I think America isn't voting...well, yes, some are voting, but when AI has to tell us the cumulative number of votes so far this season, after a few weeks of not mentioning votes, that means that the vote levels are down, and I would venture a guess that they are down *a lot* versus previous seasons.

If the votes were at the levels we've seen in seasons past, then perhaps Michael wouldn't have been the bottom contestant.

Andrew has a big following. Yes, he hit the b2, but now his supporters are on alert. He was the top trending topic on Twitter after he rebounded last week in his performance.

Michael fans are now on alert as well.

Aaron--I gotta ask--who in the heck is voting for Aaron? This kid is no Idol. Is it the country support? Home state? The "grandma" vote? Kristy Lee Cook survived to top 7 with patriotic song selection and country interest in season 7. That's what I'm seeing for Aaron, although I would love to see him out next week.

BTW, Kristy repeatedly hit the bottom 3 her season (3 out of 5 times from 12th place to 8th place) before leaving at 7th place, and this is similar to what's happening with Tim. And that season we got the Michael Johns shocking boot at 8th place.

I've got a theory that AI judges have to be complimentary to the contestants somewhere along the way so they have something to show in the goodbye reel. This week they finally gave Tim something to put in his goodbye reel. His comments by the judges are tracking the same as how they handled Sanjaya. Sanjaya lasted till 7th place, too.

They can't all last till 7th place! We still need 9th and 8th out first!

So, I think we'll see one of the Aaron/Andrew/Tim and even Katie (she has been in the bottom 3, so she's vulnerable) get the boot next week but we'll likely see one of the favs go as well. There's no more save. Crystal, Casey, Lee, Siobhan....not as safe as they seem. Michael? I think he'll get a lot of support next week--pimp spot perhaps? as well as a theme that allows him to wow us next week.

I wonder what the true voting picture looks like. And Lee--he had the pimp spot this week so traditionally he should sing earlier in the show next week but that didn't stop them from placing Adam mostly later in the show last year. I think they place him later in the show because I'm guessing he doesn't have the strongest fan support yet.

And Siobhan? I think we'll see a return to the screamy high notes for next week. Adam will tell her to go for it, leave it all on the stage, etc.