cure this

8. Blake Lewis
Song: "Love Song" by The Cure
Me: This is good, but not up to quality of what we saw last week. But I like Blake, and you can't deny the fact that he's the chief male contender. I just kind of wish he would have opted for something faster. Still, he's showing versatility, and you can't hate him for that. That versatility will carry him a long way in this competition.
Randy: "You made the most of it."
Paula: "I loved what you did with this song."
Simon: "Definitely the strongest guy in the competition."
Score: 7/10

9. Jordin Sparks
Song: "Hey Baby"
Me: I really like the fact that Jordin's trying to separate herself from the two other belters. She's not up to the vocal caliber of Melinda or LaKisha, so she picks off-guard, off-comfort songs to separate herself from the pack. It's a good strategy. I just wish she would have picked a song that offered more of a happy medium. Still, I give her points for risk taking and originality.
Randy: "That was a very, very risky thing to do."
Paula: "I love seeing you in this kind of mode."
Simon: "You are probably the most improved contestant we've seen in terms of the last few weeks."
Score: 8/10

10. Chris Richardson
Song: "Don't Speak" (I hate it when people pick No Doubt songs just to impress Gwen.)
Me: I like this, but I can see why Chris was in last week's bottom two. He needs to do more to avoid seeming like a cheap version of Justin Timberlake. Or Blake. And vocally, I think he could have handled a song much more challenging than this one. Still, it was notches above last week's performance and he could be safe.
Randy: "I like your flavor on it, man."
Paula: "You're good Chris, you're good."
Simon: "I wasn't crazy about the vocal."
Score: 6/10