American Idol top 10 recap

It's Tuesday -- time for another evening of Idol liveblogging! Tonight's guest is Gwen Stefani and apparently the contestants will be singing both No Doubt songs and songs from artists who inspired No Doubt.

First up is LaKisha singing Donna Summer's "Last Dance". She's wearing a flowered mu-mu that makes her look far heavier than previously, but her voice is strong as always. It's nothing spectacular, but she has good energy and stage presence. The judges all comment on her hip outfit (???) and give her praise for the vocals.

Chris "Fro Patrol" Sligh is up next, singing The Police. Gwen comments on Chris's difficulty staying with the beat, which we've seen in past performances. And even now on stage, he's still ahead and wants to rush the song. This is far from his best performance. The judges are pretty rough on him too.

Gina Glocksen singing... crap, I know the song but I can't come up with the title or artist right now. She's lookin pretty hot tonight, but her voice sounds really rough -- it's clear she's sick. She still does a great job of staying on pitch. She's a trooper, and she gets a great response from the audience. The judges all say it's her best performance to date -- even Simon!

After the commercials, break out the earplugs... it's Sanjaya and Haley!

Sanjaya's singing Bathwater by No Doubt and comes out sporting a HIDEOUS mohawk. It starts off very weak -- as if Sanjaya is capable of anything else -- but the chorus isn't half bad. Oops, he stumbles over the words there. SOMEBODY SEND THIS BOZO HOME, PLEASE! Crap, even my two-year-old daughter wants me to turn the tv off. Oooh, he gives the camera the bedroom eyes at the end. Randy's "speechless" -- LOL! Sanjaya gets the comeback of the night though, saying Simon's "just jealous" that he couldn't pull off the mohawk. Simon basically gives up on Sanjaya, knowing that the voters will do whatever they want.

Haley's singing True Colors. When she starts, the performance reminds me a lot of Kat McPhee's breakout performance on "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", but whether she can accomplish the same thing remains to be seen. Nope, there's no big goosebump moment. Randy doesn't like it, but I disagree -- I actually think it was one of her better performances. It was elegant, not campy like most of her previous performances. I agree with Simon: "sweet but forgettable".

Next up is Phil Stacey. Thankfully they've put him in a hat again this week. It's another Police song, "Every Breath You Take". His voice sounds a lot like Sting's so this is a great fit for him. (I think I said this before this season, didn't I?) So far this is probably his best performance to date. I only wish he had more energy on stage. Yes, it's a ballad but it's an up-tempo ballad! Randy and Paula think it's "pretty good" and Simon actually gives him the best comments of the three!

Melinda is singing Donna Summer. Gwen knows immediately just how good she is: "I'd wish you luck but I don't think you need it," she says. They gave her a great, mature but modern hairstyle this week. She rips off another stellar performance. How in the world was this girl singing backups?? The judges love it as always. I'm still worried that she'll be the shocker to get the boot with 4 or 3 left, like Chris Daughtry last year. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Blake's singing The Cure's "Love Song". I love this song and I can't wait to see what Blake does with it. He has a great, pure voice. This is probably the best he's been too. It looks like everyone's in it to win it tonight -- except Sanjaya and maybe Haley. No beat-boxing tonight either -- interesting choice, but I think it's the right one. Paula gushes over it and says its risky and original -- how was that original? I thought it was pretty much a note-perfect rendition. Simon says he's the best guy, and I agree. Actually, I've been saying that since the first week.

Jordin's singing No Doubt's "Hey Baby". I think she can rock this! Wow, what a horrible outfit! She's a bit shaky in the beginning, and pitchy on the chorus, but it's a tough song to sing. I definitely like whe she holds the notes out and adds a little soul to it, though! Hmm... I wasn't blown away, but it was pretty good. The judges seem to like it a little more than I did.

Chris R. chooses "Don't Speak" by No Doubt. Gwen comments on his "vocal olympics". She actually has pretty good insight into the contestants. He's a bit flat throughout, and a few notes are completely off. Probably one of his worst performances... until he gets to the final chorus and takes the melody up, then he gets a bit stronger. Simon's dead on -- he's the only one who noticed the vocals were weak, especially in the middle.

So that's it for another week of Idol. Once again Melinda and LaKisha were far ahead of anyone else, but for me Phil and Gina gave the surprise breakout performances of the night. Who's going home? Probably Chris Sligh based on tonight's performance -- unless the universe suddenly rights itself and Sanjaya goes home, that is!

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