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The votes were pretty much 50/50 on whether Chris Richardson resembles Justin Timberlake:

Does Chris Richardson really remind YOU of Justin Timberlake?
Yes: 51% (83)
No: 49% (81)
Total Votes : 164

He doesn’t really remind ME of Justin Timberlake. He looks more like Elliott Yamin. And I guess MAYBE he sounds like Justin Timberlake, but I don’t think it’s that noticeable. My husband, George, and I had this big debate on the topic. He said he sounds like him, so I challenged him to name three songs by Justin Timberlake. He couldn’t name one, so I’ve discounted his opinion. So, answer our poll and let me know what YOU think. But be prepared, I may quiz you on Justin Timberlake lyrics if you vote yes.

Tonight we went from six contestants to four. This is how it happened.

There was more talk about Idol Gives Back, including taped appearances by Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino. Robin Thicke sang “Lost Without U”. The Ford commercial was “Paint It Black”— is it just me, or was that video a bit chipper for “Paint It Black”?

Ryan Seacrest announced that the top 20 contestants for the American Idol Songwriting contest are now up on the official American Idol website, so take a little trip over there and vote. You only have one week.

Then, it was time to send our first contestant home. Melinda, Phil and LaKisha were asked to stand and join Ryan. Melinda was declared safe. LaKisha was then declared safe, sending Phil home. I was a little surprised by this. I thought he had done a really good job the last three weeks. I know he’s been in the bottom three a lot, but this still surprised me a bit. He seems like a genuinely nice and kind guy.

After Phil sang his farewell song (why on Earth would you ever choose to sing a song “Going Out In a Blaze of Glory” in a competition? Don’t you know what happens when you sing a song that sounds like you’re going home? You go home!), Jordin, Blake and Chris were asked to stand. To make up for torturing her last week, Jordin was immediately told to take a seat, so she was on the hot seat this week for all of five seconds. I’m still not sure that comes close to making up for last week, but she can always send Fox executives her therapy bills. Blake and Chris then had to wait through another commercial break, Bon Jovi’s performance (Bon Jovi performed “Make a Memory”. Jon Bon Jovi has not aged a bit in the past twenty years— what gives?), followed by YET ANOTHER commercial break. This gave me plenty of time to break out in a cold sweat as I had flashbacks of Constantine being sent home after his best performance of the season and pictured Blake following in his footsteps. (I don’t suppose I can send Fox executives MY therapy bills…)

Then we FINALLY got to see who the second person going home this week was. First, we had to find out that Blake and Chris are best friends, setting me up to feel badly no matter who goes home. But I still spent a LONG pause saying, “not Blake, not Blake, not Blake…” AND…...

It wasn’t Blake! Chris went home tonight. As much as I never really cared for Chris’ music choices, I honestly think he seems like a very sweet, decent guy.

So, next week we’ll be having the top four. Kind of weird to go from top six to top four, but that’s the way it is. So, four will take on disco week with Barry Gibb.

We had the second week of Top 6 tonight. I hope you voted for your favorites because two are going home tomorrow. You know, I want to take a moment to say how odd this season of American Idol has been— we’re down to the final 6, and I still am not really sure who should win (or even who I WANT to win). Anybody else having this same reaction this year? Anyway, on to tonight. Tonight was Bon Jovi night, and the singers were coached by Jon Bon Jovi and keyboardist David Bryan. (My husband was so pleased— this is the closest he’ll probably ever get to heavy metal night. I don’t really see them having Metallica night any time soon.)

The first to sing tonight was Phil Stacey singing “Blaze of Glory”. He started out in the audience and put on a much better show than usual. He did continue along his path of improvement. I have to say Phil makes me wonder about some of the rather mediocre singers who have gone home early in past years— would they have ended up being really great if they’d just stayed in long enough? I guess we’ll never know. Randy loved this performnce. Paula said it was the best opening performance this season (come on, Paula). Simon, on the other hand, didn’t enjoy it at all. He said it had no authenticity and that he didn’t think he’d done enough to stay in the competition another week. Huh?

Jordin Sparks sang “Living On a Prayer”. It was, well, not good. And Jordin knew it. I found it encouraging that she didn’t try to defend her performance, that she could hear it wasn’t good. It would have been very disappointing if she had tried to defend her performance as a stylistic choice or some other nonsense. The judges all agreed that it was not her best performance; Simon was a bit more blunt, calling it terrible.

Next up was LaKisha Jones. LaKisha was asked via email what kind of training she had before American Idol. She said she hadn’t had any. After Jordin’s performance, I was a bit nervous to hear LaKisha sing. I thought this might be a very bad night for the girls, actually. LaKisha chose to sing “This Ain’t a Love Song”, which I wasn’t very familiar with. She did a really excellent job. I thought this was one of her better performances in a while. Randy agreed, saying “LaKisha’s back”. Paula liked it but gave me no quotable quotes. Simon said “I could kiss you after that” (and did). He loved that she rose to the challenge and gave a strong performance.

Blake Lewis took the biggest risk of the night, singing “You Give Love a Bad Name” in his own personal style. I was SO GLAD to see Blake back! The last couple of weeks, I’ve started to feel a bit bored with him. I’ve missed the beatboxing and the more unique take on music. But tonight there was beatboxing, there was dancing, there was a rock concert going on! I loved it! Randy said it was the most original performance EVER on American Idol. Paula said it was amazing. Simon said it was risky but “absolutely the right thing to do”.

Chris Richardson had the unenviable job of following Blake— not only did he have to follow Blake, but he was singing “Wanted Dead or Alive”. He had the second audience question of the night: “What do you tell yourself before you walk out on stage?” He said, “just have fun”. I’m going to just quickly sum up my opinion of Chris’ performance. I’m going to borrow one of Simon’s favorite phrases: it was dreadful. This kind of music can sound nasal anyway and with Chris’ nasal tendencies, I just didn’t care for it at all. However, I do have to say the performance aspect of it was better than usual. Randy said “you did your thing”. Paula said he did a good job, and Simon said he did as much as he could have done with that song.

The final performance of the night was Melinda Doolittle. She was very nervous, saying to Jon Bon Jovi that she’s terrible at rock music. Either she was being overly modest, or Jon Bon Jovi is the best rock coach ever because SHE ROCKED!! I actually think this was her best performance since she sang “Woman” way back in the first weeks. Maybe she should be a rock star! Randy didn’t think it was her best performance. Paula said, “you’re a rock star”. Simon said she was like a young Tina Turner.

So, here’s my rankings of tonight’s performances:

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

Here’s the top 6 singing “American Prayer” on Idol Gives Back.

Tonight’s show had many emotional moments. I’ll write more about Idol Gives Back in a later post, but I wanted to go ahead and post the results for those of you who didn’t get to see the show tonight. Basically, no one went home. This week’s votes will be added to next week’s votes, and TWO contestants will be sent home next week. That’s right. We’ll go from six to four on next week’s results show.

What do you think of that plan? I’m curious to hear your thoughts.

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

After tonight, we’re down to 6, so let’s recap how we got there.

To start the show, Simon explained the apparent smirk that immediately followed Chris expressing his best wishes to the families of the Virginia Tech tragedy. The show took the time to show that Simon was having a conversation with Paula at exactly the time that Chris was talking, and the smirk and following comment of “I don’t get it” was directed to Paula and no disrespect was meant.

Having cleared that up, the group performed “I’m Alright” by Jo Dee Messina.

Then they did a piece on the music that everyone listens to:

Melinda— Fred Hammond, Kirk Franklin
Sanjaya— some country and blues
Blake— Incubus (I think— it was hard to hear)
Jordin— Fergie
Chris— Maroon 5, Jason Mraz (again, it was hard to hear)
Phil— Willie Nelson
LaKisha— Yolanda Adams

There was a second performer again tonight. This time it was Fergie, performing “Big Girls Don’t Cry”.

The Ford commercial tonight was A Flock of Seagulls’ “I Ran”. Sanjaya should consider using the all black Matrix look more often.

There was more information about Idol Gives Back, which is next week. It looks like there will be a ton of stars, so it should definitely be fun to watch. Hopefully, it earns a ton of money, as well.

Then, it was time to reveal the bottom three. This is the time when, historically, the group is split into two groups of three, and one person chooses which group is the bottom three. (My husband and I had a long discussion about whether it’s been done that way every year— I think they do it sometimes, but not always, but I can’t remember for sure. Anyone else have a better memory?) Anyway, that is what they did this year. Sanjaya to the right, Phil to the left. Jordin to the left, LaKisha to the right (about this time I’m thinking you definitely want to go to the left). Chris to the left, BLAKE to the right!! What?!? Tell me it ain’t so. About this time, I really started to sweat the elimination. After all, this is about the point in time when Anthony Federov took out Constantine, when the three divas were the bottom three… it’s not unusual for there to be a “surprise” elimination at this point. Melinda was asked to pick which group was the bottom three, but she refused sitting squarely in the middle. Ryan moved her to the left, confirming Sanjaya, LaKisha and Blake as the bottom three.

Then, there was a brief segment with the top seven visiting DreamWorks to see Shrek the Third and meeting Antonio Banderas before Martina McBride sang “Anyway”, a really appropriate song.

After the commercial, Blake was declared safe. (Oh, thank goodness!) And Sanjaya was (finally) sent home. I kind of wish he’d gone home four weeks ago when more people would have been sad to see him go. As it is, I think everyone was a bit relieved (perhaps even Sanjaya). He sang “Something to Talk About”, changing “how about love” to “instead of hair”, which was really funny.

So, next week is Idol Gives Back. The theme is “Inspirational songs”— I hope that doesn’t mean anyone will be singing “Wind Beneath My Wings”. It’s a two hour show, so lots more writing for me

By the way, Simon will be on Oprah tomorrow, if anyone is interested. The Final 6 are supposed to be on, as well.

Tonight was Simon’s favorite night— country music performances. Martina McBride was the professional coach. She seemed to really give good feedback.

Phil Stacey started off the performances with Keith Urban’s “Where the Blacktop Ends”. He did a great job interacting with the audience, although I didn’t necessarily think it was his best vocal ever. All in all, it was one of his best showings. Randy said he should sing country, and Paula agreed. Simon summed it up: “Well, it’s only taken ten weeks, Phil!” I was surprised to hear that Phil actually wants to sing country music. Tonight definitely indicated that would be a good choice for him.

Singing in front of the person that originally sang the song is a brave move, but Jordin Sparks has never shown any fear. She sang “A Broken Wing” by Martina McBride. She put an interesting soul twist on the song and had great vocal performance and really wonderful feeling. She is unbelievably mature for a 17 year old. Randy thought it was another great performance. Paula said it was fantastic. Simon said “I believe, based on that performance, that you could win American Idol”.

Next up was Sanjaya Malakar, singing Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About”. (It sometimes annoys me when they refer to this song as a country song— I mean, it’s really an R&B song— but tomato/tomahto, I guess.) Martina McBride is absolutely right when she says that Sanjaya sounds better when he sings louder. I still wasn’t crazy about his performance, but it certainly wasn’t his worst. The judges were pretty brutally harsh, and that’s about all I intend to say about it. I do, however, want to relay Sanjaya’s answer to the fan question. He was asked which he would like to make sing a song— and what song. He answered that he’d like to see Simon sing “Shiny, Happy People”— wouldn’t we all?

LaKisha Jones took a risk singing “Jesus Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood. People who sing songs with religious themes on American Idol have traditionally fared poorly with the judges and the voting. I thought LaKisha sounded really good and that this was one of her best performances in weeks. I felt an emotional connection to her singing the song. The judges were not as impressed. Simon summed up their feelings by saying that she and the song didn’t go well together.

At the just past halfway point was Chris Richardson who sang Rascal Flatt’s “Mayberry”. I thought this was a timely song for a boy from Virginia to sing. I think we all miss Mayberry a little on days like this. I think his nasal, twangy voice is pretty well-suited for country. Randy and Paula felt like there was no emotional connection with the song, and Simon said it was non-descript, nasally and tinny. Chris sent a message of support out to the people of Virginia, which I found touching. We, too, would like to express our support and prayers for the families in Virginia and around the world who were affected by the tragedy.

Next up was Melinda Doolittle. Melinda returned to singing a younger song with “Trouble is a Woman” by Julie Reeves. She also got the second question of the night. She was asked whether she has met any crazy fans. She relayed a story about a woman who ran towards her screaming, and she turned and ran away, not realizing the woman was a fan. Melinda’s performance tonight was really refreshing. It was the second performance from her that was not only “good” but fun to watch, as well. I’d like to see her sing more songs like that. The judges all really enjoyed her, as well.

The final song of the night went to Blake Lewis. He sang Tim McGraw’s “When the Stars Go Blue”. This was a really beautiful song that Blake sang very well. I like it when you get to hear that he really is a good singer, as well as a good performer. Randy and Paula both liked this performance, but Simon was underwhelmed.

So, I thought that this was a pretty successful country music night— SO much better than Kenny Rogers country music night last year. Anyway, here’s my order:

1. Blake Lewis
2. Jordin Sparks
3. Melinda Doolittle
4. La Kisha Jones
5. Phil Stacey
6. Chris Richardson
7. Sanjaya Malakar

A quick recap of tonight’s results show.

There was a group performance tonight— Enrique Iglesias’ “Bailamos”.

There were also two star performances tonight. The first was Akon singing “Don’t Matter”. That was a bit weird. Akon was on the show tonight because…??

The Ford commercial was “Happy Together”, featuring one Idol morphing into another. Pretty interesting video— who knew Sanjaya and Melinda could look so much alike? Is is just me, or does Chris Richardson get a lot of “featured roles” in these videos? Are the producers showcasing him for a reason?

Then, there was a video of Simon in Africa. I’ll try to find it on You Tube and post it, in case anyone missed it. It was really funny and touching, all at the same time.

The bottom three were revealed in the following order: Phil Stacey (bottom 3), LaKisha Jones (safe), Jordin Sparks (safe), Sanjay Malakar (told to sit down until later, then told to sit down again later and finally told to sit down for the final time at the very end— final verdict, safe), Melinda Doolittle (safe), Haley Scarnato (bottom 3), Blake Lewis (safe), and Chris Richardson (bottom 3).

Chris was allowed to sit down before they moved on to Jennifer Lopez singing something in Spanish. It could have been “Qué Hiciste” because I did pick out the phrase “las palabras”. When I search Jennifer Lopez, las palabras and lyrics, that’s the song that comes up multiple times. Anybody out there know for sure?

Finally, Haley was sent home. I can’t say I’m sorry to see her go, but she did seem like a very nice girl— I just wish she would wear more clothes.

Next week is country music— Simon’s favorite. Prepare for a night of “I didn’t get it” and “horrible song choice”. But Simon, they HAD to sing country music, and there’s not one country music song you like.

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

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