American Idol- Stayin' Alive

Did we mention she's only 17?The two-person elimination last week really threw me off. Seriously, seeing just four people onstage is a bit of a whoa-moment. As in, whoa, the competition is really on, y'all.

Tonight's theme is the music of Barry Gibb. Can Barry top Jon Bon's success with the contestants? The short and long answers are below.

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No.

And here's why.

Melinda: Melinda sings "Love You Inside and Out" and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart". The choices start an ongoing theme of confusion for Barry, who's all: how can a girl sing songs a guy sang? Umm, I don't know Barry? With their vocal chords and their lungs and their mouths?

Mel's first song is strong but underwhelming. Her second is beautiful. She's so good at drawing you in with her voice and then, once you're like: yes, Melinda, sing it, she blows your mind with some crazy effortless notes that never verge on shouting.

Though Simon called her first song "a backup singer's performance", he says the second will put her through to the semi-finals. Randy says eh, and then yeah dawg, you're the pro. Paula tells Melinda she's hard to criticize but she should try to throw her technique away one night and surprise everyone. By sucking? That sounds like what would happen.

Blake: Blake tries to hold on with the momentum of last week with "You Should Be Dancing" and "This is Where I Came In". In both cases, barry loves the beat-boxing (take that you close-minded Jovi nuts). On "You Should be Dancing", Blake's falsetto is inconsistent, and his efforts to update the song are weird. The only positive thing about it are the few nice notes he hits and his dance moves.

"This is Where I Came In" is a big improvement. It's an obscure song, but that keeps it from sounding dated. His bluesy voice sits in the melody well, and he shows off his range in the chorus. He uses a wisely small amount of beat-boxing.

Still, Simon though it was a bad night for Blake. He was unique, but terrible. Paula loves his artistry and calls him the show's contemporary rebel. Randy says his first song didn't work, and that he doesn't have to beatbox on everything.

Lakisha: Lakisha's been on the comeback trail, and she chooses "Stayin' Alive" and "Run to Me" to keep things going. Barry likes her changes to "Stayin' Alive", and encourages her to go for the key changes in "Run to Me". She is a girl though, so he's still not sure about the whole thing.

I really enjoy Lakisha's version of the theme from Saturday Night Fever. The slower tempo keeps it from getting cheesy, and the R&B twist works. It's clear on Kiki's second song that she's having some trouble with her voice this week, and is hoarse. She flubs a note at the end of her second song, which is never a good lasting memory for voters.

Randy thinks Kiki's first song didn't work and her second was just good. Paula was looking forward to more dancing, but tells Lakisha not to beat herself up. Simon refrains from kissing Kisha this week, and says she is vulnerable to the vote.

Jordin: Sweet young Jordin goes with "To Love Somebody" and "A Woman in Love". and Barry flips for her (once he gets past the fact that has a vagina and intends to sing his music). He prefers her versions of both sings to any he has ever heard. . Barry, again, is like, a girl is going to sing this? Wha? He says hundreds of people have sung this, but no one as well as Jordin. Cute dress, nice hair. Damn, Barry might be right. Jordin thr

Though Jordin's first song is indeed super impressive (especially coming off rough starts for the other three), Barry might have set the bar to high on the second, which sounds very strained.

After universally praising her first effort, the called the second: "pitchy", "not her best" and "old-fashioned and pageanty", respectfully.

It was a difficult night for everyone, and Blake probably deserves to go based on this show's performances, but I suspect it'll be Lakisha's time after a scare for Melinda.