Tonight was Simon’s favorite night– country music performances. Martina McBride was the professional coach. She seemed to really give good feedback.

Phil Stacey started off the performances with Keith Urban’s “Where the Blacktop Ends”. He did a great job interacting with the audience, although I didn’t necessarily think it was his best vocal ever. All in all, it was one of his best showings. Randy said he should sing country, and Paula agreed. Simon summed it up: “Well, it’s only taken ten weeks, Phil!” I was surprised to hear that Phil actually wants to sing country music. Tonight definitely indicated that would be a good choice for him.

Singing in front of the person that originally sang the song is a brave move, but Jordin Sparks has never shown any fear. She sang “A Broken Wing” by Martina McBride. She put an interesting soul twist on the song and had great vocal performance and really wonderful feeling. She is unbelievably mature for a 17 year old. Randy thought it was another great performance. Paula said it was fantastic. Simon said “I believe, based on that performance, that you could win American Idol”.

Next up was Sanjaya Malakar, singing Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About”. (It sometimes annoys me when they refer to this song as a country song– I mean, it’s really an R&B song– but tomato/tomahto, I guess.) Martina McBride is absolutely right when she says that Sanjaya sounds better when he sings louder. I still wasn’t crazy about his performance, but it certainly wasn’t his worst. The judges were pretty brutally harsh, and that’s about all I intend to say about it. I do, however, want to relay Sanjaya’s answer to the fan question. He was asked which he would like to make sing a song– and what song. He answered that he’d like to see Simon sing “Shiny, Happy People”– wouldn’t we all?

LaKisha Jones took a risk singing “Jesus Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood. People who sing songs with religious themes on American Idol have traditionally fared poorly with the judges and the voting. I thought LaKisha sounded really good and that this was one of her best performances in weeks. I felt an emotional connection to her singing the song. The judges were not as impressed. Simon summed up their feelings by saying that she and the song didn’t go well together.

At the just past halfway point was Chris Richardson who sang Rascal Flatt’s “Mayberry”. I thought this was a timely song for a boy from Virginia to sing. I think we all miss Mayberry a little on days like this. I think his nasal, twangy voice is pretty well-suited for country. Randy and Paula felt like there was no emotional connection with the song, and Simon said it was non-descript, nasally and tinny. Chris sent a message of support out to the people of Virginia, which I found touching. We, too, would like to express our support and prayers for the families in Virginia and around the world who were affected by the tragedy.

Next up was Melinda Doolittle. Melinda returned to singing a younger song with “Trouble is a Woman” by Julie Reeves. She also got the second question of the night. She was asked whether she has met any crazy fans. She relayed a story about a woman who ran towards her screaming, and she turned and ran away, not realizing the woman was a fan. Melinda’s performance tonight was really refreshing. It was the second performance from her that was not only “good” but fun to watch, as well. I’d like to see her sing more songs like that. The judges all really enjoyed her, as well.

The final song of the night went to Blake Lewis. He sang Tim McGraw’s “When the Stars Go Blue”. This was a really beautiful song that Blake sang very well. I like it when you get to hear that he really is a good singer, as well as a good performer. Randy and Paula both liked this performance, but Simon was underwhelmed.

So, I thought that this was a pretty successful country music night– SO much better than Kenny Rogers country music night last year. Anyway, here’s my order:

1. Blake Lewis
2. Jordin Sparks
3. Melinda Doolittle
4. La Kisha Jones
5. Phil Stacey
6. Chris Richardson
7. Sanjaya Malakar

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