Give Me Mo' Motown

I was pretty excited when they announced Motown for this week, and it did not disappoint. I'm glad they brought in Smokey Robinson, too. He was great in Season 2 as a guest judge and he was great again this season. We had another "typical" week on American Idol: a few predictable song choices, a few strange ones, and one fantastic performance that was untouchable this week. I noticed that both Randy and Paula are rubbing off on Kara--she had excited Randy-esque sentence fragments followed by incoherent ramblings all wrapped up in one. Welcome to this season, Kara! I'm also wondering where she learned to count--"one of the best performances of the night" is 8 words, not 6, but who cares in the end. Paula's crayon and coloring book routine was inspired, but it did give Simon something else to distract him from judging this week. What's with Randy's Urkel outfit? Anyway . . .

Matt Giraud: I loved his piano/vocal hybrid tonight, especially since it was on one of my favorite Marvin Gaye songs. This was a week very well suited to his style and he, of course, did well tonight.

Kris Allen: He made a great choice this week and it was fairly obvious that James Taylor has influenced Kris. He definitely put some of his own flavor on this one, though. The song itself is pretty simple musically, but he did well enough to justify his continuing presence on this show.

Scott MacIntyre: I wasn't overly enthused about his song choice since it's not one of my favorite songs, Motown or not. With that said, Scott had a solid night again. He showed he can handle an up-tempo song and not be swallowed up on that stage. It wasn't the best performance of the night, but it was good enough for now.

Megan Joy Corkrey: If I knew how to text message I'd probably have all kinds of abbreviations to share. I'm pretty sure I can get an "OMG!" from someone out there, though. Megan is a niche contestant, and her niche is not the stage of American Idol. She was out of tune the entire time and other than her (somewhat) likable quirkiness I'm having a tough time seeing why she's even included in the competition at this point. She should have been a Top 36, one-time-is-enough performer.

Anoop Desai: I can see what Simon was saying about him sleeping up there. His vocals were great, though. He really has a great range and his falsetto is usually right on. Let's see what Anoop can bring next time around.

Michael Sarver: Right now he's got to be thinking something like, "I'm so glad Megan's around this week." That way at least he gets one more chance to "have so much fun" up there. And Ryan, how do you spin "you"re a sincere guy, but you can't win this competition" and turn it into constructive criticism for the coming week?

Lil Rounds: I don't like this song at all, but I am now hungry for a flame-broiled Double Whopper with Cheese (and an order of onion rings). I was having flashbacks to Kimberly Locke and her "Heatwave" days. In the end, though, this was a really good performance for Lil. She could have picked a better song, but she still did a lot to stay this week.

Adam Lambert: Anything more than "awesome" seems unnecessary. What a great interpretation of a fantastic song. This just shows that Adam is a true musician, because to take songs each week and create such original interpretations (or draw from similarly unique ones) takes a real talent, like the talent we saw David Cook bring last year. And how does this dude sing such perfect falsetto? It's unreal. Plus, he gave washboard guy's mother a reason to scream at the TV set this week--"That's my boy! The one doing laundry up there!" Plus, I'd like to play the guitar like the most famous anonymous guitarist on national TV.

Danny Gokey: I feel sorry for Danny since he had to follow Adam. It's almost unfair this week, because Danny did so well again. Again, not one of my favorite songs, but he did well and really got into it up there. I especially liked the "wheels on the bus" move he pulled with the backup singers.

Allison Iraheta: She's definitely got it going on. If she can keep these kinds of performances coming she'll be tough to beat down the stretch. I remember Jordin Sparks getting a bit strained toward the end of her season so I worry Allison could easily strain her voice as well, but for now she's a serious force to be reckoned with.

BOTTOM THREE THIS WEEK: Michael Sarver, Megan Joy Corkrey, ??? (Cop out, I know, but I have no handle on where the voting loyalty is yet)

NO MO' SONGS AFTER MOTOWN: Megan Joy Corkrey

Tale of the Thumbs

I know, I know. This week's action is all over, but the kids are just now getting to it. Here are their ratings before we watch the elimination action.

Ramiele Malubay: two thumbs up (bonus from The Boy)
Jason Castro: one thumb up, one thumb sideways (Wisdom from The Boy: "He likes singing words we don't know")
Syesha Mercado: one thumb up, one thumb sideways
Chikezie: two thumbs up (oops!)
Brooke White: two thumbs up (plus two more)
Michael Johns: two thumbs up (plus the rock 'n' roll bonus from The Boy)
Carly Smithson: two thumbs up ("Daddy, is this rock 'n' roll?" Then comes the extra thumb.)
David Archuleta: Double thumbs up (for once little brother isn't tormenting The Girl.)
Kristy Lee Cook: two thumbs up (bonus from The Boy--I think he's smitten)
David Cook: two thumbs up (guess who gave the bonus thumb?)

Top 10 Minus 1 - Kimberley Locke Performs!

Chikezie is first up and clearly nervous. He correctly anticipates being in the bottom three.

Brooke White sticks to her guns about adding in the orchestra. She's safe.

Carly Smithson is safe.

David A. is safe.

David C. is safe.

Syesha is in the bottom three despite the judges' praise. Apparently America agrees with Bo.

Michael is safe.

---

Kimberley Locke sounds good and looks great!

---

Ah. The 76 million bought more than just mosquito nets. My mistake.

---

Ramiele is safe.

Jason and Kristy are last. Will Kristy follow her trend from the last elimination and be in the bottom? No. She's safe and Jason is in the bottom three.

Jason is safe, leaving Chikezie and Syesha as the bottom two.

I'm thinking Chikezie may be leaving, as Syesha did better than him last night, but who knows?

Syesha is safe, justifying Randy's and Paula's approval of her performance last night.

Chikezie is out, but he'll do well with his personality and talent.


See you next week!

Am I really this old?

These "year of your birth" weeks usually provide enough variety to keep the show quite interesting, so I'm glad that's what went on last night. As my wife pointed out on many occasions, however: "So this kid was born just before I went into high school?"

RANDOM THOUGHTS: I don't like the new set with it's opening in the center of the backdrop. The contestants always look cramped when they come out and they also never look quite sure when to start walking. The people on the ends nearly always run into the set as it opens. Awkward. Also, I'm seeing more and more why A.I. is not quite Emmy quality. They never stop tinkering. I'm all for good tinkering, like letting contestants play instruments. Brilliant. Having Ryan walk behind the contestants while he was introducing them, not so brilliant. What was he trying to hide? Mostly I found it distracting, like Paula's gloves. Ricky Minor sure seems happy in the crow's nest. Or maybe we're just seeing him more often in his new digs. Some weeks Randy is just so annoying and devoid of insight. Guess which week this was. Mosh pit? Can we get rid of it now. They clap off the beat, sway their hands all over the place with no attempt at coordination, and set up performers like Chikezie for silly antics and the subsequent criticism from the judges. I liked the interviews this week. They were actually enjoyable.

Ramiele Malubay: I'm so bored with her. She's trying too hard to be likable and it's not working. Mostly she seems way too immature and not quite exciting enough. We've seen you before in past seasons. I think Ramiele still has a strong enough following to buy her time, though.

Jason Castro: Jason has a great style that will help him in the end. Simon was right: the guitar work was sloppy and the audience couldn't find the beat. I'm not sure the two are connected, but the performance was a little off, although it was solid enough to justify his existence in this competition. It didn't hurt that he picked a great Sting selection.

Syesha Mercado: I will agree this is probably her best week to date, but I still find her boring. We don't need another diva--we've got enough in the world. Syesha doesn't seem to have a devoted following and we'll test that theory in the next week or two.

Chikezie: He just couldn't walk by and not reach into the crowd, could he? Foiled by the evil plot of the powers that be, Chikezie slipped yet again.

Brooke White: Mistake or no, she did great. So, no band this time? I saw Brooke biting her tongue on that one. The bottom line is that Brooke is at her best when it's her and her instrument. She's that kind of singer. This wasn't her best, but it was very solid.

Michael Johns: Great selection by the Aussie. At one point I saw him look at the mosh pit and stop himself from reaching in, as if his inner voice told him, "Remember Chikezie." This was his best week and shot him back to the top.

Carly Smithson: I think this is her style. She has a very strong rock edge and should be singing songs like this. It wasn't her best week, but still better than most of the rest.

David Archuleta: Simon articulated what we were all thinking. I think it was a strange pick and now all I can see is David with all the Disney characters romping about behind him. He did well, but still seems to pick those Star Search-y songs.

Kristy Lee Cook: Best week so far. I don't know if it will keep her around, but I'm glad she had a good week and got some honest to goodness positive critique from the judges. She's earned it.

David Cook: I wasn't sure I heard him right. Billie Jean? Really? But I loved it. This guy has enough creativity for the whole lot. He is already an incredible talent and will definitely be a successful artist.

MY TOP THREE: David Cook, Michael Johns, Brooke White
MY BOTTOM THREE: Chikezie, Ramiele Malubay, Kristy Lee Cook
PACKING IT IN EARLY: Chikezie (not my personal choice, however)

Top 10 Perform!

Ramiele - Big song. She does okay by it, but it's maybe a bit bigger than her tonight. Oh, she's somewhat sick. Randy calls her on it. Paula is understanding. Simon is actually encouraging, and argues with Randy.

---

My favorite song through most of the competition is the one by Yael Naim in the MAC notebook advertisement:

"I'm a new soul; I came to this strange world hopin' I could learn a bit 'bout how to give and take.
I'm a young soul in this very strange world hopin' I could learn a bit 'bout what is true and fake."

Gotta love it. La la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la la la la la la.

Especially good for those prone to forgetting lyrics... ; )

---

Jason - I love this song, 'How Fragile We Are'. He does okay by it - good but not great - a bit too tentative. Randy agrees. Paula is supportive. Simon is much less forgiving than he was with Ramiele.

Syesha - I don't know this song, but she seems to be on top of it with some powerful vocals. She seems to be building from last week's success. Randy calls it her best ever. Paula agrees it flipped her into dark horse contender. Simon notes she was pushing her limits to her detriment at times.

Chikezie - Picks a ballad despite judges' past feedback. Another enjoyable performance, but no showstopper. Randy calls it "old school". Paula liked it. Simon calls it cheesy (Cheesy Chikezie?) and unoriginal, lacking his unique personality.

Brooke - A by ear piano player, like me - yeah! She sings Phil Collins' 'I'll Be Watchin' You' - a normally powerful song made unique via piano solo - ambitious. A false start is handled well. She does well by it, making it her own. Randy and Simon didn't like when the band kicked in, spoiling the piano solo and making it more traditional than unique.

Michael - 'We Are The Champions' - Ambitious take on a huge song, but he owns it very nicely. Randy and Paula call it his best to date. Even Simon acknowledges seeing star potential in him for the first time.

Carly - 'Turn Around' - Another huge song. She's true to the original, but can't top it, realistically. She tries to do so on the last note, but it just looks desperate, and is pitchy, to boot. Randy agrees. Paula is supportive. It didn't quite work for Simon, either.

David A. - An unfamiliar song to me, but he is certainly competent and infectious, and the end is very good. The judges note the odd song choice, but Randy and Paula give it props. Simon didn't like it at all, calling it a "theme park" performance. I don't think he'll lose any fans over it, but, for me, it was only at the top of the middle performances tonight.

Kristy - Another odd song, patriotic this time. She's competent with one tiny pitch problem and one timing fault, but overall, well done. Randy and Paula agree, noting the pitch. Simon thought it was an excellent song choice.

David C. - 'Billie Jean' - He throws an amazing, unique twist on it and OWNs this song. Randy loved it. Paula can't sit from a standing ovation. Simon praises the excellent results of a huge risk.


Tops and Props: David C., Michael, Syesha. Add in David A, and everybody else did about the same.

Bottoms: Everybody else.

Leaving: I have't a clue. As for past trends, Kristy redeemed herself, so that may leave Chikezie.

Top 10 Minus 2 + 2

I'm glad they called Simon on the hand antler. I was wondering about that, too.

Michael Johns is safe, and so is Jason Castro - two of my picks for getting kicked. The only one I got right was Jason Yeager, who I thought had more of a chance to stay than the other two. But I am indifferent and unattached to these early outcomes.

Asia'h is safe, as is Amanda, so again, two of my picks are safe. Alexandrea is leaving, but to be fair, I did judge her as about equal to Alaina, who was one of my picks. I just neglected to include her. Maybe I was reluctant to pick four, or maybe I unconsciously didn't want to name all four of the female contestants beginning with 'A'. Eh?

Kady and Alaina are the other two in the bottom three. Alaina is out, so I wasn't too far off. She and Danny take it pretty hard. I really admire her courage to sing after that.

---

I wonder if Simon's angrier impatience with the top 24 contestants this year is based on the new policy of kicking two each per show, thus decreasing the number of possible appearances in which to shine or screw up. Perhaps his sense of urgency for them to excel stems from that. My guess is they'll be doing this again to get to the top 12 faster and stay there longer.

Yeah, that seems to fit in with the renewal of Idol Gives Back in the next segment, and all the other goodies they have in store for us. They're cutting to the chase.

---

Robbie Carrico and Luke Menard are the others in the bottom three. And Robbie is out. Again, I'm indifferent.

See ya next week!

Curly's gone. But please, no Shemp!

Sligh's gone. No shocker there. He'd lost his edge or mojo or something since we've been seeing him weekly. He seemed like the kind of guy who's hiding a lot of insecurity behind a facade of self-depricating humor. That stuff is great when you're Tommy Boy, but not as an Idol. I had higher hopes for him, and apparently much of America did as well. I am slightly surprised that Haley's got one more week in her, but then again, Sanjaya's far from the last position so anything goes!

So I have only a handful of unanswered questions:

1. Did Akon say anything besides, "C'mon y'all. Like this!" That big necklace was distracting, too. It reminded me of Flavor Flav's clock.

2. Why, Ryan? Why? Did you need to wear the hair?

3. Why do the producers and writers of A.I. feel the need to give extra air time to those clearly out of their league? Think Sanjaya and Kevin "Chicken Little" Covais.

4. Is it just me, or did Lakisha seem a bit overconfident tonight?

5. Did Paula and Gwen Stefani shop at the same place for the show tonight?

6. Do people really spend $10 to enter those contests 10 times? And do they ever get the wrong answer?

I'm excited for Tony Bennett week. He's 80 years old and still putting out relevant material. Any doubters should see the work he did on his Duets album. He sings with the Dixie Chicks, Bono, Michael Buble, James Taylor, Tim McGraw, k.d. lang, Elvis Costello, and a bunch of other great artists. Even if the contestants are limited to the 20 or so songs on the album, it should be a great night.

Top 10 Minus 1 - Gwen Stefani Performs!

Here we go...!

Ryan's Sanjaya hair is a trip! Sanjaya took it with good humor.

Phil and Haley hit rock bottom. Chris or Gina will join them. I'm thinking Sligh.

Gwen gives the best celebrity performance of the season (admittedly not too hard to do, but really, very good).

Sligh slides down to the bottom. Phil is safe, again. I don't know who it will be...

It's Sligh (and the family moaned).

I think this will still give him a leg up if he chooses to continue singing, and I hope he does.

Phil owes him $50 - apparently Chris bet on his own demise with accuracy.

See you next week!...

...John

TOP 10 - GWEN STEFANI WEEK

My goal is to keep it short and sweet, so let's get down to it!

LAKISHA - Very Good!

CHRIS S. - Good.

GINA - Excellent!

SANJAYA - Ugh. I think he's completely lost it. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing that he's not fading away quietly into the distance like past not-up-to-par performers.

HALEY - Good.

PHIL - He may mug too much for the camera, but I love his voice. Very Good!

MELINDA - Excellent.

BLAKE - Excellent!!! Thank you thank you thank you for knowing to *just sing the lyrics*!!! We know you can beatbox and that has it's place, but this wasn't it and you knew it! The vocal alone was great! He is very intuitive in knowing how to change it up just enough each week.

JORDIN - Very Good!

CHRIS R. - Good.

TOP - BLAKE and GINA. I still love Melinda and she's incredible, but she's got to make it new and exciting each week - how, I don't know...I just know that I'm enjoying others who are going a step beyond and keeping it fresh.

BOTTOM - SANJAYA and CHRIS R.

We'll see tonight! :)

Top 10

Urgh, when is cool Seacrest coming back? The guy who's "been Ryan Seacrest" is too dweeby! Where's the Ryan we love? If Simon can dress the way he does week after week, surely Ryan can go back to inside out T-shirts and sports jackets. Please?

So, Gwen Stefani seems so . . . normal. It was kind of weird. But interesting.

Lakisha - "Let's Dance" by Donna Summer
Well, I have officially forgotten her last name. Isn't that sign #1 of a diva? Um, so, I like her hair. She does seem younger. I've noticed Simon really does remember his advice to them from the previous week and watches to see if they'll follow it. But Donna Summer? Blech. She was great, but the song was just a'aight for me for her.

Sligh - Does it matter any more? But for the record, he sang "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic."
He was out of breath and all over the place. He was off on his rhythm and he's too accommodating of whatever the judges tell him ("Chris, your hair is green tonight." "I know. I should work on that. I'll try to make it less green next time and more some other color that will please you."). You just want to throw a pair of cojones on the stage for him to use next time. So, I'm bored with him now. His voice is too Broadway to pull of anything by The Police. And the echo thing that was going on all night was totally distracting (okay, that's not his fault, though if the judges told him it was, I'm sure he'd profusely apologize and promise America that instead of knitting or crocheting on his down time, he'd talk to those sound guys). I was super uncomfortable for him. And Simon has the same facial expression he's had with Taylor. He dislikes Taylor. And he dislikes Sligh. Simon likes some spitfire in the contestants. I bet Simon wants to toss a pair on stage for Sligh, too.

Gina Glocksen - "I'll Stand By You"
Wow! Great song for her! I love it! Weird outfit, but great vocal! Nice personality, too. She has a lovely smile and such nice teeth! Wow, she got mad praise tonight. I'd like to see her go far and do well. I doubt it'll happen, but hey, maybe it could--I think a Gina-Blake finale would be interesting.

Sanjaya Malakar - Something by No Doubt
Oh. My. Gosh. What in the world did he do to his hair? I suppose since his dignity has been all but flushed down the toilet, why fight it. It gave me bad Nadia Turner flashbacks. You know, the kind of thing where you're grimacing in confusion as you watch the TV, half wanting to fast forward, but too sickly fascinated to hit the button? Yeah, that was his hair for me for him. GREAT comments by Simon. I totally agree. Being totally real about the vocals, though, I kind of liked it! Except for the part where he forgot his lyrics (I'm amazed they didn't say anything, but then again why bother). He was better than Sligh tonight.

Haley Scarnato - "True Colors"
Boring song. Boring performance. And I bet those girls get sick of hearing that Paula thinks they're pretty right after they mucked up a performance.

Phil Stacey - That Stalker Song by the Police
"Every Breath You Take" worked well on Phil. 1. He sounds good on it. 2. He kind of looks like a stalker. I so prefer him with the goofy knitted hats. I'm totally distracted by his chrome dome for some reason. He's good, but he annoys me and I'm bored with him now, too.

Melinda Doolittle - Something else by Donna Summer
Great hair and outfit (despite Simon's opinion). She looks pretty. Boring song. Very good vocal, blah, blah, blah. It's not her fault, but she's good every week. So what is there to say?

Blake Lewis - Love Song by the Cure
First of all, I totally called that he'd sing The Cure. And he even dressed the part (except for no crazy hair, which is fine with me). Cough. Sanjaya. Cough. I love the Reggae arrangement. I'm always glued to his performances to see what he'll do. I love that he teases us by not always doing beatbox stuff. I love this guy. He's contemporary. He's hip. He has a great voice for this kind of thing. He's different. He's unique. He's original. He's daring. He's interesting. He's great. More on this later.

Jordin Sparks - "Hey Baby, Hey Baby, Hey Baby, Hey!" or something like that
It was a little boring and weird for me. The whole naughty school girl uniform doesn't work on her. She's too cute and adorable and likeable. It wasn't "performed" enough for me. It wasn't bad, but I didn't love it either. But I do like her a lot. So, she's forgiven. :P

Chris Richardson - "Don't Speak"
LOL at Gwen Stefani's "vocal olympics" comment! I usually like the cross gender songs (you know, when a guy sings a girl's song and vice versa), but this was just okay for me. He messed up his lyrics, too. Why is no one calling them on this?! When it's the first week on the big stage, the judges jump ALL OVER the contestants telling them that "at this point in the competition, there is just no excuse" yadda yadda. But for the top 10, it's suddenly not an issue?? And BOY was he MIFFED when Ryan interviewed him about Blake being told he's the top guy. That tight smile and "Hey, Blake and I are friends. If he's the front runner, great!" was just soooo believable.

Okay, I have something to say about "style over substance." That's what I'm liking this year. Don't get me wrong, Lakisha and Melinda are great, but a finale with both of them in it and even EITHER of them in it is just kind of boring. I don't know that I'd buy an album by either one of them even though they are technically and vocally AMAZING. Isn't that interesting? And why not? For the same reason we don't buy many Whitney, Celine, and Mariah CDs. They're AMAZING, yes, but that's not our style. It's kind of predictable (not a bad thing) and boring (a bad thing). Blake is not technically as good, but he's INTERESTING. He's different. He's unique. He's contemporary. He keeps your interest. You watch JUST to see what he'll do. He's a phenomenal and smooth performer. And while he may have less substance in terms of vocal ability and perfection, his style trumps that for me. I'd buy his album over a diva's any day. So, there's my spiel on why I like Blake more than more polished singers.

Top 10 performances, best to worst, in my opinion--keeping it real:

Gina Glocksen
Blake Lewis
Melinda Doolittle
Lakisha Jones
Phil Stacey
Jordin Sparks
Chris Richardson
Sanjaya
Haley
Sligh


Bottom 3 (or is it 2 now? I'm confused. Makes you wonder why they didn't mention the 3rd bottom a week ago): Sligh and Haley

Leaving: Haley

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.

Top 10 with Gwen Stefani!

Getting right to it...

Lakisha Jones - 'Let's Dance' - very nicely done, but not spectacular, for me.

Chris Sligh - 'Every Little Thing She Does' - I liked it a lot! Nice song choice. I missed the rhythm problems noted by the judges.

Gina Glocksen - "I'll Stand By You' - WoW! That was a moment for me (major chills)! Awesome connection with the song, and her best performance ever! Paula agrees. Simon messes with her, but agrees. She just moved up a couple of notches, and it was the best so far tonight, as Simon noted. I now have great respect for this girl.

Sanjaya Malakar - Don't know the song, but I thought he did a decent job on it, though he's back to being weak. He seems intent on keeping the focus on the hair, eh?

Haley Scarnato - Here's Dr. Mark's jingle... ; ) - 'True Colors' - I thought she made it her own and sang it uniquely and with some surprisingly good dynamics. It was good, but it didn't grab me any more than it did Randy.

Phil Stacey - 'I'll Be Watchin You' - No Phil Collins, and a little weak in the softer sections, but I liked it very much when he hit the chorus. Very good. Paula picks up on exactly what I'm hearing.

Melinda Doolittle - Blew Gwen away, so I'm expecting the usual excellence. Sure enough, chills start early and don't go away. A poll of viewers on the Ellen Degeneres' website has her at the top by a large margin, with Lakisha next, but a long ways down.

Blake Lewis - 'I Will Always Love You' - Randy says it for me. Not the song that best showcases his talent, but, as Paula points out, it does showcase his tenderness. I agree with Simon that he's the front-running guy. The judges took the words out of my mouth.

Jordin Sparks - Low notes are weak, but a solid performance overall, with some chill-giving spots toward the end. Very good. Simon gives her "most improved".

Chris Richardson - 'Don't Speak' - Maybe his best performance yet, but, for me, still in the middle of the pack.

Nobody was really bad tonight, so picking the bottom won't be easy...

Tops: Melinda, Gina, and Lakisha

Bottoms: Sanjaya, and if the judges are right, Chris S., but I don't really agree, and no one else stood out for me as not so hot, tonight.

...John

And tonight's theme is . . .

Music of the 90s. According to the American Idol site, Gwen Stefani will be with our lovely contestants this week. And I was so geared up for commercial jingles! I can teach the world to sing . . .

Anyway, I've only seen Gwen lately on late-night talk show performances and it was quite interesting so I'm curious to see how she coaches the contestants. Enjoy!