Okay.  Now the show is really good.  There really isn’t a weak one in the remaining five.  Now we have to separate the silver standard from the gold standard.

I hadn’t watched Idol in a couple of years, and I forgot that they switch to a two-song-per-show format as thing get to the wire.  Good.  It’s much better all around, for the audience and the contestents.

Elliott sang "On Broadway" and "Home".  Despite what Simon said, I really don’t think people are going to vote him off simply because the lyrics to "Home" suggest a desire to "go home".  Elliott did better with the ballad than with "On Broadway", but I wasn’t moved at all by either song.  His performances were clean and fine — but just, you know, fine.

Paris sang "Kiss" and "Be Without You".  "Kiss" was fine (there’s that word again), but the song doesn’t work for me unless you bring a lot of steam and sex to it.  Paris didn’t try to emulate Prince, which is smart.  But that still left the song with some void.  "Be Without You" was better and more in Paris’s style.

Chris’s first song, "Renegade" rocked the house.  It was the best performance all evening, even if it was a little pitchy in places.  His second song, "I Dare You" was also very good, but, as the judges noted, he has noticeably strained his voice and that detracts from the performance.  He’s going to lose his voice if he doesn’t take care of it this coming week.

Katharine McPhee played this week smart.  Whereas everybody else downshifted for their second song, Katharine went the opposite way.  Good move, because it made her dynamic song stand out.  Her first son was "Against All Odds".  I thought it was off, and after Daughtry’s "Renegade", it was like a balloon losing air.  She was far far better with "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree".  While not the most challenging song vocally, and it didn’t show her best vocal "stuff", she had a lot of fun with it and it was entertaining to watch. 

Taylor Hicks kicked it with "Play That Funky Music".  Not his best vocal I thought, but he owned the stage and showed no fear.  That alone made it amazing.  When he switched gears for the Beatles’ "Something", he really showed his versitality.  I thought it was the best ballad of the evening.

In my opinion, Chris and Taylor are safe.  I said right from the beginning (well, right from the 12 finalists), that they both were going all the way to the end.  I still think that’s true.

I think Elliott and Paris will be in the bottom two this week, and if I had to guess, I would say Elliott is going.  First of all, he went first, and was shown up by later, more dynamic performances.  Secondly, I’m not sure America wants one girl and three guys.  Much more interesting to have 2 guys and 2 women.

So, although it’s a tough call, I’d say Elliott will be the one hearing "Bad Day".