Semifinal Performances: Haley

It always makes me a bit nervous when Simon spends a good long time hammering in how unenthused he is by a contestant. I totally buy into that "audience votes to save who Simon is mean to" theory, so I sometimes wish he would just leave well enough alone and let us forget about the contestant like he told us we're going to.

Having said that, I didn't entirely hate Haley's performance of the Faith Hill song "If My Heart Had Wings." Even though she'd still be a generic version of Katharine McPhee, I think if Haley had sung this song in the first week of semfinals and established herself as a country/pop-type singer (instead of falling into the Idol cliche of singing an overwrought Celine Dion song first week out) she'd be real competition with Gina Glocksen for that white-girl spot in the finals.

As is, I think its too little, too late.

GRADE: B-