Even Simon thinks Jordin can win

Jordin Sparks is next and she chooses to sing "Broken Wing" by Martina McBride (brownie points!!). Martina tells jordin her performance was awesome and gives her advice on how to perform it onstage. She says that the song really isn't about moving around, that it's about expression - she says that when she sings it, she just plants her feet strong on the ground and sings.

First off, I'm so happy to see Jordin's curl back. I was getting so sick of the atrightened hair - her curls are so beautiful. Her dress is pretty, too, although I'm not crazy about the color. I am crazy about Jordin's voice, though. She's just awesome - she can sing just about anything. She picked a great song - it totally showcases her skills and Martina was right - she didn't need to move one inch to put on a great show. For me, this performance reminds me of Carrie Underwood's performance of "Alone" a couple of seasons ago - it's the performance where you're like "WOW!!! While I've loved Jordin for a while now, I think this has been her absolute best performance, the one people will remember.

Randy tells her that it was the bomb, another great performance. Paula tells her she looks gorgeous and that she did a fantastic job. Simon says that this is the first time since they've met that he actually believes, based on tonight's performance, that she could win "American Idol."

I thought the hair nonsense was over - I thought I could safely anticipate Sanjaya Malakar's performances without also having to dread what disaster would befall his head. But then he comes out in a bandanna that makes his head look like three times bigger than it is. I mean, did they put extensions in his hair to poof it out? What happened to it? It's just awful, and I'm just praying that the return of the hair nightmare doesn't also mean we are returning to the singing nightmare, as well.

Well, he's singing Bonnie Raitt's "Something to Talk About" and Martin McBride says it's areally good choice for him. Sanjaya says he chose the song because he thinks he often gives people something to talk about and he thought it would be fun to just say that. Martina says that Sanjaya tends to sing in a soft voice but when he sings in a stronger voice, it seems more confident, sounds bigger... what she means is that it sounds better. Don't know why she didn't just say that. She says he was projecting more than in the past and that she thinks it works for him.

I'm not sure what I think. It's not worst thing I've ever heard - especially given the performances he's given before (and let's not forget Antonella Barba). But it's not great, in any way. He's still the only one who sounds like a guy in a bar trying out karaoke for the first time. His voice is nowhere near the voices of his fellow contestants - it's too thin, too flat, not anough range or mobility or strength or anything else the others offer. I loved him last week and the previous week was pretty good, too, but I think this week, he went right back to being awful. Maybe it's the stupid hair that's making him sound so bad.

Randy tells him it was just like karaoke, that it wasn't very good at all, very bland and boring. Paula tells Sanjaya that he loves adversity, that he thrives on it. Simon says, "Utterly horrendous." He says it was as bad as anything they see at the beginning of the season. He then says, "I know this has been funny for a while, but based on the fact that we are supposed to be finding an 'American Idol,' it was hideous."