American Idol - Top 9

Let's get one thing straight right now. Dolly Parton is a lyrical genius. In my opinion she will go down in history as one of the greatest songwriters in the history of music. Period. So why then does an industry professional like Simon Cowell, who I believe really does know plenty about music and what it takes to make a hit record, not appreciate her songs for what they are? They are poetry plain and simple. And I'm not some rabid Dolly Parton fan. The only record I own of hers is "Trio" and I bought that one for Linda Ronstadt.

Honestly, I expected Simon to be in a foul mood tonight because the genre would be country music. Then they had to go and mention Jesus in two of them. You know he loved that. Usually, Simon and I are on the same wavelength and tonight I did agree with him on a few occasions but mostly I thought he just came across as bitter and frankly, a little lyrically ignorant. I guess what's really irritating me is I agreed more with Paula than Simon tonight. That just ain't right.

Now on to the performances:

Brooke - She did "Jolene" which happens to be my favorite Dolly song and I thought she was great. It was a good song for her and she worked it out dawg.

David Cook- I think I've heard "Little Sparrow" once or twice but I wasn't familiar enough with it to have any preconceived notions of what it should sound like. I loved, loved, loved it. (And Simon, the sparrow is a metaphor for a young girl's heart, you dingle berry.)

Ramiele - I don't even remember what she sang so I should look it up.........RIGHT! It was "Do you ever think of me" or "Do I cross your mind?" or "Do you remember the song I sang tonight? " or something. I honestly have no idea which is no reflection on the song but more on the performance which made me shift in my seat and stare at the floor until it was over.

Jason Castro - First of all, I learned that Jason is a Christian this week so he was automatically getting my vote (yes, I'm one of those people). I was pleasantly surprised that he not only did a great job with a great song but managed a Jesus shout-out in the process. Awesome.

David A - I thought it was a beautiful song and he did an amazing job. It's also exactly the kind of song that he always does an amazing job on. It was just ai'ght for me dawg.

Carly - I can't believe I'm going to say this but I really, really liked it. I would have loved it but they showed her husband with the tattoo-face immediately when she finished and I downgraded from loved to really, really liked. Is that wrong? Probably.

Kristy Lee - "Coat of Many Colors" is like sacred ground. I have a hard time listening to anybody other than Dolly sing that song. I guess she did OK but I'm just not a fan.

Syesha - Wow. DidNotSeeThatSongChoiceComingAtAll sarcasm. If I could see the whole Whitney comparison barreling towards her like a freight train then why on earth couldn't she? And pick another song? It's been done to death girlfriend.

Michael Johns - Oh.My.Word. Loved it! That's all I have to say.

I think Ramiele, Syesha and Kristy Lee should be in the bottom three. I predict Ramiele will go home. I've proven to be amazingly inaccurate with my predictions so far but we'll see. At least my odds are getting better.