American Idol
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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