American Idol: Idols Take to the Country

Thankfully for the American Idol contenders, country songs are easy to sing. As a result of this simplicity and with absolutely no help from lackluster Martina McBride, country week went remarkably well for the remaining seven.

I'll begin by talking about Melinda, who turned in the best performance of the evening with the brand spanking new country ditty, "Trouble is a Woman." Melinda, as always, was pitch perfect, but this week she was also something else - stylish. For the first time in the competition, Melinda managed to pull off a cute, young look which was aided considerably by some beautifully done hair extensions. This shouldn't matter as much as it does, but something tells me the longer the hair extensions, the more votes Melinda is likely to garner.

I'd put Phil Stacey, Jordin Sparks, and Chris Richardson in the second tier of singers tonight. Stacey's "Where the Blacktop Ends" was upbeat and fun and lauded by the judges, even though I felt it was pretty much on the same level as most of his other performances. Jordin, looking stunning in a tangerine ball gown, shined with McBride's "Broken Wing," but fell short of the legendary status she achieved with earlier selections (most notably the tour de force "I (Who Have Nothing)." Chris Richardson was panned by the judges for singing Rascal Flatts' "Mayberry," but I actually thought his song choice and delivery were the most straight up country of the evening, and in that vein the most freewheeling and enjoyable.

Other than the force known as Sanjaya, we're left with just Blake and LaKisha. Blake is in no danger of being voted off, even though I found his performance of "When the Stars Go Blue" a little baffling and strained. His ensemble was extreme preppy, sweater vest and all, but his vocals made this dreamy country song remind me of something The Cure might sing. I'm sure in the universe of hipster cool, this earns him some bizarre cred - but personally, it just makes me scratch my head with confusion.

Another confusing and disappointing performance came from LaKisha who sang former Idol Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel." LaKisha's biggest mistake in the execution of this song was failing to realize that it's a song about surrender, which requires a controlled, soft vocal. LaKisha overpowered the chorus, making it sound (as a co-worker of mine astutely pointed out) like she was commanding Jesus to take the wheel, instead of asking. I predict LaKisha's emotional back and forth with Martina McBride, in which she confessed to identifying with the mother who is the protagonist of the story, will save her this week. But she's certainly on very shaky ground and may end up in the bottom three.

Last and least is Sanjaya Malakar who sang Bonnie Raitt's "Something to Talk About" so poorly last night, Simon looked like he was about to break down in tears. I think, of all Sanjaya's performances, this is the one that could send him home, if in fact the majority of his voters are still voting on merit.