Luke, It Is Your Destiny...

Luke Menard must go home this week. I missed his song the first time around, but on the reprise...oh my...that stank worse than his previous efforts. Wham. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-go". Falsetto. Plinky-plink keyboard backing. Can you say backyard karaoke? Thought so.

David Archuleta went for three slow, mournful songs in a row, and it failed to impress. There's no way in heck he's going home, even though this was the second-weakest effort of the night.

Then the gay bloc struck...
Danny Noriega with a remixed version of "Tainted Love". A for personality (CRINGE - seriously, this guy is becoming more of a gay stereotype every week), D for vocals. It was entertaining, however.

David Hernandez, recently revealed to be a gay stripper in Arizona, did a darn good performance of Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back To Me Now". I have to wonder if his exposure on the news wire will cost him a lot of his fans. I think it will, and I wonder if they'll address that on the air if he gets voted out.

Michael Johns chose poorly, in my opinion (though the judges seemed to love it). "Don't You Forget About Me" isn't a stage-performance song, and it requires a booming low voice. Michael was very off-key on the lows, and he ended up taking most of the song up an octave, which didn't really work. I can't imagine that anyone would choose to stick with that song if it sounded like that during rehearsals.

Then came the wave of good stuff...
David Cook, who I admit I didn't like in the very beginning of the season, knocked out Lionel Ritchie's "Hello" by remixing it with a buzzy, chordy guitar...well, I'd describe it as a cross between Queen in Flash Gordon and Boston in Third Stage. Surprisingly good, and my favorite performance on the night.

Jason Castro did a song I don't think I've ever heard before "Hallelujah" from Leonard Cohen. I really liked it. Jason has mixed up his songs nicely so far in the competition, and I can't wait to see him go through the different genres they'll throw at him starting next week.

Then there was Chikeze. We had a burst of severe weather and it ionized my dish for a while, so I missed his song. It was "All the Woman I Need" from Luther Vandross. From the reprise, it wasn't too bad, although he's made a mortal enemy of Simon from his first two weeks of jabber during judging.

Based on performances tonight, I'd lay it out like this:
1. Cook
2. Castro
3. Hernandez
4. Archuleta
5. Johns
6. Chikeze
7. Noriega
8. Menard

Based on my guesses as how the voting goes:
Safe: Cook, Castro, Archuleta, Johns, Chikeze
In danger: Menard, Noriega, Hernandez

Predicted Elimination: Menard, Noriega