This Ain't No Carrie Underwood Show; American Idol Goes Country!

The final eleven contestants on the smash hit American Idol sang songs the best songs country music has to offer. While there were some surprising standouts during the episode such as Kris Allen, Matt Giraurd, and Anoop Dessai, it was obvious that other contestants should never sing country again! Not everyone can be Carrie Underwood!

In case you haven't noticed or haven't been keeping up with this season, the quality of the production of the show has vastly improved. The stage is more current and the lights make the auditorium come to life. The biggest difference, however, from last year and this year's season isn't the cool gadgets that make the set so flashy; rather, the most noticeable difference is that the talent has truly improved this year.

There are so many front-runners this year, and various dark-horses that will make for an interesting season! But since the talent has been raised, it makes it harder for each contestant to become the next Idol. They must perform stellar pieces week after week, or they risk elimination, and this past week it became clear as to which contestants are struggling to keep up with the others' talent.

The most obvious contestant lacking the chops to be the next American Idol, who also happens to be my prediction to leave this evening, is Alexis Grace, a 21 year old from Memphis, TN. Her rendition of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" was by no means bad; she was at least on pitch. But the problem with Alexis Grace is that no performance of hers has ever allowed the audience to connect to her. She is as dry as a desert personality-wise, and she doesn't have a compelling back-story like Danny Gokey that makes viewers want to vote for her.

She didn't show any improvement from last week, unlike Anoop Dessai. Anoop was in danger of being eliminated last week, but because he took the judges' advice I believe that he is safe this week. Alexis, however, must not be taking the judges' advice to heart, because her performance this week was just as flat as last week's. Idol contestants cannot be complacent and expect to give the same level of performance every week and expect to be safe. Rather, they must show improvement, and if anything, I would have to say that Alexis Grace has gotten worse as the season has progressed.

I'm sorry, Alexis, but not everyone can be the next Carrie Underwood.

Source: http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/03/idol-top-11-per.html