Patman

Charlie Robison (Nashville Star judge) also writes down comments he wants to make to the singers during the "judges reaction" after each song.

goofee girl

I think she's just wearing clothes that are more flattering to her figure. She's a big girl and wearing fitted jeans and jackets that cover her larger features has really helped with her look. Plus, she's dressing more her age... the first few nights she was dressing up like an "adult" while trying to win the title of American Idol. Adults don't necessarily become idols.

goofee girl

I thought Clay did extremely well last night. He's definitely worked on his facial twitches and with stage performance to the point where he is more entertaining in a pop fashion. Even if he loses this contest he still has Neil Sedaka to back his first album.

I'm beginning to like Ruben more and more each week... back when all he did was wear those stupid muumuus and sing the same song with different lyrics I couldn't understand his popularity. He does need to work on that whole hand reaching thing that he's been doing since his first audition. Very annoying.

Trenyce did an excellent job and while I see what Simon was saying about the drag show style, it wasn't a very nice thing to say (unless Trenyce is a fan of drag shows). However, like someone else said... she's the most karyoke of the singers. She's a great imitator of other singers but hasn't found her own style yet.

Josh. It's his time to depart. Definitely. He's nowhere near the level of the others and from his outward appearances I think he knows this, too.

Kim was pretty darn good especially with the last song. I just wish she had a better attitude. Her reactions to being safe from the bottom three in the past showed her true essence and it wasn't a nice one.

icondude

I really think Josh had an off night. Mostly this was due to poor choices in his songs. He should do what Reuben does and stick with what he does best and ignore Simons comments.

I also think Clay is probably the best one. Reuben is just as good but only if your looking for the next Barry White.

Jadzia

Not only was Josh horrible, but he showed his true colors last night by talking back to Simon. The gay remark (about Simon preferring drag acts) was just uncalled for. What an ass. Send him to Iraq now.

Talk about ugly facial expressions. While he sings he looks like he is on the toilet and he is just too goofy looking. I couldn't believe Randy praised his second song-- boy that was just horrible. And he makes those annoying hand gestures all the time, like he's trying to flag down the waiter to gethis check.

If he doesn't get voted off tonight there is no justice in the world.

Thankfully now that the war is over heis fair game (he was in the bottom 2 last wee for the first time.) But I'm worried all his fans in the blue states will call in and vote en masse to save his chunky butt.

I do think he has a career ahead of him as a commercial jingle singer-- I can close my eyes when he sings and hear the "Crazy About a Ford Truck" song. Josh does a great impression of a country singer.

mediabear

If you have access to Entertainment Weekly's web site (you now have to be a subscriber to EW or AOL member), here is an interesting link. There is a review of last night's show up, but this particular page has a photo showing only Ruben, Clay, Kimberly, and Trenyce: http://www.ew.com/ew/news/0,6113,~10~~,00.html

Skorp

Yeah, just like last week. And the week before. And the week before that...

He's mediocre at best, and I really can't stand his performances. The fake country twang, the finger jabs, the hunched posture, and that angry/constipated look on his face. It's time for him to go back to Camp Pendleton.

As for the others last night:

Clay - easily showed the most versatility last night. He's always projected a lot of confidence, and is now taking even more chances with his voice and interpretations. Was especially nice to see him really cut loose with "Build Me Up, Buttercup".

Kim L. - like Clay, she seems to take more risks. Unfortunately, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" didn't work, though she redeemed herself with "Where the Boys Are." She needs to back up the risk-taking with a bit more consistency.

Trenyce - the girl obviously has a voice; I just wish she'd find one of her own. Too many of her performances have been karaoke (Whitney, Maria, Celine, now Tina Turner). Though technically I think she sounded better on "Proud Mary", I'd rate "Love Will Keep Us Together" higher, only because it wasn't just imitation Toni Tennille.

Rueben - bores me more and more as each week goes by. Yeah, he's consistent: Consistently in his comfort zone, taking no risks (I hardly call slipping into a weak falsetto very risky) or doing anything to "raise the bar". And the stupid grin on his face, even when singing sad songs, really needs to go. The judges are actually hurting him with their over-praise, as he's not hearing anything that would make him grow or change.

Patman

OMG, Ruben's falsetto was really off-putting. I was like, did he just try to sing high notes? Falsetto is not Ruben's forte.

big whoppa

Funny how many constipation remarks there are about Josh. I swear I was thinking the same thing for the past few weeks. Let the boy have some Ex-Lax.

As far as Kim is concerned, she has enormous breasts. When the camera took a side view of her when she was singing, you could see that she shops for the over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders.

Patman

Kimberley also has a proportionately sized butt to go with the boulders too.

potvin48

Did anyone think Josh missed a few words in his second song? It sounded like two spots, close to each other, he mumbled the words...Or was that how it was supposed to sound?

Patman

Yeah, and Ruben was close to missing some of the words as well.

Clay seems to be able to morph his stage presence into what the song requires of him the best out of the remaining contestants.

Jadzia

Ok, any perverted folks out there (like me) think nasty thoughts when Trenyce was talking about "swallowing" and making her "vocal cords moist"?

Come on. Admit it.

cineman

I thought Clay was amazing! He raised the stakes with both performances.

Josh should get the boot. He should have been gone weeks ago. He sucks.

goofee girl

Could you copy and paste that article and pic? I couldn't access it and there are probably others who couldn't either. Thanks!

rkndkn

Here's the article by Jessica Shaw: (Only had a pic of Kimberly, didn't see the group of 4)

Finally, the episode we've all been waiting for. I don't know what was in the water in Los Angeles Tuesday night, but was this the best ''American Idol'' so far, or what?

For starters, we saw the two best performances of the season: Ruben's ''Breaking Up is Hard to Do'' and Kimberley Locke's ''Where the Boys Are.'' I actually found myself applauding alone in my living room while watching. Sad? Yes. Justifiable? Definitely.

But just because Ru and Kim owned the stage doesn't mean others didn't rock too. Clay finally listened to Simon and abandoned his smirky musical theater vibe. Granted, the guy looked downright freaky with all the backlighting during ''Solitaire'' (I kept waiting for him to start a magic show à la David Copperfield), but if you closed your eyes, you got goosebumps. As Paula incomprehensibly said, ''You are now the pop singer. You just are.''

And you have to (reluctantly) admit, Trenyce was pretty damn fabulous. She always seemed a little skanky before tonight, but she found her stride (not to mention kick-ass fashion sense) with ''Proud Mary''' and ''Love Will Keep Us Together.'' Sure, Simon said ''Proud Mary'' reminded him of a ''drag act,'' but even he came around and pronounced her ''Love'' rendition ''fabulous.''

But the best performer of the night had to be Neil Sedaka. Could the guy have been any more adorable taking notes during songs and reading them back on live television? Unlike some other judges (Olivia?), Neil fully embraced his own camp value and gave better comments and advice than Paula’s given all season. Okay, so he was a little obvious about who he wants to win (''I would kill to write and produce your first CD,'' he gushed to Clay), but the guy knows talent. He worked with Neil Diamond, for Pete's sake! ''You are ear delicious!'' he told Kimberley. No, Neil, you're delicious.

Alas, the one person who left a bad taste in my mouth was Josh the Marine. If you’re going to pack on serious poundage and major attitude at least give a decent performance. Instead, Marine boy hit an all-time low with his horrible song choices and uptight stage presence. Those odd attempts at feigning emotion during ''Then You Can Kiss Me Goodbye'' made him look like a cheesy performer for some local church telethon. And those scrunchy faces he was making during ''Bad Blood'' made me think the guy was either going to beat the crap out of someone backstage afterwards or run screaming into the nearest bathroom.

Though Paula tried to compliment him by saying ''that's what Josh is all about,'' Simon really called what Josh is all about: Going home. ''Those two performances weren't good enough to stay in this competition,'' Simon rightly said. And Josh, please accept defeat gracefully. His whole ''He's just lucky I got Marine corps restraints on me'' was simply pathetic. Maybe the guys in the barracks will appreciate his off-key tunes because hopefully we won't have to ever again.

What did you think of the show? Post your comment, and we'll publish the best ones in our Thursday ''American Idol'' column on EW.com.

mediabear

It's not allowing me to copy and paste the photo because there is an advertisement linked along with it that pops up when you try to paste the photo. If anyone knows a way to paste it, the URL for the photo is here:
http://www.ew.com/ew/news/0,6113,~10~~,00.html

Here are the results from the EW online poll as to the person most likely to get the boot:
Here's a summary of the results:
Joshua Gracin 76.8%
Trenyce 18.1%
Kimberley Locke 2.3%
Ruben Studdard 1.6%
Clay Aiken 1.1%

rkndkn

Thanks, mediabear! Didn't see it the first time.

kcdny

I am not a fan of ANTZ but her performances last night were very cool. Simon's drag comment was really messed up.
I am loving Kim L but grapevine wasn't that spectacular, where the boys are rocked.
Ruben is BORAAAAAAAAANG!
Clay's Solitaire performance freaked me out wtf was all that about?
Josh really needs to go.
I am tempted to see the Idols Live this summer just so I can BOO CARMEN & JOSH LIVE lol.

Goldberg74

Just heard on E! News Live that next week's theme is "The BeeGee's." And the guest judge is going to be Robin Gibb himself.

zuffy

Damn, Julia and Carmen are looking F I N E !

Daytripper

Is anyone watching the Wednesday night show now? Wow, Sideshow Bob was so off key the first 45 seconds or so when he was singing. And why is Kelly sitting in the audience. BTW, her album slipped from #1 to #3. Still selling like another 130,000 copies. Not bad.

O.K. Justin finished as off key as he started.

kaisha no saru

thanks for the update - i had to hit mute! is it me or is his face looking *puffy*..still looks slim but bloated maybe? since i didn't have to hear him had to make fun of the appearance.

and if Josh doesn't get booted i'll have no faith left in america (didn't have a whole lot to begin with of course).

kaisha no saru

omg - ruben's in the bottom 2? wtf. is my tivo going wonky? is this a late april fool's joke?

Michael T Hudson

Why is Ruben in the bottom 2 ?