Not quite a night that does Carol King justice, but not quite a train wreck, either.

1. James - Masterful performance by James with this song. Touching solo vocal intro to start with, picking up into a rock song playing the electric guitar. Although he was barely moving in rhythm at the mike, softly switching between a few chords, his voice and performance had a hidden, yet quite visible and audible, intensity to it. At this point, I'd say he would be the favorite to win this season, given his versatility and intensity.

2. Scotty - Considering the song and lyrics, a fine (and even a privileged) arrangement for Scotty. He does well in this setting, taming down his expressions compared to previous weeks and is vocally good as ever except for the high note sustains (which it's clear he's experimenting with). This was another side to Scotty well worth watching and listening to. Thumbs up.

3. Casey - Perfect song choice and an interesting arrangement for Casey in showcasing his growling voice and stage presence. He seemed a bit tight, perhaps a little too intense, where a more relaxed demeanor may have made it better yet. Like Randy, I dig how Casey can bring something new and different with each performance. Vocally, he doesn't compare to some of the other guys in style and range, but after the first bar, in a good way, you know it's Casey. Thumbs up, but he's got a big challenge ahead to overcome the likes of the energetic James and charismatic Scotty in votes.

4. Hayley - Moo-utiful! Hayley does the usual vocal gymnastics in a fast pace with enough background music and choruses to get away with the slides and fades in her notes. No growls tonight, but we'll see if we hear any during tomorrow night's results show. Although we can give Hayley credit for improving over the last several weeks, abandoning some of her karaoke moves, she's clearly not destined to be the Idol.

5. Lauren - Lauren comes out and tries to give a pop star concert performance and didn't quite shine at it. Her vocals were ok, easy enough on the ears and she appears fairly attractive. But getting that dork on stage with her and then circling around the judges and then finishing out the song sitting next to the dork isn't what America is looking to vote for. What few lady-vote male voters there are out there will switch to Hayley if she can woo them over. And girls don't like other girls already happy with their b/f. As a whole, a typical and almost already forgotten Lauren performance that was par for her course.

6. Jacob - Jacob comes on stage with yellow shoes, yellow shirt, blue vest, purple tie, black/grey & white coat and blue jeans, and you have to wonder whether wardrobe took it a little bit too far when they were told to add some color to this guy's outfit. As far as the performance went, it was rather lively but with all the background music and chorals, he didn't have the opportunity to show off his solo voice much in this piece. As a whole, outfit included, it didn't really work for me, and I share Randy's cautious (possibly futile) hope that Jacob is going to get the votes. This isn't the performance that will save Jacob from elimination.

Agman's Muse