Ryan came out last night looking like something out of MTV 1983. If he had a British accent and had rolled the sleeves up to his elbow on the jacket, it would have been perfect. Going into the evening, I had Kinnik, Melissa, or Katharine pegged as potential shark bait for the voters this week.

The producers have also decided to start referring to everyone by just their first names in the prepackaged videos which, thankfully, were mercifully short last night. I’ll stick with both names as much as I can, if only to make it easier on Google to find me. ;-)

Paris Bennett began with Gloria Estefan’s “Conga.” Her voice sounded weaker this week than previously. She had breathing issues, I’d guess, but that’s nothing new to her. She always has those when she’s dancing around stage. Her voice sounded a little strained even when she talked, so maybe it’s just the competition breaking her down. She still sounded good, and she made the song her own by playing with the lyrics over the shortened version of the song. It’s as close to a ROCKSTAR: INXS reimagining of a song as we’ve seen thus far. It didn’t sound like a karaoke performance. She should be a lock to stick around.

Lisa Tucker is either the best singer of the bunch, or tied for best singer. (I’ll mention who the other one is in a bit.) She’s so comfortable on the stage from her previous experiences, and she has a voice that can handle anything. These slower songs are where she shines, though. I didn’t recognize the song much at all (Tiffany Taylor’s “Where I Stand”), but she sounded good doing it. It didn’t pop out, though. The “Wow Factor” was missing, but it was still strong. I think she’s safe.

Melissa McGhee did Heart’s “What About Love?”, while trying to look the part. I’ve never seen a jean with so many neatly-aligned rips down both pant legs in my life. And I can’t recall ever seeing a short-sleeved leather jacket. Heck, if she had eaten two more french fries for lunch, she might have popped the button on the jacket, it was so tight. In any case — it was a good song choice for her, though she sounded a little weak in spots, almost like she was pushing to get to the notes. Simon called it shouting and predicted her demise. Paula and Randy were more welcoming. She’s going to be iffy on the votes.

Kinnik Sky went with a recent Alicia Keyes song, the title of which I don’t know. It was horrible. Wretched. She had a couple of good spots, but it was otherwise a mess and far below everyone else’s performance. It was the Crash and Burn song of the night. She lost the song and never got all the way back. I think the one thing that killed it was all the transitions from high to low notes, and everything in between. They weren’t smooth enough, and she never looked confident to me.

I’ve praised Ryan before for being a good host and thinking quickly on his feet, but I may have to take it all back if he asks one more contestant after a bad song, “How did you feel during your performance?”

The second funniest moment of the night, though, came when Ryan asked Katharine if she was pregnant with Kevin’s love child. It’s only funny because it meant I wasn’t the only one questioning her wardrobe choice last week in the same way. She did look pregnant in that shirt.

The funniest moment of the night came at the very end. Keep reading. . .

Katharine McPhee went out of her “comfort level” that everyone is now obsessed to talk about on this show, and went with “Freedom.” (Er, that is the name of the song, right?) It’s up-tempo and involves a few long notes. Her body language stinks on stage; she looks stiff and uncomfortable. However, I think she has the best trained voice out of all the contestants. She knows how to control her pipes, even when the band drowns her out. Randy and Paula loved it, so there’s hope for her. I can’t help but think, though, that we haven’t seen much of her personality this year and that might hurt her in the voting this week. Due to the X Factor issue, Katharine is on the bubble.

Ayla Brown did a current song that I’ve heard on the radio once or twice, but don’t know the name or artist on. “Unwritten,” perhaps? It’s a horrible song choice with no range, but not a bad performance song choice. She danced around and mostly pulled the song off. The softer parts were weak, but the power parts worked well. Again, the band drowned her out a few times. Ayla, despite a couple of stellar performances, might be in trouble.

Ryan looks like a midget standing next to her, too. We tall people have to stick together, so I voted for her a dozen times last night.

Mandisa (who’s never used a last name) is going to get me in trouble here, I think. She sang Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman.” And while she has a big and powerful voice, I think I’ve about heard it all from her already. We know her schtick. She’s a big girl with a big voice. She screamed through this song as she’s screamed through others. It’s going to get redundant in a few weeks and she’s going to start losing votes. I don’t think there’s a chance at all of her not making the Top 12, though.

I was amused when Simon name-checked TiVo, during his comments.

Kellie Pickler ran with Melissa Etheridge’s “The Only One.” It might not have been her strongest performance, but it was darn good enough. She missed a couple of notes and was soft on a couple others, but the overall performance made up for it. We got to see her attempt a rock and roll version of herself, which was also cute and amusing when she tried to play sultry. Simon called her “a naughty little minx,” which confused her all to pieces. “I’m a mink,” she giggled. That sent Ryan into hysterics, who then got her to name her newest lunch choice of the week, “Salmon.” She pronounced the “L” hard. Ryan could barely control himself from laughing so hard. Kellie could sing a duet with Ace on “I’m a Little Tea Pot” completely off-key next week and still get the votes to carry through. She’s just that adorable. And, unlike Carrie Underwood at this point in the competition last season, she’s comfortable on the stage.

So, who’s out this week? Kinnik deserves to go. That much is clear. After that, it’s a pretty evenly split group to choose from, which leads me to believe we might have an upset. Heck, if we’ve learned nothing from previous seasons of Idol, we’ve learned this: A pitiful performance will often get you more votes than a so-so performance. With that logic, Kinnik would stick around and we’d get two potential upsets.

I’m still sticking with her being ousted tomorrow night, though. Who else? I think Katharine is safe, judging by the judge’s reaction to her last night. Paris, Mandisa, and Lisa are no-brainers to go through. Ayla had an off night and might be susceptible to disinterested voters, but I think last week’s performance will carry her through by a hair. Katharine has a great voice, but lacks a personality for America to connect to. Melissa got a warm reception from the judges, but I don’t think she will get the votes.

So I’m going with Kinnik and Melissa. I’m pointing to Katharine as my dark horse candidate for dismissal, though, just to cover my bets.