It’s top ten week and the guys stepped up their game a little bit in answer to the butt whooping they received last week. It’s been a big Idol news week, at least for one of the girls anyway. Unless you’ve been living under a rock then your aware that Antonella Barba is currently the biggest celebrity on the planet. Yes that’s right. She’s trumped Britney Spears and Anna Nicole in recent days over what’s being referred to as “Antonella Gate”. The powers that be said she wouldn’t be excused from the show, if the American public wanted her gone, the votes would reflect that.

That said, it is time to sing. Last week the diva’s showed their stuff. Melinda, Lakisha, Jordin, Sabrina and Stephanie all came out and put on great performances setting a tone for the competition. It’ll be tough to beat them and the other girls will have to really bring it to get into the same class as these ladies. This part at least should be really fun to watch.

It’s dedication night for the girls, so let’s take a look at how they faired.

Gina Glocksen is up first. She dedicated Hearts “Alone” to her boyfriend Joe.  Randy thought it was a good song choice for Gina and Paula thought she did a good job, loosely comparing it to Carrie Underwood’s season 4 performance. Simon liked it but thought Gina was edgier than what she portrayed. I have to agree, the performance was good, better I thought than last week, this definitely suits Gina. I don’t know if I’d go so far as putting in the same class as Carrie’s “Alone” performance but it was good. I do agree with the whole edginess thing. Gina looked stunning in the outfit but it just didn’t seem to work with the song. The dress seemed to limit her movement and didn’t allow her to really get into it.

Alaina Alexander is up next, she dedicated the Dixie Chicks “Not Ready To Make Nice” to her mom. Randy didn’t like, thought she was all over the place with it. Paula said she was way off pitch. Simon said “It was like Randy taking part in a 100 meter sprint, i.e. three quarters of the way through the race he would run out of steam and that’s exactly what happened, you ran out of steam three quarters of the way”. You know, I liked Alaina’s audition, but since then, she’s not been overly spectacular and I think she was put through to the 24 because somebody has to be cut to ensure the appropriate ones make it through to the finals. I was really disappointed with this whole thing. From the song choice (anti-chicks here) to the performance. It was bad, way bad. I don’t think Alaina will survive this week.

Lakisha Jones dedicated Gladys Knight’s “Midnight Train To Georgia” to her grandmother.  Randy and Paula both loved it. Simon thought it was good but not as good as last week. Simon also said he was distracted by Lakisha’s outfit. My thought’s exactly. She wasn’t bad but the whole outfit with the salmon colored blouse was way too bright, it seemed to overwhelm everything else. Lakisha was still good, just not as good as last week I don’t think.

Melinda Doolittle dedicated her performance to her two closest friends. She sang “My Funny Valentine”. Randy said it was unbelievable, said Melinda is the one to beat. Paula thought it was astounding and Simon said in a word, it was “incredible”. Let’s just stop right here for a second. This is a contest right? We hear week after week that you got to bring it every week. Well let me tell you, Melinda, she brought it. I think you could chalk this up as probably one of the 10 best performances ever. It was, in a word, incredible. This is the performance we haven’t seen from any of them yet, this was Melinda coming on stage and saying “I’m it! Beat me!”. The scary thing is, she seems to lack so much confidence that as that confidence grows she’ll only get better, and I think her background will allow her to adapt to other genres better than the other divas.

Antonella Barba sang “Because You Loved Me” by Celine Dion, which she dedicated to her brother. Randy said that on a positive side, she was drop dead gorgeous.  He thought the song was too big for her. Paula thought she improved from last week but Simon thought she was worse. This is where the controversy of this show comes into play. Based on performance Antonella should be gone, this was just bad. I fail to understand why these people continue to pick these power house songs they can’t sing. The problem is, this is a popularity contest at this point, and I’m sure Antonella Gate has done nothing but increase that so look for Antonella to be back again next week. The question is, is the scandal over or will there be a fresh stream of publicity between now and then?

Jordin Sparks dedicated “Reflection” by Christina Aguilera to her brother. Randy thought it a bit pitchy but otherwise was really good. Paula told Jordin she was infectious and a brilliant and talented girl. Simon thought Jordin has massive potential but didn’t think this was her best performance, yet considerably better than others.  I still think Jordin is probably the best teenager we’ve seen on the show, at least since I’ve been watching. She’s confident in her ability, but hasn’t developed the attitude to go along with that we’ve seen in past youngsters.

Stephanie Edwards dedicated her performance of Beyonce’s “Dangerously In Love” to her mom and dad. Randy thought she was too much like Beyonce (how is that a problem?). Paula thought it was fantastic and Simon agrees, he thought it was terrific. You know, it wasn’t bad by any means, but I don’t think it was as good as last week. IMO, I think Stephanie knocked herself to the bottom of the diva scale this week. I don’t think this will hurt her any, at least not at this point, but she needs to play to her strengths or she’ll quickly get lost when the divas start splitting votes.

Leslie Hunt dedicated “Feeling Good” to her Grandpa Bob.  Randy thought it was pitchy, while Paula loved it. Simon said “The problem was Les, you’ve just been whacked by three or four voices before you.” Unfortunately he’s right, there was nothing “Wow” about this and Leslie should be able to do better. The problem is, without a huge push from the judges and the lack of pre-competition pimping, this might do Leslie in. I hope not, she definitely wasn’t one of the two worst but she’s certainly on the bubble.

Haley Scarnato dedicated Whitney Houston’s “Queen Of The Night” to her fiance. Oh boy, Randy didn’t like it. Paula thought it was much better than last week and Simon gave her an “A” for effort. He thinks Haley is one of two or three girls that are vulnerable. Ugh! I’m not liking this, I’ve heard Haley’s pre-idol recordings and she can do better. I don’t know that she’s diva better but she’s definitely better than this. I think she’ll manage to slide by one more week though, so she’s going to have to really step it up if she want’s to stay in it.  Oh and Haley.. No Whitney songs!!!

Sabrina Sloan is last this week. Sabrina dedicated “All The Man That I Need” by Whitney Houston to her grammy. It’s a mixed review, Randy thought there were a few pitch problems but liked it overall. Paula thought she was fantastic. Simon thought it was very good but warned Sabrina to not confuse power with shouting, saying she was right on the edge. I liked it, I think she’s one of the top 4 girls. She’s got a bit of work to do to compete with Lakisha, Melinda and Jordin but I think she’s up for it.

So there we are, not a whole lot different than last week and truthfully nothing too surprising here. I still think this is a four girl race between Melinda, Lakisha, Jordin and Sabrina.  The problem is at some point they may start splitting votes and that might hurt them overall. I’m giving the advantage to Melinda, I think her background is going to pay dividends further into this competition.

Who’s going home? Well it should be Alaina and Antonella but I don’t think that’s going to happen.  Surprisingly the dialidol.com predictions are saying both Gina Glocksen and Stephanie Edwards are gone. I don’t know if I can agree with that. Stephanie maybe, because she really hasn’t gotten much exposure so the lack of popularity could hurt her even though she is one of the better singers. Gina, I don’t know, I just don’t see that one. If I’m choosing, then I think it will be Alaina and probably Leslie going home tonight.