DESPITE HIS LOW VOTE SCORE, STACEY SURVIVES ANOTHER WEEK

Local Idol contestant Phil Stacey had to sweat out another results show, this time as one of the bottom three vote-getters, hanging on while Gwen Stefani performed and Akon wasted oxygen Wednesday. Stacey deserved much better after his decent performance Tuesday, but at least he eventually got to sit back down. Poor Chris Sligh drew the short straw as Sanjaya "The Butcher" Malakar skated through again.

-- Don't worry, Fro Patro: Your beloved Sligh once did a stint at Bob Jones University, and anyone who can get through that will be just fine.

-- If I were a betting man: As Sligh sang his farewell version of Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, he leaned in toward Stacey and said, "You owe me 50 bucks." A few hunches on what was wagered: 1) That Malakar would do the honorable thing and fall on the mike stand; 2) That the one with the most hair would last the longest; 3) That going with a campaign slogan of "Bringing Chubby Back" would be a great idea.

-- Cowellism of the night: "I think it's bye-bye Curly" -- Simon's answer when Ryan asked whether Sligh or Haley Scarnato was going home.

-- Predictable: As my tag-team partner Roger Bull pointed out, TV Guide and MTV News also called it right. Entertainment Weekly, L.A. Times, Yahoo! TV and I thought it was going to be Scarnato. We'll tell ourselves at least we didn't blow it like Access Hollywood, which thought LaKisha Jones was going home. Did they not see the way she held her own Tuesday against Melinda Doolittle in the battle of Donna Summer disco songs? Someone's been stealing Paula's meds.

-- Next week: Tony Bennett will be the guest mentor, so a safe bet would be the contestants will sing standards Tuesday. Also, the results shows on April 11, 18 and May 2 will be drawn out to an hour. Great waste, less thrilling.

John Timpe/The Times-Union