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If you’re a fan of Jordin Sparks, you’ll enjoy this recent interview with her.

So the album is called Jordin Sparks, can you tell us specifically about the songs on the album? The influences? What fans can expect?

Well, I guess there’s a little bit of everything for everybody. There are songs that are more guitar driven. There are songs that make you want to think. There are songs that are more rhythmic. There are definitely some ballads on there because everybody knows that I love to do ballads, so there’s some of that also. But I guess it’s just like me, just a good mix of everything and I really hope that people like it. I think works. I think it works out.

Was there any of those 9 on the tour who kind of broke out and maybe impressed more so than they did on the show?

I really think that Chris Richardson really showed a different side to him because he played the drums and played the guitar and he did a whole bunch of different genres. Like he did the duet with me that was country. He did Maroon 5. He did Jason Mraz. He did Gnarles Barkley. Like it was really crazy to see how versatile he was. I actually think that kind of applies to everybody actually now that I think about it. We did so many different things on the tour that we didn’t really get to show on TV, so I really think it applies to everybody.

Head over to Buddy TV to hear the interview, or to read the rest of the transcript.

Thank goodness for YouTube:

And an interview with Jordin:

Really, was there any way in the world that Blake was going to win singing THAT song for the finale?? They couldn’t have picked a song more likely to sabotage him if they’d intentionally tried. Not that I don’t like Jordin… But I loved Blake and even I didn’t want to hear him sing “This Is My Now” again. It was just plain painful.

Jordin Sparks!!

Of course, I recorded the show tonight, but apparently missed the end, so I had to look up who won afer sitting through the entire two hour finale.

There were a few highlights in the finale, but mostly I just wanted to find out the results— I guess I could have saved myself some time and just looked on the internet

So, what do you think? Happy? Disappointed? Share your thoughts in the comments.

My synopsis of the finale will be delayed to go with the results of who won. I have an obligation tonight and tomorrow that will prohibit me from writing until after the finale occurs. So, check back tomorrow night for my opinions, takes and reactions.

I’m just going to pretty much cut to the chase tonight. There was a lot of filler, including the trips home for each of the contestants (it was nice to see Jordin looking 17 and Blake with his family) and performances by Elliott Yamin and Maroon 5, but I know you really just want to know who is in the finale??

Jordin was the first one passed through, leaving Blake and Melinda. My husband was pretty sure this meant that it was going to be an all girl finale, but I wasn’t so sure. I was RIGHT!! Melinda was sent home tonight, and the finale will be Blake and Jordin.

I’m pretty happy about that. I think Melinda is fantastic, but she didn’t really need a win to have a career. It’s probably better for her to just move on to getting an album recorded. I imagine she’ll put out a gospel album, but I could be wrong.

(Oh, and in case you were wondering, the Ford commercial tonight was “Everybody Wants You”.)

Tonight we saw the Final Three peform three songs. One song was picked by one of the judges, one song was picked by the producers, and one song was picked by the performers.

Jordin was up first with a “Wishing On a Star”, chosen for her by Simon. It wasn’t my favorite song, but she did a good job singing it. It showed her vocal range well. Ironically, Simon was the only one of the judges not crazy about the performance— he said he didn’t really like the arrangement.

Paula chose “Roxanne” for Blake. Since the beginning, my husband and I have thought Blake reminds us of Sting, so it was fun to get to see him sing a Sting song. I thought he did a good job with it, which is always difficult with Sting. I didn’t necessarily think he brought anything new or funky to the song, but he gave a good, solid performance. Again, Simon was the lone curmudgeon, saying the performance wasn’t as good as the original song.

Randy wanted to hear Melinda sing Whitney Houston’s “I Believe in You and Me”, which was kind of surprising since he always says no one should sing Whitney. What wasn’t surprising was that he found a way to work in that he’d worked with Whitney Houston. I think it’s a huge compliment that he thought she was capable of tackling this song. She has one of the few voices that we’ve heard on American Idol that can stand up to singing Whitney and not sound, at best, like a poor imitation. All three of the judges liked this performance, with Simon declaring that round one went to Melinda.

Jordin got the first viewer question of the night. She was asked her favorite song of all time. Her answer was Mmm-Bop by Hanson. I’m not sure that answer shouldn’t disqualify her from winning American Idol. HANSON?? The producers assigned Jordin “She Works Hard For the Money”. Her shoes made me nervous because I kept thinking she was going to fall down. And you know when I have to start off the critique with fashion talk, there’s not a rave review coming. There wasn’t really anything wrong with the performance— I just wasn’t blown away. All of the judges really like it, though.

Blake was asked if they made a movie about his life, what would be the title and who would play him. He said Jim Carrey would play him in the movie titled “Organized Chaos”. The producers wanted to hear him sing Maroon 5’s “This Love”. This is exactly the type of music I can imagine Blake singing. It was a really great performance. All three judges agreed it was really good.

Ryan asked Melinda who her Idol was growing up and why. She answered her Mom because she’s one of her best friends. Melinda was assigned Ike and Tina Turner’s “Nut Bush City Limits”. It was a really excellent song choice. For someone who doesn’t consider herself to be a rock singer, she sure does a good job of it. All three judges loved it, and Simon declared this round a tie.

For the song she chose for herself, Jordin chose “I Who Have Nothing” from 60s week. I thought that was one of her strongest performances, at the time. Tonight was no exception. I really think Jordin is well-suited for going into theatrical singing. She has a really nice way of connecting with the emotion of a song, and this song showcased that. Simon didn’t care for her song choice, wishing she had chosen to sing a more current song.

I was really surprised that Blake chose to sing a song he hadn’t worked on previously. He chose to sing Robin Thicke’s “When I Get You Alone”. I don’t have any idea what the original song sounds like, so I have no idea how much of the vocal performance was Blake’s unique take and how much the song was just written that way. What I do know is that Blake is unsurpassed in singing songs with difficult rhythms. I think that’s why he did so well with “Roxanne”. Randy preferred the Maroon 5 number to this one, but Simon really enjoyed this. He was glad to see Blake took a risk.

The final performance of the night was Melinda Doolittle singing Peggy Lee’s “I’m a Woman” from the Top 8 Girl’s week. As with Jordin, originally this was one of her best performances. I thought it was solid again this week, as well. Simon said if he was going to award a place in the Finals for the person who gave the most consistently good performances, he would choose Melinda.

So, here’s my summary of the night. Jordin was good, solid, but not really great. I like her a lot and always think she’s fun to watch, but the last few weeks she has struggled a bit off and on. Tonight wasn’t a struggle, but it wasn’t that exciting, either. Blake is always a favorite of mine. I never can predict what he’s going to do, so it’s always interesting to find out. His weakness is that he picks odd song choices, at times. He picks the kind of music he likes, but it’s not always the best music for his voice and performance style. Melinda is a great vocalist. If this song were truly “a singing contest”, as the judges continually remind us, I think she’d win hands-down. BUT it’s not just a singing contest. It’s a personality contest, a performance contest, a singing contest and a popularity contest all rolled into one. I’m not sure that Melinda has what it takes to win in every one of those areas. But tonight’s performances convinced me that it’s possible she could.

So, tonight I would have to rank the singers: Melinda, Blake and Jordin

What do you think?

The beginning of the show was the usual: review of last week; interview with people on the street; etc. Then they announced that Idol Tour Tickets go on sale May 19. After that, Pink sang “Who Knew” (personally, I don’t like this year’s trend of having singers on who had nothing to do with the show, but I guess someone likes it).

After the break, the Ford commercial was “You Really Got Me”. The group performance was a medley of Barry Gibb songs, including “Emotion” and “Too Much Heaven”. There was a preview of the new Fantastic Four movie (we have some old Silver Surfer comics around here, I think— anybody interested in buying them?— shhh! don’t tell my husband that I’m trying to get rid of them), and the cast of the movie was on American Idol, including Jessica Alba.

There was a nice little montage of the backgrounds of the Final Four. Can you guess which one wasn’t a trouble maker in school? I thought it was interesting that three of them were only children.

Finally, it was time for the results. Jordin was allowed to sit first. The others had a long wait.

Ryan announced that American Idol is looking for groups for an American Idol Band competition. If you know someone who would like to audition, the should send a demo to The Band Show Casting 8391 Beverly Blvd. PMB #464 Los Angeles, CA 90048.

After Barry Gibb performed “To Love Somebody” and another commercial break, it was on to the final results. Melinda was safe, leaving Blake and LaKisha. Blake was safe, LaKisha will be going home.

Next week, all three of the finalists will be going home, as well, for the home visit week. Then they should be singing songs picked by the judges and Clive Davis, if past years are any indication.

Tonight was Barry Gibb night. Each competitor was singing two songs, as well, so it was a fun night.

Melinda Doolittle kicked off the night with “Love You Inside and Out”. I thought she really made the song her own and sang it with a lot of personality. The judges began tonight’s theme, which apparently was “we’re not impressed”. Randy said he wasn’t jumping up and down, which I think he shamelessly stole from Simon. Paula said the vocals were great, but didn’t seem overly impressed. Simon said it was more of a backing vocalist performance.

Blake Lewis followed Melinda, singing “You Should Be Dancing”. He sang with a good falsetto and threw in a little beatboxing. Overall, I thought it was a fun performance. Barry Gibb seemed to think that the song was well-suited for beat boxing. Randy disagreed (Randy, you don’t get to disagree with the person who wrote the song. You just don’t.) Paula said it started shaky, and the pitch was off. Simon conceded that it was unique but thought it was terrible.

After Blake, LaKisha Jones sang a slowed down version of “Stayin’ Alive”. It was an interesting version, but it really changed the meaning of the song, I thought. LaKisha did connect well with the lyrics, which was nice to see. Randy thought it was a weird arrangement and that LaKisha tried to do too much with it. Paula thought the arranagement brought the mood down. Simon summed up his response with, “there will be no kiss tonight.” (Didn’t I tell you the judges had their own theme going tonight?)

Jordin Sparks got the first viewer question of the night: what have you learned about yourself in this process? She answered that she can handle a lot more than she thought. Then she sang “To Love Somebody”. Barry Gibb was clearly impressed, saying he’d never heard a greater version of the song. I think that pretty much said it all. The judges took a small break from tonight’s theme to say that wasn’t too bad.

Melinda was next, answering a viewer question, which was “what was the first tape you bought?” It was Michael Jackson’s “Bad”. Then it was on to her second song. She chose “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”. She changed the lyrics to avoid a reference to being a loser, thus avoiding the dreaded Idol blunder. Hopefully that, and her solid performance, will keep her from going home this week. Randy thought this was much better with a beautiful ending. Paula thought it was a beautiful vocal but wanted to be surprised. Simon thought the second half of the song would put her through to the semifinals.

Blake won the weird song choice of the night with “This Is Where I Came In”. It was interesting and sounded very contemporary, but it was a bit hard for me to get into. Randy thought the beatboxing got old. Paula said there is nothing old about Blake. Simon thought it wasn’t a good song choice.

After Blake, LaKisha performed “Run to Me”. As usual, she refused to take the direction of the guest mentor, which was a shame because I think Barry’s suggestion would have spiced up an otherwise slightly dull performance. On top of that, she missed the last note. Randy thought it was better than the first song. Paula said she’s still a champ. Simon said it still wasn’t great.

The final singer of the night was Jordin, singing “Woman In Love”. Barry Gibb said that Jordin is on track to be “one of our greatest female artists”. Wow! That’s high praise. I really enjoyed her performance of “Woman In Love”, but the judges clearly had a different opinion. Randy said it wasn’t her best performance and that the song was pitchy. Paula agreed. Simon said it was old-fashioned and pageanty. Ouch.

Here’s how I would rank tonight’s performances:

1. Jordin Sparks
2. These two spots were a toss up for me between Blake and Melinda
3.
4. LaKisha Jones

I think LaKisha will probably be going home this week.

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