Top 9 Results

Ryan still hasn't shaved, but tells us there were almost 35 million votes last night. In the highlight reel, the "country crooners" (Kellie & Bucky) did well; the genre was "a gamble" for Chris & Ace but Keith Urban proved a "good hand to play." Paris "shuffled things up with the judges," but Simon's "nice streak" didn't last long; everyone knows "Simon doesn't like country music."

Kenny Rogers sang what we're told is the debut single from his new album. It's called "I Can't Unlove You," and is catchy in that corny country play-on-words kind of way. ;-) Interestingly the band was too loud for him, too! Making his vocals hard to hear through much of the song.

Commercial time! The song is "Just One Look," and the 'look' is grungy. Which works very, very well for several of our contestants. ;-)

Next week's theme is announced and it's songs by Queen! There's a short video clip of the 'kids' meeting the band - well, there are shots of them jammin' (Bucky's doing some headbanging, look at those locks fly!) interspersed with shots of band members. Whatever, we'll get the real stuff next week. Song choice should be very interesting.

Ryan moves to the contestants and says he'll be splitting the 9 of them into 3 groups of 3 each, and one group will be revealed as the bottom 3. Nigel said this on Ryan's radio show this morning. He also said that the person going home was surprising and someone well-liked by others. The "surprising" part encourages me because, really, neither Ace nor Bucky would be incredibly shocking given their multiple trips to the seal. But we'll see...

The groups are as follows: Group 1 - Taylor, Kellie, Chris. Group 2 - Mandisa, Elliott, Paris. (My picks for the bottom 3, hmm....) Group 3 - Ace, Kat, and Bucky. Unsurprisingly Group 1 is sent to safety first. Now, they're probably thinking people will guess Group 3 for the bottom and be oh so surprised that it is, in fact, Group 2. But given last night's performances, combined with performance order and the fact that fans often vote more following someone's 1st bottom 3 experience (i.e. Kat), there isn't much surprise.

I'm nervous for Elliott, though of course quite happy that Ace & Bucky are both safe. Paris is sent to the couches, leaving Mandisa and Elliott... and, Mandisa is going home. I guessed right this week! Mandisa is a bit emotional and the audience, after an initial hush, raises to give her a standing ovation, which was nice. She composed herself during the "journey" clip and did just fine for her sing-out. The others clapped and bounced along, joining in her 'let's have a little bit more fun while we can' attitude, which was also nice. Several of them also sang along, namely Kellie, but also Bucky, who stopped abruptly soon after he appeared on camera! You know, because he didn't exactly want to be seen singing about "Any Man of Mine...." (bwah!) He is notorious for jammin' to others' songs though and with country I'm sure it was just irresistable!

That's it for this week. Go, Ace & TeaBiscuit!!