American Idol 2, April 8: No, Really, What Did You Think?

Rickey Smith, "Endless Love"

Randy - "you did your thing!"

Paula - "Lionel is lucky you didn't do it first... made me forget Diana Ross was in the song!"

Simon - "didn't like Lionel's performance! (not sure he was kidding)... hat was appalling... sounded fantastic!"

Lionel - "do you know how difficult that song was? It took me three weeks to get it... maybe I'm prejudiced, but I think you did a great job!"

Sting7- I will tell you why I think Rickey Smith is quickly becoming the darkhorse in this competition. He surprises you, week after week. My esteemed colleagues may disagree with me, but I don't think he has had a bad performance this whole show. His song choices are very diverse, he doesn't rely on ballads like some. He is performing songs in front of the original artist, and that is bold! And two weeks in a row, the original artist came away genuinely impressed! Like Paula, I too did not miss Diana at all in this rendition and that is not easy. The high notes of this song have slain many talent show contestants, and he nailed them. Rickey could back door his way into the winner's circle, trust me!

Hey look! The Idols have Nokia phones! That rascally Clay sent Ruben a text message that says 919 beats 215! Ruben laughs good-naturedly (of course, this is a commercial for all intents and purposes!). Those kids.

Kimberly Caldwell, "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)"

Randy - "you look beautiful... the song just didn't suit you for me"

Paula - "look pretty tonight... I can say you are broadening your range" (Kimberly says she did that just for Paula, who said Kimberly was becoming "complacent" last week. Paula said she believes that like she believes Simon wants to kiss her right now.)

Simon - "(never one to miss an opening) I don't... I don't think even Robin Hood could protect you after that performance... wrong song, you know that."

Lionel - "look is getting better (was something wrong with it???)... pulled it off, it was great (don't think he meant it)... song could have been better."

Sting7- Paula said Kimberly was complacent, I say she was mediocre and complacent with the mediocrity. There has only been one week where Kimberly really wowed me. Sure, she is beautiful and looked awesome tonight, but this ain't Miss USA. Sadly, this was another mediocre-to-poor performance. She can't afford any more.

Joshua Gracin, "Amazed"

Randy - "you had some pitch problems, but perfect song, perfect rendition, good job!

Paula - "three words: Josh is back!"

Simon - "one of the few contestants tonight that picked the right song... perfect"

Lionel - "look out Garth Brooks... the Marines have landed!"

Sting7- Josh Gracin, USMC, Pick To Click, has pissed me off. He should have been charged with a crime for what he made us endure last week. I really wanted him to come back and show it was a just a bad night (and how he avoided the bottom three is a travesty that will be written in the annals of American Idol history). What he did was he went back to his old shoe - country. I would say the same thing about Kimberley Locke if she went back to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" after that hideous "Heat Wave." Yes, he did improve from last week, but he has not redeemed himself yet. If Kimberly Caldwell is complacent, Josh has completely taken root!

Carmen Rasmussen "Call Me"

Randy - "I didn't get you tonight... didn't feel it tonight"

Paula - "that's a bad girl song... wrong song for you"

Simon - "to be honest that was dreadful... completely wrong song ... you can't sing songs like that"

Lionel - "it is so hard to come out here every week and perform (his Paula moment)... 'A' for performing... song selection wasn't good"

Sting7- Call me crazy, but Carmen is growing on me. That vibrato is intriguing, and as David Bloomberg said in his column, you want to hear more of it. Tonight, it was practically extinct. Not good enough, as Simon would say. Not feeling it, as Randy said. She is on the bubble, and tonight's performance did nothing to get her off it.