LAKISHA JONES' SHOWSTOPPER PUTS HER IN A CLASS ALL BY HERSELF

The women made up for the men's lackluster start to the Round of 24 by uncorking some showstoppers Wednesday night. LaKisha Jones flew out of the gate with the kind of performance contestants usually save until the final 12, displaying great range and power on And I'm Telling You. Melinda Doolittle, Gina Glocksen and Savannah's Stephanie Edwards weren't far behind. They should be very safe tonight, when two guys and two gals get bounced, and Fantasia stops by.

-- Cowellism of the night: "I am very tempted to say to 23 people, 'Book your plane tickets home.' " Simon was right. Jones was in a different class. But he got a little loose with the hyperbole; the last word won't come until May. I think someone has been drinking from Paula Abdul's Coke cup.

-- Yeah, but she has a nice personality: In Idol land, words of consolation are just a little different. When you can't sing, the judges tell you, "The good news is you're attractive." That's what Cowell told Antonella Barber, and Alaina Alexander heard some of the same thing when she wavered on Brass in Pocket.

-- The Antonella Stink, Part II: Barber's ability to plague those nearby may have finally infected the host organism as she flogged the classic gem that is Aerosmith's I Don't Want to Miss a Thing.

-- Remember that look in Jack Nicholson's eyes in The Shining? Cowell will when he watches the tape from the show. Someone among Leslie Hunt's family and friends in the audience was ready to disembowel him for rightly saying Hunt couldn't mop Aretha Franklin's sweat.

-- Most likely to go home: DialIdol.com, a site that monitors telephone voting, said Alexander and Amy Krebs were hurtin' as of 11:30 p.m. The final tally on the guys showed Paul Kim and Nicholas Pedro in the most danger.