the 50's (feat. manilow)

mandisa - "i don't hurt anymore"

randy: "classy, great, amazing way to start the night"
paula: "you're a thoroughbred"
simon: "i absolutely loved it"

this girl is just incredible. such an amazing voice...

bucky - "oh, boy"

randy: "perfect song for you"
paula: "good solid performance"
simon: "nothing more than a pointless karaoke performance"

i agree with simon. this was very weak and he seemed to be really straining.

paris - "fever"

randy: "blew it out the box"
paula: "vocals were impeccable"
simon: "the perfect voice for that kind of song"

a little creepy coming from a little girl, but it was just so damn good!

chris - "walk the line"

randy: "you're ready, baby"
paula: "you should be already touring"
simon: "the first artist...that's refused to compromise, and for that, a round of applause"

so either the rules are changing or just no one took advantage of them before? this was great, and i don't think i've ever heard that drastic of a change to a song before. if it's about making it your own, he did that. this could be a single, easily.
**** i just read that this wasn't chris' arrangement, it was a version of the song from a live (the band) album. that knocks this down a few notches for me, because instead of doing his version of a 50's song, he did a song from the 90's. not cool. plus, i hate live.

katharine - "come rain or come shine"

randy: "tough song to sing...you get props"
paula: "you're gonna be one of the contenders all the way through the competition"
simon: "tonight you turned into a star"

screw ace, that was the sexiest, sultriest performance of the season so far. her voice is amazing... and it's the second week in a row someone picked a song from my wedding CD. weird!

taylor - "not fade away"

randy: "i love you, man"
paula: "you're fantastic"
simon: "a complete mess"

not my favorite vocal from him, i wish he'd picked chuck berry or great balls of fire or something. it was a great performance as usual though, the boy can dance when he ain't flailing!

lisa - "why do fools fall in love"

randy: "it was just aiight for me tonight"
paula: "you have a big career ahead of you"
simon: "a bit cutesy...it was okay"

very blah and mickey mouse club-ish. she has a good voice, but is completely lacking that "it" factor. she sort of seemed behind the beat and trying to catch up the whole time. i think she's gonna be the one to go home this week.

kevin - "when i fall in love"

randy: "i like you dude"
paula: "another good job"
simon: "your audience is going to love that version"

i still don't like him and think he's way out of his league, but i will say that he improved from last week. i hope he's at least in the bottom three this week.

elliot - "teach me tonight"

randy: "loved it"
paula: "you moved me"
simon: "it was fantastic"

he's like the mandisa of the guys. he's got a really strong voice with a lot of control, and it seems effortless when he sings. this was awesome.

kelli - "walking after midnight"

randy: "yo pickler" (i was laughing so hard at that i didn't catch the rest of what he said)
paula: "you were awesome tonight"
simon: "it was just great"

this was easily her best performance so far. i liked it a lot. (i didn't want to, though)

ace - "in the still of the night"

randy: "you're back tonight, baby"
paula: "sexiest, sultriest performance this whole season"
simon: "one of your stronger performances"

you know, this didn't really do it for me, and i've liked his voice in the past. maybe it was the arrangement or something...


paula seemed all high and shit again tonight, and simon seemed completely fed up with her. she really annoys the hell out of me. she seemed to pull it together in the second hour though. maybe her buzz wore off?

barry manilow is the fucking man. it's great that he's so into helping them find their voices and the emotion the song should be conveying. two pretty incredible artists so far this season... could mccartney be upcoming? i hope so.

i'm guessing lisa, bucky, and kevin will be the bottom three.
if there's a surprise it will be katharine. no reason, i think she's great, but i just have a bad feeling about this.

i think lisa will be leaving.