Christian Favourites Keep their Place on 'American Idol'

|PIC1|Christian fans following the sixth season of American Idol can relax this week now that Wednesday's vote-off show has aired, leaving all three of Gospel Music Association-favoured artists to sing another week.

As revealed by host Ryan Seacrest, 22-year-old Gina Glocksen was the next contestant booted from American's No 1 show, leaving Jordin Sparks, Melinda Doolittle, and Phil Stacey among the eight finalists.

Still on the edge of elimination is Stacey, 29, however, as he was yet again among the bottom vote-scorers this week alongside San Antonio native Haley Scarnato, 24. This was the third time this season that Stacey, a minister of music at First Coast Christian in Jacksonville, Florida, was among the lowest vote tallies.

Idol's most abrasive judge, Simon Cowell, commented on the minister's performance, in which he sang "Night and Day", as being "utterly gloomy and slightly dark". This is after Cowell, in the previous week, had applauded Stacey's presentation.

Guest judge Tony Bennett, one of America's most renowned vocalists of all time, encouraged the Floridian, however, saying that he was one of the best singers that he had ever heard.

Two other GMA-supported soloists continued to have dominant performances this week as Doolittle, 29, and Sparks, 17, sang "I've Got Rhythm" and "On a Clear Day" respectively. Both competitors have been continually put among the top performers by newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals.

In response to Doolittle's performance, Cowell had remarked, "I don't think we're ever going to be able to criticise you... this is a problem."

Another judge, Randy Jackson, responded to Sparks presentation saying, "Jordin listen, that was the bomb again, very controlled. I mean you're like a pro and you're 17 and I'm like, 'What?'"

This week's show had the most votes cast for this season of American Idol, having just under 33 million people voicing their opinion. The show's ratings sit between 26 million to 37 million viewers per telecast.

The competition will continue next week with the vocal performance show on Tuesday followed by the live vote-off programme on Wednesday night as usual.