Idol chatter

I have yet to actually call in a vote for American Idol …

But if I did vote for tonight’s show, sad to say, I’d have to vote against my boy Chris Sligh. A week ago, I never thought I’d be saying that, but his version of “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” -- one of my all-time favorites -- was treacherous from top to bottom. Dude, you gotta stay with the beat … If Chris gets voted off tomorrow night, I’d be OK with it.

And Sanjaya. Oh, Sanjaya. Singing Gwen Stefani’s “Bathwater” tonight, he did all right -- but I liked his Kinks song last week more. He’s still too timid … Still, no matter how bad that kid sings, he’s gonna get the votes for his hair -- especially after tonight … Holy mohawk, man.

Lakisha and Melinda -- with their disco songs -- remain steady on top, but their performances were hardly memorable …

Gina, however, was memorable. Her version of “I’ll Stand By You” was near perfect, I thought. And I was glad to see her finally get the kudos from the judges she deserves. She brought it tonight. I’m telling you, she’s a contender …

Haley messed with “True Colors” and it didn’t work. Jordin put some fresh life into “Hey Baby,” but it wasn’t enough (I hate that song). And Blake was all right on The Cure's “Love Song,” but the “best male performer” title bestowed on him tonight by the judges was more suitable for some of his previous performances -- not last night’s …

And here’s another statement I never thought I’d be making a week ago: Phil Stacey was the top performer of the night. His take on Sting’s “Every Breath You Take” was dead on, and I loved it. Take a cue people, don’t mess with the classics, just sing ‘em and you’ll be fine ...