The search continues in Denver and Little Rock. But only John Wayne really impresses.

Welcome to Denver. People here seem quite big and look older. Oh, there's a beer festival next door. That explains it.

Emma or Amber Lynn and James The Eighth (don't ask!) do their thing to start us off. Emma Lynn sings an off the wall number and actually does quite a reasonable job of it. Quite a talented girl. The guy's guitar leaves quite a bit to be desired and he is a fan of odd stuff too but, again, not a bad audition and certainly different. Both are interesting but I can't see them going far in this competition after Boot Camp.

Emily Wears is a professional auctioneer and does an amazing job of the true spiel! That's really quite impressive but more so is her performance. I love this girl and she came across really well. I don't know the song but it was good. Unfortunately, she doesn't make it, none of the judges wanting to put her through. Pity. I think she was pretty annoyed with herself too. Normally she'd be a classic case of next year she'll be along and will get through easily. That makes it all the tougher this time. That's it. We won't see Emily again.

Chris Johnson is quite keen to move on. He is a professional musician doing whatever it takes in Memphis but he wants more. He picks a Hall & Oakes number which doesn't do much for me but the panel like him. They call him a Road Warrior and say how well he performs in a natural way. When Keith says 'Let's get you out of Memphis and on to Hollywood' that is exactly what he wants to hear.

Nashville, Arkansas is where a very young-looking chap comes from. I think there about four people living there and lots of dogs. He calls everyone 'Sir'. Ethan Kuntz is just 15. He sings the Blues and actually sings them well. Unbelievable because he's way too inexperienced to know anything about the Blues or what's behind the lyrics. He is very good, nevertheless. Keith has mixed reactions. Harry is not keen, despite him being so good, worrying about his not being able to handle some mixed genres. Jennifer is very keen to put him through. Keith is torn but he has to decide. He puts him through and we'll see what he can do in a while. he may need to change his name if he gets famous.

Mary Williams loves horses and sparkly stuff. She lives on a ranch with dogs and horses and says Y'all a lot. she does old school Country. Yes, she can don that well. Good voice and, with no accompaniment, she just hits all the notes well. Remembering how they weren't sure about Ethan being stuck in a groove I was wondering what they'd decide this time. Keith was not convinced this time but Harry was so she's through.

Xavier Sollen is a noisy chap but his job is to warm up audiences so that makes some sense and you sort of forgive him. He gets them chucking balls and Jennifer gets her first shot right in the basket, much to everyone's surprise. Nice fellow but he can't really sing. he did wake them up a bit though.

Teryan comes from a bad part of town. She uses music to escape from the drugs and guns and whatever goes on where she lives. You sort of don't want to say no as you want to rescue this girl from that world. However she didn't do that good a job of Happy. Such a shame. She's pretty and comes across well. They put her through and that's nice but I am not sure how far she'll get.

A singing Nomad called Blue is like a hippy chick. Leanne McIsaac comes across pleasantly and puts together a song specially for them. Cute, not the simplest song and I don't know if she is an Idol. I think she should have tried a better song and shown that she can sing as she seemed disappointed not to get through. Thereagain, she wouldn't have been good doing Abba and One D songs.

Tommy Stringfellow is probably last up in Denver. Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran is a cool number for this chap. Straight away you can hear that he has something special. He's good and ought to balance the books as so far it has been all girls showing talent so far. He deserves his golden ticket for sure. Hope he survives Hollywood.

Oh, there's more. Someone called Tank. He also comes with a teeny wee 'Boom Box'. Slightly embarrassing dancing we can do without. Tywan Jackson is his name. His singing isn't bad. But he isn't in tune and it gets a bit painful after a while and even The Carpenters' Guitar Man sounds bad, which is a shame, as that's a nice song. Very oddly, the judges seem to like him. he actually gets through, seemingly because he can 'entertain'. Now that doesn't make any sense to me, unless they need to balance a black v white thing. Nice chap but surely he shouldn't be through.

A big cowboy comes next. John Wayne Shultz was here a few years ago and lost out at a crucial stage to Scotty McCririck who went on to win the whole thing. John was as good and maybe better as he's more mature. So we know he's through to Hollywood for sure. It will be interesting to have a class act in there and to see how far he goes. Nice, Very good audition. And I'm not a Country fan.

Leah Harbert is frightening. I hope they stop her soon. Thank goodness.

We get reminded that Tori Kelly, currently topping the US Charts go a fair way through American Idol a year or two back and has done very well despite not reaching the Live Shows.

Jordyn Simone is 15 going on 25. She is good, doing Who's loving you? the Jacksons' number. They find it hard to believe that she is just 15 and she gets through so easily. Now there is someone who ought to do well. 'She'll look exactly the same at 45' says Harry.

Back to Little Rock,, Kassy Levels auditions well and is shown with Rhea Raj. She is different and also does a super audition, not that we see much of either. Both fly through. Chap with a beard and his hat on backwards next. Jake Dillon has a super Country-style voice and does a Kenny Loggins number about Ben. Nice track and he has to do well. Yet, again, Harry and Keith worry about his being stuck in a groove in the competition - a bit like some that have gone before. They could be right but pure Country guys have won quite often! For a moment I am thinking he is not even going to make Hollywood but Keith gives him that chance. Thank goodness. Even if his journey stops there, like several others' might too, he will have had that experience that the panel have already given to quite a few more questionable talents mostly on the basis of their just being a bit more current or pretty.

Ashley has a crazily long name and comes from Hawaii. She is seemingly very relaxed and out there. Her song is Black Velvet. I don't know. She looks lovely and sings OK but she doesn't really fit anywhere. She gets through but I feel that will be the end of her run.

Andrew Nazabekian is from Russia! Just flown in. He used to live in New York but his parents went back to Russia so he had to go to. He is a more serious singer and I am not sure how his slightly broken English will go down with voters. The panel just seem to throw him through anyway. I still think that's as far as he'll go.

Now this is the last one. From Kentucky Elvie Shane gives us House Of The Rising Sun and seems to have something a bit more interesting about him. Quite entertaining. Good choice of track and he knows what he's doing too. He's a good one to watch.

Philadelphia auditions. Everyone's a bit different.

This week sees the Philadelphia auditions. They seem quite a markedly different bunch to what ahs gone before. Almost everyone is quite memorable.

Gianna Isabella has a mum who shared a studio with Jennifer Lopez and had connections with Mariah Carey. She auditions with House Of The Rising Sun which is sort of OK but not exactly spectacular. Nevertheless she deserves a place at Boot Camp as she may have some hidden abilities.

We see a pile of successes as more people go through but we'll have to wait a while before knowing who they are.

Derek Huffman fails on three counts. First he says he's a major Idol fan but can't get any of Clay Aitken's questions right. It was pity because all the answers were actually Clay! Quite amusing, although I do find Clay a little odd. Secondly, he brings on a little CD player and plays a Shaggy track background as he tries to sing along. Thirdly he can't sing.

Country boy Isaac Cole is a real country boy and has a haircut that looks like a coconut. The panel seem to like him. He is nearly good enough and gets through. It looks as though his parents were really surprised. He certainly had a day to remember as his own 'idol', Keith Urban signs his guitar case. Nice. I doubt if we'll see much more of the lad though.

Sarah Sturm works in an egg restaurant. Cheerful lass and she chose a good song with Your Lips Are Moving and is such a plain-looking girl that I actually hope she'll do well and get the benefit of the makeover team's work for a few weeks.

Ellis Spanks is weird. He comes in with what he calls a Jesus hairpiece and not a great deal else. Very odd. He tries to sing Lady Gaga's Born This Way but he can't really sing. He makes us laugh but that's all.

Quirky describes the next girl. Jenn Blosil is quite strange but also endearing. You sort of want her to do well but don't know what she'll do. As it happens, she does a great job of Imagine Dragons' Radioactive. I quite like her. No idea how she'll get on from here but she could do well if she gets some support and chooses the right tracks. No-one there to meet her afterwards. That was a shame. Maybe there ws someone hiding outside.

Harry Cohen has his grandad with him who fancies just about every girl he sees. Some might think him  a bit pervy but I think he's OK. Anyway, his grandson, Harry or Harrison sings a song he has written himself and it's pretty good. The lad's a bit odd but he can sing and can write from what we hear.

John Greene has a sad back story and that might explain why he has a big passion in his voice. He is currently in Matilda on Broadway and that puts him in a particular category. Harry says no, unsure whether he can be made to appeal in other genres but Keith and Jennifer get him through.

Next auditions in Denver.

So many good people. How will they ever choose just 12?

Down in Little Rock and they kick off with a little rocker in shorts. After a few minutes of him chatting with Harry about the Louisiana accent he gets to Give Me Love, the Ed Sheeran song. And, despite seeming to be about 13 years old he sings that really really well. I don't know what to make of this fellow Cameron. He just looks so young and seems out of place. He's though to Boot Camp but will be one of those contestants who really will wish American Idol could return next year.

Daniel Farmer sings nicely. Good voice but a bit ordinary and occasionally a strange octave lower note emerges that sounds weird. then he goes off an octave higher which may show some great range but I really don't think I can see him in the charts or selling albums to more than a few specialists.

Dalton Rappotoni has a very good audition. He sings Phantom Of the Opera accompanying himself on a guitar. Amazingly good. Reminded me of Adam Lambert, one of the best ever guys on AI. Superb and interesting tone. He is one to watch and throws several others we've seen so far way out of the game. Nice.

La Porsha Danae gets a big intro so I guess we'll be seeing more of her. She has big and slightly unflattering hair. She comes on with her baby with Jennifer has to hold. She sings Creep well and with some passion. Quite a talent and easily through. I have some doubts but the panel reckon she could be capable of shutting down quite a lot of the competition if she continues to perform that well. We'll see. I am not so sure.

One things is certain and that is there is plenty of interesting talent coming along in just these first two sets of auditions. Now, I know they will have been edited and saved us from being dragged through a pile of rubbish but, in comparison to some years, things are looking good. So far Dalton, in my view, is the one that will take some beating.

I have just noticed that we're not seeing much of Ryan. Kris Allen is making a good job, though.

Maddie McAllister is a country girl from Arkansas. She comes in with a chicken. Her chickens have the biggest breasts in Arkansas!! Oh boy. Nice girl but she's off key. So many of the contestants here are working on farms and coming in with this or that animal but few more seem to impress until the next lad appears. 'Do you have any creatures with you?' asks Harry.

Trent Harmon maybe a real Country boy but he redoes one track into a totally different thing that is more soul than anything. All a bit weird. The guy gets a great compliment from Harry as one of the favourite auditions so far. I don't quite see that but he's through and may have to leave the 3000 cattle ranch and restaurant for a while. I like the sound of his family's restaurant where the cows are grazing just a few yards from where the steaks are served.

Ah! Ryan's back, welcoming us to San Francisco. Hopefully we'll see some people with flowers in their hair and a few less tractor drivers and chicken-carrying girls.

We get a slightly annoying waste of time with an otherwise nice girl saying sorry a lot in some practice filming to promote the show. Brook Sample is a waitress. I like this girl. she does a Dixie Chicks number and that's not an easy one to cover with just a piano. I like the fact that she was genuinely surprised at getting through. She could do well but they'll need to help her and stop her saying sorry so often!

Olivia Rox performs the lovely Bruno Mars When I Was Your Man and she is super talented. A very gentle but natural, quite spell-binding audition. I like her a lot and surely she has to go far.

Melanie Tierce is another great singer. San Francisco is producing some really good girl auditions. All of them could make the Live Shows. harry says people would pay to watch her audition and says she's the best so far! That makes about five he's said that too! But he does genuinely mean what he says. They could make a show with just the girls. Well, the girls and Dalton.

Miss Alalska next!! 'Oh Jesus!' she says as she comes in. 'No, I'm Harry. Jesus couldn't make it'. says Harry. This is Maylie Deroado or something like that. Yet another very interesting girl. She looks good but just has a great personality and isn't the cheerleader type that Miss Wherevers often can be. How on Earth can they choose between all these girls?

Brandyn Burnette sings a song he wrote himself called Lost. It's pretty good and he puts a lot into this audition. Very good indeed and that's one for the boys. He deserves his spot in Hollywood. Ryan took a seat in Harry's place for no reason other than something that just happens when Harry starts messing around. Brandyn gets four yesses!

The Chavez family seem to be the biggest AI fans ever, with all the series on old VHS tapes. Kirstie is the daughter that is performing. To be honest she's not very good, losing the notes and screaming tinnily a lot. I think I might well just send her to Hollywood for the sake of her parents! And that's what they do but I doubt if she'll get much further as she really is not very good at all. Sorry, nice people but she's not a singer for this show.

Sarah Hayes talks herself right out of a ticket. She comes in all confident and sassy but throws it away. She shows signs of talent in what little she does and Harry thinks that they're goofing around may have put her off but Jennifer and Keith say no. She probably offended Keith with her attempt to define Country too. that didn't help and I think she'll be a bit less 'confident' in her next audition, wherever that may be. Odd.

Tristan McIntosh is 15. Great look and great personality. her mum is in the army in the Middle East somewhere. She missed her but carries on regardless. Also confident but this was a far better audition. Why Baby, Why? was a good choice and she sits at a piano and really seems to know what the song is all about. Nice job. She's good and definitely needs to be in Hollywood. Next comes a very emotional moment when, even to her family's surprise, the AI team have arranged to get her mother home from the Far East. Huge moment and well set up. All very genuine. Good ending, and I don't usually like that sort of thing.

This is... the Farewell Season

Harry Connick Jnr, Keith Urban and Jennifer Lopez have been three excellent judges and mentors and I feel they will guide us through the series to end in a good way, assisted as ever by Ryan Seacrest, not looking that much older than he did at the outset.

There is a rapid run through of previous winners. It was interesting to see whether I remembered each one and whether any were still making good music now. A few are.

Michelle Marie gets the honour of kicking us off. At the age of 15 she can sing well, although most of it is at full volume and lacking any real emotion. Good notes and sound but she is a bit too much and over excited and when the audition room gets invaded by several (quite odd looking but probably very nice) people I do wonder whether the panel were wondering what they'd done! Just as I write this, Harry says that the people coming in had scared the sh#t out of him!

I don't think she's going to get much further and I'm not totally sure she was the best audition to start this series off with but it may have been the sort of thing that American production team people think their viewers will like.

In Atlanta they have winners Rubin and Lee and possibly Kris, I'm not sure, to greet some of the contestants.

The next one up is Josiah Siska, a totally Country & Western guy with a superbly low voice. He is a nice fellow and Ghost Riders In The Sky may be a 1950s number but he does a great job. Nice audition, although he doesn't strike me as modern that really doesn't seem to matter on this programme. He's through.

Third up is a powerful girl with It's A Man's World and a lot of runs that were pretty pointless. She's through too. I don't recall her name but I don't see her making any Live Shows.

Fourth up is Billy Bob who is a Honky Tonky man. He is gigantic. You can listen to him talk all day. Great character. Some of his sentences were classic out of some Western film. He doesn't sing too well, though, which is a shame.

Lee Jean is another 15 year old but nothing like the girl at the start. He just strikes you straightaway as more mature and 'normal'. I don't know the song he sang but there was something special about this young man that, despite some notes going astray, showed talent. he has to go through and we'll see more of him. Nice job.

Off to Denver and we meet Jeneve Rose Mitchell who lives somewhere with no electricity. She uses a generator to watch TV and spends most of her time with horses. She is genuinely from the outback! Off the grid on 'Saddle Mountain'. Amazing. she is very original, playing a cello and singing. Fascinating. I don't know where she fits in but she is through and should be good to watch as she must surely progress.

Sonika Viad is a very pretty girl with parents from India and the first almost typical 'pop star' of the evening to audition. Nice voice, a simple look but all the more attractive for that. Harry says that she could win, she just sang, no runs or fancy bits.

Next comes a lad called Joseph who sings semi-operatically as if he is in pain. He looks like he is suffering too. Big voice but he's all over the place. Everyone's saying 'Let's go Jo' and they look as if they had really not expected anything other than a Golden Ticket.

Next we have a nice girl police officer. Reanna Molinaro has a nice name and attitude too. Once she had handcuffed Harry she does a lovely job of a Patsy Cline number. She'll be through.

Sylvia yodels. Oh dear. She is a cool lady but really she gets a bit annoying after a while. Lovely character and she hardly stops talking.

Shevonne has auditioned five times before. she looks a lot better than before. Laurel Wright too has been here before and, from last year a guy whose name I missed returns and did Benny & The Jets. All three sounded like they should go through and they do.

We see Nick Fradiani briefly who has an album coming out soon.

Joshua next and he has a good voice and nice personality. One of the better guys so far, after Lee Jean. Possibly the first to have made me stop and listen and you get the feeling he really means what he sings. He is easily through and I'd like to see him.

Jordan Sasser and his wife Alex are both entering the competition. He looks a prat with the mini pony tail. Alex sings Bruno Mars and plays a ukelele. It is neither one thing nor the other. Nice enough girl but it's all a bit sweet. No passion, all on the surface. So she gets a 'no'. In quite substantial contrast Jordan does a pretty good job of Celine Dion's It's All Coming Back. He is a bit over the top but he could be helped to control that. He gets through and certainly can perform although whether he'll stand out isn't s clear. He might be a bit 'ordinary'.

Kerry Courtney is a solid singer but a bit heavy on the guitar. He has quite a lot of emotion going on in this slightly off beat number and it doesn't really show off whatever talent he may have as well as it might at the start. As he progresses, however, he gets in to it and he is interesting. Quirky, as Harry says. Idol material I am not sure about. Jenny says he gets dark and even a bit scary at times. He goes through, deservedly so. It was interesting also to see that he was on his own - no-one to shout and jump up and down when emerging with the Golden Ticket.

Shelbie Z is a powerful Country South singer. She delivers a Carrie Underwood number well and flies through to Hollywood round. She could be a competitor although i don't know how she'll g down with the voters if she gets that far. She can be a bit over the top after a while. She was a Voice contestant.

Kanye West closes the first show of this Final Season by doing an audition himself. Quite funny, especially with his mum chatting with Ryan outside.

A good start. Quite a classy show in comparison to X Factor at the same stage. Far fewer bum auditions, indeed only one or two that I recall. The panel seem settled in their skins and just enjoy life. The small audition room with no instruments other than an occasional piano accompaniment or the auditionees own guitars works well for me.

American Idol Season XIV Jax Doesn't Win

One of the problems with watching this series a day or two late is that it is almost impossible to avoid reading the results before seeing the show! I tried very hard but there it was on some headlines and my heart sank. Jax gets eliminated and, as it happens, it is at the start of the show so I'm not actually giving much away telling you that now. I feel so sorry for her, having had to rehearse the whole set of three songs and goodness knows what else only to be kicked off at the start. Bad production, folks; you need to change that.

It is so disappointing, though, as she seemed to me the only fresh artist in the last few of this Season and I genuinely could see Jax performing on huge stages and selling lots of albums to real big fans for some time.

As it is, let's hope Simon signs her up with SYCO and gets her well promoted. She may then actually do better than whoever wins.

So, it's between boring old Clark, wobbling a bit and never quite finding his comfort slot, or Nick, with his 90s revival stuff and strong but not exactly memorable performances. I'll let you judge for yourselves from their three performances shown here which is what occupied practically the whole Finale show.

To be honest, neither is going to have a massive impact on the charts over here and, I suspect, not much over the longer term there unless some exceptional writer comes along and pens some particularly fine tunes or they bring back Payola.

American Idol: Season XIV. The Top 3 for the Finale selected.

Rayvon starts with a track that is sort of what we're getting used to hearing from him but he doesn't do this as well as some he has performed in the past. It's certainly not bad but not quite as good as I think he needs at this vital stage.

Clark did not have a great week last week but is still here and this time gets the U2 classic to perform. Once more I am hearing some lazy phrasing and not ideally placed notes. It is like he has reached a peak a few weeks ago and is either now trying too hard and losing it or just not picking the right songs to stay well within what he can do well.

He gets compliments from the judges but i felt the crowd were a little less warm. If you listen again to the judges they say it was 'pretty good' and 'I like what you did but you need to listen to the lyrics' and 'your voice is good but...' Make of that what you will.

Easily the best of the guys so far, could Nick be heading for the Final? I would never have thought that at the outset but he is consistently good, in tune and confident. A good choice once more, although this got a bit tedious after a while and ended poorly. Still, that's the song's fault not so much his. He made a good job of the main part and gets much better reviews from the panel than Rayvon and Scott. Nice guy. I see him as the runner-up now. Not a memorable runner-up but he'll get some hits and sales out of all this.

Really good performance by Jax. She just owns the stage and although My Generation wasn't the track I'd have picked for her, she did really well with it and surely has to be the winner of this whole show? Very impressed and knocks all the others into a very cocked hat. Brilliant.

Nick's second number is a sort of rock and country sounding Back Home that has never graced UK charts yet. I swear that there's a banjo in there somewhere. A jolly sort of number with a simple catchy line or two but nothing spectacular. It won't do him any harm, though. Depends what Scott does but he may even pick up some calls from Texas.

I see this as Scott's last chance really. Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay is such a classic song and, as Scott once was at the start of all this, it is exactly his sort of track. He just needs to take it gently, feel the lyrics and get the message across just like Otis did and he may make the Top 3. Unfortunately, he doesn't. It's a mess and not an attractive sound at all. Scott really has lost it, I'm afraid. he has become tedious and not even nice to watch. Pity, as I would have had him as the winner once upon a time.

Nice job, Rayvon. In complete contrast to Scott. This guy has scarped through each week for some time and may have to again but I do hope he makes it this time. That was a nice version of an interesting track for him.

Simply fabulous. Jax is really showing the others just how good she is and just how diverse she can be. You cannot get much further away from The Who than Evanescence. Brilliant choice and she can get away with just sitting there, a little vulnerable, playing the piano and there was a backing track I didn't notice it. Jennifer thinks she's amazing. Harry is clearly impressed too. Keith doesn't get a look-in. Well done, whatever. I'm sure he would have been very complimentary as well!


Better, Clark. Just standing there in a smart suit and singing a track from a modern film, '50 Shades Of Grey', this will earn him some much-needed votes. Whether they'll be enough to knock Rayvon off at last I don't know. At the end the song gets rather messy and I am still not convinced about his note selection. he would be so much better just delivering the song's message gently and in tune and with some real emotion.
Another excellent choice by Rayvon and he doesn't ruin the lyrics or notes by inclusing lots of decoration where it isn't needed. A good track to finish his entry request for the Top 3. Now, will it be granted? He deserves to be there in my opinion. Jennifer was looking for more emotion but Harry reckoned he had that and also complimented him on the arrangement, saying that was 'smart'. More than he said to Clark.

This is a judges' choice for her but I don't quite see why they chose this. It's OK but doen't do a great deal for me and I would say that Rayvon takes this last round. Jax still takes the whole day, though. She made as good a job of that as I think she could and my guess is that she can just do whatever anyone throws at her, which is quite an achievement. Jennifer says that they chose that because they thought it suited her but they felt that she was passing the attention to the guitarist and almost hiding behind him. That's not her style but if she wasn't that cool with the number I can well imagine it being a reasonable move to make. She'll still make it through.

Here's Nick chasing the Big Country vote now, and that's not a bad move at all. A good choice by the judges for him. they're on his side I reckon! A good, measured performance. he could have ruined it by going too fast or too loud but he controlled it nicely. Lots of good feedback there and he damn well should make it through. the question is: who won't get through to the Top 3 Finale?

It turns out that it was Rayvon's last day after all as he loses the votes this week. So it is Jax, Nick and Clark in the Finale.

American Idol XIV: Top 5 perform and we get the Top 4

This week Clark, Jax, Nick, Rayvon and Tyanna show their colours to win this competition. One will go home and leave a Final Four to move on next week and also have the Homecoming events.



I'm not enjoying this. It could be Clark's pooerest performance and the style and song simply don't seem to be the sort of thing he should be doing. the screaming and general approach may show a much-needed animation in someone who has been a bit robotic on occasion but it all seemed a bit over the top and possibly shots in the wrong direction.

Having said that all the initial indications are that Clark will make the Top 4. No doubt. At least that's what I thought at the start of writing this!




Another stunning performance from this girl. The cracked voice work well with this track. Just watch the moment when she decides to get up from the piano - you can almost feel the excitement that she gathers up and then shares with the audience. She is so talented and I am so impressed. Harry asks whether she was horse and she admits that she was but she gets praise for not just continuing through but almost bringing more character to a good track anyway.





Nick makes it through to sing again. Well done, Nick. He has an earthy originality about him and I can see where he gets a good number of his votes from. Territory that perhaps Clarkwanted to steal but now, I suspect, can't.

This track does just go on a bit but it does give Nick a chance to show everyone how good-looking he is and, as Harry points out, that was easily the most 'comfortable' that he'd been. A good time to get things right.

I don't like the very short hair style which only seems to emphasis the eyebrows but what's that got to do with singing? Nothing. so never mind.




As if you hadn't already guessed, Rayvon and Tyanna are the bottom two. Again and again for Rayvon but he ought to survive again too with Tyanna really having let herself down last week. Rayvon does need to do well, though, and you can hear him putting everything except the kitchen sink into this performance of the Lady Antebellum song. He's good but I do worry that he is trying too hard. We've really yet to hear him just do whatever comes naturally. I fear we may not get the chance as, even if he makes it this week to the last 5,he needs something very special if  he is going to beat Nick or Clark. The judges say the same thing about pushing the lyrics and emotions a bit too much.




Oh dear. This is dreadful. The makeover team must have been on holiday when it came to her turn. But never mind her appearance; her voice is all over the place at the start and, whilst she makes some effort to get back on track, something isn't right. She starts dancing but then stops. The judges' sum-up make it fairly obvious that they must know the result. I can't see how they can but as it happens they are right and it's farewell Tyanna. Not a surprise or a loss at all.





This is where Clark falls down the popularity charts. Very pitchy, unusually for him but worrying as he is in a different zone and , despite the classy bits later, it doesn't get rescued. This is sould without much sould I'm afraid. A pity, as I had thought this would be where he closed the gap with Jax for the win.

Not on the video is an argument where Clark does not come across well. That will not have helped him either, showing a pompous side. He's not going to win now and I can even see him going home next week if Rayvon pulls his socks up.




Lovely. In complete contrast we have Jax in the mist with a beautiful version of the Christina Peri song. When she drops to her needs she perfectly interpreted the lyrics and it was a performance that you just stay with until the end. At one point I was wondering if the mist was going to take her over! A good job. Well done, young lady.




Here comes Rayvon! We'll ignore the fact that it's a Justin Bieber song but, like it or not, you have to respect the guy for the performance this time. He holds back for a change. soemone does need to teach him about breathing next to the microphone but he did a very good job tonight here and, with Clark's not doing well, I wonder whether he might not have just pulled himself into the Top 3 after all!

Impressed. Not as impressed as I am with Jax by quite a long distance but impressed nevertheless.




Good move, Nick. With Clark stumbling, he is now going for the Country vote. No-one else is so why not? There's usually enough in Texas to win the damn thing so if he can pull a few thousand of those in he'll be there next week.

Nice mixture of styles here. A fairly flat, uneventful performance but it worked for all that.

Jennifer has him as the star of the night. Didn't expect that. Keith says that will storm up the iTunes chart. Maybe judges shouldn't make these predictions that can so easiliy be proven wrong. I would predict Jax by a long way.