Top 11: Grand Ole Opry

Michael Sarver, “Ain’t Goin’ Down ‘til the Sun Comes Up.” Good song choice, solid execution… but boring. Not as boring as the original song, though, which is good.  Of all the contestants, Michael is the one in the best place to succeed this week, and he did not do as well as he should have.

Allison Iraheta, “Blame It On Your Heart.” I thought she would struggle a hair this week, but damn she has pipes and that gravel in her voice is working really well for her. I’m not sure how I feel about the song choice, but it’s a very solid performance. Two singers down and I’m thinking she’s going to be in the top 5 of the night.

Kris Allen, "To Make You Feel My Love."  I love Garth Brooks, but what a boring song. Kris sings it well. It’s solid, but not a performance I’m going to buy, and he took his sweet time getting to that last note.  I think it is definitely enough to keep him in, although it was not a standout.

Lil Rounds, “Independence Day.” Lil has no business singing country, and it was wretched. I think she made a poor song choice but sung it as well as she could have. The judges threw out some other songs that she could have done instead, including Dolly's version of "I Will Always Love You," but my pick for her would actually have been "Fancy" by Reba McIntyre, which she could have belted.  Poor performance, but her vocal ability will keep her in.

Adam Lambert, “Ring of Fire.” Good for him for not even trying to sing country. Liked the falsetto, liked the arrangement. Liked Paula’s description of a “Kashmir Led Zeppelin.” Not his best performance but a smart choice for this week.

Scott MacIntyre, “Wild Angels.” Scott, Scott, Scott, what are you thinking? Flat the whole way through, horrible song choice.  Very poor performance.

Alexis Grace, “Jolene.” Yes! Great choice! Sadly… bad execution. Don’t blues and waltz up “Jolene.” No no no. Bad Alexis!  And definitely don't blues and waltz up "Jolene" if you're going to go flat.  Alexis is on thin ice.

Danny Gokey, “Jesus Take the Wheel.” What is he wearing? This is American Idol, not an igloo. Nicely performed, if uninspiring and a bit boring. The chorus was the high point.  Still—solid, and tonight, that’s all anyone has to do.

Noop Dawg, “Always On My Mind.” And THIS is why Anoop is in the top 11.  Smooth, on-pitch, and an excellent song choice.  One of the best tonight.

Megan Corkrey, “I Go Walking After Midnight.” I liked it, overall, but it was just all right. It was nicely performed, especially considering she is ill, and I thought she did about as well as she could have with a country song.  

Matt Giraud, “So Small.” I was worried at first… and then I loved it. Best performance of the night.  Simon is right: he certainly did outsing Danny.

Top 3:
Matt
Alison
Noop Dawg

Going home:
Michael
Scott
Lil

This week was not fair to ANY of the contestants. Yes, we want them to be adaptable. But there is not a single country singer in there and Grand Ol' Opry week encouraged a bunch of train wrecks.