I know the conventional wisdom is to say that the guys were way better than the girls last night, but I didn't see anyone blowing the doors off tonight, and half the performances were just as horrible as the previous night's. I consider it a push.

Taylor – Too much yipping and whoo-ing, but he's got a really effortless quality to his singing. You can feel it when he sings, and that's the best part of his performances. But he's got to sing something more upbeat the next time. Just too languid to really get anyone's attention.

Elliott – Simon was wrong – it was a really great song choice and I thought he showed more vocal chops this week than last week. The pleasant surprise of the evening for me.

Ace – Like slow death. More off key than on, plus he sucked the life out of the theater. I was almost tempted to fast forward because it was just the worst. That Paula and Randy complimented him is the reason why Simon is the only one who has the credibility with the viewers. It's like they were so busy making googly eyes that they weren't even listening. Most of the time, I wished I wasn't listening. It's also interesting that he was concentrating so hard on staying on key (and failing miserably) that he neglected his “smoldering” faces and substituted with his, "where the hell is that note" faces.

Gedeon – He is a good singer and he has a great voice, but I wondered if it was the song that never really went anywhere or if he held back. There were a couple of times I though the was going to rip into it and then just pulled back. Tried really hard not to smile for Simon.

Kevin – Maybe not quite Will Makar singing Al Green, but pretty close. A laughable performance, teetering in the edge of parody. It sort reminded me of William Shatner singing Rocket Man – is this serious? The other problem is that Kevin does that choral style singing where he sings mechanically on the beat which makes any song sound soulless and lifeless. And yet we'll probably see him again next week. I got the feeling he did not appreciate the Chicken Little reference.

Sway – That was pretty bad. He has a nice tone in his voice, but only sometimes – most of the time, it meanders off key and it's like he's bored and not paying attention when he's not holding a long note.

Will – Just when I thought Katherine was the stiffest performer this year, here comes Will to show us how to stand stock still with his arms attached to his sides, only occasionally feebly raising his hand up and outward to pretend he's emoting or something. At least have good posture if you're just going to stand there. Bonus points for having the two highlights of the evening, first when he gushed about meeting Justin Guarini (it looked like it was at some party, but it could have been at the Red Lobster where Justin waits on tables) and the second when Ryan starting undressing him on stage. Extra credit for Will getting the joke before Ryan did.

Bucky – Joe Dirt representin'. This was the second week in a row that he started out well and then unraveled going into the chorus so that by the end of the song he was just flailing for notes and getting mushier and mushier in tone. He and Kellie should have a hick off, starting with a pig hollerin' contest and ending with a corn maze race. On second thought, maybe they should skip the corn maze. They do need them back on stage next week. I wish he would have said calamari like Kellie did – I imagine it would have sounded something like, “cama... cama...cammallari”. Or just “mumble mumble”. More poop stance tonight. Maybe it was something he ate.

David – The band must hate playing for this guy. They should get hazard pay for keeping up with him. His rhythm is so bad it's like listening to a drunk guy singing “It's the End of the World as We Know It”.

Chris – Totally not feeling it. Just don't care. He could win Growly Idol though. It's a matter of expectation for me – when I watch/listen to Idol, I want to hear vocal range, tonal quality, musicality, and soulfulness. Chris gives me none of this. It just sounds like controlled yelling to me.