AMERICAN IDOL DOES DOLLY

I adore Dolly Parton, so last night was all fun for me. Dolly is really an amazing songwriter and when you here some of her songs taken in different directions and give new life by the contestants we are just reminded how talented Dolly is. And she loves da gays.....

My favorite performance of the night was probably David Cook's Little Sparrow. I have always loved that song and his rock edge was perfectly suited for the song.

Another favorite was Michael John's show closing, It's All Wrong But It's All Right. This is a classic Dolly song that often gets overlooked. He did a fantastic version of the song.

Yes, David Archuleta did great on Smoky Mountain Memories, but I would have loved to hear him tackle something like Light Of A Clear Blue Morning or Starting Over Again.

Brooke White's Jolene was okay. But as Simon would say "forgettable."

Truly forgettable were Kristy Lee Cook and Ramiele Mulubay. Ramiele might have scored if she would have tapped into the cute, perky persona and covered 9 to 5. That would have worked well for her.

Carly Smithson did an awesome rendition of Here You Come Again, a song that was never really one of my Dolly favorites (she did not write that one), but I loved the song with Carly's arrangement and her soulful voice.

Travelin' Thru' is one of my favorite Dolly songs and I thought Jason Castro did a really good job on it. Not sure he will stay out of the bottom three tonight, but I liked it.

And finally, Syesha, Syesha, Syesha. Four words. Thou art not Whitney. Sure she has a great voice and she looks great, but why, season after season, do these kids think they can cover the likes of Whitney, Mariah, and Celine NOTE FOR NOTE and think they stand out from the original. Never gonna happen.

Syesha would have impressed me a whole lot more if she would have stayed with Dolly's original intimate, low key version of the song. Yes, Whitney had a #1 hit with the song, but hello, Dolly had TWO #1 hits on the song. The same song! One #1 on the country charts and then her own remake of the song was #1 on the pop and country charts. But those American Idol fans do love high notes and a big ending. Note to contestants: Unless you are Michelle Pfeiffer wearing a slinky black dress with the hots for the piano player, don't sing while sitting on the piano lid. Please. Don't.

I think the bottom three tonight will be Brooke, Ramiele and probably Syesha - although Kristy Lee SHOULD be there before Syesha. For some reason, America loves that girl. I don't get it. I guess most of America has never experienced a song and dance show at Nashville's former country music attraction, Opryland.

I predict Ramiele will go home tonight. Dolly rules.