Author: Mike Farley (Page 44 of 63)

Last night’s “American Idol” featured visits home by the three remaining contestants. As each arrived in their hometown for a rally, they also were greeted by their mayor who read a fax from a respective AI judge, giving them a song choice for last night. After that, the show’s producers chose a song for each singer, and then they were allowed to choose their own song to wrap up a trio of performances. Melinda Doolittle continues to prove that she’s got what it takes to win, and I think by now I’m convinced that she is the best singer this competition has ever seen. Will America agree? That remains to be seen. But here is a recap of last night….

Jordin Sparks arrived home in Phoenix and was told by her mayor through Simon Cowell that she would be singing Rose Royce’s “Wishing On A Star.” It was pretty good but not really spectacular. And at this stage, it needs to be spectacular. Randy said it was very good and Beyonce-like, and Simon said Jordin sang it brilliantly but that he didn’t like the arrangement. Jordin’s second song was the producer’s choice of Donna Summer’s “She Works Hard For the Money,” which I thought was kind of uneventful. Randy said it was “hot,” Paula said it was “fantastic,” and Simon again said he didn’t like the arrangement. Finally, Jordin closed out her night with “I Who Have Nothing,” an older song that I thought she knocked out of the park. Randy and Paula both thought it was great, and Simon said he loved Jordin’s voice but that this song was an odd choice and sounded “pageanty.” Simon has said this many times about Jordin throughout the season, and since he said it last night, it may cost Jordin a spot in the finals.

Blake Lewis went home to Washington state and his mayor (who looked like he was 12) read Paula Abdul’s choice of “Roxanne” by The Police for Blake to start with. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised, though it was about 5 steps lower than Sting’s range. Randy said it was a great performance, Paula said Blake did her proud, and Simon simply said it wasn’t as good as Sting (honestly, no one can sing that song like Sting). Blake’s producer choice was Maroon 5’s “This Love,” accurately (and somewhat frighteningly) predicted by my wife. Well, it was so good that I think Blake may have secured a spot in the finals. Randy said it was a good vibe for Blake, Paula said he was in his element, and Simon said it was better than “Roxanne.” Then Blake closed with his own choice, Robin Thicke’s “When I Get You Alone,” and I thought it was all over the place (more because of the song choice and not Blake’s performance). Randy said he liked the Maroon 5 song better but Simon really dug it.

Melinda Doolittle was home in Nashville and Governor Bredesen read a fax from Randy Jackson, that began with, “Check It Out…” His choice for her was Whitney Houston’s “I Believe In You and Me,” which of course was amazing. Randy said he chose a Whitney Houston song to really challenge Melinda, and that she answered that challenge. He added that Melinda should win this thing. Paula said it was fantastic and one of Melinda’s best so far in the season, and Simon said that Round 1 went to Melinda. Her producer’s choice was Ike & Tina Turner’s “Nutbush City Limits,” and Melinda really tore it up in a good way….even like a young Tina, which is really saying something. Randy said it was “stellar” and Simon said it was “brilliant.” Finally, Melinda closed out the show with her choice, “Woman,” which she performed earlier in the season. Randy said the three performances showed Melinda’s versatility, Paula said she was stepping into the spotlight, and Simon said Melinda consistently delivers.

Okay, so to recap, Melinda is in first place by a mile. Her spot next week is all but guaranteed. But then it gets dicey. I thought for the last month or so that Jordin was going to battle Melinda in the final, but after last night I don’t think that will happen. I think she is going home tonight, because Blake was just that much better on Tuesday. I think that Maroon 5 song pushed him slightly past Jordin. We’ll see what happens, but we could do far worse than a final of Blake and Melinda. It’s two singers with very different styles. But I’m getting ahead of myself because America does love Jordin, too.

Tonight’s very painful hour-long results show looms. How will they fill it up? For starters, I bet Ryan Seacrest is in front of that farmer’s market right now interviewing people to get their take on last night. Ugg.

See you all tomorrow….

Once again, even though there were just four remaining contestants, we were tortured with a full hour of fluff last night on “American Idol.” Even Ryan Seacrest admitted as much. After announcing that in addition to Barry Gibb, Pink would also be performing, they cut to those stupid interviews of fans outside the farmer’s market. “I like Blake…I like Doolittle….I like Lakisha….Jordin is the best!” Yeah, whatever….we know everyone is going to like different contestants….that’s going to happen when 45 million votes are being counted.

Then Pink sang her new single, “Who Knew.” It was a pretty good song and her voice sounded great, although there seemed to be a problem with the sound. But I’m not sure what it is about Pink. I just can’t look at her…I think she looks so much like a dude that deep down I think she really might be.

Then the final four sang a group tribute to Barry Gibb and The Bee Gees, and it was pretty decent, though these things are getting old.

Finally, they started getting to business at around 8:40 central time. Jordin was the first sent to safety. So we were down to Lakisha, Blake, and Melinda.

Then Barry Gibb sang “To Love Somebody,” and while you have to respect the guy, you know everyone in America was thinking about how much better Jordin sounded the night before on the same song. But props to Barry, that dude has really cranked out some hits over the years.

Then Melinda was safe….I mean, we all know her and Jordin will square off in the final anyway. So it was down to Lakisha and Blake. And more on this, after the break.

Okay, we’re back. Blake is safe, Laksiha goes home. Simon predicted it, Randy and Paula predicted it but didn’t say so, I predicted it, and I think even Lakisha predicted it. She was already rehearsing how not to cry and sing at the same time. Anyway, it was a great journey for Lakisha, and she’s mighty talented. But she just didn’t have enough gas to compete with the two other women left standing. And Blake, he’s toast next week as well.

Two more weeks of fun, people….

Last night’s “American Idol” featured the final four contestants: Melinda, Blake, Lakisha and Jordin. And the guest mentor was Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, giving the finalists a wealth of great pop material to choose from. Some of the song choices were weird, but some of them were perfect. It was not a night where anyone completely pulled away from the pack, but it likely has given us an indication of who the final two will be.

On to the recap….

MELINDA DOOLITTLE
Melinda sang “Inside and Out,” and made some comment about being the first solo artist to attempt that song. Um, wrong Melinda, Feist did it on her first major label album, and it’s an awesome cover. But that’s beside the point. She started out kind of slow and boring but it got better throughout the song. Randy said it was solid, Paula said her vocals were “spot on,” and Simon said it wasn’t incredible, and that it was like a backing vocalist performance. Ouch. Then later on, Melinda took on “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” and the second half of the song was nothing short of spectacular. Randy said it was much better than the first performance, Paula said she’s still waiting for that huge performance from Melinda, and Simon said the second half of the song probably put her in the semi-finals. Folks, Melinda isn’t going home.

BLAKE LEWIS
Blake started with “You Should Be Dancin'” and did lots of his trademark beatboxing. It was a cool arrangement but something got lost in the shuffle–namely, Blake’s vocal ability. Randy said the beatboxing didn’t work this time, Paula said it was pitchy, and Simon said it was “unique but terrible.”
Then later, Blake did “This Is Where I Came In,” a more obscure Bee Gees song and one on which he could go nowhere but up from the first performance. Randy said it was better, but that even with minimal beatboxing he just needs to tone that down, Paula said Blake is a “contemporary rebel,” (uh, whatever), and Simon said it was completely tuneless and that Blake didn’t have a good night. Yes, he will be in the bottom two for sure.

LAKISHA JONES
Lakisha started off with “Stayin’ Alive” and it was a bit of a different arrangement but I thought she did a good job. Not great, but good. Randy said Lakisha didn’t need to change the arrangement so much, Paula said she took the tempo down too much, and Simon said Lakisha was back to her shouting again and that it was “scary in parts.” Later on, Lakisha sang “Run To Me” and it was, again, just pretty good. Randy said it was much better than her first song, Paula said Lakisha is “still a champ” (again, what?), and Simon said it was better than the first song but that he thought both Lakisha and Blake were vulnerable. Yeah, pretty much.

JORDIN SPARKS
Even before Jordin took the stage for her first song, “To Love Somebody,” I had a feeling it was going to be awesome. And it pretty much was. Randy said it was the best vocal of the night so far, Paula agreed, and Simon said it was the best song choice and best performance of the night. Later on, Jordin sang “Woman in Love,” a song recorded by Barbara Streisand. It was very good but not as good as the first performance. Randy said it was pitchy and not her best, Paula agreed, and Simon said it was “old-fashioned and pageanty” but that, well, Jordin is only 17. The judges seem to be amazed by that fact every week, but it bears repeating. Jordin is only SEVENTEEN. And she’s probably going to be battling Melinda on the next to last episode of this season.

So you already know my bottom two, if there is one: Blake and Lakisha. But if there’s a bottom three, throw Jordin in there too. My choice for heading home tonight is Lakisha, if only because all of the little girls voting for Blake all these weeks will continue to do so. Plus, both of them have been at the bottom before. Regardless, this is a competition between Melinda and Jordin, and has been for weeks….well, at least until we all breathed a sigh of relief when Sanjaya was kicked off.

See you all tomorrow with the results….