It's a pretty even horse race, with a couple of losers, a couple who have greater potential, and most who seem comfortably in the middle.

I'm batting .750 so far, but now it gets harder. The most obvious ones to go seem inexplicably popular. The really good ones seem safe. But everyone in between? At risk despite fairly reasonable performances.

Oh, and BTW: can AI promise to never ever do these syrupy, "dedication" shows again? The horror...the horror...

Starting with the Top 10 guys...

1. Phil Stacey dedicated "Missing You" to his U.S. Navy colleagues

OK, does anyone else feel like Phil is starting to milk the whole military/missed the birth of his baby a little too much? Anyway, I like this 80s chestnut of a song a lot. Phil has a nice tone to his voice, no doubt, but no emotion actually kicked in until about halfway through. So, it was boring actually. The verdict: I tend to think he's safe. I know some folks who think he's kinda creepy, but most people seem to find him very likable. And that likability factor matters a lot.

2. Jared Cotter dedicated "Let's Get It On" to his mom and dad

Which is actually creepy if you think about it too hard. I think Jared is yummy. I was a little nervous when the song started, but he pulled of a reasonable Marvin Gaye impersonation. No originality and a tiny bit of pitchiness, but he loosened up and rocked it on the last verse, particularly. And like I said: he's yummy. The verdict: The scuttlebutt is that he's forgettable, so I guess he's have to be at risk, but I think he's probably safe.

3. AJ Tabaldo dedicated "I'm feeling Good" to his mom and dad

AJ is another one of these guys with a high, womanish voice...emphasized by singing a woman's song, I suppose. The beginning of this was pitchy, but later he got pretty solid, including doing a perfect example of sliding up to a money note...not taking so long it was painful, like some of the other contestants regularly do. He also had good intensity going. but I don't find him among the most memorable or likable or attractive or talented, so he's so middle of the pack it's a problem. The verdict: gots to be at risk.

4. Sanjaya Malakar dedicated "Stepping Out" to his grandfather

OK, apparently Sanjaya will be this year's John (the red-headed crooner) or Bucky...the guy who's totally out of his league, but for some unknown reason has enough fans to stick around. I mean, nice guy, sweet kid, sweet enough tone to his voice even. But performance skills? Non-existent. Embarrassing and awkward. You want to put him out of his misery! This was low key throughout with lots of random wandering about the stage and a deer-in-the-headlights expression. He doesn't even compensate for it with youthful energy. The verdict: Apparently he has a big fan base, but how can he not be at risk???

5. Chris Sligh dedicated "Trouble" to his wife

Taylor did this last year...and with a lot more passion and soul. Chris has all this personality offstage, and then goes kind of bland and unremarkable on stage. Nice voice, definitely, but not living up to his potential. he tends to run sharp, and he tends to sing with no discernible joy. the verdict: Oh, despite my misgivings, I think he's definitely safe.

6. Nick Pedro dedicated "Fever" to his girlfriend

I confess I mostly like Nick because it cracks me up when he says "Vote for Pedro" every week. (Napolean Dynamite reference, for those of you who are pop culture deficient.) He sounded actually very good on this number...smooth, smoky, kinda Sting-like. He has nice vocal control and style, butyes, he indeed has a "charisma problem." The verdict: At risk because he's a little bland.

7. Blake Lewis dedicated "Virtual Insanity" to his parents

What does that mean I wonder? Anyway, Blake continues to be my favorite, simply because he is the most modern and individual. I get pretty tired of everyone trotting out songs that have been done a million times before. Blake did start out a little breahtless and took a while to kick in, but that scat/ awesome. (Unlike a scat the next day...stay tuned...) The verdict: safe, safe, safe.

8. Brandon Rogers dedicated "Time After Time" to his grandmother

Time After Time is another awesome song that AI contestants regularly slaughter (a la I Can't Make You Love Me.) Brandon was shaky and weak. His smile is getting plastic-y; his gestures were a bit cabaret. This was quite a poor performance. The verdict: The question is: will his previous likability see him through, or is it getting a little old? Because a performance like this one should put him at risk.

9. Chris Richardson dedicated "Geek in the Pink" to his grandmother

Also an odd "dedication." Chris is the ultimate boy band guy. He has a lot of fun energy, and certainly does have good vocal control. This was a very smooth professional performance, dizzy-making bouncing notwithstanding. The verdict: So safe.

10. Sundance Head dedicated "Mustang Sally" to his baby son

Which is also creepy. Remember up above when I complained about hearing lots of old, over-done songs on AI? This would be one. the fact that Sundance did SO much better than last week made this performance seem better than it actually was. It actually was pretty mediocre and boring. The verdict: I think he's probably safe anyway, though, because people seem to like him, and because this was such a big improvement over the previous week.

Bottom Line:

The Bottom Two for me this week: Brandon and Sanjaya (although I might send Sanajay home with Sundance again, if given the choice.)

Will America agree? I don't think so. While I'd like to think that the Sanjaya trance will end, I'm not convinced it will. I think they'll send AJ Tabaldo and Nick Pedro home instead.

Now, the Top 10 women...

1. Gina Glocksen dedicated "Alone" to her boyfriend

She ran a bit sharp throughout, because the song was a little low for her in many places. Her high notes, however, sounded pretty damn good to me. I agree, though, that not everything adds up...with her look she should be singing Evanescence, not Heart. The verdict: I think she's safe, because there are several who are so much worse. But she better step up soon.

2. Alaina Alexander dedicated "Not ready to Make Nice" to her mom

She messed up the lyrics. She had a really amateurish physical presence. She once again picked a big, hard-edged song that was way beyond her. It was vocally only mildly OK. She would be so much smarter to focus on songs that feature her higher lighter sound. But I don't think she's going to get the chance. Which is too bad, because I actually find something likable about her, unlike our other weak beauty Antonella...who is getting attitude she doesn't deserve. The verdict: Very, very at risk.

3. LaKisha Jones dedicated "Midnight Train to Georgia" to her grandmother

LaKisha is one of the rare women who sounds strong and clear on her low notes. I have to say that this performance, while perfectly fine, was a complete impersonation...as was last week's come to think of it. I hope LaKisha starts showing she can do better than just sing, but also interpret and make something her own. This wasn't a deep or emotionally impactful performance, either vocally or performance-wise. The verdict: oh, she's safe, never fear.

4. Melinda Doolittle dedicated "My Funny Valentine" to her two best friends

Great vocal. Absolutely great. No emotional subtext whatsoever. Completely masturbatory, in fact. I know I'm going against the conventional wisdom to criticize this performance, but it felt pretty but empty to me. The verdict: Oh, like LaKish...totally safe despite having some areas to work on.

5. Antonella Barba dedicated "Because You Loved Me" to her brother

Antonella, Antonella, Antonella. There's probably a sweet little singer in there, but like Alaina she keeps trying to be a diva. The high stuff was actually nice, the rest was nasal, pitchy, affected, nervous. And she was kind of snotty, too, which she hasn't earned at all. The verdict: Should be really really at risk, don't you think?

6. Jordin Sparks dedicated "Reflection" to her brother

This was not her shining moment...perhaps she was nervous, or over-emotional. The beginning was too low. She seemed out of breath and out of control. like Antonella, she could feature her pretty, high voice more and her loud belting less. Not only that, but I'm sick of Celine, Xtina, Mariah, Whitney and the rest. All that being said...no one screams "potential" like Jordin. The verdict: Still safe, but she needs to pull it together between song choice and performance.

7. Stephanie Edwards dedicated "Dangerously in Love" to her mom and dad

She seemed a bit behind the beat and a bit random with her runs and melody treatment. Still, Stephanie has conviction and passion which overcomes the bit of wildness to her vocals. The verdict: I think she's still supremely safe.

8. Leslie Hunt dedicated "I'm Feeling Good" to her grandfather

Wow, did you see the picture of her with short hair? She looked really cute...she should cut it like that again. Anyway, while Leslie has occasionally nice tone, this performance was a mess. The outfit was bad. There was no change in volume or energy when the song shifted from ballad to uptempo. The scatting was dreadful. She ran out of whatever steam she had by the end. The verdict: Totally at risk.

9. Haley Scarnato dedicated "Queen of the Night" to her fiance

Is it just me or did the clip before this piece make her fiance sound a bit like a controlling jerk? Anyway, this was way better than last week. Way. Way. Better. But I didn't actually buy it. This was a little girl dressing up[ and trying to be all womanish and sexy and tough. Very Diana DeGarmo (woh came in 2nd place, so I guess I shouldn't knock it.) She sounded pretty good, except for that weird hugh run near the end, but still not convinced it will save her.The verdict: Definitely at risk, but there were others who were much worse.

10. Sabrina Sloan dedicated "All the Man I Need" to her grandmother

Sabrina has a nice mature sound, but she quickly shifted into overdrive..resting too high and yelling too much. She has good, focused energy, but man, that last note was horrible. At least she thanked the band at the end, which none of these AI folks ever seem to have the courtesy to do (except Bo Bice always did as I recall.) The verdict: I think she's still safe.

The Bottom Two for me: Antonella and Leslie Hunt

Will America agree? Well, they might, and I'm hopeful they will indeed boot Antonella. But I think they might ditch Alaina this time around, rather than Leslie. I mean if America is going to dig quirky guys like Sundance and Chris Sligh, then it makes sense they'd favor a quirky girl like Leslie too, right? Actually, probably not. We'll see.