lakisha jones

It's been accurate during every round of the Top 12 phase (even predicting Chris Sligh's surprise ouster), but if the AOL 'American Idol' poll is right, this week's results episode is gonna be one for the books.

Front-runner and judge favorite Lakisha Jones and Justin Timberlake knock-off Chris Richardson should dust off their Samsonite. They are the bottom-two finalists in the poll after last night's Gloria Estefan fest. The two have been swapping last-place rankings in the results line-up all day.

(S06E28) So who exactly thought a Latin-themed night was a good idea for American Idol? I fully expected tonight's performances to be painful. However, I really didn't expect Sanjaya to sing in Spanish and give one of the better performances of the night. Unbelievable. Just when you think Idol has no more surprises left, you witness something truly shocking.

Jennifer Lopez, looking rather svelte, took time out from her busy schedule to mentor the finalists and help them find the passion in the Latin-themed music. Unfortunately, not many of them truly found their inner Latin beat. J.Lo excitedly gushed that she watches American Idol at home, and she does have her favorites. Yeah, so we've heard.

(S06E25) Two important questions will be answered tonight, Ryan says. "Who's going home, and how will Sanjaya wear his hair?"

Blake is safe. LaKisha is safe. Phil IS in the bottom three. Melinda is safe. Chris R rebounds from last week's bottom two and IS safe. Sanjaya (yawn) is safe AGAIN. Haley IS in the bottom three. And Jordin, of course, is safe. Which means, either Chris Sligh or Gina is in the bottom three, but we won't know who until the end of the show.

Fast Forward. Turns out CHRIS SLIGH joins PHIL and HALEY in the bottom three. But Philly is sent back to safety once again.

SLIGH vs. SCARNATO? Who's going home? Randy says it's a tough call. Paula says they both deserve "warmth" from the audience. Simon thinks it's "Bye, Bye Curly."

(S06E18) Paula is momentarily missing when tonight's show begins, but is back just in time to get things started. After last night's snoozefest, I'm hoping the girls will wake up this competition. And luckily, I'm not disappointed.

It's "just a different show" with the ladies, as Randy points out early. The girls pick better songs that showcase their voices. And their voices are just better than the boys anyway. The women seem to understand that NOW is the time to show us what they've got. Gina finally finds her comfort zone. Melinda gives another flawless performance. And LaKisha, Stephanie, Jordin, and Sabrina prove they are solid, Top 12-worthy contestants.

My guess is that Antonella's luck has finally run out. And Haley is just out of time. But the remaining six ladies are going to give us a heck of a battle. And one of them is going to be the next American Idol.

(S06E15) Ryan tells us that the guys had an "incredible show" Tuesday night. Hold on a minute, Ryan, back up. Sure the boys were better than the week before, but I certainly wouldn't call their show "incredible." To quote Randy Jackson, "It was just ahright."

Besides, after tonight's Top 10 Ladies show, I'm more convinced than ever that this year's American Idol will be one of our fine ladies. I also think that it's going to be a tight race to the top between our lovely divas -- Lakisha, Melinda, Jordin, Stephanie, and Sabrina.

But tomorrow two unlucky ladies will be going home. Who will it be?

(S06E14) After last week's boring first impression, the guys needed to step it up this week and show us something big. Did they succeed?

Well, overall the guys were definitely better this week, but nobody even came close to Lakisha's show-stopping performance last Wednesday. In my mind, the ladies remain ahead, and this is still their race. However, at least the guys picked better songs, and showed a little personality tonight.

So who's going home?

"I am very tempted to say to twenty-three people, book your plane tickets home", says Simon Cowell after LaKisha Jones' performance on American Idol last night.

Amen Simon. I know you're not serious but one can dream. Is this season killing you like its killing me? I cannot watch any more extremely attractive women sing songs that they are obviously not capable of singing. Nor can I watch Randy say "Big Girl, Big Song", anymore. Its very obvious who has the real talent and its obvious that the women are going to be voted for their stunning looks, or their stunning singing ability. There isn't really one that completely encompasses both and...

(S06E12) Okay, we're all in agreement -- Tuesday night's "Top 12 Boys" show was boring and uneventful. I thought so. Those of you who commented thought so. And even Paula thought so.

Paula says, "It was a rough first night...you learn after your first performance where you have to go, where you have to pull back, and where you push for it." And amazingly, perhaps for the first time EVER (okay, maybe there has been one other documented time), Simon agrees with Paula, calling her advice "wise words."

Now that we have a complete list of American Idol's Top 24, it's time to try to predict who will make the Top 12. I'll admit it's a bit early to make educated predictions. After all, how do we judge contestants we've never seen sing?

Honestly, this initial list is really just a compilation based on "gut feelings" or "first impressions." Let's face it, we're totally judging books by their covers.