I’ll start by saying this…did anyone else seem to get the impression that Simon really just hates the U.S.?  During his visit to ’America’s Second Harvest’, at least six times he said something to the effect of, “I can’t believe that they have something like this in America.” I know that we Yanks have gotten somewhat of a bad rap, but is it really that inconceivable that we would have a food pantry to feed the poor…even in…*gasp*…Los Angeles?!?

On to the performances… 

• This was the first night that I felt that Chris didn’t have the strongest male showing.  Ever since the ‘nasally’ deal last week, his voice just seems to grate on me like it never really did before.
• What can we say about Melinda that hasn’t been said already?  She totally blew away one of my favorite Faith Hill songs, ‘There Will Come A Day’.  She’s in a totally different competition from everybody else in this show.
• Blake will be in the bottom two after tonight.  I think he was kind of hindered by being boxed into the ‘inspirational’ genre…he shines on the upbeat, Jason Mraz type stuff.
• LaKisha has a voice that is tough to beat, but I just feel like there’s something about her attitude that keeps her from really connecting with the audience.  Maybe it’s just me.  Anyway, I feel like she had the weakest performance of the night, and is in danger of going home.
• Man, they were singing some of my favorites tonight.  Phil comes out and does a tremendous rendition of Garth Brooks’ “The Change”.  I’ve had him pegged to go home for a while, but he doesn’t belong in the bottom two after this performance.
• The very first moment I saw Jordin, even before she started singing at the tryout, I turned to my wife and said, “She’s the next American Idol.”  Now that belief may have waivered in the past, especially since Melinda has consistently been so good, but Jordin just continues to impress.  I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to sing when you’re getting choked up, but it’s quite difficult.  Not only did Jordin keep singing, she nailed those big notes.  I voted for her 60 times last night.  That’s the first time I’ve ever done that…I don’t remember if there’s a limit that they place on votes, but they never turned away my call.

The competition is definitely getting fierce on Idol.