Tonight the finalists hit the big time; can’t wait to see who stands out the most now that the guys and the girls are one big group.
Brandon Rogers – “You Can’t Hurry Love” – He seems oh-so-comfortable performing, but I just think this song is sort of boring for this stage of the competition – and then did he forget the words a little bit? Great arrangement of this song, though – and I thought the end was great. I guess I just expected him to come out a little bit stronger…he seemed like a nice guy doing a nice version of a nice song. But nothing special.
Melinda Doolittle – “Home” – Y’all. I had goosebumps to the very tip-top of my head. She has such a gift, and to know that she knows the Source of her gift? Well, it just makes it all the better. She’s incredible. And her humility is the icing on the top of the talent cake.
Chris Sligh – “Endless Love” – Okay – y’all know I really like him. But when he started singing, I thought he was launching into the theme from “The Love Boat.” As the song went on, it got much better – but he didn’t seem comfortable with it at all. It was an odd performance, and even though I loved his voice on the louder parts, the whole thing was just sort of weird. Also: I missed his glasses.
Gina Glockson – “Love Child” – Now while I do not believe “pronunciate” – which is what the lovely Miss Ross told Gina to do during rehearsal – is in fact a word, I will say that the advice was dead-on, because I had a really hard time understanding what Gina was saying. She seemed a little uncomfortable to me, too – trying so hard to make a song outside of her genre her own (which is admirable), but I didn’t feel it, yo. I still like her a bunch, though.
Sanjaya Malakar – “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – I’m trying – but I can’t get past his hair. Seriously, y’all. Did he use those spiral rollers or something? Because he has perfect curls. And I’m sure he’s an absolutely lovely person, but he is not a singer. However, I commend him for getting on that stage and giving it his all.
(Oh, internets – I’m trying so hard to be nice.)
(But I really don’t understand how he’s still on the show.)
Haley Scarnato – “Missing You” – See, I was thinking that it was her best performance so far, and then she forgot the words, bless her heart. I did think that this performance was her least “affected” so far in that it didn’t scream “Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Arkansas!” She really is a beautiful girl, and tonight, with the more subdued performance, I sort of “got” her for the first time.
Phil Stacey – “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” – Great song for his voice – and I think this was my favorite performance by him so far. He had some trouble with the low notes, but for the most part, he sounded really good. Glad to see him do well this week.
LaKisha Jones – “God Bless The Child” – HOW MUCH DO I LOVE THAT DIANA ROSS CALLED HER “KIKI”? She is so talented, and this song seems tailor-made for her voice. I think she could sing anything – and as she was singing tonight, I thought, “Yep, if she came to town, I would absolutely pay to see her perform. At this point, it’s hard to envision the final two being anyone other than “Kiki” and Melinda.
I’m so going to want to call her “Kiki” from now on.
Blake Lewis – “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” – Vocally I thought he was a’ight, but I definitely could’ve done without the dancing. And somehow the arrangement of this song sounded like something that would’ve been on a soundtrack for a John Hughes movie in the 80’s. I found myself wishing that he would just sing the song instead of trying to reinvent it.
Stephanie Edwards – “Love Hangover” – I just have to get this out of the way: LOVED HER DRESS. She sounded really good, but the song seemed to last forever, and because the lyrics are so repetitive, it got a little boring. I do think that she has the potential to break out from the pack, but she’s going to have to pick better songs.
Chris Richardson – “The Boss” – Oh, how I loved hearing those horns at the beginning. I don’t think was as strong vocally as he’s been before – I believe Randy would call it “pitchy” – but the arrangement was so good that I was willing to forgive the shaky parts. I thought it was fun – but I’m not so sure that it was good.
Jordin Sparks – “If We Hold On Together” – She’s pretty, and she can sing. I don’t think this song is a particularly good one – sort of the whole formulaic ballad thing – but she did a really nice job with it. Hard to believe she’s 17. As my mama would say, she has “presence.”
Who should go? – SANJAYA. PLEASE?
Best of the night? – Melinda, with LaKisha right behind her
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I voted for Melinda, Gina and Blake. (Please, tell me I’m not the only person who uses EVERY PHONE IN HER POSSESSION so she can vote for as many people as possible).
And thank you for pointing out the “pronunciation” thing. That was killin’ me.
I agree with you on who should go and who was the best!!!
But I really did like Blake’s version. My husband and I both said that he could totally have a hit with that song. I think it fits todays music. I do like the old song..I mean, can it get any better? But I think it was a good re-make of it. It’s like I told my husband, I hate the new rendition of “She’s like the wind”. Might be b/c Dirty Dancing is my favorite movie and I think no one can do it like Patrick….but sometimes there are good remakes and sometimes their just bad dog!
I never watch AI, but I happened to walk through with the kids when my husband was watching it tonight. We walked through when they were reviewing at the end of the show (that’s all I can ever watch because the pitch, or lack thereof, is usually like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard to me!), and I totally agree with you about LaKisha. She’s the only one I heard that I would pay money to listen to. I unfortunately missed Melinda, so I’ll try to listen to her next time. Jordin got my daughter’s vote because the song is from “The Land Before Time” movie. :) I liked her too, and she’s gorgeous. I thought Chris and Phil were okay as well.
Moment that cracked me up big time: the Justin Timberlake wanna-be guy!! Was his name Chris? Man, he had his moves and everything down. He just unfortunately (like most of the contestants) needs to stick to his day job. Can’t blame them for trying…I’m just amazed that no one better than these people showed up to audition! But after that Taylor guy won last season, I’d believe anything! I’ll never forgive them for giving Mandisa the boot. She had more talent in her pinky finger than the rest of them had in their whole bodies. Okay…I’m off my soapbox now!
Sanjaya has got to go home!!!!! And can I just say that I missed SABRINA, and I just kept thinking she should be performing next! :(
I’m with you about the top two, and I think that it may come down to the person that Melinda is. She blows me away.
Question…missed the show, ’cause I had to work…Melinda sang “Home”…by whom? Who is the original song by?? Somebody please tell me….
Okay, I am a moron. When she said “pronunciation” – something in my brain was all “no.” but I didn’t even think twice about it. I about died when you called it out. How funny.
I also screamed “Boomama!” when Randy yelled “COME ON NOW!” and my husband was all “do I know you?….”
ANYWAY. I wrote a poem about American Idol:
American Idol, how I love your ways,
Curly haired boys and Indian Gays.
You bring out more votes than they got in 04
maybe because of your cleavage galore.
I can’t say the show does much for my mind,
but the spirit-breaking judges are one of a kind.
Peace out ya’ll!
Jamie @ F.O.B.S.
Keke and Melinda are really the only two worth watching- but Chris Richardson would really be cute to me if I was 18!
Go home Sanjaya!
You were exact on Boo, with everyone. Is it going to be just a battle between Melinda and Lakisha? I predict they will be the top 2 with the men long gone. They actually are both winners and will have HUGE record deals even if they arent in the top 2.
I believe Sanjaya should def go but I have thought that since the beginning. Sundance Head went before him and he could sing much better than Sanjaya. It is all the young girls keeping him and it will be interesting if he makes it again and unfortunately he may. I hope not.
I always love your summaries because you are pretty spot on. I love that you keep calling Haley “miss arkansas” because (of course) that is what I think every time I see her sing – and then I saw you write it on here a week or 2 ago and cracked up.
I LOVED Stephanie’s dress also. I wished I could find out where she got it. :-)
you are RIGHT ON GIRLIE! I am a Melinda fan ALL THE WAY. That girl is unbelievable! I hope and pray she wins. I love to see how even Simon likes her! And your right, her humility takes the cake!!!!
Boo~
I agree with you. Love Melinda & Kiki. I also liked Jordin more last night. I totally agree with Paula, who called her a “breath of fresh air”. As for the guys, I think Blake has tremendous talent & will do well because he’s so innovative. Also love Chris Sligh’s voice. The other Chris…even though he’s a local boy for me, I’m just not digging the whole “Justin Timberlake wanna be” thing.
And, please, can someone explain why Sanjaya is still there?!
I heard today about a website called votefortheworst.com where they encourage people to vote for Sanjaya. I went to the website and apparantly it is true. They say that is why Sanjaya is still in the competition.
I thought it was bad that Randy was having a hard time not laughing when he was talking to Sanjaya.
Pronunciate. Ha.
Hi BooMama–I seem to hear of you all over the blogosphere, so thought I’d stop by.
Here’s the thing about the judges that always kills me: they tell one contestant that the song was boring; he should have made it his own, and then they’ll tell the next (Blake) that a song is classic, and it shouldn’t be messed with.
??
Here’s my weekly posting of the dialidol.com “busy signal” predictions:
http://www.dialidol.com/asp/predictions/Predictions.asp
So we agree on most everything…and I was SO telling the kids that “pronunciate” is NOT a word…it should be “enunciate”. We homeschool, and whenever one of the kids messes up a word like that, we call them “Homeschool Bob”! It was so funny to them to hear a grown-up messing it up!
I agree 99.9% with you, BooMama. I liked Blake’s version of the song, but only he could get away with it. He’s so different than the rest, he needs a different sound.
How bad would it be if Sanjaya made it to the top, and we missed out on Melinda and KiKi?!?!
Thank you, Daph, for the dialidol.com link. I enjoy comparing it to the actual results.
Sanjaya – BAD! BAD! BAD!
That’s all I have to say on that subject here.
Except for this… Sanjaya hasn’t an ounce of talent in his body. He’s all hair. He would do well to just let listen to Melinda to SEE! HOW! IT’S! DONE! and then cower in a corner from her brilliance and talent and then cry from his inability to reach that point even if all the stars were aligned and he were given 40 years to attain a smidgen of her superior quality. And I will be so happy when he grows into those eyebrows. He looks like Burt. (Yes I understand that I just made a personal statement about him, but I couldn’t help it. That sorry excuse for a singer just brings it out of me!)
THE WORD IS ANNUNCIATE (sp?)!! LOL That was funny!
And, yes, Sanjaya needs to be gone…..but I am afraid we will have him for a few more episodes. The teens LOVE him, from what i hear!
Melinda, oh how I love Melinda!! Her humbleness is my favorite. I think we have the same favorites!!!
Okay, I just checked out the DialIdol site, and it looks like Sanjaya is safe. He’s been picked up by the folks over at Vote for the Worst since they lost Antonella and Sundance. Hubby’s theory is that in addition to the teeny-boppers and the VFTW crowd, convenience store clerks everywhere are largely responsible for his success.
Agree totally!! It’s WAY past time for Sanjaya to be gone. Take a look at my post…http://daddysgirl-distybug.blogspot.com/2007/03/ways-american-idol-creeps-me-out.html
Sweet Melinda! Oh can she sing! I cried with her at the end. She has such a humble presence to her. Each word of praise is absorbed into her soul and savored. Precious!
The guys were so much better during auditions and Hollywood week. I love Chris, but he is not stepping up. Really none of the guys are doing it for me.
Who should go? Is that really a question? Sanjaya should without a doubt. He should have been gone several weeks ago. HUMMM…the first week!
Is it just me or is this really not a competition at all? We should just get down to the bottom, and let Lakisha and Melinda work it out.
I think Entertainment Weekly should invite you to be a guest Idol columnist… their take on last night sounds so similar, but without all the southern sass :-)
It’s so fun to see what everyone else is thinking about AI right now! You should really be paid for your opinions!!
Thanks for the update Boo! I’m dying here without my TiVo/DVR…It’s been a week today without it – UGH! Let’s just say I’m beyond twitching!
And I agree – PLEASE let Sanjaya GO!!!