American Idol 2, May 6: Pulling Out All the Stops!

Now it's time for the second songs. Ryan says that even with all of the songs the BeeGees have done, believe it or not, Clay and Josh chose the same one. I'm thinking, "Josh is soooooo dead.

Joshua Gracin, "To Love Somebody"

Frankly, if Ryan hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have realized they were the same song! Once again, Josh has countrified it and come up with a much different version than Clay's. Clay' is better, mind you, but Josh's is not bad. In fact, I'd rate it as one of his better performances.

Randy: I gotta give you props (he's giving out a lot of props today)… best we've ever heard from you.

Robin: Absolutely great… country feel was superb… great voice.

Paula: It is so your night… great quality.

Simon: This was risky - but you pulled it off!

Ryan asks Joshua if he feels better about his relationship with Simon now that Simon has said some good things. Josh says he's always liked Simon. He doesn't always agree with him but he's a good man. Yeah, 'cus people frequently threaten to beat up people they like…

Clay Aiken, "Grease"

Clay does an interesting version of this song and has a ton of fun with it. He can sing anything. Yeah, I know, I've said that before, and also about Ruben, but hey, it's true. And if Randy can give out props to everybody, I can repeat myself too. Anyway, Clay has some good stage moves to go along with his performance as well.

Randy: I'm sitting here laughing… having a good time… I like the moves, baby.

Robin: I love your voice… love your interpretation.

Paula: You know I'm proud of you (because he danced)… you shook your thang… having fun… it's a blast.

Simon: HORRIBLE! Sorry, everything about that was horrible (the audience boos). You had a great performance and it's all thrown away. (He says all of this with a bit of a smile…)

Ryan asks Clay what he'd like to say back to Simon - after all, he was just having fun, not taking it too seriously. Clay jokes that he doesn't take Simon too seriously. Ryan makes Clay do another hip swing like he did during the song.

Kimberley Locke, "Emotions"

You can tell with this song that Kim is going for the win. She puts her heart and voice into it all the way. Not quite as good as we've seen her before, but close.

Randy: That's a great song… you did a great version of it.

Robin: I agree… wonderful voice… love your range.

Paula: Great hearing all the colors and harmonies… you owned that song.

Simon: Sort of agree… good… don't think it was your best night, still.

Ryan asks Kim about the intensity of the competition and she agrees that things have been tense. Then Ryan lapses back to his usual comment about remembering to vote for your favorite. Ugh.

Ruben Studdard, "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"

Great, as always. But I just don't find it as exciting/fun/whatever as Clay.

Randy: You keep bringing it every night… brilliant performance.

Robin: One of the best versions I've heard… fantastic.

Paula: What a night… you make everyone feel warm and fuzzy.

Simon: What you proved tonight was consistency… both songs were sensational.

Ryan asks Ruben what he thinks about as the judges talk to him. Ruben responds that he's just paying attention because his mama told him to pay attention when people talk to him. Good answer!

With a few more minutes to kill, Ryan and the final four are in the red room. He asks some questions, the most interesting of which is if Josh was nervous. He says no, he just wanted to be himself and perform for the fans because they're what it's all about. I do think Josh had more fun tonight than in past shows, and I think that's because he expects it to be his last. Then again, he probably thought that last time, too.

Ryan leaves us on a bad note, once again telling viewers to make sure they keep their favorites in the competition. No, NO, NO! Make sure you keep the best in the competition, whether they are your favorites or not! Will he never learn?

So, what do I think of the second set of performances? This may surprise some people, who will likely put Ruben ahead of Clay, but I still liked Clay's performance more. So it looks rather similar:

• Clay
• Ruben
• Kimberley
• Joshua

Which means overall, that's my same list. So if the votes go according to performances, Joshua and Kimberley will be in the bottom two, and Joshua will go home. Frankly, for a change I do expect it to go according to that. The fans of Kimberley, Clay, and Ruben are on high alert. They won't let what happened last week happen again. Bank on it.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at rno@pobox.com.

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