So last night it was the guys’ turn on “American Idol” and just like the ladies, there are 10 left who performed last night. After 5 minutes of the usual judge banter, the performances got underway and there was a least one clear cut leader, and a few duds……and, like the women, quite a bit of medicocrity.

THE GOOD

Okay, Chris Daughtry, who was the last guy to perform, wound up blowing everyone else out of the water, singing Fuel’s “Hemmorhage.” This dude can wail, he looks confident when he performs, he gives me goose bumps and he just has the goods to be a star right now. The judges agreed. Paula said “Do you know how good you are?” and Simon said Chris’ performance was the measuring stick for the rest of the guys. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Chris is as good as Mandisa and Paris, and maybe even good enough to win this whole thing. That, and dude is humble.

The other really strong performance of the night was Elliot Yamin, aka the Abe Lincoln impersonator…..well, Elliot shaved off his beard and turned in a great performance of a Stevie Wonder tune. Randy gave him a standing ovation and Simon even used the word “great.”

THE IN-BETWEEN

Taylor Hicks, who everyone affectionately knows now as the gray haired dude, attempted the Commodores’ “Easy.” It was just okay…..but even worse, dude kept ad-libbing this “whooohhh” almost after every line. Nothing has been more annoying in music since Michael Jackson’s “hee-heehhh.” There’s no denying Taylor can sing but he didn’t exactly show it last night.

Ace took on a Daniel Bedingfield song, and while Randy and Paula said it was good, I disagreed and so did Simon. Ace was clearly not an ace tonight….he strained a lot and didn’t look comfortable.

Gedeon, the dude with the smile as wide as Hollywood, sang Sam Cook’s “Change is Gonna Come.” He’s a bit goofy and animated but really sounded pretty good. Simon even made reference to the fact that he’s got a natural ability akin to some of the great Motown artists from 30 and 40 years ago. I’m going to declare Gedeon a sleeper here.

Will, the Fred Savage look-alike who also reminds me of a young Paul O’Neill (my friend Kramer once promised this sick kid that Paul could hit two home runs in a game). Anyway, Will sang Kenny Rogers’ “Lady” and the song choice was bad for him….it was kind of boring and didn’t showcase his voice enough. Simon said 11 year old girls might like it, but that’s about it.

Bucky made reference to the fact that the food in California is much different than where he is from in North Carolina. Ma’s Diner serves up fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and sweet tea….but in Cali he said the menu looks French. Anyway, Bucky sang Garth Brooks’ “Thunder Rolls” and did pretty good, though to me it sounded like karaoke or a bar band performance. The judges thought it was pretty good too but not nearly the caliber of some of the better singers here.

Lispy Kevin sang “Heard it Through the Grapevine” and he made reference to the fact that he’s getting more attention from chicks now. He said “Hey ladiesth, howsth it going?” and now I know who he reminds me of: Butthead. Now imagine Butthead trying to sing Marvin Gaye, and we have a problem.
Kevin wasn’t awful, but the novelty is wearing off.

THE BAD

The two that I’m picking to get voted off this week are Sway and David the crooner.

Jose “Sway” sang Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” and definitely struggled with it. Anyone that takes on the great Stevie Wonder is taking a risk, and Sway just didn’t do the song or himself any justice. Adios, Jose.

My other choice for elimination was David, who sang Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight.” Definitely his genre, but he was pitchy and totally unconvincing. The judges agreed, and Randy said it best: “I was bored.” I bet most of America was too and it’ll show tonight.

So let’s recap…..my top three right now are Paris, Mandisa and Chris….honorable mention to Lisa Tucker, Katharine McPhee, Elliot Lincoln and Taylor “Gray.”

The Marley choices for elimination are Sway, David, Big Mouth Brenna and Heather (they’re not real, and they’re not spectacular). Join me tomorrow for the recap