That wasn’t the grandest week we’ve ever seen. In fact, the only thing we’ll probably remember after the season is over is Sanjaya’s mohawk. But it wasn’t the worst either.

Thematically, it was songs or artists that inspired Gwen Stefani (that Fox was able to clear, of course). She was pretty as usual but pretty subdued, too, and not terribly interesting as a mentor.

So is this time for me to predict again for Haley’s departure? I’ll say yes. I might get it right - finally. If Sanjaya figured he could survive with the schtick of the mohawk, well, maybe. But he will be in the bottom three. I suspect Chris Sligh will make his first appearance there and might even be voted off. He could be the shocker early departure so far if enough “Haley is hot” fans keep her in the running.

My favorite? Jordin gets points for taking a chance and pulling it off and gets my top slot just ahead of Melinda and LaKisha. Gina did better than usual.

1- Jordin Sparks (No Doubt “Hey Baby”) - This is a high-risk song. Even Gwen was surprised but she said she did it more melodic. Indeed, Jordin does a wonderful job with the verses. The chorus isn’t quite there and is odd because the backup singers do the main part of it. I still like it. It’s cool and different. Randy: “That was a very very risky thing to do because it’s hard to do such stylized songs. But I gotta tell you. You could sing anything. That was brilliant.” Paula: “You’re hip and young. You celebrated it.” Simon: “I think you are probably the most improved constestant in the last few weeks. I’m seeing another side for you. It’s a bit copycat-ish.” “I wanted to do something fun and different,” Jordin said.

2-Melinda Doolittle (Donna Summers’ “Heaven Knows”) - I like the little hair fip and the disco-era dress. This is one of those big Donna songs that we don’t hear much anymore. It’s a great song choice for Melinda and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Randy: “The reason I called you a pro. You look at the words of the song, you interpret them, you sing with feeling. You are living the words. That was the bomb again!” Paula: “You have charisma from the word go.” Simon: “I don’t think this will be the best you were. Vocally, you were as usual outstanding. Hate the outfit.”

3-LaKisha Jones (Donna Summers’ “Last Dance”) - She has a colorful dress and looks younger than last week. It’s a fairly faithful version of Donna’s take. It’s solid, great, nothing I wouldn’t expect. Randy: “It’s good to see you rock it. I love the boots. You did that like a true fly diva.” Paula: “Donna Summer is not an easy song to start out with. You did her proud.” Simon: “Now you’re 30 years younger this week. Nice to see you do an uptempo song. It’s the LaKisha I loved three weeks ago. A great vocal.”

4- Gina Glocksen (Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand By You”) - This is a good song choice for her. I like what she’s wearing. She felt it. We felt it. I’m expecting positive comments. She’s never going to be my favorite but she deserves another week after this one. Randy: “I thought this was one of your best performances ever. You got that big ol’ voice.” Paula: “You are improving each week. It showed vulnerability and allowed you to soar with the vocals.” Simon: “It wasn’t one of your best performances. It was your best performance.”

5-Blake Lewis (Cure’s “Love Song”) - This is one of the Cure’s best songs. He’s toned down his hair and he seems to have gone all sexy/nightclub-ish with the vocal. He’s stronger in the chorus. He misses a note or two and it’s almost too languid toward the end. No beatboxing. I can’t say this was his best by any stretch. Randy: “It wasn’t my perfect song choice. You made the most of it.” Paula: “I loved what you did with the song. It was so cool. I think you’re taking risks and being original.” Simon: “Definitely the strongest guy in the competition that’s for sure. But you have to be careful. You’re in the Chris Daughtry zone of doing your own thing. You can’t become too indulgent. And a bit boring.”

6- Chris Richardson (No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak”) - For the first time, Chris gets the catbird seat at the end with No Doubt’s biggest top 40 hit from a decade ago. She said she recalls he likes to do “vocal olympics.” She said she hopes he sticks to the melody. He has such a distinctive voice in this competition but it doesn’t work as well as Gwen’s for this song, especially the bridge. He does end relatively strong. Randy: “I like the little R&B ska. I liked your flavor on it. But I liked your choice. Don’t be afraid to sing the R&B side. Just believe.” Paula: “You’re good, just good.” Simon: “I think your song choice got you in trouble last week. This was a much better song. I quite liked the arrangement. I wasn’t crazy about the vocal. It was okay in bits. I think you struggled in the middle of the song. You have to pay more attention to your vocals.”

7- Phil Stacey (Police’s “Every Breath You Take”) - Gwen is pleasantly surprised. He takes an absolute classic and does an adequate job. Like Haley, I think his vocals are good but decidedly unmemorable. Randy: “I kind of liked that. It was a solid performance. You didn’t push it.” Paula: “It’s a good choice. There’s so much personality to your voice when you hit the chorus. The verses play it safe.” Simon: “I thought that was very good. Great choice of song. It’s the only time you actually are taking this seriously and doing well in this competition.”

8- Chris Sligh (Police’s “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”) - Gwen noted his timing was off during practice. This is not a big melody song. It’s a personality song and Sting was able to provide a sense of drama. Chris does okay but he’s not Sting and it failed to grab me. He looked a bit nervous. Randy: “It was a good song choice. The biggest problem is exactly what Gwen said. The band was in one tempo, you were at another. You were way ahead rushing.” Paula: “It becomes an eyesore for the audience. The audience wants to groove with you. Vocally, it was a good choice. You have to feel that beat.” Simon: “Forget pockets, timing, I thought it was a mess. It just didn’t feel right.” With the tight timing, the “Idol” theme tries to cut him off but Simon is having none of it. “It’s not the Oscars!” he says. But then he stops.

9-Sanjaya Malakar (No Doubt’s “Bathwater”) - Gwen tried so hard to be nice but the pity in her voice was apparent. “He got nervous, forgot some of the words,” she noted. “I feel for him. I think it’s going to be very difficult for him. He chose it so good luck for him.” I’m not familiar with this song, actually. Oh my gawd! That mohawk (or pony-hawk, as Ryan later calls it) is far more absurd than the one Nadia did a couple years ago. He sure likes to mess around with his hair, eh? It’s distracting but I still managed to catch him missing a word in the second verse. Gwen’s comment about him forgetting his words was quite predictive, eh? The whole performance is just so goofy I don’t know what to say! Randy: “I’m speechless every time. The hairdo is definitely interesting. At the end of the song, you reminded me that last note. You can actually sing if you just put it out there.” Paula: “If you had the gumption to just totally go for it. Then it would fit the wackiness of the mohawk.” Simon: “I presume there was no mirror in your dressing room tonight.” Then he gets to the point: “I genuinely don’t think it matters what we say. I think you are in your own universe if people like you, good luck!” So true!

10-Haley Scarnato (Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors”) - Gwen thinks she overdoes it toward the end. We’ll see if she tones it down. She dresses quite conservatively but I like her hair. Vocally, she’s just generic. There isn’t enough texture there to make the song truly resonate. Randy: “It started a little rough, got better toward the end. You didn’t really grab me with that.” Paula: “It’s one of those songs that is beautiful that requires nothing but singing the melody and being vulnerable. It didn’t stay younger. You should aim to be contemporary.” Simon: “I think it was sweet but forgettable really. There was nothing to remember.”