This Week In Tonight In American Idol [6 March 2007 Edition]

8:00 PM: We are down to our last week in boy-on-boy and girl-on-girl competition. We have 8 of each. We'll eliminate 2 of each this week, and starting next week all 12 finalists will be competing with each other.

A lot has happened in the last week. Let's see how it plays out this week.

UPDATED: DialIdol's numbers are now in, and they're not very helpful.

8:01 PM: Ryan promises us "a major" announcement on Thursday. Maybe AI will be booting Antonella Barba and bringing back Frenchie Davis???

8:02 PM: This week, the contestants tell us "a secret" about themselves. I won't bore you with these "secrets". It's just Idol trying to create personalities for these folks.

8:02 PM: First up for the guys is Blake Lewis. Blake performs 311's "All Mixed Up." Blake plays it right down the middle, staying true to 311's pseudo-hip hop reggae style. But he does a great job with it. Randy says he doesn't know the song but he loves it. Paula doesn't know the song either, but she loves it. Simon also likes the song. [*We* knew the song -- Ed.] All three judges praise Blake for being "unique" and "current". Simon says he will "absolutely" be back next week.

8:10 PM: Next up is Sanjaya Malakar. Sanjaya performs John Mayer's "Waiting On The World To Change". The judges are not impressed. Sanjaya has been flat since he made it to Hollywood -- and this week, his hair is even flatter. How does he continue to skate through? Randy wonders "where is the Sanjaya we first saw"? Paula wants Sanjaya to "raise [your] game". Simon says it was better than last week, but reminds the voters Sanjaya that "it's a singing competition". Simon wants Sanjaya gone.

Sanjaya sang a JOHN FUCKING MAYER song. I want him gone too.

8:15 PM: Next up is Sundance Head. HOLY FUCK!!! Sundance performs Pearl Jam's "Jeremy". Which is about as far away from an Idol song as you can get. Sundance sang it about as well as Eddie Vedder does, but still. Randy calls it "pitchy" but "hot". Paula thinks it's "really good". Simon thinks it's an "indulgent choice of song" and says he sounds like a "bar singer".

Oh man, now Sundance has me thinking about a "grunge" theme week. Maybe Antonella Barba would sing Liz Phair's "Flower"???

8:22 PM: TRAVIS FUCKING TRITT is in the hizzouse!!! Travis tells Ryan that Randy Jackson is producing his new album. Oh man, I can't think of the jokes fast enough.

8:23 PM: Okay, this is a "segue". Next up is Chris Richardson. Chris performs Keith Urban's "Tonight I Wanna Cry". [Get it??? "Country"??? -- Ed.] Chris nails this song and reworks it into a JT-esque R&B/Pop song. Great job. Randy says Chris is "in it to win it". Paula thinks it's a great job. Simon thinks it's "nasally" and "cutesy", and not what he's capable of, but predicts he'll be back.

8:31 PM: Next up is Jared Cotter. Jared performs Stevie Wonder's "If You Really Love Me". Apparently, Stevie Wonder is the new Executive Producer of AI and has a deal whereby there must be at least 3 songs of his performed over any period of 2 consecutive weeks. It was okay. It was the most dynamic performance of the nite -- but not the best vocal. Randy is surprised to say that it's good. Paula warns Jared not to "shout" the song. Simon says it's "not original" and that he's "slightly disappointed tonite, because I'm not hearing the 'wow' factor".

Ryan seems to be telegraphing that Jared may be on the bubble -- he asks the judges whether Jared belongs in the top 12. Cue the awkward silence. Eventually, the judges tell Jared he belongs there but he needs to step it up and do his best every week.

8:41 PM: Next up is Brandon Rogers. Brandon performs Rare Earth's "I Just Want To Celebrate". IMHO, it's a great funky R&B song choice, and Brandon really nails it. The best performance of the nite. But Randy calls it only "solid". Paula calls it "phenomenal". Simon thinks it's a poor song choice -- doesn't show off his voice -- and says "I'm nervous for you -- I think that song may give you a problem this week".

8:45 PM: Next up is Phil Stacey. Ryan had teased us that we had a LeAnn Rimes song coming up. Phil performs LeAnn's "I Need You". Oooooh, this is terrible. Phil is strangling this song. Okay, the start was terrible, the finish was...okaaaaaaaaaaay. Randy calls it an "interesting song choice" and says it's not his best performance. Paula agrees with Randy that the lower part of his register is not his sweet spot. Paula agrees it's not a great choice. Simon says "I didn't get it". "It wasn't good enough".

8:52 PM: Ryan tells us that Carrie Underwood will return to perform on "results nite" on Thursday 8 March. I hope she'll be wearing her new "shoes".

8:53 PM: Last up is Chris Sligh. Chris performs "We Wanna Be Loved". Was this really orginally performed by "Christian rockers" D.C. Talk??? Anyway, Chris reworks it as a Stevie Wonder-esque [damn!!! -- Ed.] R&B jam. Randy calls it the best performance of the nite. Paula completely disagrees, and warns him to keep raising the bar. Simon likes it but reiterates his advice to all the guys tonite -- you guys have to step it up.

8:58 PM: Ryan asks the judges -- how many of the final 8 guys deserve to be in the final 12? Randy: "4". Paula: "4". Simon: "3 1/2".

They're all being generous.

The guys really suck this year. Seriously.

The guys were so bad this week, I hesitate to make any predictions. I will only say...SHOULD GO: Sanjaya Malakar [please!!!] and Phil Stacey.

I'll update later with DialIdol's numbers.

UPDATED 4:00 AM: DialIdol's numbers are in, and all the guys are going home!!! Seriously, the numbers were so close, the site has everyone within the margin of error. Here is the actual ranking: 1) Chris Richardson; 2) Chris Sligh; 3) Blake Lewis; 4) Sanjaya Malakar; 5) Brandon Rogers; 6) Jared Cotter; 7) Sundance Head; 8) Phil Stacey.