Favorite Idol Performace #8 ~ Brooke White

Up until this week, I wasn't a fan of Brooke Squeaky-Clean-Never-Seen-an-R-Rated-Movie White. I didn't really get the enthusiasm for her smiley "You're so Vain" last week. And when she launched into her sit-down, stripped-down performance of "Love is a Battlefield," I was fully prepared to hate it. It is, after all, probably Pat Benatar's best song, and Brooke is clearly no Pat Benatar. The song rocks, the video rocks, Brooke doesn't rock. But, she pulled it off; I had to agree with Simon. The vulnerable staging and arrangement suited the strengths and limitations of Brooke's voice, and if there's one thing contestants on this show often forget it's understand your limitations and how to use them to your benefit. (On the boy's side, Jason Castro does this well.) So, now I'm interested to see what Brooke will do next.

As for the other girls, the two I thought should be voted off were voted off on Thursday. Amanda was kicking ass again, regaining her confidence and, thank God, losing the skunk do. Amanda always looks ready for rejection, even when she's praised, which makes me like her more. Syesha disappointed. Don't pick Whitney, just don't! Yep, Carly's dependable, and I must say I love Cyndi's version of "I Drove All Night" (and even Céline's-shhhh!) far more than I should, but Carly always manages to be be skilled and dull simultaneously. Kristy Lee was, along with Brooke, the biggest surprise. Adding a country twang to Journey was very clever, even if she didn't quite pull off the vocals. Given Asia'h's paint-by-number Whitney (again, say no no no!), Kristy Lee deserves another chance.