And much as you'd expect, ballads ensue.

I have no problem, per se, with Mariah Carey. I even likes me some...that's some

...of her ouevre. And I can respect her success, and the fact that she was actually writing or co-writing much of her material dating back to her teenage debut. And if Mariah really worked with each idol to find their own melodic takes on her material, than more power to her.

But, speaking of power, why do the idols have to equate Mariah Carey with only her power ballads? (OK, I know, we could ask that every week about every artist/mentor.)

As Simon said: I could tell we weren't in for a lotta laughs.

So, let the heartache begin:

1. David A. sang When You Believe

This was much as you'd expect. Very pretty. Very heartfelt. But, can I share a little secret with you. I'm Bored. Now. The earnest pop crooner is starting to put me to sleep. And thanks to a little YouTube video BlogHer friend Elise Bauer sent me, we can all see that he hasn't changed much of anything...look, style, material...since he was 13!! Personally, I'd like to see a bit of evolution during those formative years. What it tells us is that we're only going to see more of the same. And it ain't my particular thing.

Bottom line: I can acknowledge gracefully, however, that it's lots of other people's particular thing, so I would imagine he's safe as can be.

2. Carly sang Without You (actually written by Harry Nilsson)

She finally looked pretty, but this whole performance was just too careful, too constrained and too unoriginal. She can certainly wail, but she's gonna need more than that, and I don't think she delivered it last night.

Bottom line: I think Michael Johns saved Carly, but only for a week.

3. Syesha sang Vanishing

SO smart, after two weeks of singing songs closely identified with the divas Whitney and Fantasia, to go out there and sing a little-known Mariah piece. For all I know this was a carbon copy of Mariah's version...but it seemed like it was a Syesha piece. She did have a couple of missed vocal moments, but most of it was very vocally challenging, very rangy, very hot. I thought it was her best performance yet.

Bottom line: Again, she may have that Kimberly Locke, stick-it-out-to-the-end-all-while-getting-a-bottom-3-scare-each-week thing going on.

4. Brooke sang Hero

Brooke. Please. Step away from the piano. You are really not that great a player, and it distracts you from the main thing...the singing! This absolutely fell apart once she hit the bridge. She faltered with her hands, and her voice couldn't help but follow, because we are all one physical being, you know? Once her hands lost their place, they got shaky and tentative, and that lack of confidence just zoomed up her body into her face and voice, until by the end I was feeling extremely uncomfortable for her. This could have been good, the arrangement was OK, the low key was nice, she could have rocked it standing at the mic. But the singer songwriter vibe quickly faded into a failed recital vibe.

Bottom line: Can she be at risk again now, please?

5. Kristy Lee sang Forever

Another song I wasn't much familiar with. I was a little embarrassed to her pre-performance package where she talked about trying "to get emotionally connected to the song." I wanted to go all Yoda and say there is no "try" there is only "do", especially when it comes to feeling emotionally connected when you sing. The low range was decidedly off-key during the first verse, but she recovered and went on to show the kind of talented that had been buried until last week's performance. She looked pretty. She sounded pretty good. OK, it was a bit mundane. But, you know, she's done a lot worse.

Bottom line: Could she actually escape the Bottom 3 again? Maybe not this time.

6. David C. sang Always Be My Baby

Yes, yes, an original take on it. very GooGoo Dolls-esque. But I honestly didn't think it was his best ever. Why? Well, not because he actually did have some pitchiness. No, because he didn't go all the way with it. He kept approaching the sexy stalker vibe of Sting and Every Breath You Take, but then he would throw in a winsome smile and look all sweet and romantic, which totally blew it for me. He should have dug himself all the way into that sexy stalker vibe.

Bottom line: Still, probably the most interesting performance of the night, and he's safe.

7. Jason sang "I Don't Want To Cry"

This was a pretty, nice arrangement. As per usual Jason sounded nice, heartfelt, authentic, pretty...and not quite powerful enough when he could have been. Like David A. I really would like to see some indication that there's a little more to these nice young men then the single facet they've shown us.

Bottom line: That being said, I would have to guess that Jason is safe.

Bottom line for the Bottom 3:

If it were me the Bottom 3 would be:
Carly, Kristy Lee and Brooke.

Kristy Lee has the least potential of the three, Brooke bores me the most of the three, Carly has been the biggest failure to live up to expectations.

I'd send KL home, but wouldn't mind if Brooke went, as I've said before.

But, I think it's Carly's week to go. She needed to step it up, and she just didn't.

But what did you think?