A Day Late . . .

And I'm still not thrilled. Or as Simon says, "I'm not jumping out of my seat." When we answer the phone as we're sitting down to watch A.I., you know this season's not quite as exciting as past seasons, but we're not giving up on something amazing happening.

RANDOM THOUGHTS: They randomly told us titles of songs tonight. I guess they figured we should know them all. It makes for interesting comments later. This was the first short show for the finals, and you can tell: no titles, brief comments by Gwen Stefani, cutting off Simon "Oscar-style," less brainless banter (a good thing), etc. Now not only do you need the massive, dope, crazy, insane, yo-factor song, but you also need to be in the pocket. Paula looked like she was going for the Gwen hair tonight. She should have made it blond to complete the effect. And did you all like her ring pop she was sporting tonight. What was that thing? Why oh why do people pick Donna Summers songs when you don't have to? My rule of thumb is "disco when they make you, but ditch it when you can." They grouped contestants 4 and 5 together as part of their half-off advertising promotion. I was waiting for an ad for Crazy Eddies discount autos at one point, but it never happened.

LAKISHA JONES ("Let's Dance" but not Gwen Stefani style): Of course it was a strong start, and I hadn't realized it until Randy said so, but this was the first real up-tempo joint she's chosen. It was pretty good, but I just don't like Donna Summers disco songs. In the end I think this type of song choice when you don't have to (there were so many better songs from which to choose) will hurt her popularity tonight. But I was totally surprised when the song started out slow and then picked up in the middle.

CHRIS SLIGH ("Sting Had Magic. I Have Bunions"): Chris can sing. He cannot dance. Oh, and he doesn't have rhythm. And he said the song was hard. Even if it was, find a better way to frame it, like "I wanted to really challenge myself" or "It's a great song and I wanted the audience to hear the Police" or "I may have been sleeping when I picked this one." When Paula told him the audience wanted to groove but may have had a tough time, she meant "Chris, your moves on stage were so off beat and distracting that people were having visceral reactions to your performance, and now the staff has a lot to clean tonight." Not a great showing by Sligh.

GINA GLOCKSEN ("I'll Stand By You" but not in Sligh's mess): Great performance. It was the right style without being over the top. She kept gyrations to a minimum and focused on the song itself. I was impressed more than usual by her this week. And there was so much chalk and cheese I don't know what to do about it.

SANJAYA MALAKAR ("Rubber Duckie"): Or something about bathwater. I thought the song was kind of cool. His hair was a bit surprising and I was waiting for a Simon smackdown, like when Ricky Smith wore an afro wig to sing some Earth, Wind, and Fire in Season 2. But you can tell the judges don't really think there's any point in saying anything. I can tell because Simon actually said that. He still has good tone, poor projection, and really no business competing at this point, but this is a voting, ahem, singing (?) competition so hats off to Sanjaya for going for it each week, even if this week he looked like a slightly more disturbing version of Marvin the Martian.

HALEY SCARNATO (I've never heard this song before, so I'm not sure of it's title): They already filled the contractual obligation to the guitar player to appear on stage once each season, so this week we just see his hands. It was a nice arrangement with the acoustic guitar, but she really didn't "bring it." This is a song that can be incredibly boring or quite emotional. Hers was the former.

PHIL STACEY ("I'll Be Watching You" so I can keep kissing up): Good song choice for him. He actually did a decent job. My big beef is that I'm now trying to shake the visual of a crazed Phil Stacey actually watching me and my every move. And he almost avoided the idiotic behavior Simon has been alluding to, and then he does that annoying scream.

MELINDA DOOLITTLE ("Heaven Knows" why people keep singing Donna Summers): Melinda needed to go a bit more contemporary this week since most everyone else did. No disrespect to the influence Donna may have had on Gwen Stefani, but the song was sort of boring next to some of the other performances. Melinda is the most talented performer they've ever had on A.I., and will likely win this thing, but I'd like to see her push herself a bit more with the (gasp!) song selection. The fact that she can pick a loser song and still be the front runner speaks volumes to her abilities, though.

BLAKE LEWIS ("I Will Always Love You"--didn't Whitney sing that?): I love what he does each week to make songs new and entertaining. I actually like that the beat boxing was left behind this time, and I really enjoyed the new rhythm he put on this very recognizable song. Stacy looked at me at the beginning of the show when Ryan said someone picked The Cure, and she said, "I bet it's Blake." He's the one who finds the songs that are off the beaten path, and then does it well. Technically not the best singer, but like Simon said, Blake's individuality and overall package makes him the top guy right now.

JORDIN SPARKS (I didn't catch the song title. I don't think she sang it enough): Number 1, good song choice in that it is hip, young, contemporary, and energetic. Like Jordin. Number 2, poor song choice because even Gwen was surprised at how melodic it can be. It's a good performance song, but the real magic is probably in the whole persona that Gwen Stefani brings to the stage. It's hard to really upstage that, but Jordin did a decent job overall.

CHRIS R. ("Don't Speak" especially if you didn't like it): Sing the runs. Don't sing the runs. The runs are cool. The runs take away. Melody. Runs. Lyrics. Runs. I feel like I have to go the bathroom now! Poor guy doesn't know what to do. He needs a week with Justin Timberlake as the mentor so he can get advice he cares about. Overall Chris did adequately, but I'm not impressed overall by what he's done to date. This week I will give him the bronze for Vocal Olympics, however.

MY TOP THREE: Gina, Blake, Melinda? Honestly, I didn't enjoy a third one that much more than the rest.
MY BOTTOM THREE: Sanjaya, Sligh, Haley
NOT SPEAKING ANYMORE ON A.I.: Haley

So tonight I think Gwen Stefani performs. Finally a contemporary artist with the potential to truly entertain. I think it will be much like Shakira's performance on A.I. recently. Should be good.