American Idol threw the contestants yet another challenge just two weeks into this season. Sure, this season might have had the best Top 13 – now 11 – but Grand Ole Opry (a.k.a. Country) Week, has had a long history of being quite the disaster. Between Paula Abdul pausing at every third word and Simon’s inability to pronounce Li’l’s name the American way (It’s pronounced Leel, Simon), we learnt that everyone has been cemented into the “Dark Horse” spot, unless their names are Danny Gokey or Adam Lambert.

Or Michael Sarver. He just doesn’t stand a chance.

It was a good opportunity for these contestants to show their range and originality, especially if they are R&B singers. So Li’l, jazz, or in your case, R&B it up the next time if you survive.

So let’s put our cowboy hats on and give a good ol’ “This is American Idol!”

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HUI MING’S TOP THREE:

Adam Lambert (Johnny Cash – Ring Of Fire)
Adam once again showed that he’s really an artiste, and not just a singer. In the words of Project Runway winner Christian Siriano, it was the epitome of fierce. His singing was near pitch-perfect and I couldn’t spot even a trace of uncertainty in his moves (thank goodness for YouTube in HD).
He may have just alienated quite a few voters this week, but I don’t think the judges, with their veto, would ever let Adam leave, unless he starts going way downhill. And he’s nowhere close to that so far.

Anoop Desai (Willie Nelson – Always On My Mind)
It was a near-perfect song choice. He finally picked an arrangement that allowed his vocals to shine without being overpowered by the background music, and left me in awe.

Matt Giraud (Carrie Underwood – So Small)
Unlike Danny, he actually attempted to bring a twist to a Carrie Underwood song. His raspy, heartfelt voice and sexy piano-playing in that slick suit really ended the night in the classiest way possible. I would buy his album in a heartbeat. Or pay him to perform at my wedding. Hey, let a girl dream.

JARREL’S TOP THREE:
(Just to be clear, I am not a fan of country music. The twang doesn’t do a thing for me. Only 2 standout performances for me this week and oddly enough, neither had that country twang.)

Matt Giraud (Carrie Underwood – So Small)
Every season, country week separates the wannabe contestants from the true artistes. I think Matt was a league above the rest tonight. Kara’s critique of Giraud’s performance? “There’s nothing small about you, Matt.” Truly, there wasn’t. No, it’s not a reprieve of a Corey Clark and Paula Abdul (read: relationship!) but how Matt is able to command the stage. It was smooth, raw and sexy. A sweet end to a horrid night.

Anoop Desai (Willie Nelson – Always On My Mind)
Anoop was in danger of getting the Sanjaya comparisons. They are young (by societal standards anyway), have rabid teenage fans, and let’s face it, Indian. Anoop needed to redeem himself from week after week of bad performances. The verdict? In Randy’s (Jackson, not this week’s guest mentor Randy Travis) words, “Anoop Dawg is back“.

Kris Allen (Bob Dylan – To Make You Feel My Love)
I was thinking of just making this a top 2 thing but decided to put Kris in. If this was Indie (Independent, not Indian) Idol, he would win this entire competition hands down. The guitar and the relaxed ambience: that’s his comfort zone. He’s But the rise of artistes like Jason Mraz might pave a trail for Kris’ commercial success. If you don’t like Kris already, you better do because he’s in for the long haul.

HUI MING’S BOTTOM THREE:

Allison Iraheta (Patty Loveless – Blame It On Your Heart)
I almost feel sad to place her here. I love her and her daring-red hair, but she hasn’t been impressing me at all.

Lil’ Rounds (Martina McBride – Independence Day)
Still can’t stand her name, and neither can Simon. She was too disconnected from the song, and I’m not feeling any emotion from her at all. Lil Rounds simply took on a song that was way too big for her, and girl, arguing with Simon is never a good move. Carrie Underwood took on this song during her stint on Idol, and all I could think about was how underwhelming this performance was compared to Carrie’s.

Danny Gokey (Carrie Underwood – Jesus Take The Wheel)
This one was the utterly self-indulgent one, Simon. Sure, Gokey has a good voice. But he’s predictable, and yet again, so full of himself. Carrie Underwood is one fabulous singer, but that song on her album was a mistake. He’s a more annoying, style-less, obnoxious Taylor Hicks. And I’m baffled by the judges’ ego-feeding. So he’d appeal to middle-America, but he’s far from being The One to revive the failing music industry. I just don’t see his selling-point, unless he takes the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM, think Lifehouse) route, which was so last decade.

JARREL’S BOTTOM THREE:

Michael Sarver (Garth Brooks – Ain’t Goin’ Down (‘Til the Sun Comes Up))
It’s never wise to choose a song that has too-many-words-per-minute. It’s also unfavourable to perform first. The equated to a “90-second kiss of death”. I asked Hui Ming how was it possible that this horrid, horrid performance was not in her Bottom 3 and she simply said, “His harmonica player was interesting.” Uh, that’s all that’s interesting.

Scott McIntyre (Martina McBride – Wild Angels)
If you’re looking for the next Stevie Wonder, he’s not in. Truth is, he will never be. No offense, but people need to look past his disability (pun unintended, really). When it comes down to it, who cares if the person you’re listening to on the radio is able to see. His voice just doesn’t cut it. Neither do sympathy votes.


Li’l Rounds (Martina McBride – Independence Day)
In the introduction video, Li’l looks like she’s singing the national anthem. Then you realise it’s Grand Ole Opry week. But wait, she’s singing “Independence Day”, which is almost like THE national anthem.
It got promoted to the “untouchable songs” realm after Carrie Underwood nailed it in Season 4. This performance is a David vs Goliath and Lil’ David (now this pun is intended) doesn’t always win. Li’l’s attempts at avoiding being a one-note singer turned out a one-note performance. If she survives this week, she has to learn how to stay true to her R&B roots without being a one-note artiste.

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Country week might be over for Season 8 but we heard it through the grapevine that Motown’s coming up, with Berry Gordy jr. and Smokey Robinson as guest mentors. We’d hoped for something more exciting since the Idol producers have been on a roll with tough themes. Till then, all we can do is cross our fingers and hope for a “Idol gets Rick-rolled” week.