Down to three

Bo Bice, 29, Helena, Ala.: Bice made perhaps the riskiest move in the competition with his second song choice. He was clearly the star of round one; Clive Davis gave him "Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me," and Bice did Elton John proud (although it would be great if Sir Elton could teach Bice how to find sunglasses at somewhere more upscale than Target).

For that second song, "In a Dream" by Badlands, he chose to forgo the band entirely, and sing it a capella. It was a risky call, because it takes a powerful voice and a ton of confidence to forgo the crutch of the live band. But Bice was simply outstanding, even on a song that was less well-known than most of the rest of the night’s numbers. He probably could have been given an Armenian folk song and still been in good shape with his third song, but Paula Abdul did him a favor and went with "I Can’t Get No Satisfaction," made famous by the Rolling Stones (and later Justine Bateman in the ’80s movie "Satisfaction." OK, maybe not). It was a song right in his wheelhouse, and he hit it out of the park.

Grade: A

The judges:
"You really captured the song. It was powerful, it was heartfelt, it was passionate." — Clive Davis, after "Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me"

"You may have put 34 musicians out of work." — Simon Cowell, after Bice’s a capella rendition of "Within a Dream."

"Everyone, listen up! Everyone gets one more week for free. After that, you’re going to have to pay to see Bo Bice." — Paula Abdul, after "Satisfaction."

Odds of winning: 42 percent

Odds of advancing: 85 percent

The bottom line: If Bice doesn’t make the finals, it’s because people don’t like his style of music as much as Carrie Underwood’s country pop or Vonzell Solomon’s soul. Based on this week, it should be a no-brainer that he’ll at least make the finals, but stranger things have happened.

__________

Carrie Underwood, 21, Checotah, Okla.: Underwood didn’t get any favors from Clive Davis. He saddled her with "Crying," sung by Roy Orbison and k.d. lang, and it resulted in a blah arrangement that Underwood had a hard time doing much with. Underwood’s voice was powerful when it needed to be, but it was one of those rare occasions when she didn’t nail the last note.

Her choice for her second song was nearly as unexpected as Bice’s. She could have picked any of hundreds of songs that would allow her to put on her cowboy hat and strut her stuff, and she went with … "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" by Air Supply. Air Supply?! She went away from her strength of country pop, but she still impressed the judges. The performance was a bit stiff, but the arrangement accentuated the power notes and Underwood did a nice job blasting them home. Randy Jackson returned her to her roots by having her sing "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" by Shania Twain, and Underwood took advantage to give her best overall performance of the night.

Grade: B

The judges:
"You did it in your own way. Good job." — Clive Davis, after "Crying."

"You really got to power your voice, which you do so brilliantly and effortlessly." — Paula Abdul, after "Making Love Out of Nothing at All."

"I’m just happy to see you having some fun out there." — Randy Jackson, after "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!"

Odds of winning: 43 percent

Odds of advancing: 85 percent

The bottom line: It’s the second week in a row that Underwood hasn’t been at her best when the stakes are high. That could leave her in danger of being voted off, but she entered the night ahead of Solomon in the voting and probably did enough to maintain her edge.

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