Clone-free zone

Best of the night
Musically speaking, the strongest performance of the evening came from Elliott Yamin, who took on Stevie Wonder's "If You Really Love Me" without making himself look silly. On the contrary, he sounded terrific, he looked comfortable, and he sang with confidence. The judges couldn't say enough about how much they loved it.

From the strong to the not-so-strong, the genial Bobby Bennett performed "Copacabana," which would be a risky choice for the very strongest singer. And Bobby is frankly not the very strongest singer. His performance was not especially in tune, he never seemed confident, and the entire thing was overcranked, as if he the song got away from him and he couldn't slow it down. Prediction: Bobby will not see another week, unless Simon's merciless criticism creates a major backlash, which wouldn't be unheard of. Just ask Master P.

Resident pretty-boy Ace Young made a good choice with George Michael's "Father Figure," standing simply in the center of the stage in jeans and a T-shirt and doing all he needed to do in order to keep his swooning following excited. "Idol" has a history of showcasing men who are sexy in an adolescent lunch-box sort of way rather than in an adult way. Ace is probably the first they've had in some time who is legitimately gorgeous the way an adult should be gorgeous and is also a talented singer.

Last but not least, Taylor Hicks is a polarizing figure. Some love him, some hate him. Some find his weird, twitchy affectations sort of endearing, and some find them horribly distracting. His performance of "Levon" probably showcased his seasoned, gravelly voice as well as anything on "Idol" will, and he continued to prove that he has a quality that no one else on the show has or has ever had. Taylor is a strange phenomenon for this show — a strong contender who looks like he could be Carrie Underwood's father. Watching him should be, if nothing else, incredibly interesting.

Tomorrow night will bring results for both the men and the women. If past experience is any indication, the boring will go first, which is particularly bad news for Patrick and David. Look for the eliminated to come from among those two and Bobby, who really should have stayed away from the Manilow.

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