Chris Daughtry steals the show on ‘Idol’

Melissa McGhee, 21, Tampa, Fla.: McGhee forgot some of the lyrics to "Lately" in her rehearsal with Wonder, then promptly went out and did the same thing onstage when it mattered. A clutch performance, it wasn't. That and a voice that was a little scratchy would seem to be the kiss of death for the lowest-vote getter among the surviving women last week, but the judges all complimented her on her effort. Maybe they're looking to make up for not giving her more screen time until weeks after the viewers already knew the life story of most of her competitors.
Grade: C+
The judges: "In my opinion, this was your best performance so far." – Simon Cowell.
Stay or go: Simon must really like McGhee if he's willing to compliment her on a night she forgot the lyrics to her song. She'll probably be in the bottom three, and didn't make up any ground on the favorites, but has a good chance at making it to next week.

Lisa Tucker, 16, Anaheim, Calif.: The youngest woman in the competition looked very polished singing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours." It wasn't the best performance of the night, but it was a strong showing for Tucker, who worked to get the audience involved.
Grade: B
The judges: "It sounded to me like it was a little karaoke a little bit … but the end was hot." – Randy Jackson.
Stay or go: Tucker shouldn't have anything to worry about this week.

Kevin Covais, 16, Levittown, N.Y.: It's bizarre, but somewhere along the way it's as if Covais has actually started to believe that he's really a gangsta. He talked about being a sex symbol, he sang "Part-Time Lover," he mocked Simon's criticism of his performance, and two little girls actually handed him a sign they'd made calling him "hot." He's clearly grown on Randy and Paula, though the one guy who seems aware of how hard it would be to market a Kevin Covais album is trying his darndest to send him home early.
Grade: C+
The judges: "This is the part in the show where Stevie Wonder turns down the sound. It was appalling." – Simon Cowell.
The response: "That's OK. I wasn't expecting much out of you anyway." – Covais
Stay or go: Covais could go any week from here on out.

Katharine McPhee, 21, Los Angeles: When McPhee finished her rendition of "Until You Come Back to Me," Simon said simply "Katharine, you're good." He also said McPhee reminded him a bit of Kelly Clarkson at this stage, which combined with his likening of Pickler to Carrie Underwood last week means he's made back-to-back comparison to previous "Idol" winners. The real question is which singer reminds him of Ruben Studdard. At any rate, this was a very strong performance from someone who was dinged earlier in the competition for daring to sing a Stevie Wonder song.
Grade: A
The judges: "We got a hot one tonight! That was unbelievable. I loved every minute of it! Dude, you were the bomb!" – Randy Jackson.
Stay or go: No worries for McPhee. She's a lock.

Talyor Hicks, 29, Birmingham, Ala.: First of all, Hicks gets brownie points for pointing out that Stevie Wonder actually is an American Idol, and not in the reality television sense of the word. The gray-haired wonder put on another strong performance singing, "Living for the City"  — he's a genius at getting the crowd rocking.
Grade: A
The judges: "Your appeal is, you're like every dad who goes to a wedding, gets drunk, goes onstage and sings. The difference is, you can sing." – Simon Cowell.
Stay or go: Hicks is in no danger of being voted off.

Paris Bennett, 17, Fayetteville, Ga.: Though she's only a teenager, Bennett sings like she's been onstage since birth and feels no pressure at all. She did a stellar job with "All I Do," and did nothing to lose her status as one of the favorites to win the competition.
Grade: A
The judges: "You were up there as if you've been doing it for years." – Paula Abdul.
Stay or go: Bennett is another no-brainer to make it through.

Chris Daughtry, 26, McLeansville, N.C.: For the second time in three weeks, Daughtry closed the show with a performance that made everyone else look like they were singing karaoke. He took "Higher Ground," found the Red Hot Chili Peppers Version, and rocked the stage like he was a bona-fide headliner. If there had been floodlights on stage, he would have probably trashed them. Daughtry can find a way to turn everything into a rock song, and if rock is what the majority of the audience wants, he'll win this competition.
Grade: A+
The judges: "That, for me, was the only real-world performance, in that I could imagine you having a hit version of that record. Best tonight by far." – Simon Cowell.
Stay or go: Daughtry is the singer to beat right now. There's a long way to go, and it doesn't mean he'll actually win, but he'll sail through this week

Craig Berman is a writer in Washington, D.C.

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