60 minutes I can't get back

Being busy and entertaining family this week I haven't had much time to get to posting here, but I did have a few thoughts on last night's elimination. J Lo's performance was great, and she seems like such a nice mentor to have on the show. Yeah, Haley's gone. Phil's bottom 2 and is days are numbered. Sanjaya still gets too much individual attention. Blah, blah, blah. So, here are some questions left unanswered.

1. Why did we need another 60-minute show full of filler? What was on the other networks last night? I feel like the old lady in the Wendy's commercial: Where's the beef?

2. Was the sound editor off on the Ford commercial? It seemed like a number of the contestants were out of sync with the sound track.

3. Did Akon really jump to number one on the Billboard charts after his first appearance with Gwen Stefani? I think he really benefited from that appearance a couple of weeks ago.

4. Did Fox really only give $5 million to Idol Gives Back? They'll make that back in the first commercial break!

5. Is anyone else tired of seeing Simon squirm when things get sentimental? At some point he's going to go Grinch and his heart is going to explode out of his chest as he sobs uncontrollably.

6. Why didn't Tony Bennett open the right door?

7. Where's the love for Randy? J Lo said she give critique like Paula, and she gave some credit to Simon, but she didn't even look at Randy. And after he gave her the "I know someone famous" shoutout!

Alright, enough for me. Country next week. We should have a grumpy Simon, sub par performances, and one or two standouts. I'm guessing Martina McBride should be a good mentor for the idols, so bring on the twang!

Top 8 Minus 1 - JLo Performs!

They're squeezing an hour out of this!? JLo better perform twice!

The group sing was enjoyable. It's interesting how they seem to have paired people by their relative status - Sanjaya with Haley, most noticeably.

When they interviewed the little girl about who she liked, it seemed clear that Sanjaya has a similar appeal to young kids as Michael Jackson had. He does have that 'young at heart', playful vibe. The kid was quick to say she didn't like Blake or Jordin. Interesting.

Simon took the ribbing well about his man-breasts, as drawn by one of the schoolgirls in Africa.

Tony Bennett's fake audition was pretty funny, especially the 'other door' ending...LOL!

Blake keeps a crib sheet on his wrist...LOL! I probably would, too.

Phil's in the bottom 3. No real surprise. Sanjaya gets played - up & down. I'm betting he's safe. Haley's in the boot'em 3, as well. Yay! Chris and Sanjaya get played. I'm betting Chris is going down. Yep. But I'll bet he's not in the bottom 2.

Ellen Degeneres did a bit today about how Howard Stern and a certain website are encouraging people to vote for Sanjaya - as the worst contestant. She stole my joke and noted that we'd already tried voting for the worst, and look what's happened, and urged people to vote for the best. She really meant it. She loves American Idol, and, according to a poll of her viewers, on her website, Melinda is still winning by a landslide.

Chris is safe, as I thought.

Sanjaya wants JLo....ewwww!

JLo sings! Yes! Talk about goose bumps! It's easy to feel her even without understanding the words. She is awesome. I don't know if you've ever gotten to watch her act, but she's a joy to watch in the cinema, as well. It doesn't surprise me that she's in the 'Paula school of criticism', and I love her for saying so (not that we don't need our Simon).

Haley goes bye-bye. She sings us off with good spirits. I wish her well.

See you next week!

...John

TOP 8 - J LO WEEK

JENNIFER LOPEZ - What a great mentor! She was really fun. She seemed to have real, solid advice for the contestants. I thought she did a great job with them, and I'm looking forward to her performance tomorrow!

I decided to rate each contestant this time on a scale between 5 and 1. 5 +'s would be out of this world blown away, and 1 + would be "just a'ight".

MELINDA - I liked it! It was new and old at the same time. Simon's seems to have been *looking* for a reason to criticize her. And she agrees with me. Rating: ++++

LAKISHA - Good job! +++

CHRIS - I always love musicians on stage with the vocalists, so that's a plus right there! I thought he did surprisingly well with it. +++

***Simon's right about Chris being more contemporary than the first two...that's my problem with them as well. They are excellent singers, especially Melinda, but I don't know if I'd listen to them outside of this competition precisely because they aren't current. Hmmm, I'll have to think on this some more...

HALEY - I couldn't hear her very well. She had fun with it! Randy's seems to have run out of his own comments and has had to steal from Simon... "I could hear that in any bar..." blah blah blah... ++

PHIL - I can't hear him very well either, I think maybe it's a microphone thing??? It seemed a little more "acted" than "felt", but he did a good job. ++

JORDIN - Is it just me, or has she answered more viewer questions than the others? Very well done! She is so fun!!! ++++

BLAKE - I'm not a fan of the hat, but I'm definitely a fan of the singing! He did great! ++++

SANJAYA - I love this song...let's see how he does. I can hear him, so that's a good start! :) Feeling is oozing out of him and through my TV! I'm surprised to say +++ !!! Randy's right, he is a *very* smart contestant.

TOP - JORDIN and BLAKE.

SURPRISINGLY WELL DONE - CHRIS and SANJAYA.

BYE BYE - HALEY [or maybe PHIL, but I'll be sad if it's him :( ].

I almost prefer Diana Ross week!

So, another lackluster week with a few really good performances. To quote some really insightful people, I wasn't jumping out of my chair, you looked nice tonight, and I actually didn't hate it.

RANDOM THOUGHTS: J-Lo is actually really nice. Not that I thought she wouldn't be, but it's nice to see some of these stars and find out they are a bit more normal than I expected. I don't think Simon likes Latin music. His comments are very similar to what he says on country night. It seems that Randy loves Latin music. He just couldn't get enough. I'm so glad I saw the cast of "Dive" tonight, especially since I haven't a clue who they are or what Dive is. I guess I'm supposed to Google it. Ah, we've reached the point in the season where Paula's bias against female performers comes out definitively. There just aren't enough people in this thing with the attitude to pull of Latin music, but there were one or two who made it work for them. And can we put a moratorium on Gloria Estefan in these weeks. I can only take so much of the original Sound Machine, and usually no one can pull it off. Jose and the Caribbean Conga Line were loving it tonight. The band (and especially the percussion) was awesome tonight!

This week is a bit hectic for us in general, so my comments might be a bit abbreviated (you can all stop cheering now!).

MELINDA DOOLITTLE ("Sway"): I love the song, and I recognize it's old. J-Lo said it. Everyone could tell. She nailed it, brought more attitude than usual, and put on a great performance. The problem is that current Latin has more wow right now and she's starting to stagnate. On the up side, Simon did get to say something mean early in the show, and to Melinda for once! (OK, so much for abbreviated)

LAKISHA JONES ("Conga"): Hate the song. Lakisha did well with it and give her credit for going uptempo with attitude, although the attitude is nothing new. Didn't like her interview. It just made her seem a bit arrogant, but that may just be me.

CHRIS RICHARDSON ("Smooth"): I think it was a great song choice for him in that it suited his style and was contemporary. The problem is Rob Thomas is a tough act to top. All in all, a respectable performance.

HALEY SCARNATO ("Turn the Beat Around"): You can turn the car around and take her home, too. This song has probably been done in every A.I. season, and except Diana Degarmo in Season 3, no one has really done well with it. You have to nail the "syncopated rhythm" and not come off like someone with no rhythm. And you may not like what Simon said, but he's right. If Haley doesn't like it, she can try dressing more modestly and singing well. Or, she can see if Blake can perform with her.

PHIL STACEY ("Maria, Maria"): I think I know who he was thinking about, and it wasn't his wife. I've been hard on Phil in the past, but I do listen each week with an open mind and I'm willing to give him credit where credit is due. But, this was a weak vocal week for him, accentuated by the fact that he doesn't have the Yo to go with this genre. Immediately telling Simon you appreciate his negative comments is done already. Give it up. We get it. You've got love aplenty. His shout outs come off as too calculated. Why are you still here?

JORDIN SPARKS ("The Rhythm is Gonna Get You"): Estefan song #3. At this point, if it hasn't gotten me, an A.I. performance is not going to make it happen. She's got the energy to pull it off, and did a good job. I did like how she put a fresh spin on a lot of the song, but I still was underwhelmed on this one.

BLAKE LEWIS ("Need to Know"): Simon was right. It was the best song selection of the night and his voice and style match it perfectly. He has the attitude to do the Latin week. He isn't the best contestant vocally, but he knows how to stay within his abilities and bring out his unique style. Great performance tonight.

SANJAYA MALAKAR ("Besa Mi Mucho"): Great song selection. Great style on the stage. His vocals are still good, but not great. And Randy is right. He is the smartest contestant he's had in a while. Keep your fans happy = go far.

MY TOP 3: Blake, Melinda, and somebody else
MY BOTTOM 3: Haley, Phil, and some other contestant
TURNING THIS THING AROUND (AND HEADING HOME): Haley

J-Lo tonight. Let's see if we keep this show family friendly! Hey! You all wanted contemporary, and now you've got it!

Top 8 with JLo!

I love JLo, and her latest spanish language album is hot, hot, hot! And she looks for goose bumps, too! Definitely my kind of performer.

Melinda Doolittle: Does a fair job of injecting a sexy tone, per JLo. A guest on Ellen made the same point I hovered around last week. I'm not the only one getting tired of the undeserving demeanor when confronting the judges every week. She does the job with the song. Excellent. The judges agree except for Simon, who makes the point that she needs to exude some personality. She handles him very well, but he speaks to my earlier point. She does seem to be making an effort to turn that around, as evidenced by her double-take in response to Ryan's 'sexy' compliment - at first, she starts to hang her head demurely, but then lifts her head, smiles, and says, "thank you" like she actually deserves it. It seems she's reading the blogs.

Lakisha Jones: 'Conga' - doesn't drive home the rhythm vocally. It's driving her, but she should be driving the song, in my opinion, not the band. Paula picks up on this, and Simon agrees.

Both she and Melinda are losing ground to contenders like Jordin, who doesn't sing as well, but brings herself fully into every performance, and Blake Lewis, who manages something original and edgy most of the time. Well, let's see how Jordin and Blake do tonight.

Chris Richardson: This song seems like a long stretch for Chris. I'm not impressed. He does a decent job, with some very good runs, but it doesn't move me. The judges like it more than I. Still middle-of-the-road, for me.

Haley Scarnato: 'Turn The Beat Around' - Decent, but doesn't 'bite' the lyrics as well as JLo suggested, and her body isn't moving when the lyrics say it should be. Simon nails her on the skimpy dress.

Phil Stacey: Gave JLo goose bumps, so let's see. The hat is better than his bald head. I think his performance tonight is less intense than what he showed JLo, so, not great, but he does well, and the ending did raise a bump or two. Randy catches what I'm saying. His daughter's stuffed cow - Simon 'cow' - that's funny!

So far, they're doing roughly equally well...

Jordin Sparks: 'Rhythm's Gonna Get You' - low notes are borderline, but she's driving the song with her voice, and she puts herself into it and makes it her own. Definitely some goose bumps. Best tonight. Randy seems to agree. Simon has to knock her down.

Blake Lewis: 'I Need To Know' - 'Shake 'n' Blake' - also drives the song with the vocal rhythm, as it should be. A little better than Jordin, and the best tonight. Simon says it, so it must be true.

Sanjaya Malakar: 'Besa Me Mucho' - Good choice of song for him, and he does a suprisingly good job with it. His projection is appropriate for the song, rather than being too soft. Even Simon appreciated it.

Tops: Blake, Jordin, Melinda, in that order.

Bottoms: Sanjaya (I confess to writing tops and bottoms before hearing him), and Haley. I now have to reverse this: Haley, Sanjaya and Phil OR Chris, you choose.

Turning the beat around and taking it home: Haley.