Country night can be an unpredictable evening on Idol, when underdogs rise and favorites fail in spectacular fashion. This year, though, the favorites generally shine.
Michael, "Ain't Goin' Down 'Til the Sun Comes Up" -- To his credit, Michael doesn't seem to have flubbed any of the pattery lyrics; unfortunately, only about half of them were comprehensible. He seems comfortable with country, though, and aside from the mumbling, this was a competent performance. Likely to leave him safely in the middle of the pack.
Allison, "Blame It On Your Heart" -- Very nice. Smart to choose a song that can take some rock edge and some punching up, and she's solidly connected to the song and to the audience. She's a lot of fun to watch, and I'm starting to think she's going to go very deep in this competition.
Kris, "To Make You Feel My Love" -- A small technical quibble: When he drops suddenly from high notes to low ("...made your mind up yet..."), all the power disappears from his voice. But that is a quibble, and this is quite pretty. There's not quite the emotional power behind it that a great singer would give, but it's a solid job.
Lil, "Independence Day" -- Well, she's not a natural country singer, and there is a tentative "just sing the notes" quality to it, especially in the verse. But every word can be understood -- crucial in a story song like this -- and damn, when that voice sails into the money notes in the chorus, you get carried away on those pipes.
Adam, "Ring of Fire" -- It's one of the great Idol debates: Are theme nights about asking the singers to demonstrate range, or are they about how cleverly the singers can shoehorn song X into their own style? I lean toward the former, so I hated this passionately. There was something oddly hypnotic about it, I suppose, but it had nothing to do with the Grand Ole Opry.
Scott, "Wild Angels" -- Exactly what I've come to expect from a Scott performance -- perfectly pleasant (except for the falsetto notes, which are out of tune), perfectly inoffensive, and perfectly dull. Surely he can't coast on the blind thing for too many more weeks.
Alexis, "Jolene" -- Pitch problems throughout, and where was that "soft side" Alexis wanted to show us? This was hard and brittle, and she was pushing so hard that I found it intensely grating. Not a pleasant performance at all.
Danny, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" -- The song is sentimental maudlin religious malarkey; songs like this are why some people hate country music. Can't fault the performance, though, which is powerful and controlled. It's the best of the night so far.
Anoop, "Always On My Mind" -- My first goosebump moment of the season. Absolutely lovely, with the sort of emotional intensity that we haven't seen much of tonight. I would buy that record.
Megan, "Walkin' After Midnight" -- It's the best I've liked her so far, but her syllables are oddly detached from one another -- there's not much flow or grace to her musical lines -- and her vowel sounds are somehow hyper-enunciated in a way that I find distracting.
Matt, "So Small" -- I liked the quiet understatement of the first half much more than the overblown melodrama of the second half, and I do wish that Idol men didn't feel compelled to end every song with a dramatic falsetto note. Pleasant enough, but not especially memorable.
For the night: Anoop, Danny, Allison, Kris, Lil, Matt, Michael, Scott, Megan, Adam, Alexis.
For the season: Anoop, Allison, Lil, Danny, Kris, Matt, Michael, Alexis, Scott, Adam, Megan.
Deserving to go home: Alexis or Megan.
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