Few opinions change
on ‘Idol’ rebroadcast

Nadia Turner, 28, Miami, Fla.: Nadia sang "Time after Time" by Cyndi Lauper in a getup that paid tribute to the ’80s. After saying that she wasn't crazy about the theme because she considers herself more of an artsy-fartsy person, Turner came out with her hair styled in a Mohawk. That probably distracted from her performance, which was fine, but not the show-stopping number she's come up with in previous weeks.
Grade: B+
The judges: "You definitely are a star on that stage, all the time." — Randy Jackson.
Stay or go: Turner's another one who's a lock to stay on the show until late April. She's even money to become Simon's next anointed choice to win it all.
Upon Further Review: Turner was the big loser of the night. Though she said she wouldn’t have done her hair any different, she got slammed by Simon for a performance he called “even worse the second time around.” Simon said that if Turner gave many more performances like that one, she’d be out of the competition really soon — quite a change from a judge who’s praised Turner in the past.

Mikalah Gordon, 17, Las Vegas: If the judges have had one consistent criticism of Gordon, it's that she acts a lot older than her age. She didn't take that into account for this week, singing Taylor Dayne's "Love Will Lead You Back." It was very average on a night when everyone else was better, and leaves her in grave danger of being cut.
Grade: C
The judges: "It was a complete and utter mess." – Simon Cowell
Stay or go: Her song started with the lyrics "Saying goodbye is never an easy thing." She may have to sing those words for real on Wednesday.
Upon Further Review: Gordon was the overwhelming favorite to be voted off after Tuesday night, and the only benefit she really got out of Wednesday’s show was the chance to throw herself on the mercy of the court. She came out in a T-shirt with “My job is to annoy you” on it — oh, the joke almost writes itself — and once again seemed much more confident on the stage when she wasn’t actually singing. She also had the most honest comment of the night: “If I were perfect and didn’t make mistakes, I wouldn’t be on this show.” Still, Gordon's probably made too many mistakes to last another week.

Anwar Robinson, 25, East Orange, N.J.: Robinson chose to sing "Ain't Nobody" by the legendary Chaka Khan. It was a strange choice, but Robinson handled it nicely. Solid but unspectacular, it was good enough that he'll likely continue to sail through these early elimination heats.
Grade: B-
The judges: "I'm really proud of you for taking on a female sensation like Chaka Khan and really rising to the challenge." – Paula Abdul
Stay or go: It wasn't the best Robinson performance of the season, but it was good enough. He'll advance.
Upon Further Review: Again, the judges didn’t exactly shower Robinson with praise. Randy pointed out that “When you sing ['Ain’t Nobody'], you compare your vocals to Chaka Khan’s — and you don’t want that comparison, believe me.” But Robinson handled himself well, and he shouldn’t be in any danger this week.

Jessica Sierra, 19, Tampa, Fla.: Sierra closed the evening with "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler in a performance nearly good enough to convince Simon to take back his Carrie Underwood pick. The song's arrangement was odd and did Sierra no favors, but the judges loved it.
Grade: A
The judges: "You and Carrie outsang everyone else in the competition tonight." – Simon Cowell.
Stay or go: After being in the bottom three last week, Sierra needed to come up big this time around. She did. She'll avoid all suspense this time around and be an easy pick to make it to next week.
Upon Further Review: Sierra was the contestant with the most to lose; though she was uniformly praised Tuesday night, she spent the previous week in the bottom three and couldn’t afford to lose any momentum. She didn’t. Paula and Simon each reiterated that Sierra had sang well, with Simon again calling her voice one of the strongest in the competition.

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

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