The guys brought it on much stronger tonight. Maybe we can't give the title to a girl just yet. Here is how I would rate them:

1) Sundance...wow...from the outhouse to the penthouse. He was the poster boy for the vote for the worst website, along with Antonella, but he won't need phony votes tonight. Being last makes him a sure thing to be voted on through.

2) Blake...for some reason I just love this guy...reminds me a bit of TobyMac. His lyrics are cleaner than Chris Richardson's.

3) Chris Sligh..another great vocal, great lyrics, great commitment to his beautiful wife. Song might not have been as memorable as some of the others. I'll use my call in votes for him and Phil, as usual. Getting through too easy, not good.

4) Chris Richardson..my "cuz" did a great job. Like I said, wasn't big on the lyrics, but he will breeze through.

5) Phil Stacy...not only is he a PK, but found out he's a worship leader to boot. Nice cross he was wearing too. He did a solid job, but the first spot always makes me worried, unless you are absolutely fantastic, which he wasn't quite tonight.

The other 5 will be a tossup to who might get voted off. Brandon sang a song that bored me, "Time after Time". Sanjaya was cute but doesn't show any pipes at all. I still think those guys get through. For my friend Steve, I'll say Nick get's through, and A.J. and Jared get voted off.

Saw the Dove award nominations, and was thinking what if it was run like American Idol? Could call it the American Dove Awards. So I'm thinking of picking 6 guys and 6 girls who were nominated, and each week I will have people vote for their faves, with one being eliminated. If you want to make a nomination, I will consider that person even if they aren't in the running for a dove award. I'm going to try to pick people under 30, but that can be waved as well. Also looking for people that are more individual artists than one's who front bands, but again, exceptions can be made. Let me know what you think. If I don't get much feedback I probably won't bother with it. People don't have to be American either. Rebecca St. James is a strong contender. Thanks to Chuck Frey for the picture!

I have to resign on being an expert on Christian music, the song Chris Sligh sang the other day was from MuteMath, "Typical", and I didn't know it=)

Wow, the black ladies were awesome on Idol. Lakisha mentioned singing in Church her whole life. She can flat out sing like no other. I still like Melinda just a bit more though. Either one would make a great winner, but we would be better off if they didn't win so we could be blessed by an awesome Gospel CD!

I will have my thought on the Dove award nominees next time. Here is a picture of Melinda...keep praying she represents Christ like she desires.

OK...I know I need to more takes on what butters our bread here at myccm..Christian music! First, I was happy to see they added Vicki Beeching to the Delirious and Rebecca St. James concert next month. I love English worship leaders, and she follows the tradition of Matt Redman, Tim Hughes and Delirious. In the last month I have heard a couple of new songs that I just love from new bands. Always love to see some fresh blood crack their way into the stranglehold of predictable Christian pop radio. The songs are "Undo" by Rush of Fools and "What Could be Better" by 33 Miles. I'm not sure if their CD's are even out yet, but those are the best songs I've heard from a newcomer since Aaron Shust last year.

I've been convicted on most things I've enjoyed on TV lately, but I still think American Idol is OK. I just have to be careful to just enjoy the show without getting too obsessed=)Anyway, I don't think I have to worry about getting too excited over any of the guys this year like I did with Bo Bice and Chris Daughtry. I mean, they seem like a bunch of really nice chaps, but can you picture them being stars? If a rated them tonight it would be:

1) Phil Stacy..the Pastor's kid had his wife and after a rough start was the only vocal that even got me a little excited.

2) Blake Lewis...the beatboxer was right on with his Sting like vocals.

3) Chris Sligh...my man did himself pretty well. He should have no problem getting to final 12. I'm really hoping that he might do a Switchfoot song before they go into theme nights.

4) Chris (MY CUZ?) Richardson..did a song Bo Bice nailed a few years ago. Wasn't great but at least he took a risk.

Worst 2 of the night were Sundance and Sanjaya. I really felt bad for them. Sanjaya might last another week because he's such a sweet kid.

Girls can't do much worse on Wednesday. For those who look for my takes on Wendesday shows right away, I go to Church and won't see the show until Thursday. So I'll combine my takes with the results show Thursday night. For those on west coast don't read my blog to spoil the results before you see it.

Let's end with a picture of a guy who CAN sing, Peter Furler of the Newsboys. Phil kind of looks like him. Thanks to Chuck Frey for the picture again!

Well, Idol has picked the top 24 that we will get to know a lot more about in the following weeks. Right now the girls are mostly unknowns. They didn't really feature many of them. The guys seem to have a bit more going for them right now, but that might change as we hear them sing. Who are my early faves?

GUYS:

1) Chris Sligh ...this guy is #1 in most polls for favorite contestant. I was really hoping to get insight on the show from his blog I mentioned a few weeks ago, but Idol has banned any of the contestants to have running blogs while on the show, so no secrets will get out. You can still leave comments for Chris to encourage him. Just by reading the comments I found out he leads worship in his Church. (Like Chris Daughtry) On the official Idol Q & A he mentions Jesus and Switchfoot's Jon Forman among his heroes. The guy is a riot, now let's hope he has the voice to match his wit.

2) Phil Stacey...this is the gut whose wife gave birth right after his audition. I liked him right away, and I think he might have the nicest voice from the little I've heard. He's a Pastor's kid who still seems to have kept his faith.

3) Chris Richardson...Hey, he's got my last name, so he's got that going for him. He mentions God as a hero and the first person he will thank if he wins.

4) Sanjaya Malakar...this Indian teen seems like a real nice kid, though he doesn't appear to have any relationship with God. Wish his sister could have made it as well.

5) Jared Carter...mentions Jesus as his hero..don't know if he can sing worth a lick though.

Last year Heather Cox was the most obvious Christian from her Q & A in the top 24, but her singing made me cringe and she was gone quickly.

GALS:

My favorite was Bailey, but she forgot her words singing with those 2 oddball friends, so she got the boot.

1) Haley Scarnato...I thought she was a class act the first time I saw her audition. Beautiful voice, wholesome looks, and it looks like she is a woman of faith in her Q & A. She wants to "Live my life fully through God." and prays before she performs. (Picture below)

2) Melinda Doolittle...this backup singer I also liked from the start for her humble spirit. She turns out to be a person "who wants to represent Christ" She is a fan of Jonny Lang.

3) Jordin Sparks...been a big fan since I found out she won that junior Gospel Association Award competition at 14. Lists Tony Dungy as a hero.

4) Stephanie Edwards..she appears to be a Christian from her Q & A as well...don't know her at all though.

5) Lakisha Jones..the single Mom can flat out belt it like Mandisa. She prays and will thank "God almighty" first if she wins. Half the contestants say they will thank God if they win, so I don't take too much stock in that, but it's better than not thinking of God first!

The only one I don't care for at all is that Antonella, one of the flirty girls who cost Bailey her shot. She has looks, but I don't think she can sing that well.

So, who are your faves? Please leave your thoughts, I would love to hear them. When it gets down to 12 I might have a fun contest to pick the top 3.

Idol went down to top 40 before the cut to top 24 Wednesday. I was bummed it was only a one hour show. With all they had to go through should have been a 2 hour special.

Most of my faves are still in it. My main guy Chris Sligh TORE IT UP with his group! I know he will make the top 24, because his blog doesn't have any entries yet for his Idol musings. He probably has to wait to have it be shown that he can write about it. The other Christian that I know of, Jordan Sparks, made it, though they didn't feature her at all. Other faves that made it was the Cupid  singing guy, the guy and girl who were originally background singers, the Indian boy, though I wish his sister could have made it. A young girl named Haley, who I loved in auditions. Wasn't big on Sundance. The ones who didn't make it that I was hoping would was that Bailey, who got stuck with 2 losers, the Navy guy who sang "You Raise Me Up', and that homeless guy with the long beard. When they get to top 24 i will learn all these people's names. In closing, here is a picture of Carrie Underwood when she got her degree.

On the blog below I mentioned Taylor looking like the guy in the W's...I forgot to say James Carter is the one on far right in that picture.

This picture below I think sums up why Taylor beat Katharine last year. I can't remember if it was Chris or Elliott that just got voted off, but Katharine gives a big hoorah that it wasn't her, while Taylor looked sad for him. I think Katharine got a little too full of herself towards the end.

Hey Colts fans, Your punter Hunter Smith will be putting out a Christian CD! Check out the details at www.ccmmagazine.com/musicnews/2137.aspx

I love this picture of the team thanking the Lord after winning the Super Bowl.

I don't want to toot my own horn, but who else will?=) I was about 100% right on with my Grammy predictions last week...got all the winners...Third Day...Jonny Lang..Randy Travis...Kirk Franklin. Carrie Underwood wins new artist, but unfortunately couldn't beat out the Dixie Chicks for best overall song:( Carrie was awesome in her 2 songs on stage. Gave thanks to God first as well=) Since country stars have far more lasting power than flavor of the month pop stars, I can picture Carrie having a 20 year career of success. Amy Grant's hubby Vince Gill won another grammy is a perfect example of long lasting popularity. Was glad to see "Victory" by Yolanda Adams win Gospel performance. I love that song and the whole "The Gospel" movie. If you have never checked it out, rent the DVD, you will be glad you did! I liked it even more then "The Second Chance".

Last month I mentioned Mark Poque's Restoration CD being one of the best CD's of all time from an artist with only one CD. It was probably impossible to find, but now you can download it! Check out his myccm site for more details at www.myccm.org/markpogue/blog

Was playing the classic "Fourth from the Last" CD from the W's at work. (With the smash hit "The Devil is Bad") When I was putting the CD back I noticed how much sax player James Carter looks like last year's American Idol winner Taylor Hicks. This CD was from 1998, so Taylor would have been around 21 then, which would make it just right for this picture. I showed people at work and they believed me that it WAS Taylor! Look..the hair..the movement of his head..SOUL PATROL!So what do you think..IS it him?

Hi peeps...not much to write about this week. The boss I had the past 3 months who was the nicest guy ever was sent back to working the late shift. The previous boss takes over who everybody can't stand. She has no people skills, treats us all like little kids, and makes up figures to get us more productive. In other words, someone upper management loves. The other guy was too nice in their eyes. I'm usually a calm guy, but she has had me explode a few times.  I need to be a better Christian example when things aren't as peachy.

American Idol starts to get good this week as it gets the final 24 picked. After this I can read more into the contestants and see who might be Christians besides Chris Sligh and Jordan Sparks. That Bailey who was on this week looks like a sure bet for top 24. I thought the Asian dude was great as well. Kellie Pickler was in town Thursday at the mall for a little singing and Q and A, but couldn't get off work. The place was mobbed!

Was getting tired of my 20 year old profile picture of me with John of Petra. A lot of you weren't even born then=) To be more hip, here is one of Josh of the Afters (he is the good looking one) a great guy from a GREAT group. I was just talking with him after the show for a while, and he had one of his friends take the picture for me without even asking. Don't like my dorky flannel shirt, but it was winter! here is a concert shot of Josh from the Chuck Frey collection.

Congrats to the Colts and classy head coach Tony Dungy for winning the Super Bowl. I was looking more forward to this Super Bowl than any since the Bills were losing them. My brother was over, my wife had just brought out her famous chicken wings, and we watch Devin Hester return the opening kick all the way. Bad start, but it got worse for us..our power goes out! The whole neighborhood goes black. I have to listen to the radio as we scramble for candles, lanterns and flashlights. I miss the exciting back and forth action. Have to settle for watching the game on my little hand held TV. So while my brother in Chicago is watching it at a movie theater, I'm watching it on a 2 inch screen. We learn the power probably won't be fixed until after 10, so my brother goes home. I watch the Bills win as our house drops to 62 degrees...it's like 2 degrees outside. Finally, the game ends, and then the power comes back on. At least I could watch the owner and Dungy thanking the Lord in the interviews on my normal TV. Thank God it was so cold that the sub pump was dry and couldn't put water in the basement. We have a generator but it starts terribly. I tried for a while during commercials but couldn't get it going. Our last blackout was in 2003 when Syracuse was in the final 4. That lasted 3 days from an ice storm! I watched The Orange win the first game Saturday on my little TV, and we got the power back just hours before they won the championship over Kansas on Monday night. That was the only time a team from western New York ever won a championship.

Congrats also for Thurman Thomas of the Bills for making the hall of fame. Most of the country liked to pick on him for losing his helmet in the Super Bowl, but he was a great player who did everything well. The Bills might never have even made a Super Bowl without him.

Since I have new American Idol fans reading my blog, let me revisit the site where you can hear Chris Daughtry sing praise and worship classics like Agnus Dei, Heart of Worship, Air I Breathe, On My Knees, and On my Own. You can listen and download if you desire. It is awesome...I was pulling so hard for Chris last year after hearing these, but it turns out he is doing much better without winning. Check it out at www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=258448

I have a few extra minutes so I will make my Christian related Grammy predictions. Of course I want Carrie Underwood to win Best New Artist and best song for "Jesus, Take the Wheel" in her secular categories. I wouldn't mind seeing believer Josh Turner either for Country album.

For best Rock or Rap gospel album it has to come down to Jonny Lang's "Turn Around" or Red's "End of Silence". Of course I am pulling for Red since they were in my top 10 for 2006. But I've heard some cuts from Lang and that's great as well. (I STILL need to order that!) I think Lang will win because he's been a star in the blues field, so Grammy voters will recognize him. With Grammy voters in "Gospel" categories, it's all about name recognition. I'm sure 90% of the voters never played a second of any of the nominees in Gospel categories. I remember Petra winning the Rock award  in 2000 for "Double Take", which most of Petra fans agree was their worst album. I liked it after it grew on me, but it wasn't rock. But voters knew the name Petra so they won.

That being said, Randy Travis will win Country Gospel album for "Glory Train" I will agree with that one, it's a fab CD. I've always loved Randy, even before he got saved.

The toughest to predict will be Gospel Pop/Contemporary. If they have any brains it will be Leeland's "Sound of Melodies" But since they go by recognition, it comes down to MercyMe's "Coming Up to Breathe" or Third Day's "Wherever You Are". The funny thing is Third Day SHOULD be a Rock band, but they don't rock too hard on this one so it is in the right category. MercyMe SHOULD be a pop band but they KIND of Rock on this one. I say Third day wins.

For R & B/Gospel I have to go with Kirk Franklin's "Hero" to win, though I kind of prefer Kierra Kiki Sheard's "This is Me" myself.

Let's see, what picture should I use for this blog? Let's go with a picture of Leeland, from the Chuck Frey collection=)

First, a good report on the root canal. The Doctor said he has done over 7000 root canals, and my tooth was the longest he has ever seen, over an inch. He had to really be creative on being able to get to where he had to go. I was there sweating bullets thinking they weren't going to be able to do it. I was praying hard! He had to go and find instruments he hardly ever used before. But he managed to get it done, and the x-rays afterwards said that it was done perfectly. Now I just have to go back to regular dentist in 6 weeks and get the tooth restored. Praying it just needs a filling instead of a crown. The funny story was while I was sitting in the chair I was reading myccm member and author Rachel Hauck's book "Lost in NashVegas". I just got to chapter 3, and it starts off "Get a root canal", and the doctor comes in to start it! As the Doctor would say about 20 times while looking at the size of my tooth..."That's crazy!"

Super Bowl thoughts. I know after missing about every game in the playoffs, you want me to pick against your team=) First of all, I respect both teams, and esp. both head coaches. They are both strong Christians. For a great article on their faith go to www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/februaryweb-only/105-52.0.html Hope that works! Most of you know i want the Colts because I'm an AFC guy, and think Manning and Harrison deserve a ring, as well as their GM Bill Polian who put the Bills super bowl teams together without ever getting over the hump. On the other hand, if the Bears win I will be happy for my brother in Chicago. But they did just win a world series there, and Indy has never won anything. I had the Colts winning, but now the prediction is for heavy rain, which favors the Bears I believe. I think the Colts running game has proved the can handle the load. As long as their safety Bob Sanders is healthy, I will go 19-16 Colts. If he can't play I'm afraid they won't be able to stop the Bears ground game.

Well, I have to have one music related thing, so here is another great picture from Chris, this time of Jon Micah of Kutless, probably my favorite band over this decade!

Hey guys, would appreciate your prayers before my root canal Friday. I've been hearing stories on how sometimes it doesn't work the first time and you have to pay even more to try it again. That really stinks. As a homeschool family on a tight budget, we really would not have to do that. Pray the Doctor gets it right the first time!

Good news, since Heidi has been gone our kids have been blessed to be able to care for our neighbor's new puppy. She's in a crate much of the time, so while their kids are in school, and on every other weekend when they are with their dad, we have it over to play in our yard or take for walks. "Skippy" is a little cutey that my kids are able to walk, unlike Heidi who was a bit too strong for them. Funny thing was our cat saw her on back steps and took off towards basement again. She probably thought, 'not this again!" So it's a nice break from schoolwork to get some exercise. Here is a picture of Skippy with Kayla. By the way, for those of you lucky enough to live in warm weather states and countries, that white stuff is called snow!=)

If you watched Tuesday's auditions, the best one was from a slightly heavy dude with bushy hair, named Chris Sligh. It's obvious they weren't expecting much, but the guy had a great sense of humor, and then blew them away with his voice. Just found out the guy is a follower of Christ! Has a very interesting blog, with Christian albums all over his top 10 list for 2006. If you want to check it out, go to www.frommymindtoyoureyes.blogspot.com/

If you want to read great blogs about Christian culture from a former CCM contributor, who always has GREAT takes on American Idol, check out Mike Jenke's site at www.xanga.com/MikeknaJ He has a review about Katharine's CD in it. It was in his comments from his readers that I found out the above info, and the Chris Daughtry link to singing praise and worship I featured a few months ago. Has a Chris Tomlin concert review in a recent blog that you all might like as well. When I grow up I want to blog just like him!

I saw Katharine on Leno and thought she wasn't that good. Her voice was thin and she was drowned out by the background singers. Lyrics weren't that wholesome either. I liked her when the show started, but thought she got a little full of herself as it went on.

Good luck to Carrie Underwood in next week's Grammy's. It would be great if "Jesus, Take the Wheel" won best song. That would make as happy as I was when U2 cleaned house last year=)