American Idol 8.2 - The Top 11 sing the Grand Ole Opry

Last week it was Jasmine Murray and Jorge Nunez who failed to make the cut. No big surprises there - it was two of my bottom 3 who ended up going home.

Who will it be this week? Country may be a challenge for some of our more rock-oriented contestants. This week's guest coach is Randy Travis.

Michael Sarver
Ain't Goin' Down 'Til the Sun Comes Up
He's in his roundhouse here. Michael is probably headed for the country music genre if he makes it as a recording artist so he's totally comfortable here. There might have been a couple of minor pitch problems, but overall he does well and should easily be safe for another week.

Allison Iraheta
Blame it on Your Heart
I would not have thought Allison would do well with country music, but I enjoyed her performance a lot. If you changed up the arrangement to make it less country and more rock, she could have a hit with this. Allison is one of my favorites this season, and she sang this one to pieces. Excellent. Interesting that Paula almost seemed to give her a criticism, urging her to experiment with being more vulnerable with her vocals.

Kris Allen
To Make You Feel My Love
I'm not sure it was the right decision for him to put down his guitar this week. He's sitting on a stool and looks a tiny bit uncomfortable to me. But in a way that he didn't manage last week, he made me believe he could be a force in this competition with a really nice vocal. Very well done.

As a side note, I wonder if the judges are pulling a fast one on us tonight. Simon is being unusually supportive, and Paula is going out of her way to find moments to critique. Interesting.

Lil Rounds
Independence Day
Oh dear. Lil just told Ryan that the idols spend "quite a few time together" during the week. Lucky for her this is a singing competition and not an English test. This was a great song for her. She's got the pipes for it. She sang it well - not perfect, but she will easily be back for the next round.

I take back what I just said about Simon. He was probably harder on Lil than she deserved. And he kept calling her "Little" because he thinks that's what "Lil" is short for. Hello? Cowell? Have you never met someone named Lilian? Duh!!

Adam Lambert
Ring of Fire
I think I'm bleeding from my ears. In fairness, I'd love to see Adam play the roll of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar - I think he'd knock it out of the park. But this performance made me feel physically nauseous. I did not like it even a little bit. It was creepy. Those who like this sort of thing will vote for him a lot and we'll be subjected to Adam again next week.

Scott MacIntyre
Wild Angels
Scott got a haircut since last week and it helps. And this was a great song choice for him. He's not the best vocalist in the competition by a long shot, but he knows how to use his voice to it's best effect. Being sure of his skills gives him more gravitas than he would have otherwise.

Alexis Grace
Jolene
I really like Alexis, but I'm not 100% of tonight's performance. There were a few places in the middle of the song that felt weak - kind of disconnected. She ended strong, but this was not her best performance.

Danny Gokey
Jesus Take the Wheel
I hate this song choice for Danny. It's safe. It's expected. I don't think he showed anything new or interesting tonight. And geez - his pitch is kind of all over the place. He's such a good singer that I'm sure he'll be safe, but he really missed it tonight. Normally he's amazing. This performance was not amazing

Anoop Desai
Always On My Mind
Maybe it's my imagination, but I don't think his piano player helped him tonight. The front half of the song felt very uneven to me. And while he was much better vocally than last week, there was boredom on my mind pretty much throughout the whole thing. I almost would have preferred to listen to Adam again. Not quite, but almost.

Megan Joy
I Go Walking After Midnight
Interesting - they changed her last name. Megan is adorable. I like her. And I love the '40s vibe she puts on all her performances. She didn't have a lot of power vocally tonight, but the coughing afterwards gives it away - she was singing with the flu. I know she's not everyone's taste, but I think she's terrific.

Matt Giraud
So Small
I don't love Matt. He might be my least favorite tonight - even with the ear-bleeding antics of Adam. He is boring. There's no power in his performance. I don't care for his voice. I don't find him inspiring. I don't enjoy looking at him (not my type; and yes, that matters).

So, who is going home this week? It's a seriously tough call. I know that some of the performers I just hate are hugely popular with the main demographic that watches this show. Some of my favorites are people who don't fit the idol stereotype. And truthfully, style preferences and vocal mistakes aside, nobody completely sucked this week.

Since I feel obligated to guess at the bottom three, here are my pics to find their way to the floor this week:
Michael Sarver - he was not helped by going first and there was nothing really wow about his performance. This was his genre and he was only solid, nothing special.
Alexis Grace - I really like her overall and she is adorable, but her performance tonight was lacking.
Megan Joy - I hate putting her name here because I like her a lot, but I think there is one too many cute, jazzy blonds in the competition - she and Alexis are going for the same votes and Alexis may be more relevant.
...and for good measure...
Anoop Desai - He was much better than last week, but I still just don't like him and think he's outclassed by the field. *shrug*

There are singers I don't like as well as some of the ones on this list, but I suspect the ousted contestant will be one of these four.