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While the contestants' vocals and appearances still have much to be desired, it looks like Pinoy Idol can still be saved, after all. This weekend saw the top 20 singing songs from the year they were born as the workshop phase still continues, and while some proved vocal prowess, most of the singers still have a lot to work on.

Among the girls, my favorite so far is Meryl David, who sang Chaka Khan's "I Feel For You" pretty well, although it was a bit awkward to see her dancing on stage. And while I didn't like Vren's performance, I'd still love to see her on stage and have Sue Ellen take the boot instead--she's cute, but her voice sounds too small and cartoonish to me.

I don't want to withdraw my attention from Toffer Rei just yet, even though he's been disappointing for the past two weeks. And I had to agree with Ogie and Jolina for saying that Rye Estrada doesn't deserve his early exit.

The absence of sobfests on the results show this week is a good sign, but I still can't help but wish that Raymond Gutierrez can still extract some warmth and not just settle for "thank you" after every contestant's performance, especially for those who didn't do particularly well. Sympathy, after all, is part of Ryan Seacrest's charm in American Idol, though he can be cruel at times.

But it's time to move on, and we're approaching Week 3, folks, we're down to 16! Is your Idol doing well so far? Did you see improvement on the judges, Raymond, the contestants, and the show this week? Don't forget to tune in to tonight's show for the Top 8 Girls' performances and cast your vote for your favorite Idol!