IDOL - Down To Nine

First of all, what the HELL is Randy wearing? Ryan pissed me off more than usual tonight and Simon's Desperate Housewives comment was priceless. What is that beard? Are you trying to impress Teri Hatcher? I really really hate Ryan Seacrest. He either loves Simon or he's jealous of him, I can't tell which, but my question is, is it possible that he doesn't realize how transparent he is? I'd put $50 bucks on the fact that he spends all week thinking of possible "quips" to say to Simon. I also loved how Simon called the audience out on automatically booing him every time. Uncalled for, people. But I did feel like Simon shouldn't have even been judging tonight because he couldn't separate his obvious hatred for country and the actual performances. Randy did it a little too. I think Paula was the only one who actually judged the performances. Anyway, I digress. Contestants...

Taylor: Oh. Not good. Since he went first, it didn't sound too bad, until some other people went. I didn't think the vocal was good, and worst of all, I think he missed a real opportunity to do something great. On a positive note, I like that he stood still again. Weird fanbase but not good so its hard to say. Wouldn't call him bottom three, but wouldn't call him safe either.

Mandisa: Not good. This wasn't unexpected, but the country, not so much Mandisa. Her voice didn't match the song, the vocal wasn't good anyway. I think it was too low, but that's just general, I could really pick it apart for an hour. This is two not strong weeks for Mandisa. Possibly bottom three.

Elliot: The vocal was pretty good. I thought it was a good song choice for him. I wish he would have held out a steady note though. I don't know why he thought vibrato was the way to go tonight. Kenny Rodgers gave him some good advice about not over-singing it and he didn't take it. Paula was wrong, Simon was right, its not a hard song to sing. It was good though. I think he's safe.

Paris: I think that every week is like a chance for Paris to play dress up. But, unlike Paula and Randy, I really, really liked this. The opposite of Randy, I thought the beginning was great and the end was a little sharp, but overall I think it was really strong. I prefer the Trisha Yearwood version to the LeAnn Rimes version of the song, so I'm biased, but if we're comparing her to LeAnn Rimes, she kicked her butt. I think its worth saying that Both Trisha and LeAnn have to falsetto "survive" in the chorus, and Paris didn't have to. That really shows her range. She did really well. I think she's safe, but if voters listen to Paula and Randy, maybe not.

Ace: I feel like the past couple weeks, there's been something weak throughout about Ace's voice. He always saves it with the falsetto at the end, but it seems like a few times during the middle he struggles to save some notes. This didn't do anything for me. It was pitched well and everything, just not very strong. He's been bottom three twice, so I'll say there's a good chance that he'll be back.

Kellie: Reba was good for her...I thought she would do it well. For some reason, I felt like the band was drowning her out a little, but I don't think it had anything to do with her song, just sometimes you couldn't hear her. It was a little low at times, but overall very strong. It bothers me that she constantly points at the camera. Its always the same and its really starting to annoy me. The singing, however, was very good. Safe.

Chris: Dang it. I can't complain, I asked for this. But I don't want him to win, and he finally did something different. And it was awesome. I knew the guy could sing, and he did. Finally. In all seriousness, it was nice to see him do something different, and he did it really well, but for me, its too little, too late. Safe.

Katharine: If Simon trashes my girl one more time, I'll kill him. His country wrath all came together right onto Katharine and that sucks. She picked a great song and rocked the hell out of it. Faith was a GREAT choice for her. He didn't even judge her, he just ranted about country. She picked a good song for her that wasn't too country and she picked a good vocalist to match her, and really I think she couldn't have done any better. The same thing happened with her that happened with Kellie though with the band, there were times when the band was just too loud. Not cool. I also liked how she went back to her original style from the top 24. As you know, I don't predict Katharine's safety status. Too Dangerous.

Bucky: Oh My Gosh. You've got to be kidding me. This is Bucky's week and he doesn't choose a country song. I cannot believe it. This is a Vertical Horizon song. The whole time, I was literally speechless. I just stared blankly at the screen. Why on earth wouldn't he do a really really country song when that's what he's good at??? It didn't work well when Gary Allan tried to turn it country. Bucky, learn the lesson. I feel like he and Taylor just missed the boat this week. Man. The vocal wasn't that great either. I'd put him in the bottom three.

I think its also worth pointing out that Randy really did start every single critique except Paris with "Yo". Oh Dear Lord. And when Ryan says to Simon, "With all due respect", how much respect does he really think is due? Come on, does that really mean anything? I would really like to hear a shrink's psycho-analysis of Seacrest's complex with Simon.

Alright, last week really threw me off, so I have no idea who will actually be in the bottom three, so this is just who I think should be there, not so much a prediction.
I voted for: Katharine (Only once though, because I couldn't get through, which I hope is a good thing)
My Bottom 3: Bucky, Ace, Mandisa
Going home: Bucky