American Idol: Kellie Pickler and Kevin Covais Show Up to Sing

First off, I give tremendous credit to Barry Manilow for his talents as a coach. In my opinion, he raised the level of performance and entertainment value of every contestant. Last night was the first time this season every single performance was worth watching. Some, however, as always, were more worthy than others.

In terms of my own opinions, it was a bit of a topsy-turvy night. It didn't start out that way and Mandisa showed once again she is the most consistent performer with her version of Dinah Washington's "I Don't Hurt Anymore." All of her performances have ranged from good to excellent.

A bit further on I was moved by Chris Daughtry's performance of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line", and I'm still deciding what I think. As mentioned earlier, although the show seemed to imply it was something completely original, and the judges seemed to think that, it really wasn't. However, in the realm of American Idol that certainly doesn't invalidate the contestant. To stretch a Simon Cowell statement a bit further, this is a singing contest not a songwriting contest, and Chris Daughtry's voice and stage presence are impressive.

On to my biggest surprises of the night. We got to see Barry Manilow be the first coach, it seems, to help Kevin Covais really identify what's special about him as a performer, and Kevin nailed it. Although it's not my favorite type of music, that vulnerability thing in the beginning of his performance of "When I Fall in Love" was riveting. Then...Kellie Pickler blew away my concerns, at least for now, about the authenticity of her country bumpkin shtick and turned in her best performance of the show so far. She climbed right inside Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight" and showed us all what she really can do as a performer...and, thankfully, the wavy 'do was gone.

On the basis of last night's performances I wouldn't eliminate any of these contestants. I'm happy to watch more of all of them...so the elimination show tonight will be an interesting one.

Details on all of the songs performed:

• Paris Bennett - Fever
• Kevin Covais - When I Fall in Love
• Bucky Covington - Oh, Boy!
• Chris Daughtry - I Walk the Line
• Taylor Hicks - Not Fade Away
• Mandisa - I Don't Hurt Anymore
• Katharine McPhee - Come Rain or Come Shine
• Kellie Pickler - Walkin' After Midnight
• Lisa Tucker - Why Do Fools Fall in Love?
• Elliott Yamin - Teach Me Tonight
• Ace Young - In the Still of the Night