TV

The girl has Houdini-like powers to escape elimination. Instead, it was Amanda Overmyer who is no longer with us, but I doubt the rocker nurse is all that broken up about it. Her comment that she was using her time on the show to drum up ticket sales for her upcoming solo shows may not have gone over well with viewers. (I mean, aren't they supposed to be there to be the next American Idol? In theory, anyway?)
Plus, she went first last night. Always a killer.

When Ryan Seacrest abruptly announced that Carly Smithson was in the bottom three tonight, I couldn't believe it. He's joking, right? No.
I don't understand it. Not only was her song great, but what about the speech?! I guess America was less impressed than I was. Alas.

I think she's in jeopardy of being cut tonight. For the second week in a row, she was pretty forgettable (this time with "I Should Have Known Better"). Anybody else think she's more focused on palling around with the other singers than winning the top prize? All she talks about is bonding with her Idol cohorts. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

It has to be said: Perhaps he's taken this tattoo thing a little too far. Did you catch him in the crowd? If you were a small child, you would have screamed.
I'm sure he's a nice guy, but covering one's entire face in ink is startling. Which, I guess, was his intention.

Not sure what a "voice box" is, exactly, but David seemed proud of himself that he was able to master the device in just on day. Seemed pretty easy to me: Just talk into the thing. But perhaps I'm wrong.

Although the Fab Four were the greatest band in the history of time, I agree with Simon that a second Beatles-themed week may have been a mistake. Not sure why that is; maybe their songs just aren't meant to be duplicated and manipulated by amateurs. Whatever the reason, of the 11 singers left, I thought a whopping five were downright bad. Not great odds.
Which five? Brooke, Kristy Lee, Michael Johns, Chikezie -- and I hate to type this, but Jason. He's my favorite (and not just because he's a local!), but a less likable chap would have been reamed for that wobbly rendition of "Michelle."
Still, I think he won more fans last night during his taped clip, when he admited he messed up on his much-acclaimed "Hallelujah:"
"I didn't sing the last note very good at all," he said. "It was a bad last note, and nobody cared!"