American Idol Recap

Last night's episode of American Idol was one of the best I've seen in a long time. Most of the contestants brought their A-game and gave fantastic performances. So, in case you missed it, here's the rundown on last night.

1. Haley Scarnato "Tell Him": I still hate Haley for butchering "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" a few weeks ago and I still have no idea how she got through to the Top 12 (or why she's still there). For me, the song was screechy and cloying while continues to prove how out of her league she is next to Melinda, LaKisha, Jordin, etc. The judges gave it fairly postive reviews, but it mostly stank.

2. Chris Richardson "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying": A very solid performance in which Chris showcases his soft side. The vocals were beautiful and unlike anything he's done before. I can't wait to see what he does next week.

3. Stephanie Edwards "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me": Stephanie is always fabulous, but I agree with the judges that this is one of her weaker performances. Her vocals were very nice, but lacked the passion of her previous performances. Hopefully this will be a wake up and we'll get to see her spunk next week.

4. Blake Lewis "Time of the Season": What can I say about this performance? In the words of Kathy Griffin "This shit delivered like Dominoes!" Blake sang it so smoothly and sexy that anyone would do him in a minute after listening for a few seconds. If Blake keeps singing like this, he could easily be in the finale with Melinda.

5. LaKisha "Diamonds Are Forever": I'm not a huge fan of LaKisha for this reason: she is a good singer who can hit the right notes, but, frankly, she sucks almost all the emotion out of her song. When she sang "Diamonds Are Forever," LaKisha proved my point because the song was all notes with no emotion and even the judges saw that this weeks. LaKisha is going to have to do something huge in order to win me over.

6. Phil Stacey "Tobacco Road": Phil is basically a fourth-rate Chris Daughtry and his performance last night proved that further.

7. Jordin Sparks "I Who Have Nothing": A very fine performance that one-upped even LaKisha. I have a feeling Jordin could become this year's underdog- like Kelly Clarkson- and make it very far (but I'm not sure she has the power yet to overcome Blake and Melinda).

8. Sanjaya Malakar "You Really Got Me": This was the most embarassing performance of the night. Sanjaya should not be rocking out to a song by The Kinks. With the crying girl in the audience and the judges claiming it was his best performance to date, I have a feeling he will become this season's Scott Savol and never get voted off. Ugh.

9. Gina Glocksen "Paint It Black": Not a terrible version of the song but I've seen it done much better on "Rock Star" and felt like something was lacking. I like Gina and she's a wonderful singer, but I don't think she has it in her to make it to the top.

10. Chris Sligh "She's Not There": Okay, I guess, but I find Chris Sligh terribly annoying. He has a fine voice, but he tries too hard to be quirky. I really hope that America feels the same way and gets rid of him soon.

11. Melinda Doolittle "As Long As He Needs Me": Another fine performance by Melinda in which she avoids showing off by going all over with her voice and does the song proud. Easily one of the best of the night.

So that's my analysis. Best in show honors go to Blake and Melinda (surprise surprise) with honorable mentions going to Jordin and Chris Richardson.

Here are some questions for the comments:

1. Who was your favorite and least favorite last night?

2. What is your opinion about Lulu (the woman who helped prepare the women)? I thought she was fabulous amazingly interesting to watch and made Paula seem subdued in comparison.

3. Who do you predict to be in the finals based on what you've seen so far?

4. Tell me about anything you disagree with in my analysis.