So… the Idols kicked it up a notch, and maybe I’ll watch again next season. This is normally my favorite week in the show—I’m always interested to see what songs the judges, and producers pick for the contestants, and I think they did well this time around. The songs all fit the contestants voices, and it really was a night that highlighted each of their strengths.

I definitely think that Blake is the weakest up there. He sounded better than he normally does, despite some really obvious pitch issues in Roxanne. I did love him singing This Love—I think it was by far his best performance of the season. But I can’t get over his really bad sense of style, and I’m getting tired of looking at that face he makes when he sings. He gets all serious, and looks like he’s trying to seduce the camera and I think it just looks… stupid. Smile, maybe. I don’t know—I’m a hater.

The girls were awesome. Jordin’s last song? My God. I got chills. I know it’s an old song, but I still nearly wept listening to her sing it. And Melinda? I’m a huge fan of old school R&B and she definitely has that vibe. She just owns every song she sings. I wasn’t super impressed with the Whitney Houston song—but the judges were, so what do I know? I just wish they had given her something more youthful because I worry she doesn’t appeal to as much of the audience as she could.

Other thoughts? I would appreciate Randy speaking less. I’m tired of the “check it out, check out, aight yo,” thing he does. And could he be a bigger name dropper? He always manages to slip in that he worked with whomever. And yeah, he’s a pretty talented producer who has worked with a lot of people, but Randy—no one really cares.

And as the weeks go on, my love of Simon gets exponentially bigger. Seriously. I love him! People think he’s mean. I think he’s honest, right on point, and extremely good looking. Yummy.

My fingers are crossed for Jordin and Melinda, but we shall see what happens tonight.