OK, HERE'S MY TAKE ON THE AMERICAN IDOL PERFORMANCES LAST EVENING

Now that we've eliminated the novelties and other wannabees from this season's competition, we have six strong finalists remaining. Two of them will be eliminated on tonight's episode.

I'm a fan of Jon Bon Jovi and his band, so I was looking forward to last night's performance episode to see how the Idols would handle the Philly rocker's music. I wasn't disappointed, as many of them did quite well.

The real hit of the night came at the beginning, as Jacksonville's Phil Stacey rocked the house with Blaze of Glory. Melinda Doolittle, who I've always felt would eventually win the competition, didn't disappoint at the end of the show. She "went to church" with a powerful rendition of Have A Nice Day.

The three contestants I believe will be in danger tonight:

--- Blake Lewis. He rolled the dice with a beat-box version of You Give Love A Bad Name. Not a bad performance, but I have to agree with judge Simon Cowell in noting that half the audience would love it, have would hate it. Not enough to get him in the top three.

--- Chris Richardson. He's not a rocker, and it showed pathetically in a weak rendition of Wanted Dead Or Alive.

--- LaKisha Jones. At this point in the competition, it's more than singing; it's the total performance that counts. And presentation is a big part of it in making the audience believe that you truly feel the emotion that the song is trying to convey. While she did a fine singing job on This Is Not A Love Song, the overall performance and appearance lacked.

BTW: In case you cared, the top ten Idols will begin their tour (and yes, than does include Sanjaya Malakar) with three Florida dates:

July 6: Sunrise / BankAtlantic Center
July 7: Tampa / St. Pete Times Forum
July 8: Jacksonville / Veterans Memorial Arena