Update: Finally found a quality picture of Sanjaya Malakar and his mohawk.

We’re down to the final ten contestants for American Idol Season 6. Tonight’s music will be of the Pop genre and the selections are inspired by the contestants’ coach this week, Gwen Stefani. It was very different to see Gwen Stefani without all the heavy makeup she usually wears. The show is only 65 minutes tonight unlike the past two weeks’ 120 minute shows. This means there the content to fluff ratio will be a lot higher this time around.

Lakisha Jones: “Last Dance”
Interesting that the them was set as Pop and here goes Lakisha with Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” from 1978. This could be last week where she didn’t feel like she could find a good match from the theme’s options. Lakisha did well, as usual, and finished it off quickly.
Randy: “Ahh right, yo, check it out… You did that like a true fly diva, that was hot.”
Paula: “You did her [Donna Summer] proud. Excellent job.”
Simon: “Love those boots… You’re thirty years younger this week… It’s the Lakisha I loved three weeks ago… Great vocal, great vocal.”

Chris Sligh: “Everything Little Thing She Does Is Magic”
Chris made reference to playing the bongo drums in his boxers. Chris, sexy isn’t your thing, so let’s avoid the near-nakedness references. Gwen Stefani seemed concerned because “he was definitely off [tempo]” during practice. I usually really enjoy Chris Sligh’s performances, but tonight was not good. He sounded very flat and off key. I’d consider this one of his lowest performances yet. He better hope for some worse performances to come along later in the show.
Randy: “What’s up dawg? What’s going down baby?” I shudder. “The band was at one tempo and you were always at another tempo… You were way ahead rushing… Made it a train wreck for me.”
Paula: “It becomes an eye sore for the audience… It set nice with the tone of your voice.”
Simon: “I thought it was a mess… What am I supposed to get from that? It was just a mess, it was all over the place… It just didn’t feel right.”
Based on what Chris has said afterwards he doesn’t seem to realize how bad it was. It just felt like he picked up the lyrics fifteen minutes before the show. I’m really disappointed.

Gina Glocksen: “I’ll Stand By You”
I’m not the biggest Gina Glocksen fan, but this was leaps above what we just saw from Sligh.
Randy: “Alright, yo… Check it out Gina… I thought this was one of your best performances ever… This was a perfect song for you. Very nice, very nice.”
Paula: “You are improving each week… The song you picked really was great… allowed you to soar with your vocals. Really was the best performance so far.”
Simon: “Wasn’t one of your best performances, it was your best performance. It was the best performance so far tonight, that’s how good it was.”

Sanjaya Malakar: “Bath Water”
Sanjaya nicely forgot the words when practicing with Gwen Stefani. I think maybe he was just nervous to finally, well, come out and say them. Here are a few of the lines from his obvious choice, “Bath Water” by No Doubt: “But I still love to wash in your old bathwater; You make me feel like I couldn’t love another; I can’t help it, you’re my kind of man;…; Why do the good girls always want the bad boys?” Grab an extinguisher, because this kid is flaming. Holy Crap! I need to find a picture quick of his hair. He’s got his previously permed, lady locks now up in a mohawk! He continues to amaze and offend me on so many levels every week. I hate him so much I hope he wins. Oh great, he forgot the words and changed “boy/man” to “girl/woman”. You’re not fooling anyone buddy.
Randy: “What’s going down? What’s going down? I’m speechless… You’ve got the dawg speechless… Come onnnn man.”
Paula: “To watch it on stage and [you] not go for it, it’s kinda like ‘aww come on’.”
Simon: “I presume there was no mirror in your dressing room. I don’t think it matters anymore what we say. I think you’re in your own universe… Good luck.”
Tonight’s performance by Sanjaya Malakar really reinforces the need for everyone to support our American Idol charity: Save the Children.

Haley Scarnato: “True Colors”
Gwen thought she’d need to tone it down a bit. Looks like Haley’s planning to seduce the audience again tonight. I’ve never gone for this song, so she’s already lost me. Too many commercials have used it for selling anything and everything over the years.
Randy: “It was just alright for me… Pitchy moments… I don’t know.”
Paula: “More of an adult contemporary performance. It didn’t stay younger.”
Simon: “I think it was sweet, but forgettable… Thousands of girls being able to sing like that, but there’s nothing to remember really… You’re going to have to do better than that.”

Phil Stacey: “Every Breath You Take”
Mr. Nosferatu actually did a really good job. I’ve always liked The Police, so maybe I’m just biased on these songs tonight. Either way Phil Stacey did a rather impressive job.
Randy: “Yo! What’s up Phil? That was a really solid performance… I actually kinda liked that dawg.”
Paula: “So much personality and color to your voice when you hit the chorus… I think it was a real good performance.”
Simon: “This may surprise you Phil, but I actually thought that was very good… Only time in the past few weeks I thought you actually took this seriously.”

Melinda Doolittle: “Heaven Knows”
Another odd choice for a Pop theme. She did really well though.
Randy: “Yo. You know what’s so dope… You sing with feeling… You are living the words… That was the bomb again.”
Paula: “You have charisma from ‘go’.”
Simon: “I don’t think this is going to be the performance we’re going to look back on and remember you for.”

Blake Lewis: “Love Song”
Gwen wants him to hold back from beatboxing. So do I, so do I. Again, I enjoy The Cure, so that might be enough to override my dislike for Mr. Jimmie Walker Blue. Nice air drums in the middle Blake. It was a safe, easy song, nothing to test him.
Randy: “You made the most of it. I liked it. I wasn’t jumping up and down but I liked it.”
Paula: “You’re taking risks… I’d love to see you in the finale.”
Simon: “Definitely the strongest male performer… It’s a bit boring… You are the front running guy.”

Jordin Sparks: “Hey Baby”
This song kinda marked for me when No Doubt/Gwen Stefani went from good to obnoxious. This isn’t really a great performance. Too much for the backup singers and not enough singing for Jordin. I think this will prove to be a bad choice for her.
Randy: “Check it out. That was a very, very risky thing to do… You could literally sing anything.”
Paula: “You’re adorable, hip, young. I loved seeing you in this kind of mode.”
Simon: “You are probably the most improved contestant in the last few weeks… It’s a bit copycat-ish.”

Chris Richardson: “Don’t Speak”
Gwen thinks he’s going to over do it like he usually does. I think he needs to get off this repeated theme of soft songs and do more to show a wider range of abilities.
Randy: “Check it out man. That was a very interesting thing… I really liked your twist on it… That was good, that was good.”
Paula: “You’re good Chris, you’re good.”
Simon: “This was a much, much better choice of song… I wasn’t crazy about the vocal… I think you struggled in the middle of that song… You need to pay more attention to your vocals.”

Come back after tomorrow’s show to get all the recap details on who gets voted off. In the mean time, be sure to take part in our American Idol Charity: Save the Children. Then when you’re done helping to end the suffering of millions, check out our investigate expose on American Idol: Separated at Birth.