It's a shame that Noriega couldn't act a smidge more respectable to his elders, because he doesn't have a bad voice, and he would've been a colorful draw on the Idols tour.

P.S. Blake Lewis has a record? Oh, dear.

I thought it was interesting that the only 2 contestants who had the stones to sing an upbeat pop 80s song (Luke, Asiah) got the boot, while the balladeers remain. I think I'd quit the preachy "Don't play it safe" line, because thats exactly happened. Granted, neither Luke or Asiah turned in a downloadable-worthy performance, but holy snoozefest. I'm starting the campaign for a non-ballad week. Lets see who's got the goods that week.
If the braintrust is worried about commercially-successful winners, its not going to be a CD full of ballads. And quit trying to make the marginal contestants "country", because thats the genre with really talented singers.