Favorite Idol Performance #9 ~ Chikezie

I thought Chikezie was going home last week, as did Chikezie, but the surprise of being kept on for another week seemed to give him super-human energy. The most entertaining and inspired performance of the night. But Randy: "Who knew you had the falsetto?" Dude, Dawg, where have you been? He's always had the falsetto. Sometimes I think Randy is the real Paula among the judges.

As for the rest, split down the middle:
Performances that should help the contestants, or at least keep them in the running: Amanda, Brooke, Carly, David C., Jason, Michael.
Performances that should hurt or doom the contestants: David A., David H., Kristy Lee, Ramiele, Syesha.

Amanda's still my favorite slurry, sloppy girl. She was born to sing the line, "You can't do that." Every week I fear she'll have another "Wayward Son" disaster, but so far she's pulled it off. Syesha's the biggest disappointment. Ramiele seemed enveloped in ennui, missing her gay sister, Danny. And Kristy Lee, dear Kristy Lee. Since Simon kind of went for the country thing, she figured country times ten--complete with shimmering cowgirl outfit--would really wow him! She even made the mistake of pleading for his approval in her interview. Bad, bad idea. She seems to have found her voice in the twang, but creativity paired with a desperate need for approval often ends in train wrecks. I'm still not loving Carly, maybe because she's so damned competent. And still liking sweet Brooke, even though I think I should hate her for her sincerity alone. She and Jason compensate for power limitations with subtleties that Paula gets best, go figure. (I think Simon's milking a Brooke crush.)

As for the boys, David C. continues to be the best David. David H. went into look-at-me-I'm-a-straight-sex-bomb mode with frightening results, forgetting the inner diva that was the one distinguishing thing about him besides his career at Dick's, which, shockingly enough, was left out of his bad-past-jobs interview. (Maybe it was a good job?) David A., what's happening? Out of his element with Lennon-McCartney, but in his element with "Imagine"? He's looking crushed by the pressure to be America's sweetheart. The boy to beat is suddenly the boy who looks beaten, the wunderkind wonderkid transformed back into a typical insecure teenager as if his fairy godmother decided to fly off on a bender, leaving poor David all alone. He'll either blossom next week, or buckle.

Most likely to be sent home: Kristy Lee or David H.