I was sure that there would be more of a suprise elimination like Michael Johns early elimination last year, but Lil and Anoop were both destined to leave soon.

Carrie Underwood. And I hate country music but I know how to identify an amazing artist even if I don't like their style.

And I think that's why Simon let the save get used last week. It wasn't so much about Matt but rather why bother saving Lil or Anoop. In retrospect the save probably should have been used on Alexis, but there was no way to know that then.

Don't like contemporary country and Underwood's no exception. The words "amazing" and "artist" just don't apply for me. Please provide an example that applies to either term.

Funny thing is that you can have an enduring career in contemporary country music without ever having any real talent or growing as an artist. Country music from the 80's sounds like country from the 90's which sounds like country from this decade. When artists stretch out in country, they tend to get rebranded or marginalized instead of embraced. Complacency and boredom are the norm. Musical and lyrical innovation are frowned upon. There is no "current" in country. It's a musical treadmill.

Hasn't always been that way but for the past thirty years, its all been pumped from the same Velveeta factory. Only in country music can a man have a top five hit talking through The Rose. Only in country can Hootie find himself on the radio again. And only in country music could Josh Gracin and Kellie Pickler find careers. Country frowns upon artists...it prefers entertainers.

Save yourself a few bucks and pick up some Skid Row cds from the wal-mart bargain bin.

So what did everyone think of Archie's performance? I only caught the last half, but I actually enjoyed it for what it was, and I usually don't like current pop music.

One comment about Adam: Other than the screeching...and I'm in the 10% of people who didn't like Axl Rose in most instances...I see him as having more of a future on Broadway than as a "rock star".

For better or worse, Adam keeps changing his persona from week-to-week. It might display his range (as Randy said) or be tailored to the song, but it gives me the impression that he is just playacting the part of a rock star. That's not so bad; Mick Jagger has been playacting for decades & still sells out. It just makes me wonder what persona he would actually adopt if he were to go on tour...or would he try to tailor the look to the song each time?

More realistically, if he wins, what persona will be chosen for him? I see them marketing him as what was implied earlier...an 80's rock throwback. All of the theatrics are part and parcel of the genre. Could actually prove lucrative album-wise given the success of the Rock Band/Guitar Hero franchises. Probably won't lead to many hit singles, though.

Must admit I'm curious to see if they try to tie him to a "Do I Make You Proud" type number in the finals (if he should make it), and if so, how much freedom they'll give him with the arrangements. No matter how much Kara goes off about "artistry," the desired end result is typically more in tune with a cookie cutter product than art.

I'd consider voting for Adam if he sings something from the Darkness.

Be glad you missed most of his performance because it was riddled with bad, off pitch notes. Going by the performance last night, he wouldn't have even made it in to the top 10 this year. I was pretty shocked since he was pretty good during last year's show run.

A wailing voice doesn't automatically equate to Skid Row. I doubt anything he records will come close to that crap music.

I thought it was horrible, but I never liked him when he was on AI and never thought he was a good singer.

I did have a good laugh though - when the camera panned to the middle-aged, blond lady on keyboards my husband and I at the very same time said sarcastically "Is that Linda McCartney?" Good to know after 9 years of marriage (this was on our anniversary) we still can bust out with the same thoughts at once.

Done.

Are we ready to call this the worst season yet? I'm having such a hard time staying invested in this group. I like Allison, but she seems to be on borrowed time. I like Danny's voice, however, he's been so boring. The rest I can't stand. I never thought it would come to this, but wouldn't Tatiana's antics at least have been a little bit of a welcome spark for this season had she continued on? I know it's crazy to say, but man, this batch of singers couldn't be more bland.