Syesha's predictablity may hurt chances

Last night's Dolly Parton theme on American Idol was more enjoyable than I imagined it would be.

David Cook got a nice haircut and performed a great rendition of "Little Sparrow" and Ramiele Malubay finally picked a decent song to suit her voice with "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?" — though she was off pitch several times, but the change was refreshing. Even Jason Castro sounded more fluid with his song "Travelin' Through." Almost everyone improved or did a smashing job.

Then there was Syesha.

I told my colleagues here at the paper that I wouldn't be surprised if she chose "I Will Always Love You" for Dolly night but hoped that she would take an unpredictable approach and wow us with something different.

She, of course, took the predictable path, melding Dolly's version of the song with Whitney Houston's version. I agree with Simon on the fact that the first part of her performance sounded better than the second. But the unstunning last half of the song is what people will remember most — at least that's what I remember.

That may very well send her packing tonight or at best land her in the bottom three again. Unless you're as good as Whitney (who has set the bar fairly high), you shouldn't sing Whitney. Who may be joining Syesha this week: Ramiele and Kristy Lee Cook, who also was off key in a genre I thought she would excel in. — January Holmes