American Idol 2, April 1: Fool Me Once...

Clay Aiken, "Everlasting Love"

Randy - "that's how you do it... whatever it is, you make it your own... brilliant"

Paula - "doesn't matter what genre, your voice is golden... looking for you to dance... you didn't! (okay so he won't be doing "Cold Hearted Snake," Paula!)

Simon - "in the context of this competition, I thought it was terrible... I didn't get it!"

Verdine - "I saw you backstage, you didn't look like you could sing like that!... you have pipes!"

Sting7- I don't know what the hell Simon was talking about. But that long note was a bit much for me. It didn't charm me, but Clay is golden, no question. I am beginning to feel some complacency from him too. It's like he's on autopilot. Maybe Simon was trying to shake him out his fugue.

Ryan asks the judges about the wide range from Randy's brilliant to Simon's terrible. Randy stands by his critique, as does Simon. Curious. Clay's performance was a galaxy away from terrible. Simon may reconsider when he listens again.

Trenyce, "I'm Every Woman"

Randy - "heard some pitch problems, but you were good!"

Paula - "week after week, you change your look and you even change your voice... it's like you take each week like homework and you study... a pro like you, you rise from adversity" (the only reference to Trenyce's brush with the law all night)

Simon - "I'm still not blown away, you can't compare that to Whitney or Chaka, but okay"

Verdine - "I think you got star quality... the whole package, keep it up!"

Sting7- She definitely has star quality, love her, love her! She's not Whitney or Chaka, no. Not yet. I thought she was dead on. The voice is awesome, the presence, (the smile is breaking many a male heart) she really is the whole package.

Ruben Studdard, "Can't Get Enough of Your Love"

Randy - "great... you do it every week, you make the song your own"

Paula - "there will be lots of baby-making tonight... and I hope they are all named Ruben!"

Simon - "I think you should win this competition" (he said the same thing to Clay two weeks ago)

Verdine - "right on, right on!... inspiring, brother!"

Sting7- I was actually not as enthralled with Ruben tonight. Of course, it shows on his worse night, he's better the most of the pack. I just didn't feel like he ignited like he usually does... he didn't give me the chills he usually does, but still way above average.

Kimberley Locke, "It's Raining Men"

Randy - "brilliant, brilliant... absolutely brilliant"

Paula - "consistent... beautifully consistent"

Simon - "I think you did Ryan Seacrest's favorite song justice!"

Verdine - "consistent, beautiful... and you picked the hardest song of the era!"

Sting7- She was born to do this song. Absolutely born... if only Frenchie were around... sigh. From that near disaster, "Heat Wave," Kimberley Locke has made excellent decisions with her song choices and has suddenly become a serious contender!

Joshua Gracin, "Celebration"

Randy - "you must have a cold... wasn't your best performance"

Paula - "you may be a little sick... you gotta give the best performance you can... you injected disco with a little Joshism"

Simon - "if you had sounded like that when we first saw you, you wouldn't be here now... that was dreadful"

Verdine - "you may not be up to your best... don't worry about it, keep doing what you're doing"

Sting7- Ay caramba, that stunk! Yow! I was actually thinking, no one laid an egg tonight... until… I was worried about this. Maybe he had a cold, but he also decreed himself country and we knew, and he knew, and the judges knew, that Disco Week was coming. I am pretty sure it will be his last.

Ryan is backstage with the contestants. He asks Clay about Simon's bizarre critique. (Careful Clay!) "It's a little disappointing" he says, that there is such disparity between Randy/Paula and Simon. He continues, "I respect his opinion, he knows what he's talking about... most of the time." Easy, superstar, let's not get cocky. The last thing Clay needs to do is appear at all arrogant. Julia was crucified on the message boards and such, I still say unjustly.

Ryan then asks Kimberly about the critiques, Kimberly says she keeps her comments to herself (and even when she got Paula's harshest review of the night, Kimberly said, "thanks, I'll keep that in mind!" Perfect).

Ryan reminds us that the results show is an hour long again. Groan with me.

So, those were the performances. Tomorrow night, someone must go. What do you think? Who will it be? Here's how I ranked the performances.

1. Trenyce

2. Clay

3. Kimberley L.

4. Ruben

5. Rickey

6. Kimberly C.

7. Carmen

8. Joshua

I don't see anyway that Josh can escape from that horrific performance. The fact that he is a Marine might get him some sympathy votes, but it was inexcusable in my opinion. Oh man.

Am I right? We shall see.

Sting7 can be reached at stingseven@yahoo.com.

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