#4 - Phil Stacey
Phil is a conundrum. Simon's constant criticisms of his “bar band singing” have probably been misleading. Who cares what you sound like, as long as it's really good? He's got a good voice on him, and if he can harness it like he did last week, Phil could potentially make the final three. He's been improving consistently on a weekly basis, which bodes well for upcoming weeks. I don't think Phil has any sort of chance at winning the whole thing, but I suppose it's possible for him to make it interesting.
#5 - Chris Richardson
He sings nasally, occasionally out of tune, and seems to have an attitude about it. He's a very adept on stage performer, but that can't save him for much longer. His marginal talent has been overlooked by his fawning female fans, apparently, because he didn't sniff the bottom last week, even after a mediocre performance. As I stated earlier, in the eyes of the voters, it seems as if the three dudes are interchangeable. They've all been near the bottom, so it just depends on which guy's latest performance was the worst. In a perfect world, Chris would be eliminated next week.
#6 - Lakisha Jones
I'm tired of waiting for Lakisha to show us what she's made of. She read her press clippings early in the season, and has yet to return to the form that made her the early favorite to win the whole thing. Lakisha has been very frustrating this season, and it's come to the point where I have to stop excusing her poor performances. In this space, I've kept saying “if” this or “if that happened, then she could turn it around. She's shown me nothing that makes me believe that she'ss actually turn things around. Jordin and Melinda are now light years ahead of her and, for that reason, I think she'll be heading home in a little over a week's time.