I was pleased that tonight’s elimination actually went along pretty quickly. Sometimes the elimination nights just seem to drag on tonight. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case tonight.

The night started with the group performing “Stuck in the Middle With You”. That was pretty much as you expect the group performances to be.

LaKisha Jones and Blake Lewish were then called to the stage. Both made it through.

Chris Sligh was called down. After making him wait through the commercial, he made it through. Then Jordin Sparks and Phil Stacey made it through.

Jared Cotter was the first to go home. I liked Jared, but I never quite “got” him. I thought it was unlikely that he and Brandon would both make it through, but I had actually picked him over Brandon.

Melinda Doolittle and Brandon Rogers were then put through to the Final 12 (so I don’t have to move to Canada), followed by Gina Glocksen and Chris Richardson.

The final 6 awaiting their fate had to wait for Carrie Underwood to be introduced and to sing. She’s really quite good. I liked her on Idol, but she wasn’t my favorite to win. Actually, she wasn’t even my second favorite to win. But it’s nice that she’s doing so well.

After Carrie’s performance, Antonella Barba and Stephanie Edwards were called to the stage. I thought this one could have gone either way. I mean, out of the two I certainly thought Stephanie would make it through, but you just never know. This time American got it right, and Stephanie made it to the Top 12.

Then Haley Scarnato was called to the stage with Sabrina Sloan. A no brainer, right? Sabrina’s in the Top 12. Not so fast. This one was a surprise. Sabrina went home, and Haley is in the Top 12. The judges were disappointed with America’s choice– Randy actually said “America got that wrong”. I actually thought that Simon’s comments to Haley last night probably helped her make it through. In the past, there has been a noted Simon backlash MANY times when Simon has been overly harsh to contestants. I actually have a theory that he does it intentionally to pretty girls that he wants to see one more time.

Ryan finally told us about the big surprise. The short version is there will be an empasis on poverty in America and in Africa and some fundraising that will occur later this season. I’ll be writing a full post on “Idol Gives Back” tomorrow with more details.

Finally, that left Sanjaya Malakar and Sundance Head. As much as I wanted to see Sundance move on, and as much as I thought Sanjaya should have gone home weeks ago, I thought this was probably bad news. They don’t save you until last if it’s a foregone conclusion that you’re going home. Sure enough, Sanjaya is in the Top 12, and Sundance is going home. Prior to this, I thought Haley would be going home next week. Now I have to hope for Sanjaya. Simon could only guess that the reason America chose Sanjaya was because the volume was turned down. Yes, he actually said that.

So, that means American Idol 6 has its Top 12:

LaKisha Jones
Blake Lewis
Chris Sligh
Jordin Sparks
Phil Stacey
Melinda Doolittle
Brandon Rogers
Gina Glocksen
Chris Richardson
Stephanie Edwards
Haley Scarnato
Sanjaya Malakar

What do you think? Good? Bad? Indifferent?

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Tonight the girls proved that they are a force to be reckoned with. Randy summed it up best after the first performance when he said watching the girls is like watching a completely different show than watching the guys. This is exactly the opposite of what I expected to happen going into the top 24, so who knows what will happen from here.

Jordin Sparks started off the night with a gutsy song– Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker”. There’s been a lot of talk about the “it” factor recently. Some have even questioned whether any of this year’s American Idol hopefuls have “it”. I think Jordin does. It’s not that she’s so much better than any of the other girls. She’s just intensely likeable. I want to see her sing each week. I don’t want to get up and get a snack during her song. She’s entertaining. She’s sweet. What’s not to like? Randy really liked the performance, as did Paula. Simon thought it was a bit shrieky, but thought it was 100% certain that she’ll be back next week.

Sabrina Sloan excels at a type of music that I find irritating, at best. Tonight she showcased that talent with En Vogue’s “Don’t Let Go (love)”. BUT she does sing well. And she puts on a decent performance. And starting next week, there will be more limited song choices because of the themes, so maybe I won’t be so bored anymore. I can’t really imagine Sabrina winning. I can’t really even imagine her being in the final three or four. But I’ll be vaguely irritated if she goes home tomorrow. Randy said it was a solid performance, even though he didn’t really like the song. Paula said Sabrina can “sing, sing, sing”. Simon said she’s a great singer but lacks emotion and personality. Yeah, what Simon said.

I’m about to show my age. I’ve never heard of Corinne Bailey Rae. I don’t even know if I *should* have heard of her. Who is she? The singer of “Put Your Records On”, the song that Antonella Barba sang tonight. If you’re under 30, or just particularly aware of popular music, please let me know if this is someone I should have heard of. I really don’t think I live under a rock, but I also don’t keep up with the latest music. Anyway, back to Antonella’s performance. I actually thought this was one of her best performances since her original audition. It showcased her voice and her personality pretty well. Unfortunately, I think she’s completely out of her league with several of the other girls. Randy said that he thinks she’s a better singer than she’s shown. I tend to agree. Paula said she had trouble at the bottom of her range. Simon dared to point out that she’s surrounded by singers who are just plain better than her. This led Ryan to ask one of the most awkward questions you can possibly hope to ask an American Idol hopeful– “Do you deserve to be in the top 12?” How exactly is she supposed to answer that? “No, Ryan. People at home, please don’t vote for me. Seriously. I’m outclassed here. Don’t even bother showing my number. I’ll pack my bags and head for home tonight.” There is no good way to answer it. Still… Antonella’s actual answer left me shaking my head. She said the judges shouldn’t compare her to the other singers (hello… it’s a competition. It’s kind of all about comparison.) and that it wasn’t that the other singers were better than her, just that they had different styles. Ummmm. No, Antonella, some of them really are better than you. This would be like saying that your average NBA player is every bit as good as Michael Jordan. Nope. There’s only one Michael Jordan. Some of these women (some of the men, too, for that matter) are just plain better singers. No shame in that. It is what it is.

ANYWHO– on to the rest of the night’s performances. I think the producers love Haley Scarnato and would like to see her go farther. I think that’s why they put her immediately after Antonella. I mean, that should have made her look good. It’s certainly better than going after LaKisha or Melinda. In spite of the help in placement, I just didn’t think Haley’s performance of Faith Hill’s “If My Heart Had Wings” was very good. It was okay, but it was a lot like a pageant performance. Too smiley with no emotional investment. Randy summed it up by saying it had no “yo” (thus, beginning much discussion for the rest of the night about the “yo” factor). Paula said it wasn’t her favorite song, but Haley sang it well. Simon thought it was horrible.

I’ll say one thing for Stephanie Edwards– she’s fearless. Tonight she took on Chaka Khan’s “Sweet Thing”. Considering a Chaka Khan song already sent home one good singer, I think that’s pretty brave. It wasn’t my favorite performance of hers, but I do have to giver her this– she is exactly what Antonella and Haley just can’t seem to pull off– interesting. Even when I don’t like her song choice, I still like to hear her sing. Randy gave her performance an A for effort, but said it was just okay (for the record, I don’t think Randy thinks that anyone ought to sing Chaka Khan). Paula thought it was darn near flawless. Simon said Stephanie is one of the best they’ve got, but that she should try to find her individuality.

I don’t understand how Antonella can listen to LaKisha Jones and not hear that there’s a difference in quality. Not style. Quality. Tonight LaKisha sang Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing.” I have gone on record in the past, saying that Whitney Houston should be banned from the early rounds of American Idol. Tonight LaKisha showed what you have to do if you’re going to sing Whitney Houston. You have to be good. You have to sound like yourself, not try to sound like the original song. And you have to sell it. I think LaKisha did all of that tonight (and managed not to bore me to tears with a song I’ve heard WAY too many times). Randy said it was another great performance. Paula said LaKisha should work on being the next Idol. Simon said she brings passion and talent to the stage and that she looked beautiful.

Rock star Gina Glocksen finally made an appearance tonight. She looked like what I’ve expected her to look like all along. No more slinky red dresses. And no more Celine Dion/Whitney Houston/Mariah Carey wanna be songs. What was she thinking up to this point? Tonight all that was gone, as she sang Evanescence’s “Call Me When You’re Sober”. I was afraid that Simon might hate the performance and label it as “shouting” or “shrieky”, as he often does, even when that’s how the song is supposed to sound. I will say this wasn’t my favorite song, but that was okay because at least I didn’t feel frustrated thinking that Gina was not being herself. Randy agreed, saying “Finally the real Gina comes out”. Paula warned her not to oversing the songs but urged her to stay with this style, as it suits her best. Simon made Gina cry by saying that this was the first time he’d seen her comfortable in the competition and saying she was a breath of fresh air.

Melinda Doolittle. What to say? Well, here are the facts. She sang Peggy Lee’s “I’m a Woman”. Here’s another fact. If she goes home after that performance, I’m done with American Idol. I may be done with America. I may have to move to Canada. Remember the “yo” factor? That would be it. Wow. I’m going to post the video because if you missed it, you shouldn’t have. And if you saw it, you should watch it again. Randy said she was the hottest one of the night. Paula said Melinda was brilliant on stage. Simon said, “you little tiger! I thought we had a pussycat!” and noted that it was nice that she is enjoying herself during American Idol. I think someone has a little crush on Melinda

So, that’s it for the top 8 girls. After tomorrow night, there will be no more boys and girls. It will just be the Top 12. Tomorrow we’re also supposed to find out the “most important, most ground-breaking” news in American Idol history. Paula and Simon are expecting a baby? Next year there will be an American Idol All Stars competition (I actually have heard that’s a possiblity)? Paul McCartney will be on the show (I’ve also really heard that could happen)? Tune in tomorrow night for the greatest secret of all time (sarcasm intended) and to hear Carrie Underwood sing. Oh, yeah, and for the eliminations.

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Two past American Idol contestants have been nominated for awards by the Academy of Country Music. Carrie Underwood was nominated for five ACMs: Top Female Vocalist, Album of the Year for Some Hearts and Song of the Year, Single Record of the Year and Video of the Year for “Before He Cheats.” Last year she was named Top New Female Vocalist at the 2006 ACMs. Kellie Pickler hopes she’ll be the next American Idol alum to take home that award, after she was nominated for Top New Female Vocalist this year.

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One of our readers gave us a headsup in a comment that American Idol is nominated for a People’s Choice Award. Head over there and vote for it! American Idol winner Carrie Underwood is also nominated for a couple of awards under the music category.

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American Idol 4 winner Carrie Underwood won 5 awards at the recent Billboard Music Awards. Carrie’s album Some Hearts won Album of the Year and Country Album of the Year. Additionally, Carrie won Female Billboard Album Artist of the Year, New Country Artist of the Year and Female Country Artist of the Year. Below is video of her winning Album of the Year.

Other former American Idol contestants made appearances, as well. Katharine McPhee and Chris Daughtry made guest appearances as presenters. McPhee and Daughtry presented Rock Album of the Year to Nickelback. You can watch their presentation below.

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