Paris "Works It Out," but the others?

So why don't we start this out with a discussion of the hottest thing on television right now--"American Idol."

Tuesday night's theme was songs from the 21st century. We've already seen how singing current songs can trip up contestants (Think Ayla and "Unwritten."), so I expected some of the top 10 to have problems. I just didn't expect so many of them to have problems...

Here is my breakdown of the performances:

Lisa Tucker, “Because of You”
This was not even close. A horrible song choice.

Kellie Pickler, “Suds in the Bucket”
She picked a novelty song? Not a good move.

Ace Young, “Drops of Jupiter"
Ace has been my favorite from the beginning and I have voted for him every week except Stevie Wonder week (when he ended up in the bottom three); but I HATE this song. And what was up with the cheesy display of his scar?

Taylor Hicks, “Trouble”
It was nice to see him do something other than his spastic dancing, but the song was kind of boring. I was surprised to see Simon love it so much.

Mandisa, “Wanna Praise You"
I think this was an “Idol” first—a Christian praise song—but I didn’t think it really showcased her voice during the verses.

Chris Daughtry, “What If”
Simon said he was sharp, but I think it was just the overpowering band making him sound that way. Interesting that after applauding Chris for “refusing to compromise” Simon told him he needs to do something different.

Katharine McPhee, “The Voice Within”
Bring back Barry Manilow. That arrangement was horrible. The judges were impressed, but it just didn’t do it for me.

Bucky Covington, “Real Good Man”
Again, the band was overpowering, but it didn’t really cover up much with this one.

Paris Bennett, “Work It Out”
Okay, she is WAY too young to be singing that song and moving like that. But it was gutsy.

Elliott Yamin, “I Don’t Want to Be”
Sorry, but I HATED that arrangement. The ending was lousy too and he struggled with the words.

So who’s going home? Lisa, Lisa, Lisa. She picked a song that “Idol” watchers are guaranteed to love and she butchered it. I can’t see America forgiving her for that. As for the bottom three, I have no idea. Kellie deserves to be there, but I can’t see that happening. If more people felt the way I did about Elliott’s arrangement of a popular song (that Bo Bice nailed last year), he may be there; and of course, Bucky deserves to be there, but he keeps surprising me.

And in case you’re wondering, no I didn’t vote. If Ace ends up in the bottom three this time (which he could), he deserves it for singing that song (My apologies to all you Train fans out there.)

Don’t forget to tune into the results show Wednesday at 9 p.m. with a performance by Shakira and Wyclef Jean of “My Hips Don’t Lie.” I find this to be a strange appearance considering Shakira’s relationship with Verizon Wireless. Oh well, the guys will like it…

Stay tuned...