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I had this article half-written, then my clipboard tipped over and landed on my keyboard.  Somehow my article was erased.  This represents my "second go."  Let's hope that it doesn't happen again.

1960s Night has come and gone, and the field of twelve finalists is looking like a two-horse race.  The real interesting competition will be for third place.  I wonder which contestant will wind up in that position.

On tonight's show, the biggest performers shone, and the others kind of floundered.  It seemed that the judges were a bit let down by a number of tonight's performances as well.

Tonight's performances:

1) Jessica Sierra sang "Shop around."  Up to this point, Jessica had been singing with zest and flair.  Tonight wasn't so exciting, it was just "there."  It seemed like Jessica was channeling Diana DeGarmo from last season.

2) Anwar Robinson sang "A house is not a home."  Anwar was dressed up in a cool pirate costume.  I always like that look on pop singers.  (My favorite singer who dressed up as a pirate is Adam Ant.)

Sadly for Anwar, he wasn't as exciting as a pirate.  In fact he was a bit boring.  Anwar hasn't done anything exciting yet.  That may begin to hurt his prospects eventually.

3) Mikalah Gordon sang "Son of a preacher man."  Mikalah's new look is what I would call "The Tiffany Amber Thiessen."  (Not necessarily a bad thing.  She just looked like Tiff tonight.)

Mikalah sang a 1960s classic through her nose.  I don't think that the results were so good.  At least she looked nice...

4)  Constantine Maroulis sang "You make me so very happy" by Blood, Sweat, and Tears.  I wonder what happened where Constantine and Bo both sang songs from the same band. 

Constantine did a good job singing a low-voice song with his high voice.  To date, this was Constantine's best performance. (Although that's faint-praise, considering how poorly he's done up to now.)  Anyway, it looks like Constantine has earned himself another week on TV.

5)  Lindsey Cardinale sang "Knock on wood."  I didn't know that "Knock on Wood" was a 1960s song.  I thought it was a 1970s hit.  (Maybe it was one of those songs that received a "disco remix" in the mid-to-late 1970s.)

Lindsey sang poorly but looked great.  A pretty young lady can never go wrong with a choker.

6)  Anthony Federov sang "Breaking up is hard to do."  Anthony came out looking like a buff Clay Aiken (but he didn't sing as well.)  The judges thought his song was horrible.  I didn't think it was so bad.

7)  Nadia Turner sang "You don't have to say you love me."  Nadia sang a good, slow, soulful song.  She really knows what she's doing.  Nadia is a great dresser, and an even better singer.  I like Nadia's future prospects.

I think that Nadia Turner is a lot more marketable than Fantasia Barrino (last year's winner) is.  Nadia is pretty, talented, and understated.  I think that Fantasia's "in your face" charm doesn't play as well with a national market as Nadia's gracefulness.

8)  Bo Bice sang "Spinning wheel."  Bo is the only performer who stands a chance going on after Nadia.  He sang a B,S,&T song by the book.  Another strong showing by Bo.

9)  Vonzell Solomon sang "Anyone who had a heart."  Vonzell looked pretty in her pink dress.  Her clothes matched well with the type of song that she sang.  Vonzell's song sounded good, but it seemed like she was "overdoing it" a bit.  The end result was not bad. 

Simon had an interesting comment that Vonzell is getting stuck "in the middle" of this competition, and she needs a breakout performance before she is left along the wayside.  I agree.

10)  Scott Savol sang "Ain't too proud to beg."  Motown songs seem to be Scott's strength.  They're the best for his voice.  Scott is improving.  He is performing a bit on stage now, and is showing confidence.

11)  Carrie Underwood sang "When will I be loved."  Carrie's song was good.  I liked her makeup and her gold scarf.

12)  Nikko Smith sang "I want you back."  I liked this song okay.  Nikko's voice resembles Stevie Wonder's voice a lot.  I hope that he can sing one more Stevie song before he's eliminated again.

Tonight's Top Three: 1) Nadia Turner   2) Bo Bice   3) Scott Savol

In Trouble:  Lindsey,  Nikko,  Jessica,  Mikalah,  Anthony