I was really impressed by A.J. last night. He hadn’t made much of an impression on me before but I thought his performance was really good and I hope he sticks around.

Sanjaya had my wife’s pity vote all wrapped up. During the entire performance she had this look like she was watching a puppy get taken away or something. I get the feeling there will be a lot of that. He’s safe.

Speaking of wives…way to marry up, Chris.

I’m beginning to think Sanjaya was put through simply to see how far the pity vote could take a contestant…

No one really blew me away this week, though I’m enjoying Blake. He always seems like he’s out of breath, but he’s got an appealing confidence on stage, and he’s got interesting taste. (Judging by the last two weeks, he’s something of an Anglophile.)

What was most interesting to me this week was how the judges kept hinting at what they wanted to say, then pulling back. Here’s what was apparently *really* running through Simon’s mind:

To Brandon: “I don’t give a toss about your dead grandma, that performance was weak.”

To A.J.: “You looked really comfortable camping it up like a drag queen.”

Still … an interesting night. Even if these guys aren’t so great, they could end up being a lot of fun to watch.

I deeply dislike Jarrod. I felt his performance WAS forced and overly dramatic, and I can’t get over the weirdness factor of dedicating “Let’s Get it on” to his parents. I just find him creepy. Perhaps it’s the eyebrows. ;)

I don’t get the Chris Richardson love, in all honesty. I don’t think he’s that great of a vocalist, sticking to relatively basic melodies despite the trickiness of his lyrics. But maybe it’s because he’s such a Justin Timberlake Clone.

I thought Phil was solid last night. Of course, I’m a softie for the military boys, so there is that. But his performance was strong and clear, and I do feel he’s getting slightly more charistmatic the more time he spends on stage.

Sanjaya was a total car wreck. Which therefore insures his safety. ::sigh::

I like A.J. in general, but found him largely unmemorable last night.

I loved Chris Sligh’s performance. He IS charismatic, and his more subtle delivery of the song sold it in a way that Taylor’s didn’t.

Nick Pedro is actually a cutie, and his dedication was sweet. But you’re right, Augie, he never said the word “love.” Didn’t stop her from beaming in the front row, though. ;) It was a nice smooth performance, if largely unadventurous.

And we finally got Sundance back. Thank goodness. The dedication to his son was adorable, and the energy in his performance was infectious. He shoudl do relatively well for the next week or so, but when they get to theme nights I’m worried for him. He’ll have to pull a Chris Daughtry and find arrangements of these songs that are suited for his style of delivery.