One thing was very clear after each of the last three contestants left had to perform three times, and it is that Vonzell Solomon will not win this competition even if she survives this week’s vote. Logic would say that someone who has been in the bottom group four times will not beat out either Bo or Carrie, but stranger things have happened. She will have the black vote to herself, but Bo has the teenage girl vote to himself and Carrie hasn’t been touched this season. Regarding the actual performances, Bo came out smoking with “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” which was Clive’s choice for him. He backed it up with no supporting band on “In a Dream” proving that his voice is about as pure as it gets. Paula chose a horrible song for him in “Satisfaction” from the Rolling Stones, and on that one he struggled badly. Carrie also came out strong with “Crying” by Roy Orbison, and drilled her choice of “Making Love Out of Nothing at All” from Air Supply. She lost it completely on “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” by Shania Twain which again was a horrible selection from Randy Jackson. If Vonzell Solomon does advance, she can thank the judge choices and the show format. Only once did another singer perform during the same segment, and that was Bo’s worst showing. Also, had the songs been reversed then Bo and Carrie would have gotten stronger instead of weaker.

Oh, Vonzell sang too, unfortunately. Her “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” from Dionne Warwick showed just how much polish she lacks. Her “Chain of Fools” has been tried so many times by more talented idols and they all sucked unless their name was Kelly Clarkson. Her Donna Summer effort to close was equally poor, and none of those three were better than any of Bo or Carrie’s three showings.

Obviously, Vonzell is going home unless the phones are jammed or people are stupid, both of which are possibilities. I really don’t like the fact that a contestant gets punished for having a lot of voters by his or her fans getting a busy signal. It is a flawed system, everyone knows that. Right now we’ve got Bo (7.12) and Carrie (7.08) way above Vonzell (6.47) over the entire competition. Yes, those are per song averages. Getting an 8 from us is a big accomplishment, we’re being realistic about the talent on this show.