We’re on the big stage at the Kodak Theater tonight. We’re down to the final 2. My girl Melinda went home last week, which means this week is going to be hard to get through without her. Luckily I’ve got Blake to keep me entertained this week.

Randy Jackson is wearing something straight out of Sgt Pepper’s. Weird.

I’m loving the Seattle montage. Both Jordin and Blake auditioned there, which as you may recall was the worst audition city ever.

Blake won the coin toss last week, so he will get to sing first.

Blake Lewis first performance is a reprise of “You Give Love a Bad Name” from Bon Jovi week. This was an incredible break out performance for him several weeks ago. It was the first song that he completely retooled and it paid off big. The performance tonight was just as cool and exciting. He incorporated a bit more beat boxing and changed it up even more. Simon summed it up with this, “You’re not the best singer in the competition, but you are the best performer.”

Jordin Sparks is next with “Fighter” from Christina Aguilera. I’m of the opinion that there are very few performers who should attempt to sing a Christina Aguilera song. I’m afraid that Jordin is not one of them. It felt like she struggled through the whole performance. She was having trouble keeping up with the band. Randy thought she sounded amazing. Simon thought it was a bit shrieky.

Blake’s second performance is doing Maroon 5′s “She Will Be Loved.” I completely love him doing M5 songs. And very smart of him to do it the same day that their new album dropped. This performance is proving to me what kind of artist he could be. He fits in to everything I like in pop music. Jason Mraz, M5, Keane, even Coldplay… he’s going to fit into that group quite nicely. Simon thought the song was a bad choice. He said it was too safe.

Anyone else find it strange that Marlee Matlin is the audience tonight?

Jordin is back to perform “Broken Wing” from Martina McBride. She performed this for Country Week. I remember her version was a bit shaky the first time. Simon predicted then that she could win American Idol with her performance. Tonight’s version was better than the last time. It wasn’t as rough and shaky in the opening. There’s no question that Jordin is a good vocalist, but at this stage of the competition, it is just as much about performance and entertainment as it is about singing.

“This Is My Now” is the winning number in the songwriting competition. Both Blake and Jordin have to perform it.

Blake is first.

This song is not really a “Blake” song obviously. I think this is a fundamental problem with picking one song and making the artist conform to it. It’s not a good representation of what he can do. It was an awful performance. The song is dreadful, schlocky and syrupy. Nothing about that makes me think of Blake. I can only hope that voters understand that… and I’m sure that this is exactly the type of song that Jordin is going to nail.

Let’s see.

Exactly what I thought. This song could have been written for Jordin. It may have been, in fact. There’s no question that she nailed this song. She even cried at the end. Simon said she “wiped the floor with Blake on that song.” And he’s absolutely right.

So it’s going to come down to entertainment value and artistry versus stronger vocals.

My problem with Jordin is that I don’t think she has anything really “special” about her voice. She’s a good singer, despite some shaky pitch issues all along. She is only going to get better as she ages. However, I don’t think there’s anything about her that stands out and excites me.

Blake on the other hand is already an artist. His voice is unique. His style is unique. When you hear him you know it’s him. He’s confident and solid in his genre.

That being said, I think it’s entirely possible that Jordin will win.

My votes went to Blake.

Christ Daughtry apparently performed, however since the show ran long my Tivo didn’t get his performance. I’m going to have to go to YouTube to find it. I’m sure it was hot, though. His album is incredible.

Tomorrow night is a 2 hour spectacular. Last year it included some AMAZING performances from Mary J Blige, Al Jarreau, Toni Braxton, Meatloaf, Live, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken and Prince.

I can’t wait to see who they have this year.