No major surprises this week other than Patrice moving downward while Ryan continues to reverse his fortunes.  The race still belongs to a toss-up between Lukas and Dilana (Lukas if Tommy gets his way) with Storm and Toby a distance behind them.

The Performances:

Lukas Rossi–Bittersweet Symphony: Johnny Rotten called.  He wants his persona back.  People love this guy, especially Tommy.  And he may be a great fit for what they are wanting to do.  But let me be the first to say it: no matter how theatrical he might be, he.can’t.sing.  Newstead is the only one who sees through the arrogant swagger. He’s a trainwreck waiting to happen.  It was a great arrangement of this song, giving it more of a rocking feel.  But the vocals stink.

Zayra Alvarez–Call Me: She has no business on this show.  The only reason she has stayed this long is because she amuses the band.  Dave’s withering comments to her will definitely put her in the bottom 3 tonight. The performance was uninspiring and flat.  She can start that solo career now. Say goodbye to Penelope Cruz.
Dana Andrews–About a Girl: Do you remember at the end of the movie, Grease, when Sandy appears all punked out? The idea is that she has made the complete transformation to bad girl in order to get the boy.  Yeah, it’s like that.  But, you don’t really buy it, do you? You still know that she’s Olivia Freaking Newton John, right? Dana brought the edge last night.  She showed she can rock.  But, still you know that she can’t continue the facade for long without completely skidding off the rails.

Patrice Pike–Remedy: Patrice has been consistently good through the whole competition.  Last night, however, was just an average performance of a second-rate song.  Lashing out at Dave because you were not at your best was not a smart move, either. Cynthia Nixon could be in the bottom three.
Toby Rand–White Wedding: Toby is talented and has a lot to offer.  This performance did not display that.  Here’s a memo to the producers: Nirvana, Black Crowes, and Billy Idol songs have been done.  We know that you got clearance to their entire catalog, but this is enough.  Do we ever need to hear White Wedding again? I didn’t think so.  So there is no adequate measure of Toby’s performance.

Magni–Heroes: He shed the Bono shades and picked up a guitar for a somewhat staid performance.  He has the chops, but is a middling showman. He could easily vault into the top 5 by listening to what the band is telling him.

Ryan Star–I Alone: He shares, along with Dana, the most improved designation.  It was obvious that he was comfortable with this song.  He’s safe for another week.

Jill Gioia–Brown Sugar: Gilby joined in on this tune and the energy immediately kicked into overdrive.  I thought Jill gave an inspired performance of a classic tune.  She has the voice but her stage presence needs a lot of work.

Phil Ritchie–One Headlight: Phil had made strides in his performance last week.  Now, after that listless performance, he is right back where he started from. It’s obvious that he won’t make it much farther in this competition.

Dilana–Time After Time: Wow. Thankfully, all three band members get a vote in the winner of this competition.  That means that Tommy can’t just hand it to Lukas, and the best performer in the lot has a shot.  Dilana is, at this point, head and shoulders above everyone else.  She’s the real deal.  I wasn’t scared during her performance.  Instead, I was touched by the emotion and pathos she brought to one of the great lyrics of the 80′s.  The fact that she can pull off “Lithium” and Cyndi Lauper shows her range. Phenomenal.

Josh Logan–No Rain: Josh is living on borrowed time. He’s a great vocalist but there is no way he will ever front Supernova.

Storm Large–Anything, Anything: Have I mentioned that I love Storm Large?  She turned in a raucous, rousing performance topped off by a head-long dive into the crowd.  She knows how to command the stage with naked emotion and has the vocal chops to pull off any song choice. To me, she is the only legitimate challenger to Dilana. I don’t know this song, but I’ll be looking it up.

Here’s how it shapes up to me:

Repeat performance: Storm Large (although if it was up to me, I’d head Dilana again.)

Bottom Three: Zayra, Phil and Josh (Patrice or Jill could wind up here as well)

Going home: Zayra