Maybe you had to be a rock and roll kid growing up in country MusicCity USA to have such an intense disinterest in Country Music as I. If you know anything at all, you know Country doesn't mean the same thing it used to. It's mostly a bastard child of Pop and Rock nowadays with a little fiddle thrown in. The people's music changes with the people and the people all have cable and internet these days. The emotions might be the same, but the scope of music has broadened immensely. I still don't like, but I will say they did get one of the best singers in country music today, Martina McBride. She's not only a great singer, she involves herself with the community she lives in (Nashville) and contributes her talents to many causes. I'm going to try and not be overly critical based on my feelings about the genre and remain open to come what may. I think our hometown favorite, Melinda Doolittle has probably sung many backup parts on many Nashville records, so she knows how to deliver it. The others make me cringe in wonder. I'm looking for any angle to peak my interest. My interest meter is in the negative numbers area.

Phil is up first and he is starting with Keith Urban's “Where the Blacktop Ends”. Martina says he starts off stiff at the beginning. Welcome to Phil's world. No one in country music has ever looked like Phil. I'm just saying, it's a more goth rock look than country. He is probably singing good, but it's all so pat and pretend I can't get into it. Randy thinks it was hot and Phil could have a career in country. It's where they send everyone they can't figure out what to do with. Paula and Simon love it in some queer, twisted sort of way. It's like a foreign language to them. They don't speak Country but they have learned the basic phrases and repeat them with big smiles and hopeful looks. Tourists in Nashville. I've seen it plenty, but I'm not buying any of it.

Jordin is singing a Martina song “Broken Wing”. It's about how you can't keep a good woman down and Jordin is singing like she means it. She really does a great job with a well known song. Paula loved it. Simon says, based on that performance, that for the first time he thinks she could be the winner of American Idol. I've thought that before now. She does a great job every week without sounding over-rehearsed or bored, and she keeps improving.

Constantine is in the audience because we know he loves Country. Sanjaya is next and I tremble/cringe in anticipation. He is sporting a red bandana doo rag on his head, with a nest of curly tailed possums hidden underneath for a more country look. It's gangsta meets heehaw. He is singing (if you can call it that) Bonnie Rhaitt's “Something to Talk About”. At least someone has a sense of humor in song selection. Even when he strongly emotes, it is like he is on the strongest tranquilizers available. Maybe he is. It is not a good version by any means. Simon can't hold back and calls it horrendous and compares it to the super bad performances highlighted in the early auditions. Are we bored with the fad of Sanjaya yet? How long does the cat play with the mouse before it eats it? I have lots of questions, but not many answers.

Lakisha is singing “Jesus Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood. La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la. I hate this song. It's up there with “Last Date” only no crash. It's about one more chance, but I still believe in personal responsibility. Don't go driving in bad weather. Anyhow, I was supposed to repress personal feelings about genre, but I can't. The judges are critical. Even Paula complains. Simon says it was wrong like a hamburger for breakfast. It was the wrong feel for the song and other stuff.

Chris is going to sing Rascal Flatt's “Mayberry”. Chris says he is really from the country in a way. We all are, in a way. Chris is dressed for Miami Vice and I guess that is the south if you have a broad view of things. I can't really hear the words and don't really want to. I heard the words “fishing pole” “cherry coke” “clouds roll by” and several other cliches from a cliched song. Chris wasn't bad, but the whole thing was boring as watching clouds roll by while drinking cherry coke and holding a fishing pole. Chris is not very smart with his reply to Simon. Don't switch subjects during the criticism. That's all I'm saying. You can tell Simon was infuriated and rolled his eyes. Not a good song or a good move after the song. Oh well. Welcome to Country Week on Idol. Why can't Pop songs be a constant theme on a Pop Music show?

Melinda Doolittle is up next. She says she is from Brentwood, but that is just suburb of Nashville. She is singing a song not familiar to many, including Martina, “Trouble is a Woman”. It's a blues songs with a fiddle and pedal steel thrown in and called country. It has a lot of words. It's a good performance by a professional singer. Melinda already knows how to sing and how to pick the right songs. She just needs a studio and a contract. She doesn't need to sing country ever again unless she wants to.

Blake has picked “When the Stars Go Blue” by Tim McGraw. I have to admit I've never heard a lot of these songs and I live not too far away from Tim and Faith. Blake has never looked more lost since the beginning of Idol. He is off-key and making strange faces and making odd sounds at times. It's not the beat of the drummer he is used to following. Randy thinks it's the dog, or a dog , or something. Paula thinks he's the full package. I was bored out of my mind. Simon said he wasn't jumping out of his seat.

The best thing about Country Week is that it is over. No one was even slightly country. If anyone carried the emotion correctly it was Jordin. She picked the best song and sang it the best. Who is going home? Bottom might include Phil again and possibly Lakisha who did not connect with the genre well. But most importantly, it is Sanjaya's time. Please, Let it Be. The fun is done. He'll be fun to watch in the audience each week. I admit I'm a poor judge on this theme, but I haven't gone deaf yet either. Anything can happen on Idol and does.