First four eliminated

I was sorry to see Paul Kim go, because I liked his soulful sound. The bare-feet deal was starting to wear, though.

Rudy Cardenas: I didn't care whether he stayed or went. Could wearing a big target on his shirt have made him one?

I am glad Sundance got another chance. I am fascinated by how short he is, because when he's not standing next to somebody (like Ryan! He's shorter than Ryan!) he doesn't have the look of a short guy.

So Sanjaya Malakar is in the top four of the guys -- the text abilities of teenage girls are not to be ignored! I look forward to hearing him sing something besides a Stevie Wonder tune.

I wasn't surprised to see Amy Krebs go, though it unfortunately means we'll have to listen to Antonella Barbie -- I mean Barba -- for another week. After that, she's toast, though.

We find out that the Chaka Khan song was "Stay," but Nicole Tranquillo didn't.

Overall, these early cuts are OK, but it's not going to be easy to see Lakisha Jones and Melinda Doolittle standing next to Ryan with one of them going home. Luckily, as Jennifer Hudson has proven, stardom can follow losing Idol, too.