Thank you! I think that was the thing that was bugging me. It wasn't that he was overtanned, it was the teeth. So white that they actually made his complexion look darker. Now I can't get that episode of Friends out of my mind where Ross over-whitens his teeth. "Demon! Demon!" Oh, man. That's funny.

I still like Paul McDonald quite a bit and think he was by far the best of the night.

I have had Top Chef dreams two nights in a row! Both featuring Carla! (And one in which Jimmy Carter was a guest contestant!)

So, the big deal chef from my town is gonna be on Top Chef Masters. [link] We happen to share a name, and his daughters go to school with my kids, so everyone from my state representative to the dry cleaner keeps asking me if I'm his wife. Great guy, great family, and he has a huge tattoo of a radish on his forearm. What's not to love?

BTW, Kat, I looked him up and Scotty McCreary is only 17. He may have a grown ass man voice, but he's still a baby!

Tonight I watched on Tivo delay. Singers I allowed to do the whole song: Karen, Pia, Haley (I feel like such a terrible snob for thinking she's so trashy, but she's so trashy, right?), Lauren Turner (she needs to learn to dress so she looks like she has a neck), Naima, Lauren Alaina (but just barely, and partly I let her sing because I was mystified at how a 16 year old girl can look so much like she's 35), Thia. Karen is adorable and is my pick to go far.

Lauren Alaina is 16?? I thought she was on the older end of the age range. That kinda makes the pink Toddlers and Tiaras dress she wore the other week a wee bit more understandable.

I had to miss it due to a last minute temp job assignment.

Well, that was an excellent TC - but I imagine we're going to have two eliminations prior to the actual final judging, aren't we.

Mike I. is still an asshole, but damn his dish did look awfully good.

I'll be real curious to read in the blogs about this one. I can't imagine that they were set for all 5 to go from the start. I wonder if there is a "perfect storm" option in the rules in case everyone knocks it out of the park.

I was terrified for Carla because Tom kept mentioning things about the vegetables lacking, despite way praising the broth.

I am watching Idol for the first time in YEARS...probably since the third season? Because my roommate is. I haven't watched before this week, but watched yesterday and today.

And seriously, the girls are kicking the boys' asses. Last night several times I was like "TAKE A DAMN BREATH, AND THEN SUPPORT YOUR NOTES!" Tonight, mostly just a couple girls who are pitchy. But seriously, to a couple of them, (a) You are no Kelly Clarkson and (b) You are SURE as hell no Reba. What crack are the judges smoking telling her she sounds good??!?!

flea, I know Scotty is 17 but I still maintain that 17 is too damn old to have people calling you Scotty unless you are in the engine room of the starship Enterprise and speaking with a heavy brogue. Just, no. Be Scott and be all about that.

So the girls put their feet in the boys booties tonight, right? And some of them downright surprised me in a good way.

Only a few girls totally screwed the pooch. They were:

Ta-Tynisa Wilson – Is going home tonight. Why are we even watching her? Only Girl? Rhi Rhi? And she sounds like shit. Like absolute shit. And the boobs are this close to a wardrobe malfunction. I just don’t even know what to do with that. Worse than Jordan’s OMG? I think maybe yes. Steven Tyler was just captivated by the boobs. And it was a little shaky in the beginning, JLo? Did she hit any note on the front end of this song? Any one? Why is JLo lying to this girl? That would only ever move the crowd to the exits.

Rachel Zevita – Singing Criminal. And I hate the arrangement. Wow, do I hate the arrangement. And she’s so busy trying to sell it and walking around like a maniac that the voice sounds like ass. Well, this is the best she’s ever looked. There’s that right? (Miss you, Paula!) But honestly, the look is about it. Because the whole thing was just a mistake. That was a bad, bad idea. Where was Jimmy IV? I don’t think he would’ve let it go down like that.

Ashthon Jones – What is she wearing? Jean bustier and black leggings with zippers on the thigh? Love All Over Me? Umm, this is not the Howard University Homecoming Talent Show. And it was so shouty and wannabe diva and wow. If it had been the Howard University Homecoming Talent Show, she would've gotten the hook. That was tremendously awful. Like epically awful. The judges just let her bluff her way through that performance because the vocal was not good. At all. She does, indeed, have the whatitisness. But that performance was ass.

Julie Zorilla – Is so, so pretty. Just really. She’s JLo pretty. Breakaway. Oh, no. You do not sing Kelly Clarkson on Idol. And you definitely don’t sing her badly. This song is eating her lunch, y’all. She is not a belter. Why? Why would she pick this song? What a horrible, horrible song choice. And she knows it, too. And the judges. Did you see Randy’s face? Ouch. And her face at the end of this song was the saddest thing ever. She knows she screwed the pooch. Well, she’s going home then. Sad.

These girls were a grab bag of meh (or else they were OK but I just don't happen to particularly care for them which is the same as meh):

Naima Adedapo – She’s going to sing Summertime? Oh, no. No, baby, no. ‘Tasia owns Summertime on the Idol stage. It might be home for you, but you’re not home. And the dress is insane. A gold doily wrapped in a table cloth wrapped in napkins. At least she’s doing a much jazzier version and cheesing the hell out of it. She sounds fine. Actually, she sounded better than fine. She sounded really, really good. I liked the arrangement and I could’ve enjoyed the song with my eyes closed. Sadly, as soon as I opened them she was there dressed like an insane person and being cheesy. Overall, though, I agreed with the Dawg that it really picked up speed as it went along. By the end, she found a nice groove. It was a cheese festival in the beginning, though.

Kendra Chantelle – I like this girl. She’s kinda trashy, but OK. Impossible. Oh, you want to take on Xtina? You better be prepared to throw down if you’re trying to take it there. The first part of the song? She was kind of doin’ it to it, OK? And oops, then in the middle on all the “It’s impossibles” she kind of just lost it entirely. I think she realized in that moment what she had taken on and what she was trying to do and then she lost her nerve. The last notes and runs were definitely not delivered with the same confidence and verve as the front end. Still and all, I don’t think we’ve seen a better attempt at Xtina ever on this show. She (continued...)