Tonight was the first night of Idol Gives Back. So, not only will your votes count for who stays in the competition, but they will also help donate money to charities helping children in Africa and across the United States. Bono was the mentor (but we didn’t actually see any of the mentoring tonight— which was a bit odd). The theme was inspirational music and, no, no one sang “Wind Beneath My Wings” (thank goodness!).

The night started off with footage of Ryan and Simon in Africa. I’m going to try to find it tomorrow and post it here for anyone who missed seeing it tonight. It really was touching.

Chris Richardson was the first singer tonight, and he was singing “Change The World” by Eric Clapton. I love this song. But I didn’t care for this performance. It was a bit boring and flat, althought it did pick up towards the end. The judges really enjoyed it, though. Randy got to use his “in it to win it” line. Even Simon had nice things to say.

After the commercial break, there was footage from Idol Gives Back’s American trip. From Louisiana to the Navajo nation in Arizona, we were able to see some of the the places that will benefit from the fundrasing efforts of Idol Gives Back.

The next singer was Melinda Doolittle, singing Faith Hill’s “There Will Come A Day”. It was interesting to see her sing a contemporary song, since she hasn’t done much of that. She did a nice job, and the audience loved it. The judges, as usual, had nothing but good things to say.

Blake Lewis had the first question of the night, which was “What is the biggest sacrifice you have made to be on American Idol?” He answered missing his family and friends. Tonight Blake was singing “Imagine” by John Lennon. This is a really tough song to sing because John Lennon pretty much defined the song. You’re going to be compared to him, no matter what you do. Blake chose to do go with a pretty standard singing of the song, which was okay, but there wasn’t anything original about his delivery. I like Blake a lot, but there are a few things about him that annoy me a bit. I thought this song highlighted those quirks, which was unfortunate. Randy thought the performance was “just okay”. Paula thought it was sensitive and emotional, and Simon pointed out that this is a tricky song. He also said that even though the song didn’t really go anywhere, Blake sang it with sincerity.

After the commercial, there was more footage from Africa. This time we were shown a feeding center where orphans are given meals every day. The amazing thing is that it costs less than fifty cents a day to feed one of the children.

The next singer of the night was LaKisha Jones, singing Fantasia Barrino’s “I Believe”. I thought this was a risky choice. It hasn’t been that long since Fantasia won American Idol, so you’re definitely going to draw comparisons. If you watch American Idol at all, you probably remember Fantasia’s performance of this song at the season finale. It was really amazing and cemented her win. Unfortunately, I found myself thinking more about that performance than LaKisha’s during and after she sang. The judges, also, felt like it wasn’t her best and that she compared unfavorably to Fantasia. Simon tried to say something about her shouting, but the audience’s boos drowned him out.

Phil Stacey had the second question of the night, answering “what do you miss most about home” with “my baby girls”. Then he sang Garth Brooks’ “The Change”. Honestly, I thought this might be a bit dull. Phil has a tendency to be a bit flat for my taste. But this was really, really good. In fact, I thought it was the best performance of the night. It was emotionally warm, and he sang well. The judges all thought it was really nice, as well— although Simon thought Phil had more of a country tone last week and that suited him better.

There was one more Idol Gives Back snippet. This time we saw Simon touring a food bank in Los Angeles. I was surprised at how surprised Simon was about food banks. He said he didn’t know such a thing existed in the United States. I don’t know why that shocked me so much, but it did.

The final song of the night was Jordin Sparks singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from “Carousel”. She put in an emotional performance, but it was a bit shaky at the beginning, and I thought it was her worst performance to date. However, it did win her the “what were the judges watching that I wasn’t” performance of the night because THEY LOVED IT!! Randy raved about how it was one of the best vocals out of all six years. Paula said it was lovely, and Simon said it was fantastic. Um, okay. Well, I stand corrected, I guess. Anyway, I still like Jordin and think she’s great. I just didn’t care for tonight’s performance.

So, here’s the order I would rank them in tonight:

1. Phil Stacey
2. Melinda Doolittle
3. LaKisha Jones
4. Blake Lewis
5. Jordin Sparks
6. Chris Richardson