Simon Cowell is on Drugs

Anyone who saw Idol tonight and thinks the boys were better last night needs to get off the drugs. 7 out of 8 girls gave pro-level performances tonight, whereas the boys had maybe one do that well.

Sadly, the eighth was Kady Malloy, whose inability to hit notes on pitch in the low range was once again compounded by her choosing a song ("Who Wants To Live Forever") that used low range heavily. Three strikes and you're out, girl. She made the same mistake three weeks in a row.

Amongst the others, I honestly don't think anyone deserves to go home.

Asia'h sang "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", took her lumps from Simon for singing a Whitney song, and did a darn good job.

Carly sang "I Drove All Night" and showed what it means to have pro chops. Vocal projection, harmonization, perfect pitch control, etc. She really doesn't sound like someone with lots of tattoos.

Kristy Lee did a country-fied version of "Faithfully" by Journey, and tried to Christian it up, substituting "Lord" for "Girl". She sang the song pretty well, but not as strong as she could have (we learned from Paula's comments that she's been sick all week). Personally, I think it could have been improved by incorporating even more country elements.

Amanda toned it down this week and also picked a predictably more appropriate song ("I Hate Myself For Loving You"), which she did predicably well. The problem? Predictable! I think she's the least versatile of the remaining performers, and I'm bored with her.

Brooke sat on the edge of the stage and did an unplugged version of "Love is a Battlefield". It was a brilliant tactic, and it totally worked. Bonus points for cleverness.

Ramiele did a very nice strong version of "Against All Odds", and followed it up by scoring points with the audience by rebuffing Ryan's attempt to get personal by asking her what made that song her choice this week. The answer? "Just....STUFF!".

Then the show was closed down by Syesha. I heard the intro, realized she was about to sing "Saving All My Love For You", and braced myself for what the judges would say about choosing too big of a song, etc etc. Well, first of all, I don't think Whitney Houston's recorded version was any better than this live performance was. Syesha blew away the big notes and stayed sweet and low on the verses. She hit all the highs perfectly and powerfully. Unfortunately, the show was running out of time, and all we got was cursory "Good", "Good", "Predictable, but good" from the judges. I hate to say it, but that stinks. Voters are actually swayed somewhat by the judges comments (except for us egotistical music critics), and to rob her of the opportunity for Randy and Paula to gush and for Simon to grudgingly admit she was good could actually hurt her vote totals. This was the best performance of the night, however.

Best: Syesha, Brooke, Carly
Worst: Kady (by a mile)

Predicted elimination: Kady and, sadly, Kristy Lee.

We'll only have one blonde left, unless America shows some taste and eliminates Amanda instead.