Is it just me, or is anyone else getting a bit burned out on American Idol? I am a bit, which is why I didn’t write much last week. But I’m back and now I’m writing about Latin week with Jennifer Lopez. I have to admit I never really like Latin week. It’s not my favorite music style, and the contestants always seem to struggle with it.

Melinda Doolittle kicked off the night singing “Sway”, which has been sung by everyone from Dean Martin to The Pussycat Dolls. It was an okay performance— a good vocal, as usual. But it did bring up a question in my mind. What kind of music would be on a Melinda Doolittle album? She doesn’t really seem to like modern music, so I’d be interested to know what kind of music she would want to record. Randy thought this was another solid performance. Paula said it was very sultry. And Simon finally got his wish and got to criticize Melinda. He didn’t care for the performance. Melinda said she was happy for him because “he really wanted to say something bad, and I’m glad he got the chance”. It wasn’t the last chance he had tonight.

“Sway” was followed by LaKisha Jones singing Gloria Estefan’s “Conga”. But first she had to answer a viewer question: What made you try out for American Idol? She answered that she tried out to get a better life for her and for her daughter. I wish LaKisha smiled more. Even when she sings a fun song like “Conga”, she just looks really intense. I’d like to see her really have fun and not looks so pressured. Randy thought the performance was hot, but Paula thought it was safe. Simon sided with Paula.

I was starting to think tonight’s theme was songs with one word titles when Chris Richardson sang Carlos Santana’s “Smooth”. You know, I wasn’t a big Chris Richardson fan, but I have to say when he just sings a song and doesn’t do that breathy, nasal thing, he’s not half bad. Randy said this was a very cool performance. I think it was Paula’s favorite performance of the night, and she called it “hot”. Simon said it felt contemporary.

I was a little frightened before Haley Scarnato came out— just how skimpy would she be dressed? At first I was a bit horrified at the length of her outfit. Then I realized they were shorts— still incredibly short, but at least not a skirt. Haley sang “Turn the Beat Around”. Sh does have really nice legs, but the performance still smacked of pageant to me. Randy called it karaoke (pageant, karaoke— isn’t it all basically the same?). Paula said it was fun, but Simon called it. He said she had a very good tactic— wear the least amount of clothes possible and have fun.

Phil Stacey sang Santana’s “Maria, Maria”. It was pretty boring. I hate the hats he wears because you can’t see his eyes. And tonight he looked nervous to me. Randy said the performance was kind of boring (kind of? Come on, Randy, speak the truth). Paula said it was a good vocal. Simon said it showed no originality.

I was hopeful that Jordin Sparks could turn the night around, even though she was singing “Rhythm is Gonna Get You”. I have nothing against Gloria Estefan. It’s just that all her songs sound pretty much the same to me. Jordin was asked a viewer question before her performance. The question was what theme she would choose, if she got to decide the theme? She answered 80s music. Hey, somebody let Jordin choose the themes. 80s music would have been so much better than Latin music week. I thought Jordin did a good job of making this song her own. It actually sounded somewhat different than the other Gloria Estefan songs that were sung. Randy said she has the yo factor. Paula said Jordin is adorable (I always find it a bit insulting when she refers to singers as cute and adorable— I don’t think Jordin’s going for adorable when she performs). Simon thought it was okay, but wasn’t really impressed.

I wonder if Blake Lewis knew he’d be singing for Jennifer Lopez when he chose the song, since he chose her husband Marc Anthony’s “Need to Know”. I really think Blake is the best performer of the group—not necessarily the best singer, but the best performer. He is still the only one out of the whole group that I would want to pay money to see live. Randy said Blake had a hot performance. Paula thought it was a smart performance, and Simon said it was the best performance of the night.

Now for the shocking part of the night. First of all, Sanjaya Malakar was singing last. Last? Last, you say? Why? Isn’t that place normally held for someone who’s going to blow it out of the water? Sanjay sang “Besame Mucho”. Frankly, I think he should sing more songs in Spanish. It wasn’t half bad. He’s much more expressive in Spanish than in English. I still think he should go home, but it wasn’t a bad performance. Randy said it was really good. Paula said it was very nice. Simon said he would hate himself for saying this, but it wasn’t horrible.

Overall, it was a very underwhelming night. With the exception of Blake and Jordin, I thought it was a bit of a yawn. Here’s my order for who I liked.

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