Okay, so Stevie Wonder songs are hard to sing, but I really expected more from our Top 12.

Ace Young opened the show with “Do I do”- not a bad performance, but definitely manic. He’s gorgeous, though, so I wouldn’t worry too much. Kellie Pickler disappointed Simon, her Number One Fan, so that’s not good. I don’t even remember what her song was, only that I was bored. Elliott Yamin is one of the guys who has my heart, in spite of (or because of?) those teeth and ears, but we can all agree that his nerves were showing tonight.

Thank God for Mandisa, who really got the show going with “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing”. Glad she lost the shoes. Bucky Covington did surprisingly well, despite the hair, and Melissa McGhee screwed up the lyrics but not the song. I really like her raspy voice. Have I said that before?

Lisa Tucker Signed, Sealed, and Delivered a great performance, and although I wasn’t crazy about her voice, she definitely deserves to be there. Kevin Covais, on the other hand, disappointed with a lackluster “Part-Time Lover” and an attitude I’m not sure I like very much. Simon is a judge. You’re not. Got that?

Katherine McPhee is amazing with “Until You Come Back To Me”, and would have been my favorite performance of the night- if she wasn’t followed by my boyfriend #1 Taylor Hicks who rocked the house with “Livin’ for the City”. He’s just adorable. Next, Paris Bennett finally redeems herself with “All I Do”- but for me, is really just an opening act for boyfriend #2 Chris Daughtry who knocks me off my feet (sorry, Elliott) with a rockin’ “Higher Ground”.

Kinnik, not surprisingly, had the lowest number of votes among the girls. She bowed out gracefully, and I must say that despite the awful way she warbled her way through the Alicia Keys song, I like her personality and her elegance.

Will had the lowest number of votes among the guys. Again, not a surprise. By now, hubby and I sigh and settle down to watch Melissa McGhee eliminated.

Only she’s not. It’s Ayla Brown who’s out, and I gotta admit, we didn’t see that coming. We liked Ayla- maybe not from the beginning, but she grew on us.

I’m still shaking my head in disbelief when Gedeon is eliminated- another surprise. I’ll miss that grin.

…and, just like that, we have our Top 12 American Idol contestants:

Top Row (L-R): Chris Daughtry, Taylor Hicks, Kellie Pickler, Katherine McPhee, Kevin Covais, Mandisa.
Bottom Row (L-R): Bucky Covington, Melissa McGhee, Lisa Tucker, Paris Bennett, Ace Young, Elliott Yamin.

Oh, and- Bo Bice performed tonight. It was good seeing him, although the song didn’t do much for me. Why don’t these “past Idols” give advice to the new ones anymore?

Also: the Brittenum twins were in the audience. Heh.

Reality TV Magazine is calling on anyone to decipher Paula’s inanity on last Thursday’s show:

“Simon gave me advice and he said that on the X-factor he always refers to a fortune cookie and says the moth who finds the melon…..finds the cornflake, always finds the melon, and one of you didn’t get the right fortune cookie.”

I won’t even bother with that one.

The Girls elimination was no surprise: no one could (or wanted to) save Brenna, and Heather struck out twice already. Actually, so did David. But Kevin and Sway in the bottom three? I expected Bucky and Will.

Ah well. I’m just glad my two boyfriends are still there.

Also: One of my favourite sites, Rickey, has a new tagline that I adore: Powered by Daughtry, Hicks & Young…. Heh.