Tonight the Idols sings the songs of Neil Diamond. Though this doesn't really excite me, he does have an incredible catalog of songs that others did that you might not be aware of. UB40 did a reggae version of "Red, Red Wine" that would fit Jason, but lyric wise I'd rather have him do "Song Sung Blue"  or "I'm A Believer." Some other classics I'd like to see anyone sing are "I Am I Said".."He Ain't Heavy".. and maybe "Forever In Blue Jeans." I hope no one does "Sweet Caroline or "Crackin Rosie".. too karioke!

Today I called up several places to price Phil Stacey's CD..but couldn't find it for less than $11.88 at Wal-Mart so I downloaded it from ITunes for $7.99. It is available at Christian bookstores too. I played it through and I'm really impressed vocally and lyrically. I also found out Phil Stacey is going to do a concert 5 minutes from me next Wednesday..but it sold out in one day. Maybe I'll show up and see if anyone has an extra ticket! Switchfoot concert is this Sunday, so that's ultra cool.

I'll be doing a live blog..so come back when the show starts and add your thoughts as the show goes along like usual!

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Good, they are going to be doing two songs each tonight, and it's a time saver to just judge them after the second song. If they only did one song I was afraid there would be a ton of commercials! Jason starts off with "Forever In Blue Jeans." He said he didn't really know either song tonight, but he looks comfortable singing it. He sings it  well, nothing that blows me away though. I'd grade it a B-.

David Cook is next with "I'm Alive." I never heard this song but it's got nice lyrics. David's low note's are always his biggest struggle, but he's kicking it tonight. I dug it..Grade:  B+

Brooke is doing "I'm A Believer", which has been done by the Monkees, Christian groups, and everyone in between. She doesn't seem to be as nervous as in past weeks. Fun version, but like Jason, nothing mind blowing. Grade: B-

This is going to hard to keep up the live blog with 10 songs in an hour..I'll do my best but the comments will be short until after the show!

David A. is doing "Sweet Caroline" I'm having a hard time hearing it over my wife singing along. She thought it was the bomb, David did a nice job with it but I find that song boring. Grade..B+

Syesha does a beautiful job with "Hello Again"..I'd give a B+..but I need to get to Paula and her quick comments..she thought Jason did terrible with his second song when he only went once. She makes a fool of herself as usual! I would love to have Sheila E. on this show instead..she was great on The Next Great American Band..and she is a Christian..it was her idea to have "Shout to The Lord" a few weeks ago. 

OK..time for the second songs...

Jason returns with "September Morn." This could have been his worst performance of the year..lazy vocals, no intensity at all. he doesn't do great with love songs, but the girls do love him. he could bwe in big trouble this week. grade. C

David Cook is brilliant with "All I really need Is You." another song with nice lyrics..I'll be ready to download that version. The judges agree. grade..A

Brooke is behind the piano where she does best with the beautiful song "I Am I Said." This is about as well as she can do, which grades out to a B. That's her ceiling with me these days.

Archie is doing the Patriotic "America" I'm glad he just doesn't do ballads every week, but I actually prefer them with his silky smooth voice.  Up tempo songs don't thrill me that much. Randy thinks he was great, but I'd keep it to a B.

Syesha has the potential for a show stopper with "I Thank The Lord for the Night Time"..but it falls flat in my book. She just didn't have the attitude needed for that number. Grade. C+

All in all, I thought it was kind of an average night. I'm really missing Kristy, Michael and even Carly right now. Only Cookie really stood out for me. Jason was by far the worst and the other 3 are kind of lumped in with mixed results. I really would rather see Syesha go instead of Jason, but with him going first that's not good. Simon also saying that Syesha could be in trouble usually inspires lots of "I'll show you Simon" voters. I actually think Brooke could be in danger. She falls in the catagory of the last 3 people who got voted off..they all did pretty good and felt pretty good about themselves..then got shocked! I can't decide on who will get voted off yet, check back later for my and my family's picks. As usual, have your pick to be voted off before 9 eastern time Wednesday night.

Thanks for stopping by..have a great day!..Jimbo

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I've decided to take Brooke for my pick to leave..for reasons above. I haven't got one right since David Hernandez though, so she is pretty safe!

My thoughts on Idol are in the last few blogs, but here are the leading point getters.

1) Mark 125 points. I was glad to see him come on this week and leave comments.

2) Steve 124..  out of first place for first time.

3) Vita..119.....4)Karen 118..the only one to have all of her top 5 left.

5) Alison  115  6) Stephanie   115   7) Jim and Bev  114

So it's still wide open..I'll have all the point totals next week.

Past Idols Phil Stacey, Chris Sligh and Mandisa did a tribute to Michael W. Smith at the doves last night..here is the link: This link will also lead you to the other songs of the night by Switchfoot, David Crowder, Natalie Grant and more.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=CN-ZJQoTfQQ

If you want to see Phil Stacey singing at his Church, here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pka6qKgbATI

Congrats to Casting Crowns and TobyMac for the major hardware last night..here is a link to all the winners last night.

http://www.doveawards.com/doveawards/nominees.php

Have a great week everyone!

I will have my thoughts on the results on this blog after 10 o'clock. If you are going to pick who is going to get voted off tonight or your revised top 6, do it on my blog from Tuesday night with the rest of the picks. You can leave your comments on tonights show here even before I do! 

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Just finished watching the show..what a shocker that Carly is leaving. My theory was right about Jason and Brooke being so bad that their fans would vote extra hard to keep them on..that's why I had Syesha. I was close with her..that would have put me way ahead in my contest at work. When it comes down to it, Carly had a great voice, there was just something about her that didn't make the audiance fall in love with her.

Bev already commented that it messed up her top 6..don't worry..everybody is wrong! There will be no bonus points for getting the top 6. There will be no bonus points for anyone picking Carly to leave. No one even had Carly #6 in their top 12 for bonus points. So figuring out the points will be easy..just based on how many you have in the top 5. I'll have all the point totals tomorrow, with more thoughts on the show. I'm off to bed, have a great night!

Should be a pretty interesting night tonight, singing Broadway type songs. Funny thing, is singers on this show get blamed for sounding like a broadway singer, and if the singer doesn't get a record deal they often go to Broadway like Paris Bennent, or after a while like Fantasia, Clay or Tamyra Gray. We are looking for the next big pop star, not Broadway performer. That having been said, I love Andrew Llord Webber songs. I grew up listening and memorizing the entire Jesus Christ Superstar. I brought it out the other day, and even though the lyrics can tend to be a bit sac-religious at times, they are still great tunes. The guys at EW suggested brooke doing "I don't Know How To Love Him", David Cook to do "What's The Buzz", and Carly to do the title song. I would also look forward to hearing songs from Phantom Of The Opera. I don't know most of his other plays too well, except the obvious numbers.

I'm going to do a live blog..but if you have nothing else to do before the show gets going, check out bits of Phil Stacey's CD that comes out next week at this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc71dSm0cEQ

The last song, "Identity", is a song that John Waller wrote and recorded.

Here is another fun thing..EW's songs of the year on Idol so far. You can check that out at:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20007164_20171835_20194012,00.html

For those who are always wondering what's going on in my life..check out my last blog!

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Here we go!  Syesha is first, which is usually the spot you don't want to go,, but she brings an old school vibe to "One Rock and Roll To Many" I agree with the judges, this was one of her best. She had done ballads 7 weeks out of 9, so it was a nice change for her. She is also a born actress..so Broadway might be in her future. I'll give her a B+.

Poor Jason is going to give "Memory" from cats a go. I love this guy, and I love this song, but I don't love the combination of the two. The best thing I can say was that he was bad enough to get his fan base to vote harder for him in fear. I'll give it a C.

I just watched a painful thing..Brooke flubbing the lyrics to "You Must Love Me" starting again, and looking terrified she wouldn't forget more words. Even if she was at her best this song wouldn't have suited her talents at all. She made Jason look like a star..but now shw will get the symphathy vote over Jason. Grade: D

Like Jason, David A is doing a song made famous by a woman.."Think Of Me." I never noticed his eyes being closed before, but Sue had..now I can't help to notice. Anyway, the song was ok until the last third of it, when I thought it was great.  I liked that he changed the arrangement around. grade..B+

Finally..a song from Superstar..Carly gets talked into doing the title track by Andrew, and did it pay off! Great outfit, great arrangement, great vocals..my fave of the year by her. Grade. A

David Cook will do my wife's favorite.."The Music Of The Night." This brings such good memories of going up to Toronto and staying at the best place, The Delta Chelsea, then having third row tickets to see The Phantom. Only one word for this performance..AWESOME! Grade..A+ 

This is an easy week to slot one to six:

1. David C   2. Carly   3. Syesha   4.  David A...5, Jason  6,  Brooke

Who will go? I think everyone will be picking Brooke..I already have comments in saying that. For some reason her and Jason did so poorly I think that their fan base will be voting extra hard. I know, I have Jason on speed dial as I write this! Like Kristy last week, Syesha just may be the surprise vote off after one of her best efforts. I will come back and make my pick after I think about it a while!

Have your picks in by tomorrow night, and if you still want to pick a top 6 overall for the bonus points do that too! I'll have that later too.

Thanks for reading...have a great night!

P.S. my next peep will be 600, tell a friend that if they are #600, they get a prize..3 old cassette's from my collection of the 80's..you must pick them up in person! Just joking!

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I made my pick..Syesha goes. She shouldn't, just a gut feeling.

My revised top 6:

1) David Cook

2 )David A.

3) Carly

4.) Jason

5) Brooke

6) Syesha

I know most of you turn in to my blog to see my takes on American Idol, football, Christian music, etc. Some of you actually ask me what I've been up to. So instead of giving quick answers to a bunch of you, I will put it down in this blog. This will bore some of you, give some of you insights on my life, and others will be saying, "How is David Cook gonna do Tuesday, who cares about your life!"

I don't want these things to come across as complaining or bragging or whatever..I'm just stating how things are, and you can pray for things you find might need it..thanks!

There are big changes brewing at the Post Office. All you know about is the price of stamps is going up, I'll give insight on what's up for a mailman. A typical day for a mailman the past 10 years is that we spend approx. 2 and a half hours sorting the mail and 5 hours delivering it, with time for travel, two 10 minute breaks, and lunch. This is what happened after machines sorted our letters in order for us. Before that, we would spend 4 hours sorting, and less than 4 hours delivering. Every time things get more automated, our walking gets longer and longer. They get rid of routes and split it up with everyone. Now they have finally invented machines to give us the magazines and stuff in order. This will make sorting the mail down to hardly nothing, and delivering it an all day affair. This will put a big toll on our bodies, and force a lot of people into retirement. In the past 5 years they didn't hire any people to speak of, so we got as much overtime as we wanted as we were always short staffed. Now they hired a bunch of temp. help to go through this change, and they are taking all our overtime. Sue works so hard as a terrific homeschool mother and once a week visiting health nurse. Now she has been having to see another patient a week, and I feel horrible about it. She goes to Church Sunday, then she see's 2 patients, and does paperwork until close to midnight. She actually likes to get away from the grind of the kids once a week, and we are thankful that nurses are well compensated, so we are better off than a lot of my carrier friends who really depend on the overtime. The bad thing when they add to your route is they take some of your existing customers away, then add even more new one's. You hate to leave some of your favorite people against your will. All in all, I still enjoy being a mailman. I have my headphones and get to listen to great sermons, music, and sports radio all day..as well as lots of alone time with the Lord to pray, memorize scripture and stuff..and get paid while I do it..not a bad gig!

The girls are doing pretty well. 7 year old Kristi finally got rid of the training wheels, so the family has ben able to go on a lot of long rides. We have a great nature park that I just posted some pix up 5 minutes away. Today 4 deer were within 10 yards of us..and I didn't have my camera! T-Ball starts friday for Kristi, and once again I am a coach for her.  Soon to be 10 year old Kayla continue's to be doing great in her piano playing. She's starting to SLOWLY get rid of her think about only me personality and develop a few more friends. They both love taking classes with other homeschooler's monday afternoons. Both kids biggest joy is playing with their webkinz and doing the online games with them.

We continue to enjoy teaching the 5 to 7 year olds sunday morning. We lost our two teen helpers, but gained a terrific new one to go along with our great friend Dawn who co-teaches the 15 kids each week. Sometimes the devil gets me feeling like I have hardly no friends at Church because we are tucked up in a corner and no one see's me, and I'm knowing less people at the Wednesday night service. Then I realize the Lord has us right where he wants us. I love teaching kids!

Got my annual big money disappointment at the dentist when I found out I need to replace a crown. This on top of Kayla needing expanders. Post Office doesn't help with dental insurance, all we can do is write it off tax free out of paychecks each month. The Lord always seems to provide though...thank God for big tax rebate and $1800 from President Bush and congress in a few weeks! We are going to help stimulate the economy by visiting my niece in Chicago who is getting married and then off to MT. Rushmore this summer!

Spring is here with 70 degree temps..pretty soon there will less time for myccm with lawn mowing, pool fun, vacations and stuff. That's why I like to blog, so a bunch of you can here what's going on at once. If you ever reply to any of my blogs I usually will try to get back to you..relationships are more important to me than mass numbers of people reading these things..(if mass means dozens!)

Music wise, I'm getting into the music of Starfield, Robbie Seay,  Leeland, Hawk Nelson, Martina McBride, Bo Bice and Lincoln Brewster the most this month. Looking forward to the new releases of Chris Sligh and Phil Stacey in the next month. Gonna see Switchfoot in May!

I'm not into baseball at all so far this year. All the steroid stuff has turned me off, plus we got rid of the cable that most of the games are on. Plus my Yankees stink this year! Can't wait for football season..go Bills!

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Most of the time I send out bulletins with the little things that are going on, so check those once a week or so for mine and all your other peeps updates.

God Bless all of you..love ya all..Jimbo

I'm still bummed Kristy got voted off, but what can you do? Every year there is one that goes that leaves me sad for a few days...Chris Daughtry, Chris Sligh, Nadia Turner. Did anyone notice the way Kristy changed the words when she sang to Simon? "Waiting her whole life for a good comment from you." Very clever Kristy! I also heard in an interview with Michael John's that if lasted until Andrew Lloyd Weber week he was going to sing "Gethsemane" from Jesus Christ Superstar. That would have been awesome.

Now for the contest. I'm going to change one of the rules starting this week. From now on you have to MAKE a prediction on who is getting voted off to get the 10 points. I know I said if you didn't make a pick I'd give you the lowest pick in your top 12 as your pick. I did that to give grace in case you forgot to pick, but what I'm finding is a few of the people in top 5 have never done a thing except make a top 12 list. I appreciate that you did, but I want to favor people who keep reading the blogs and playing the game week to week. Plus it's a LOT harded to keep track of everyone's last pick to add up the points.

If you want to make a revised top 6 in order for a chance to get 20 points at the end of the season, you can give it to me up into the results show on Wednesday. If you gave me a top 7, you can change it, since no one had Kristy 7th, no one can get it right. I know this is a very tough task to hit correctly, that's why I'm giving everyone another chance. This will be the last time though.

So here are the leaders in point totals:

1) Steve 106 points...2) Mark .. 101  3) Bev..96  4) Vita..95

5)Alison..93    6) Stephanie ..91  and Kadi..91   8) Jim ..90

9) Karen, Tanya, Scott's wife..88

I actually think Cait has a great chance of winning, she has 85 points, but her top 6 are all left, and it looks like the order that might actually come in.

Here are all the totals:

    Jim                 Mark          Cait(Submerged)      Karen

12.       5                   15                              0                          0

11.       0                     0                               0                         0

10.       0                     0                               0                         0

9.         5,  21           10,21                        0,21                   10,24

8.         24                   20                            24                        24

7.       5,30              10,25                        10,30                   5,25

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

total:    90                   101                           85                         88

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            Alison                Mrs Virso           Craig             Steve

12.          10                           10                      0                    10

11.           0                              0                      0                       5

10.           0                              5                     0                    10

9.            15,18                      15,21            10,18               10,21

8.            20                              20                  16                     20

7.             5,25                        0,20                5,20                5,25

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

total:      93                   91                         69                     106              

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            Kadi                    Scott's wife        Vita            Rockit

12.          15                            0                     15                  0

11.           0                             0                      0                   0

10.           0                              0                     0                   0

9.             0,21                       10,18             10,21            5,21

8.             20                          10,  20               24               20

7.              10,25                    10,20              5,20              5,20

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

total:        91                       88                    88                71

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             Sue            RelientK (Talia)        Tanya

12.           0                          0                           0

11.           0                         5                            0

10.           0                        10                           0

9.           10,24                  0,18                      10,18

8.            24                        5,20                         20

9.             20                       5,20                    10,25

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

total:           83                   83                       88

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             Wendy                         Amy                       Bev

12.               0                               0                            0

11.               0                               0                            0

10.               0                               0                           10

9.                10,18                       0,15                      15,21

8.                20                               10,20                    20

7.                5,20                             25                        5,25

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

total:          73                               70                          96

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I'm in a good mood...here are everyone's picks 12 to 1. I wish I knew how to make lines going down to make it easier to read!

                               12  11  10   9   8   7   6   5  4   3  2   winner

Jim                        dh    r     k   a   ce  m  s   dc  j   b  cs       da

Mark                    dh    r     k   ce   s   m  a  cs  j   dc  b        da

Cait                       k     r      a   ce  dh  m  s  cs  b   j    dc      da

Karen                   ce    r     dh   a   cs   k  m  s  da  b   dc       j

Alison                   c     k      s    r    a   dh m   b  j   cs   dc      da

Mrs Virso            r    dh     ce  s  cs    m  a   dc  b  k    j        da

Craig                    k    ce      j    a   s    dh  r   cs  dc  da m      b

Steve                     ce   a      k   dh  s    r    j    cs  dc  m   b      da

Kadi                      dh   k     a    ce   s   r    b    cs dc  m   da      j

Scott's wife          r     m    k     a   j    s    dc  b   ce  dh   cs     da

Vita                       dh   k    a     m   s   cs   r   dc  ce  da    b       j

Rockit                  r     ce    k     a   s    b     m dh   j    dc    cs      da

Tanya                    k    ce    a     s    m   r   dh  j    dc  b     cs      da

Sue                        r    dh    a     ce   s   b    m   k   j   dc    cs      da

Talia                     ce    a     m   s     b    k  dh   j    r   cs    dc      da

Wendy                 ce   dh    k    s     a    b   j    r    dc    m   cs      da

Amy                     j      k      m    a   dh  r   ce  s     b    dc   cs       da

Bev                       -      r       a      k   s   m   j   b    ce   cs   dc      da

(she came in a week late so no pick for #12)

The picks are the first letter of their name or the initials..Carly is CS...Chikezie is CE...David Archuleta is DA..David Cook is DC..David Hernandez is DH.

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As usual I will have my takes after Church on the show. If you want to leave comments before that go ahead below! All the polls I seen have it really close between the 4 girls on who is leaving, should be interesting. If you haven'tpicked someone to get voted off yet, do it in the previous blog please.

See ya after the show..Jim

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Another sad night for me as my Kristy is leaving us. I thought she was safe all night when she was in the group with David Cook, but they fooled us by switching Syesha into Kristy's group. After having her be the most popular person to be predicted to be voted off for weeks, the week she IS voted off nobody predicted it.  Everyone was just starting to really like her. Don't fret, she will still outsell all the girls from this year..country will embrace her after the last 4 weeks. I have to go over the picks, I'm sure there will be a lot of points given out to those who had her lowest in their top 12. Talia and Karen also get an extra 5 points for having her go #7 on the dot. Nobody had Kristy in the 7 slot when doing a new top 7, so we can all try again next week with a top 6. From the original picks, Cait from Submerged and myself are the only ones with our original top 6 still intact.

I'll have all the points rundown in the next day or so. Mariah was good tonight, but I was happier to hear Elliot again. His voice is so silky smooth. It was sweet to see the message for his late Mom on his hand.

Have a great night and keep checking for more Idol news. So long Kristy..I'll miss you! You can get your horse back now. May The Horse Be With You!

Hi Idol lovers..I'm going to try a live blog of the show tonight. Leave your comments below as the show goes on. While you are waitng, my last few blogs will be of interest to you if you haven't seen them yet. On my last one, if you can predict the top 7 in order I will give you 30 bonus points in the contest. If you wait until after the results show you can guess the top 6 in order for 20 points, and anyone who tried the top 7 can revise their top 6. This won't affect your original top 12 picks and all other contest rules..just thought I'd give those who are way behind a shot at picking up big points. I'll be back when the show starts!

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The show is about to start..I'm hoping they choose songs that aren't too much about sex by Mariah. She has a ton of great songs like Hero and Butterfly and I Still Believe that I would like my faves, Kristy, Jason and Archie (Archuleta)to tackle..let's find out..my cable is working tonight too!

OK, David A is going to do one of my faves from The Prince Of Egypt CD, "When You Believe" and does a great job. His voice is so pure. The song I downloaded from him gives me chills, as this one did too. I agree with Simon that the men may have a easier time tonight, not to be compared to Mariah. Grade: A

Carly's turn to do another classic.."Without You." I 'm thinking as she is doing this that this was one of her best to date. I loved the dress, covered up the tattoo's. Didn't look quite as angry. The judges weren't super big on it though. I'd give a B+.

For a change, Syesha isn't doing a well known song..in fact, I never heard of "Vanishing" I think it's kind of a boring song, but she is singing it great with some great vocal runs. I still don't think she has much soul, and still strikes me as a bit of a phoney..like the 2 cheek kiss she and Mariah exchanged. Grade..B

Brooke is doing another fave.."Hero." She's on the piano but I'm not diggin' it this week. She looks nervous and is rushing parts. Her voice doesn't match up with Mariah of course, but that isn't her fault. grade: C+

Kristy is doing a siong that would be great lyrics at wedding.."Forever." I think she is doing a terrific job. Simon didn't get chills but I did. She has now done enough on this show to make it big in country music. In fact, I say she will outsell every other female on this years Idol. Grade..A-

The other Cook is next,,,David. He's going to try to do "Always be my Baby." I'll be honest and say I'm writing the rest of this 10 minutes after the show. I'm reading all these great reviews, but I didn't love it, just liked it. Thought the lower parts were off key a bit. I also didn't think it was all that catchy a version. Props for trying to be different though. grade..B

My bro Jason gets the final spot, and is doing "I Don't Want To Cry." You know, the girls just love him, but this is the first kind of love song he's done except the horrible Michelle during Beatles week. I think he's growing more confident with who he is each week, unlike Brooke. Grade..B+

If I downloaded two songs, they would be Archie and Kristy. Behind them I would rate them..jason.. Carly..David Cook...Syesha..Brooke.

I'm not even going to think about it, Brooke was my pick yesterday to finish 7th, and even though it would hurt me in the overall contest where I have her third, I'm picking Brooke to get voted off. Sue says Brooke as well.

As usual, let me know who you think will get the boot before the show starts on Wednesday. Thanx for coming by again..love ya'll..jim

We have a good feel on how things are going on Idol this year. The last 2 voted off were never in the bottom 3 previously, so it's very unpredictable.. I'm going to try to pick my top 7. I did it last year and I had the top 4 in order. If you wantt o pick a revised top 7, it won't affect the original contest picks. But if anyone gets them all right, I will give out 30 bonus points. If you want o wait until there is 6 and pick a top 6 in order, I'll give out 20 bonus points. This gives people who are far behind a chance to catch up at the end! Here is my revised list:

1..David Archuleta...still think he's gonna pull it out somehow.

2. David Cook..he can't afford more bad weeks, and Mariah Carey songs might not fit him.

3. Kristy..I'm going to shock the world with this pick..she keeps getting better and evrery other girl gets worse!

4. Jason..like with Archuleta, this is my original slot for him.

5. Carly..She is getting so intense she will burn out by now.

6. Syesha..she will last one more week because she will do well with Mariah week.

7. Brooke..I'm afraid she is starting to bore America.

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I finally downloaded my first Idol CD of the year from iTUNES! This is my 9 song list:

1. Shout To The Lord.  If you only spend 99 cents on one song, this is a must. You will get to hear all 8 singers do solo's, and Jesus is in the lyrics. Very well done.

2. This Little Light Of Mine..The Clark Brothers. At last, I have a song of theirs to listen to. It's a live track from the results show 2 weeks ago.

3. "Praying For Time"..carrie Underwood. This is the live cut from Idol gives back. She tears this song up!. If you download this or the first one, you donate to Idol gives back!

4. "Anyway"..Kristy.   She does a great job in the studio..i do believe now she will make it in the country world. She's outlasted Bucky and only needs one more week to match Kellie Pickler.

5. "Smokey Mountain Memories" by Archuleta. I had to have one song by him, and this was from Dolly wek with lots of praise to Jesus in it. His voice is so pure in a studio cut, he might be another Clay Aiken.

6. and 7.  Jason Castro singing Travelin thru and Halujulah. First is nearly a 5 minute studio cut, the second is just the short version, 2 minutes or so. Both well done.

8. David Cook's :"Hello" I was hoping this would be an expanded studio cut, but it was the short live version from the show.

9. Brooke doing "Let It Be"  this was Sue's fave from this year, so I had to download it. It's the studio cut and done nicely.

So, have any of you found any songs worth downloading this year? It's very simple if you have an ITUNES account set up.

see you Tuesday with thoughts on the show!..Jim

Later note..My pal Mike listed the most popular ITUNES downloads, thought you might find it of interest.

The Power of Idol
One of my favorite things to do during American Idol season is to watch the iTunes charts to see the Idol Effect. You can see how well a song connects with the audience because you'll see the original artist recording shoot up the Top 100 Downloads chart. Idol Gives Back especially impacted it. Currently charting songs that are somehow related to this season's Idol:

"No Air," Jordin Sparks #3
"What About Now," Daughtry (IGB) #7
"Praying For Time," Carrie Underwood (IGB) #8
"Shout To the Lord," Various (IGB) #10
"See You Again," Miley Cyrus #11
"Don't Stop the Music," Rihanna #12
"Many Rivers To Cross," Annie Lennox (IGB) #20
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow," Israel Kamaka... #26
"What About Now," Daughtry #36
"Don't Stop the Music," Various (IGB) #53
"Hollywood's Not America," Ferras #57
"Before He Cheats," Carrie Underwood #62
"No Air," Jordin Sparks #63
"Seasons of Love," Rent #92
"Good & Broken," Miley Cyrus (IGB) #96
"Can't Say Goodbye," Snoop Dog (IGB) #99

That's 16 of 100. And there are also other songs by Idol contestants on there, but they're not related to this season so I didn't count them.

Before the top 24, I endorsed David Archuleta for winning Idol. I still love the kid, but my two endorsements now are Kristy and Jason. They are both Christians who haven't been shy about singing songs of faith. They have humble attitudes, never talking back when attacked, which is quite often for Kristy! Plus, after seeing this picture for months, I just realized Kristy is wearing a Buffalo Bills tank top! Hooray for Kristy!

Just to give equal time..here is one of Jason singing "Over The Rainbow"

I wanted to give some thoughts on American idol doing "Shout To The Lord" this week. When the Idols did it the first time on Idol Gives Back night, I thought I was seeing one of the great moments in TV history for Christians. Sure, they said the "MY Shepherd" instead of "My Jesus"..but the song got out there for millions to see. I know several comments here, other websites, at work, and my wife thought they sold out for doing that. Most of all, I was feeling kind of the same way as well. So when they redid the song on results night with "My Jesus" back in it's rightful place, I felt kind of embarrassed that Christians like me wasted energy on it. Why? Because the secular posts are furious that Idol is doing so much "Religious stuff." We need to give praise to God for allowing Idol to have as much Christian stuff as they have had the past 2 weeks. I have counted 7 Christian songs on the show! Plus they are now using The Afters in the commercials to go along with using The Robbie Seay band earlier this year. Is there a high ranking Christian exec at FOX?

Here is an excellent blog from my buddy Mike Janke on how some of the secular crowd is reacting:

The show opened tonight with an encore of "Shout To the Lord." Apparently some in the viewing audience were offended. When Dolly Parton sang "Jesus and Gravity" there were some on the Idol boards who complained that she sang about Jesus, and it was discriminatory. Discrimination! It's here! On Idol! The same folks complained tonight:

I'm sure I'm not the only person to think tonights opening song about Jesus our savior was completely inappropriate.  If I wasn't such a huge fan of the show, I'd stop watching it.  It's American Idol, they shouldn't discriminate.  Not everyone believes in Jesus...How come they didn't sing about Budda our savior, or anything else for that matter?  I'm really disappointed!!!!!

and

Agreed. It makes me worry that "American idol Gives Back" uses it's money to push Judeo-Christian beliefs rather than helping them with medicine and healthcare.

and

What do all you non-Christians think about AI endorsing Christianity as their religion? I think it was kind of inappropriate considering the country consists of more than just Christians.

I didn't tune in to watch a Christian sermon.

and

I am tolerant of Christianity, I just don't feel it's appropriate on a SECULAR talent competition. 

Apparently many have the idea that freedom of religion means freedom from religion. And apparently it's okay to sing songs about atheism ("Imagine"), sex, drugs, partying, or anything else, but if you sing a song about God or Jesus not only is the show now "endorsing" Christianity (something I highly doubt they would ever do if their life depended on it) but it's also unbearable to even have the sound enter your ears. Unbearable! The ears! Think about the ears! The poor atheist viewers tuned in and got a whole "sermon" about Jesus. Apparently it's "discriminating" to sing a song about a belief that someone else actually might now share with you! *gasp* Our Founding Fathers guaranteed us the rights to never hear words that we do not agree with, dang it! Read the Constitution! It's in there somewhere - keep looking!

And who is the "budda" person, anyway?

The last quote really cracks me up the most. I'm tolerant of Christians, just be Christian only in places where I don't have to see it! Keep it in church!

Imagine the fun we could have if we decided that every time a song was sung on Idol it meant the show was endorsing its message! Let's try that next week.

Idol actually does a pretty good job of covering the spectrum of music in our country. Gospel/Christian is a part of that, so it makes sense that on a themed week of "Inspiration" they'd give a nod to the genre.

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I thought that was well put Mike. Hey peeps, when I say bad things about songs on Idol for lyrics I don't agree with, I don't wantt to come across as "holier than thou." I don't want to come across that they should not be allowed to sing songs about one night stands or whatever. I value free will on the show. That's why I like the show so much..if you wantt o sing something Christian they have never stopped anyone. When I do my blogs I just state my personal opinions on whether I like a song or not, and I'll be honest if I don't like a lyric. If the singer doesn't claim to be born again it really doesn't bother me in the least. I just hold a higher standard to professed believers like Chikezie or whoever