Until this week, I’d written off American Idol season nine as a dud. It happens. Sometimes, there aren’t enough likable contestants.

However, Tuesday night changed my mind. The top 10 guys performed and it started off well, with tough-guy Michael Lynche breaking out of his shell with a great performance of James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s World”. I was disappointed by John Park’s performance, but when Alex Lambert performed John Legend’s “Everybody Knows”, I died and went to heaven.

Finally, I was reminded of other great contestants’ performances. It reminded me particularly of some of Kris Allen’s earlier renditions, like “Ain’t no Sunshine” and “Heartless”. Finally, I felt like this could be a season to continue watching.

The girls performed a day later than scheduled due to some bizarre health issues surrounding popular contestant Crystal Bowersox. However, she was recovered enough by Wednesday to give an awesome performance of “As long as I can see the light” and the judges, though annoying through most of their commentary, were impressed by the improvements of many contestants.

Funny, how it took only a few perfect songs sung by likable people to restore my faith in American Idol.

 For a hilarious recap of this week’s episodes, visit: http://www.ew.com/ew/video/0,,20312226_20312230,00.html