Soul survivors

It’s been a week since Paula Abdul had to endure the rumors and innuendo surrounding the ABC special on her alleged dalliance with former contestant Corey Clark. That apparently is enough of a delay that Ryan Seacrest felt able to joke about it in his intro, alluding to "Lots of shock and controversy about the show and I have to say …

… that’s what happens when you lose a guy like Scott Savol."

In case anyone actually thought he was serious about that last part, the camera cut to a fan holding a "We [heart] you Paula" sign, and then filmed Paula smiling and kissing Randy on the cheek. It’s one big happy family — at least until the season ends in a couple of weeks.

That having been said, one thing Paula apparently took to heart was criticism that she was too fawning over the contestants. She tried to be harsher this time around. Really, she did — she dinged Bo Bice on his first song choice, and was even snippier regarding Anthony Fedorov’s.

But really, she just doesn’t have it in her. In the end, she had nice things to say about everyone — a neat trick on a night where nobody put together two strong performances in a row.

With twin themes representing very different styles, Nashville (country) and Philadelphia (songs written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, for an R&B flavor), it was inevitable that everyone would struggle.

While Ryan Seacrest said that a Gamble and Huff song was played somewhere in the world every 14 minutes — that’s either totally made up or it’s the most useless statistic in the history of mankind — the tunes clearly weren’t on the air enough to keep Carrie from looking lost in her attempt to sing one of their classics. Meanwhile, it was the country part of the equation that tripped up Bo Bice and Vonzell Solomon. Only Anthony Fedorov managed to avoid a clunker, and neither of his performances was exactly good enough to be the next hot illegal download on the internet.

Carrie Underwood, 21, Checotah, Okla.: What were the odds that Carrie was going to screw up a country song? Answer: Zero percent – she led the show off with "Sin Wagon" from the Dixie Chicks, and though she ran out of steam at the end of the song it was still impressive. Good thing, too, because her version of Gamble and Huff’s "If You Don’t Know Me By Now" was her worst performance of the competition, and certainly won’t make anyone forget the Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes version. While Simon blamed the mediocrity on the band, Underwood didn’t do much to work with the admittedly bizarre arrangement.
Grade: B-
The judges: "That was the equivalent of you singing in the shower — you do that effortlessly. It was very, very, very, very good — and you showed some personality." — Simon Cowell, after "Sin Wagon."
"It was one of those things for me tonight, it just didn’t work." — Randy Jackson, after "If You Don’t Know Me By Now."
Odds of winning: 48 percent
Odds of advancing: 95 percent
Bottom line: Underwood would be in trouble if this was her first week on the show; her best song led off the competition, and may be overshadowed by her mediocre performance later in the show. Still, it’s hard to imagine she doesn’t have enough fans to pull her through, especially since nobody else really shone in both performances.

Bo Bice, 29, Helena, Ala.: Bice’s country tune, Travis Tritt’s "It’s a Great Day to Be Alive," didn’t even impress Paula. It looked and sounded like he mailed it in, much like he did a few weeks ago when the result was a bottom-two finish. But this time, he got a second chance, and he made the most of hit. His version of "For the Love of Money," originally made famous by the O’Jays and later by Donald Trump on "The Apprentice," was the best song of the night. Paula gave it a standing ovation (for whatever that’s worth).
Grade: B-
The judges: "It was a very boring, uninspiring performance, and you looked almost like you were doing a jam in a local club." — Simon Cowell, after "It’s a Great Day to Be Alive."
"I hope that when your record comes out, that’s on it." — Randy Jackson, after "For the Love of Money."
Odds of winning: 38 percent
Odds of advancing: 95 percent
Bottom line: Bice is the only rocker left in the competition; it’s a question of whether that style is appealing enough to get him the votes he needs to win. He definitely showed more star potential than Solomon or Fedorov, but it still wouldn’t be a shock to see him finish behind one of them. He should make it to the final three, though.

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