nigel speaks...

Nigel's not using the "S" word, but he is giving us a glimpse of what we have to look forward to, both tonight and next week.

He's quite proud of the fact that they racked up the third highest vote total. Ever. Third only to the season three and season four finales. And he's bragging about how, for the first time, tonight we will know the vote breakdown, as they will split the six into three groups of two: the top two, middle two and bottom two.

He loved four performances last night: Kat's, Elliott's, Taylor's and thought Chris was the best. And he attributes Taylor's "nervousness" partially to the fact that he had to switch from Try a Little Tenderness (dang, and I wanted some Otis Redding, too...) because the first song "just didn't fit the genre."

And then, after panning Pickler and damning Paris with faint praise, he tells us that the top four were brilliant. Well, gee. I wonder who the bottom two will be?

And next week? Double songs. One song will be from the year the contestant was born and the other has to have been on this week's Billboard charts.

Uh oh. I remember last time they did one of those current song nights.

You want to listen to the full nine minutes plus? It's worth the time. And here's the link.


ETA: Oh, and since they're going bottom two instead of three, I don't think I need to clarify, but I shall, that I'm picking Pickler. And Paris. And as unfair and undeserving as it will be, it will be the last tango for Paris.