Tonight the performers were coached by Tony Bennett. They sang American standards. I have to tell you it was kind of a weird night for me. I liked people I normally don’t like. I wasn’t crazy about some of my favorites. I’m not sure what was going on tonight. Was it just me? Was it the performers? Was it the song choices? Did anybody else have this experience?

My usual favorite– Blake Lewis– was first tonight. Only he wasn’t my favorite tonight. He sang Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife”, which should have been a good choice. It has that cool kid kind of vibe. But, I don’t know, I just wasn’t thrilled. I didn’t think he was really into the song, or that he put a lot of thought into what he was going to bring to the song. Has he gotten a bit timid after being criticized for doing too much with a couple of the songs? I’m not sure. I just know that, for me, this was a good, but not great, performance. Randy and Paula both liked it, and Simon gave it a 7 out of 10.

Phil Stacey was next, singing Cole Porter’s “Night and Day”. Sometimes I wish I could combine Phil’s vocals with Blake’s performance ability. He really has a beautiful voice, but tonight I had to agree with the judges. The performance was fairly passionless and gloomy. None of them complained about his vocals, but Simon thought the performance was like someone singing at a funeral parlor.

The last couple of weeks I’ve thought that Melinda Doolittle was slipping a bit. Her vocals have still been pretty near perfect, but her performances have gotten a bit boring. Tonight’s performance of Benny Goodman’s “I’ve Got Rhythm” started off a bit slow, and I thought, “here we go again.” But once the pace picked up, it was one of her most enjoyable performances. She also had a new hairstyle tonight, which was very flattering. Randy and Paula both said that her performances are like lessons for the others. Simon said it’s a problem that they never get to criticize her. When asked why by Ryan, he said because they like to be mean.

Chris Richardson had the first audience question tonight. He was asked what he considers when choosing a song. He answered that he first chooses a song he can be comfortable with, then he thinks about what the audience will like and finally considers the judges’ opinions. Tonight Chris performed Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore”. Anyone who has read this blog knows that I’m not a huge fan of Chris’ vocals. HOWEVER, tonight I really, really liked him. He gave the performance (vocally and performance-wise) that I had really hoped to see from Blake. The judges all thought this was one of his best performances and one of the best performances of the night.

Jordin Sparks chose a song that well-suited to her personality and age with “On A Clear Day You Can See Forever” from the musical by the same name. It was cute and had a good vocal, but it lacked a bit of oomph for me. Randy said it was “the bomb”. Paula said Jordin is a joy magnet. Simon laughed at Paula, then said that it was sung well, but she didn’t make it young and current.

I think everyone knows that Gina Glocksen lacks the vocal power of some of the other singers, so I thought it was a good choice for her to choose a softer song like Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile”. The song doesn’t need heavy vocals, and I thought Gina did a good job of singing a pure, simple, straight version of the song. I thought it was sincere and heartfelt. Randy liked it, and Paula said it was flawless. Simon thought that the other girls outsang her. Maybe he’s right, in that they sang bigger, but I’m not sure that they sang better.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, Sanjaya Malakar. I don’t know if Tony Bennett was just being nice, but he seemed to really like Sanjaya, personally as well as vocally. Actually, I thought tonight’s vocals were decent, but I was finally able to realize what bugs me the most about Sanjaya. It really is like watching a little kid play dress up. He’s not horrible, but there’s almost no sincerity behind his performance. It’s just a bit weird to me. The judges have all but given up any true criticism at this point. Randy said he’s a great entertainer, Paula said he’s very charming, and Simon said it was incredible (with a look of “now will you send him home?”). Oh, and he sang Irving Berlin’s “Cheek to Cheek”– in case you were interested.

I’m afraid that if Haley Scarnato stays in the competition much longer, she’ll be performing completely naked, since her clothes seem to get skimpier each week. That aside, tonight’s performance of “Ain’t Misbehavin” by Louis Armstrong saw Haley back to her pageant-like singing. It was a chipper, but cheesey version of the song. I did, however, finally figure out who she reminds me of– Maura Tierney. Randy and Paula were big chickens in commenting on this one. Randy didn’t really have much to say and turned to Paula to get her opinion. Paula gave the standard fashion critique that she tends to give when she has nothing nice to say. Then, they both turned to Simon, who said “I think you’ve got great legs” and added it was a pageantish performance. It always cracks me up when Simon says exactly what I’ve already written.

The final performance of the night was LaKisha Jones, singing “Stormy Weather” by Billie Holiday. I thought this was the best performance of hers in weeks. She had a lot more passion and power in her performance again. However, I still think that her performances are a bit introverted. She sings great, but she doesn’t really connect with the camera. All of the judges really enjoyed the performance. Simon said she was back to her sassy self.

So, here’s how I would rank tonight’s performances. Blake and LaKisha are interchangeable for me, as are Haley and Sanjaya. Basically, I think Haley or Sanjaya should go home tomorrow– I’m betting it will be Haley.

1. Chris Richardson
2. Melinda Doolittle
3. Jordin Sparks
4. Blake Lewis
5. LaKisha Jones
6. Gina Glocksen
7. Phil Stacey
8. Haley Scarnato
9. Sanjaya Malakar

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