How can I say I never want to hear a night of inspirational songs again on American Idol without seeming like a heartless wretch?

Charities are important, giving back is important (though I wonder if the show shouldn't lead the cause itself by donating some of its advertising profits) but I think one inspiring group sing-along would have been enough to get the message across.

A full hour took all of the mystery out of the show. No one was going to be ripped to pieces by the judges - not on "Idol Gives Back" night. No way. So in turn it becomes a "you're great, we're great" night that makes me want to gag myself.

Here are my thoughts:

Singer: Chris Richardson

Song: Change the World

Rants & raves: Thankfully you don't hear this song much anymore because you heard it a million times when it came out in the 90s. It wasn't particularily insipring, but Chris did a decent cover of it. His vibrato was a bit intense, though. Made me realize I couldn't listen to a whole album of this stuff.

Melinda Doolittle

There Will Come a Day

This girl could sing inspiring songs for a living. That's no surprise. It was a good song for her. I'd never heard it before so, for me, it was easy for her to lay claim to it. Her big voice got a nice chance to shine.

Blake Lewis

Imagine

Nice stripped down vocal of a classic song. And smart choice not to mess with the arrangement. Though this wasn't a good candidate for his beat boxing, I'm definitely missing Blake's fun side. These last few weeks, he's seemed disconnected. I'd say if he survives this week, he'll need to spice it up and soon.

Lakisha Jones

I Believe

Kiki looked lovely and delivered a great vocal. The song was a good fit for her big voice. I didn't have nearly the problem with the Fantasia comparison that the judges did. It's not like we heard "I Believe" on the radio over and over. I think in this case, the judges were suffering from past Idol envy in a way that most viewers are not going to relate to.

Phil Stacey

The Change

Good for Phil going back to country after it served him so well last week. Nice song choice, nice performance.

Jordin Sparks

You'll Never Walk Alone

This girl's got some gumption tackling a big song like this. This is an amazing song when sung right and Jordin did a very decent job. Her tone and pitch were spot on and she ended with a bang.

Top performances: Jordin Sparks, Melinda Doolittle

Most likely to go home: I'd say only Melinda and Jordin are really safe this week.

TELL US: Do you have a favorite performance from last night? Who's going home?

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