Shoebox: Shoemom, about halfway through: "Oh, gol, what's Ben saying now?" Me: "I have no idea. I am now trying that Zen trick where I'm the rock and he's the water flowing over me without leaving a trace. Blatherblatherblather..."

...And this was without benefit of the opening remarks. Thank Roman (and you brave souls) I got on here in time to know when to hit fast-forward.

Ah, so this is where all the 'better than last year' people went to...

Joe Dwarf: Zero suckage tonight, everyone was at least passable.

Shoebox: Anna. Voice isn't bad - thin in spots - just very, very generic. You can so tell she's been carefully trained to impersonate - to give the song exactly what it needs, no more, and bleach any vestige of her own personality out of it. Also, the 'Uptown Barbie' vibe seriously bugs. And she's still not 20. Gone.

Joe Dwarf: Anna, Filomena, Mark - good singers, but they'd bore me through 10 more weeks so I don't think they even have a chance to WC.

Shoebox: Mohanza. OK, don't kill me, but I was listening to Paul Robeson sing Old Man River last night and I swear I heard an answering echo buried deep somewhere in Mohanza's performance. He's in the odd position of not having a voice to match his singing talent. Gone, probably...but I think I'm keeping an eye out for his CD.

Joe Dwarf: All my votes (and I bothered to vote, this time) went to Mohanza. I loved it, liked that he didn't pick a standard Idol song, liked the subtlety of the performance and I was not alone - I got lots of no circuit messages.

Shoebox: Kaleb. Shoemom and I were trying to figure out what squicks her out so bad about him, and we decided on the flat, expressionless eyes. Surprisingly decent vocally, though; I personally don't care for any facet of his style, but the man can absolutely bring it. Gone, I think, but a lock for wildcard.

Joe Dwarf: I see what the judges see in Kaleb, I just choose to hate it. Listening to the boy sing is like watching a music video - would you just hold one single fucking note/shot for more than a fraction of a second?

Shoebox: Mark. Whatever. Seriously. Nothing there at all - especially in comparison with the genuine personalities going off like fireworks all around him. Gone.

(As an aside, something that hit me afresh when Benedict was blathering about shutting Zack up...nobody ever laughs when he disses Zack. Ever. Not even a polite chuckle from the kids. But when Zack takes shots at Ben...Hee hee hee.)

Joe Dwarf: Speaking of Mark, could he be any gayer? I'm surprised he survived childhood in Regina.

Shoebox: (Another aside: "Colour?" Well, StonedSass is back with us, folks. I'm thinking that's the real reason Byrd's here - they needed a convincing mule to get a few of Paula's prescriptions over the border.)

Liz...wheeee! It's Jennifer Hudson with restraint and emotive ability! And a fantastic, rich, fluid lower register! Personal style even! And she's only 19! Ahem. OK...so I was sorta blown away. I didn't even mind her SHOUTING! at me, which is the highest compliment I can pay a female singer (I never did give it to Fantasia). Stays. Please.

Joe Dwarf: Given that Kalan is a lock, I'll guess Liz in second - she's got the sort of glory-noting performance that really impresses with the one-off shot of the round of 32

Shoebox: Elena...would have gone over better if she hadn't picked a song that required her to pause every three seconds to cover for nonexistent Pips. Very distracting. Also she needs to tone down the wacky! a tad...or so...before she turns into JPL with talent...but undeniable flavour. Goes/Stays, depending on Canada's tolerance of wacky!-ness. We voted in Tyler and Karen-Lee, but we also voted in Jenny and Richie. I have no idea.

Joe Dwarf: Mohanza, Kaleb and Elena all have a pretty good shot at wildcard, they're judges' favourites.

Shoebox: Filomena. Um. Nice girl, shame about the Cruella deVil makeover. Also, trying to compete with Aretha? Nuh-uh. Shoulda checked in with Andrae Vandross on that one, there, kiddo. Gone.

Joe Dwarf: Meh.

Shoebox: Kalan. Whoa. Even with a fairly drab song choice...and not a whole lot of personality in the presentation...whoa. There is an indefinable x-factor in this kid's voice, something just beyond talent that flirts with genius. I could quite literally listen to him sing all day. Stays. And I think for once the judicial pimping was dead justified.

Joe Dwarf: Kalan isn't my taste but I can't see him not piling up the votes with that voice and those looks.

Results Show

Shoebox: Ok...results. Does anybody else think it's hilarious - on several levels - that we now have basically two autistic savants in the top 10? Watching Benedict try to cope first with Kalan squirming to get off camera and then Kaleb...uh...just being Kaleb...that's good teevee, folks. Now, if only Zany had made good his threat to leave. Hey, I was all set to buy him a ticket on that slow boat to China Shoemom's always referencing.

Quite seriously, and sympathetically - not least because dude undeniably has mad talent - I do think Kaleb has some vital connexions missing. It's too out there to come off as an act, anyway. "Room temperature?" At least Jenny gave some impression that she was on the same planet as the rest of us...

Kalan...oh, dear. The kid is suffering, he really is. He's going to have to watch out that that constant half-smile-duck-head coping mechanism doesn't get misinterpreted as major arrogance, which I think basically he's free from. That said, I don't think he was too seriously surprised to find himself on top. Kid knows exactly how good he is...which is quite amazingly good. At this point a Kaleb/Kalan final, as a matter of fact, would not bother me in the slightest...if only for the spectacle of Ben trying to keep either of them onstage long enough for the final song.

...Meantime, I'm consoling myself that Liz is an absolute lock for wildcard. Wouldn't mind seeing more of Elena or Mohanza, either.