American Idol 3/17/09 was the night for a country music theme, with country music star Randy Travis serving as mentor.

The first American Idol to perform was Michael Sarver, who sang Garth Brook’s “Ain’t Goin Down Til The Sun Comes Up“. The judges weren’t very impressed. Simon Cowell hated it and said he couldn’t understand a single word Michael was singing. Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul said it was “fun” but they missed hearing Michael’s vocal range, and Paula said country music was the genre that suits Michael.

Next up was Allison Iraheta singing “Blame It On Your Heart” by Patty Loveless. All four judges agreed Allison’s performance was a good one. Kara DioGuardi gave Allison props for making the song her own. Paula said it was a rock-solid performance. Randy Jackson said the song performance was “dope”. Dear ol’ Simon Cowell didn’t feel the performance was that great, saying it was a bit out of tune at times, but overall felt she did a decent job.
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