Laurel surprised me last week by emailing me several cute blog buttons for what has turned into sort of an American Idol meme for ten or fifteen of us…so thanks, Laurel, for that! And feel free to grab if the button you’re participating.
I’m VERY excited about the fact that they’re singing the classics this week – and being coached by Tony Bennett, to boot. Very promising.
Blake Lewis – “Mac The Knife” – Loved the plaid pants with striped tie. Very fun version of this song, though he sounded a little unsure of himself at the beginning. Great by the end – and I’m sorry, he’s just cool. And right when I was typing that, Paula said the same exact thing, and for some reason that frightens me.
Phil Stacey – “Night and Day” – Total throwback with this performance – classic and reserved. I didn’t love it, but I thought he did a good job.
Melinda Doolittle – “I Got Rhythm” – I don’t think there could be a genre of music better suited for her. And her performance tonight, oh interpeeps, was flawless. Absolutely flawless. Her best performance yet. And the band was phenomenal.
Chris Richardson – “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” – Dear Chris, You did a great job with the song, especially at the end – it was a very fun rendition of one of my all-time favorites. And I thank you for not going all Timberlake on us. But in about ten years you will look back at your wardrobe selection for this particular installment of AI, and you’re going to regret it. Deeply. And not just the hat. The suspenders, too. I daresay the suspenders, in ten years’ time, will make you shudder. I just felt I should tell you these things. But rock on, stranger friend. Love, BooMama
Jordin Sparks – “On A Clear Day” – She’s adorable. I think I say that every week. But I say it because it’s true. And she’s proving to be a very consistent performer – remarkably poised for her age.
Gina Glocksen – “Smile” – Okay, Tony Bennett getting choked up about our soldiers in Iraq nearly did me in. And I thought Gina’s version of this song was lovely. She seems so much more confident in the last couple of weeks – I feel strangely proud.
Sanjaya Malakar – “Cheek to Cheek” – The suit frightened me. As did the hair. But not as much as the fact that he bounced throughout the entire song. And that he pulled Paula out of her chair and attempted to dance with her. Awkwardly. [sighing] OH SWEET MERCY AMERICA, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, IT IS TIME TO STOP THE SANJAYA INSANITY.
Haley Scarnato – “Ain’t Misbehavin'” – Y’all, if this had been the 1996 Miss Mississippi pageant, I would have rewound this performance over and over, utterly convinced that she had the best. talent. evir. But it’s 2007. And typically a pop star doesn’t do a pivot turn on the stage, oh bless her heart.
LaKisha Jones – “Stormy Weather” – The last half of the song was incredible. When she really turns up the volume, she can knock it out of the park. The beginning was rough because she’s not nearly as strong with the low notes. But she was in great form for most of the song – a huge improvement from last week.
Who should go? – I’m going to say Haley in hopes that making a different prediction will bring about different results.
Best of the night? – Miss Doolittle was in her own league.
LOL on Haley’s “pivot turn”. She also does this flappy thing with her hands that is very Miss America. And yet, there’s just something about her I like.
But Melinda is Queen.
Highlight of my night: laughing so hard that I choked when Simon took a “different tactic” and declared Sanjaya’s performance “ummm…INCREDIBLE!”. Oh my goodness, I laughed so hard!!
Blake makes me fan my blushed face every time he’s on stage – I just love him. Tonight wasn’t my favorite, but I’m completely sold on him.
Melinda made my kids holler, “Mommy, mommy, we’re voting tonight, we’re voting tonight. Right??” They love Melinda, as do we all.
I did NOT like Gina’s overall appearance tonight, but she sang alright. She does for my husband what Blake does for me, so it’s all good.
And could Haley not look all “offended” at Simon’s comments on her legs? Granted, I think his comments about her looks are generally tacky, but I’m starting to get sick of seeing that lady’s skin. Props to my three daughters for asking me tonight, “Mom, why can’t she just put on some pants?”.
Bottom three will probably contain Phil and Haley, and (because the joke still has some life in it) someone other than Sanjaya.
Well, I missed it!!! ::::tear:::: I was in the ER. I fell and BROKE!!!!MY!!!!FOOT!!!TODAY!!!! How am I going to function with 2 kids under 4? At least I can count on you to walk me through! :D
Mowgli is beginning to grow on me. Not that I think he’s Idol material, but I look forward to seeing what he’ll do next. I laughed when he told Simon “welcome to my universe!”
Loved the hat on Chris. It’s the first time I could actually watch while he sang. If only he’d have worn it a little tilted so you could see his eyes.
I didn’t get to see Blake or Phil perform. :(
I loved Melinda’s dress, and her performance was stellar. And tonight, she looked a little more confident after she sang, which was refreshing to see. The only complaint I’ve ever had about her was that deer-in-headlights look when receiving rave reviews. By now, she should know how good she is.
I still love me some Jordin. That girl is going places.
Gina and LaKisha also did very well, and they looked great.
Who am I forgetting? Oh yeah. Miss Congeniality. Bless her heart. Paula and Randy didn’t seem to like that she cares what Simon thinks, but at least he’s honest.
Can I say I’m resigned to not watching til the final 5? I happened to turn on one time, only to see Sanjaya and couldn’t stomach it.
Yes, I turn from car accidents, too.
Thankfully, as ever, you are here to keep me updated.
Love you!
I will not get to see Amer. Idol until Fri. night(US Fri. morning). We get the UK SKY satellite feed out of Germany – and for that God has answered prayer! If we could not have our American Idol, 24 and NASN (North Amer. Sports Netwk) I think my husb. would have turned down this Int’l rotation.
He doesn’t know I look at your comments on AI each week. He thinks I’m just happy to get to watch AI on Fri. and I actually sit still for an hour & a half (we get the singing & results together). Reading your commentary makes me laugh and look forward to the show. But – I will refuse to read come May.
Keep up the blogging – you brighten many a persons day.
Love your recaps! We’re in CA, so I always come to your page while I’m watching it LIVE and always get a kick out of your rundown. Keep it comin’!
Love, Steph
*heeeheee Mowgli hehehehehe*
Did you get that thing I e-mailed you of my friends faculty notes from her principal?
Boomama, I agree with you about Chris. I turned to Phillip and said, He sure is going for the J.T. look! Melinda is always amazing. I wish they would let her do her song twice!
As far as Haley goes, my 7 year old said, “Look at her un-ladylike dress, mommy.” I responded that her mama was somewhere crying right now. She doesn’t like when Simon says something about her legs but her dresses keep getting shorter..ugh!
Kelli
“And typically a pop star doesn’t do a pivot turn on the stage, oh bless her heart.”
I laughed so hard when I read that.
I missed this show, but I can say that without fear that Sanjaya was the worst performer. I’m psychic like that.
Oh my Trista! Bless your heart good luck with that. How’d you break it? (I’ll drop by your blog and be nosy and see lol) xoxo melzie
Daphne’s weekly DialIdol link:
http://www.dialidol.com/asp/predictions/Predictions.asp
This scares me for Kiki.
You know, our satellite kept going in and out because of the weather so I didn’t get to see every single minute, but I thought that these songs were a lot of fun. I wish some of them would do more upbeat things.
And I’m kind of like Daph, after seeing Chris Sligh go last week, I wonder about Lakisha. Although there is no doubt she’s one of the best singers, she doesn’t seem to be having as much fun.
you made me laugh out loud with the “pivot turn” Poor Haley – she’s too cute for her own good.
Haley is going for the “sex appeal” and yes she is a beautiful girl but when the judges only talk about her outfits and not her singing, it left me feeling sorry for her. I just knew her boob would fall out if she bent over a little too far. Sad.
And Sanjaya-have mercy is Right!!!
I love to come and read your opinions on the show more than I actually like to watch it these days :-)
As usual, I love your recap. And the pivot turn, hahaha! Thanks for the button! Very fun.
yeah for idol talk!! boomama, so glad you liked the button.
I MISSED IDOL LAST NIGHT!! argh… but hey, i was on the first post-partum date. we saw the blue man group. it was live. and halfway through, in the middle of a really cool rock song, i turned to my husband and said “this guy sings WAY better than sanjaya, and he’s live.” he cracked up. and we talked about idol the whole way home. we’re dorks.
Loved the judge’s comments after Sanjaya’s performance. My dh and I just sat there rolling when Simon was talking! And what do you make of Randy and Paula’s refusal to critique Haley?!?
Maybe she’ll get a job at Disney World when this is all said and done.
My favorite thing about Sanjaya was that, when he creeped up to Paula to dance, he was all hunched over, like he was my Uncle Paulie at a wedding, pretending to be young and hip and failing miserably. Also, he needs to lay off the nose wrinkle when he smiles… it makes him ever so freaky.
I’m pretty much right with ya, on all of your comments.
Melinda is just too much! And humble as can be :)
Haley’s pivot turn coupled with her Betty Boop face had me cracking UP! Was grateful for the technological wonder of DVR because hubby and I were able to rewind. laugh. rewind. laugh. rewind. laugh . . .
Interesting that you should mention the band in connection with Melinda. I mentioned to my friend while Melinda was singing that EVERYone involved seems to step it up a notch when she sings–band, lighting, everything–as if they somehow know they are in the presence of a “great” and want to be part of it in a bigger way than with the others. It’s marvelous to see!
I’m behind in AI as everything else in life, so its nice to hop over here and see who’s still around. Hearing Sanjaya – not good news. Lately we literally tivo it, watch Tues on Wed, then come here for you to just tell us who got voted off – thanks for saving us a bit of time. xoxo