Upon reading back last week's Idol entry, I realise how verbose I tend to be. I don't think that's such a good thing because I, myself, do not like long-winded people; yet try as I might, it is rather difficult for me to stop rattling off like a machine-gun when I've got something of interest (at least to me) to say...

Looks like I've digressed quite abit. ANYWAY, I gotta agree with Simon Cowell that having enough air-time prior to the start of the competition will NOT matter, as evidenced by the immense popularity of Idol alums Kelly Clarkson, Latoya London and Jasmine Trias (all of whom had no prior "air-time"). But of course, if you're just an average joe with an unspectacular voice (like Joseph Murena), air-time actually counts ;p

The GuysScott Savol opened the guys' section with a very sweet-sounding I Can't Help Myself, which I think Clay Aiken did waaaaaay better in season 2. It's evident that Scott is trying hard to be happening and hip but I don't think it's really working for him. However, he does remind me of the CareBears with those quirky dance moves of his~ LOL. After last week's rock-out showstopper, Bo Bice toned it down abit for this week with soft-rock ballad I'll Be; I think it's too nice a rendition and didn't show off his splendid (& gruff) vocals to maximum advantage. On the other hand, Anthony Federov tried to spice things up with Marc Anthony's I Got You -- it was pretty lame but at least it wasn't another yawn-inducing ballad... Nikko Smith's Georgia On My Mind started out pretty slow and draggy but those last few notes he hit nearly knocked me out of my chair~! I didn't know he was capable of such a feat!

Travis Tucker proved (once again) what a fabulous dancer he was with his take of Bobby Brown's Every Little Step; unfortunately though, his singing was all over the place. Well, he actually wasn't that bad but I wished he had paid more attention to his vocals like Mario Vasquez. The latter's How To Mend A Broken Heart was right on the money (very Paula-ish dunchathink?? lol)!!! He looked quite odd without his hat though.. Constantine Maroulis, as usual, milked the camera for all it was worth and for the most part, I was impartial to his performance. I was thankful, however, that he didn't do any screeching like last time. Nonetheless, the best was indeed saved for last -- Anwar Robinson's fresh take on the evergreen staple What A Wonderful World literally brought the house down! (and no funny jackets this time too~!!)

The GirlsAmanda Avila does have a good, strong voice but she really shouldn't have covered Tina Turner's River Deep Mountain High; she didn't have sufficient stage charisma for it but I do admit it was unfair for the judges to compare her to Tina. From there, it was downhill all the way with Janay Castine's cruel butchery of Selena's Dreaming Of You, and Carrie Underwood's uninspired and mundane Because You Loved Me (not the Celine Dion song). Vonzell Solomon, dressed to the nines (NOT) in white patent boots and cowboy hat, delivered a decent rendition of Aretha Franklin's Respect. In my honest opinion, she doesnt have the chops for it; it was just decent.

I have to agree with the judges that Nadia Turner knows what songs are right for her and what songs won't work; she rocked the house completely with Otis Redding's Try A Little Tenderness (I'm beginning to have a certain distaste for her weird choice of skirts though...). I'm a fan of both Lindsay Cardinale and Mikalah Gordon; both of them have very unique vocals and delivered very strong performances (but Mikalah's was abit shaky) this week. Even so, I'm not sure if they could really win the judges over in the weeks to come. I'm not sure either wat-the-heck Jessica Sierra was thinking when she picked her outfit for this week -- I personally feel slightly perturbed by the sight of her.. er... heaving bosom. LOl. Thus, I couldn't pay much attention to what she was singing, but I do know that Jessica is fast becoming the judges' favorite and poor Carrie has been side-lined.. boo-hoo-hoo~!

Spoiler alert~ The four eliminated this week are Janay Castine, Amanda Avila (injustice!), Travis Tucker and Nikko Smith (injustice!).

 1:12 PM