2nd week results

This week's Idol started off with a hearty "Yee-Ha!" Who doesn't love "Country Week"? Well, from what I hear, most of us don't! But regardless, Randy Travis made himself available to mentor the oh-so diverse group of contestants. He was able to relate better to some than others, totally caught off guard by Adam and his male-polish and guy liner. But he did give Adam credit for being "unique". True enough...Johnny Cash would never have thought to sing "Ring of Fire" in a Middle Eastern "sitar" sort of way...wow! Hey, you either loved it or hated it. But let's be fair...the boy has a bigger range than the Andes mountains!

Meanwhile, the judges were focused on size. Randy Travis said Lil had "big pipes on the top"; (not sure if that's grounds for a sexual harassment lawsuit or not). Paula said Adam keeps raising his own bar each week (insert your own joke here). Simon insisted on calling Lil "Little". Anoop was called the "biggest surprise" of the night, and Matt sang "So Small", prompting Kara to coo "Matt, there ain't nothing small about you, that's for sure!". I'm speechless.

We had "tender moments from my dog Kris". Alexis' "Joleen" wasn't dirty enough. Scott sang "Wild Angels" and played the piano, which brought Paula comment that he try a song without his pet piano for once. Simon declared her comment was "stupid", which then led to a big fight between them, leaving Scott standing there, confused. Danny did a good job with "Jesus Take the Wheel", but the polar expedition coat he wore didn't exactly suit the song. Megan sang "Walking After Midnight", then began hacking away on stage, spreading her flu germs to all within sneezing range. Seems she'd even been in the hospital, but she sounded like she needed to take the next ambulance back again! In the rehearsals for tonight's show, all the other contestants had Hazmat suits on! But Simon thought she was great, saying she should be sick every week. Nice...let's wish the flu on everyone for the sake of ratings! Anoop redeemed himself with a very controlled "You're Always On My Mind", sounding nothing like Willie Nelson, thank goodness.

But it was Dinky Rounds who got the most flack from the judges; she apparently picked the wrong song with "Independence Day". Minuscule Rounds said she was trying to stick with the Country theme, but the judges thought Puny Rounds should have sung something like "I Will Always Love You". Teenie-Weenie Rounds couldn't defend herself against their harsh comments and at the end of it all, felt really small.

Allison did a bluesy version of "Blame It On Your Heart", receiving the old "you could sing the alphabet" from Kara. Is that better or worse than singing the phone book? And Michael, who I felt was the weakest link of the night. sang "Ain't Going Down 'Til the Sun Comes Up". Well, we'll see about that, Michael.

So with all said and done. another contestant had to ride off into the sunset. The bottom three consisted of Allison, Alexis and Michael, with Alexis surprisingly hitting the dusty trail. After one last sing of her song in an attempt to convince the judges to "save" her, she was sent packing anyway.

Points? Yes, some of us got some big points on this one. And no surprise, we have a new pool leader!

With a scant 3 points, Karen H! Great job, Karen!
Breathing down her neck with 4 points, Donna H and Phaedra. What a close race!
With 6 points, Penney R and Tim.
With 7 points, Jeff V and Patty.
With 8 points, Stephanie.
With 9 points, Beth H, Connie, and Chas.
With 10 points, Chris W and Jamey W.
With 11 points, Heidi and Deanna.
With 12 points, John R, Kelly O, John/Lyndi, Lynn W, and Rich H.
With 13 points, Nancy, Heather, Kerry V, and Tina H.
With 14 points, Jamie J, Brad, Joel, Katie E, and ME.
With 15 points, Kyle S, Amy M, Hollie, Terri V, and Kathryn.
With 16 points, Kristie S, Kelley E, Anne, Jen W, Mike M, and Becky.
With 17 points, Kristy S and Tony.
With 18 points, Russ, Rich E, Angela W, and Noreen.
With 19 points, Angela M and Amy A.
And rounding us all out with 21 points, my niece Rachel. Sigh, yet another family member in last place. How could this be? HOW?!

Next week, Idol will be on Wednesday and Thursday, so don't get confused. The theme will be 50 years of Motown.

Also, your weary Poolmaster will be taking a much needed vacation next week to sunny Florida, so the results email will go out Friday instead of after the show on Wednesday. So in the meantime, feel free to discuss amongst yourselves. Until then!