A.I.

So here are my grades:

1. Gokey: B+. The guy is consistently good but he is getting boring to me. There isn't anything that is "wowing" me with him anymore. It seems like the same type of performance week in and week out. I like him and think he has a good voice but he really needs to do something to push him over the top. That something would be to try a different type of song or to put on a better performance. Just something that will remember that he is unique and different. The other issue he has is that he just looks like Downey, Jr.'s shorter, chubbier, funnier looking younger brother. Not the best look. Still, he got the show started off on a good foot.

2. Kris: C-. After two strong weeks, he really lost the momentum last night. Very disappointing. I was actually coming around to enjoy him and think he might have an outside shot at this thing. What made him so good the last couple of weeks was that he took songs and made them his own. He had good arrangements and did good jobs bringing in the guitar and piano and backup singers and placing them all in the right spots and doing a good job. Last night was the exact opposite. The song choice sucked. Where he was position was a bad move and the arrangement was terrible. Disappointing after two such strong weeks.

3. Lil Rounds: D. She was the most disappointing to me last night. I agreed with most of the judges comments. I suppose I have expected more from her and week after week now she has disappointed. I believe she is capable of singing but it's been about three weeks since we have seen a halfway decent performance from her. Each week, it's like I think she will do better next week and she only disappoints more. She basically did a bad copycat of Tina Turner and it did not work. She would have been better off trying to make the song her own than trying to do a complete copycat. She should be off the show soon.

4. Noop Dogg: B+. Great job of getting back to a slow song that shows off his vocals and limits his movements. Once again, a TERRIBLE job with his outfit. What is up with the green striped sweater? It's almost like someone is trying to sabotage his wardrobe and Nooper is colorblind so he can't tell the difference. Still, the performance was solid and hopefully he has lived for another week. Actually, I think his good to bad to good performances probably give him some more attention as opposed to a Gokey who seems to have just kind of peaked and plateaued. If he is in the bottom three again this week it will be pretty telling that his fan base has left him. For the future (if there is one for him on the show), he should stick with the slower songs that focus on his vocals and limit his movements.

5. Scott: D-. Horrible. The guy does not belong in the contest. His voice is well below the caliber of the rest of the field. Before he sang, I actually thought he had picked a decent song for his voice. He is more of a soft rock kind of guy but he butchered the song. When he tried to hit the high note, it was like the sound I make when I pinch both my testes as hard as I can (for the record, I only do this when I am very upset about something to try and make me forget about what I am upset about...it works very well). Seriously, this guy is terrible. This is not a competition of how good a blind guy can sing. This is an open competition and I admire him for what he has been able to accomplish but frankly the guy is not good and doesn't deserve to be in the competition anymore.

6. Red haired girl: B. Solid performance. Again, I am surprised at how mature her voice is. She does not sound like a 16 year old. Good performance but not great.

7. Giraud: A-. Like Nooper, he went back to what works. He put on the hat and got the Timberlake look going again and played up his jazzy side. That works for him. He also took a Stevie Wonder song and unlike Lil Rounds, really made it his own. That is why it worked. If you take a song done by a classic artist and sing it exactly the way it was originally sung, it is a recipe for disaster because you will never be able to compete with the original. However, when you put your own spin on it, it is now your song and if you do it well, it will really work. Giraud nailed it and did a really good job and at that point, in my mind, was the best of the night.

8. Lambert: A. I don't really like this guy but he nailed it. Great song, great lighting, and even better performance. The thing you have to like about Lambert is that week after week he changes the types of songs he sings. Whereas Nooper and Giraud and Gokey are proving to be one trick ponies, Lambert is mixing faster paced songs with slower songs and doing it well. He is by far the best performer in this group. I'm not sure if he is the best singer but no question he puts on a show. He seems like he has been a drama queen his whole life but because of that, he is able to almost act out the song. By doing that, he makes you really feel like we are connecting with him. I don't know if he has anything to do with the lighting but he nails that too. I like the fact that he is bold in his song choices and his arrangements. He doesn't stick with any one type of song but mixes them all up and does it well. He was deserving of the best performance of the night. He's the guy I hate to like but he is beginning to separate himself from the field.

It will be interesting who is in the bottom 3 tonight and who gets kicked off. My choices for bottom 3: Rounds, Scott, and Kris with Scott packing his bags.