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.

If you miss Gina...

...she's due to appear and perform on the Ellen Degeneres Show next Monday.

John

Check Those Lyrics

They are always ominous! I can name at least 3 people that deserved to go home more than Gina based on last night's performances, and probably 3 or 4 that deserved it based on the body of their work. It's sad that Gina is leaving ahead of the likes of Haley, Phil, and Chuckles. One thing that may have hurt her a bit (but not nearly enough to get the boot this week) is her edge seemed to come and go. Chris Daughtry always rocked. It didn't matter what the genre was, or what song he chose. He brought it in his own style, even if it was too strong at times. Gina seemed to morph a bit depending on the style. But even then, what is up America?!

I have (as always) some questions still unanswered after tonight's show.

1. How can I get Michael Buble as a last minute fill-in at my next function? Even with a cold (?) he was fantastic. That's how you sing the classics! His next album should be great.

2. Was anyone really fooled by all that not this three, not yet, bit to which we were subjected by Ryan and his team of intern staff writers. And while we're there . . .

3. I know a lot of A.I. is life, unscripted, but has the writing gotten worse this year? It's tough to keep "fooling" us with all the "we'll find out . . . after the break" crap, but it's gotten a bit more corny for my liking.

4. Why hasn't Microsoft stepped up for American Idol Gives Back? I bet they could spare a bit of change for a worthy cause like this. Maybe that cool Mac guy that gives it to the stuffy PC dude on those commercials will do it.

5. I'd like Exxon Mobil to give back some of the money it stole from me at the pump last week. Any chance of that happening?

6. Was Simon not surprised at all about the bottom 2? Not even a little? C'mon. Gina in the bottom 2. He's just lying now.

Sanjaya's head right now? Give him props for coming out each time and giving it his all, but at some point doesn't the fact that you are outclassed in the talent department get to you at all?

8. Is it me, or are the signs in the crowd even duller this year?

OK, enough questioning. I've only got 2 weeks to come up with something really great for the songwriting contest. Now the season has meaning for me!

One more thought on the Tony Bennet thing . . .

I hope he didn't give anyone the flu! (I'm a bit of a germaphobe).

Gina's Going Home

Well, that just SUCKS. I like Gina. I've liked her more and more every week. And at least THREE people deserve, based on this week's performances (and the season for that matter), to go home before Gina. I'm disappointed. I've enjoyed watching her and wouldn't mind seeing her perform more. I certainly prefer seeing her to Phil, Haley, and, dare I mention him at all? No, you know who I mean. Not his fault, but just the same. We all full well know he doesn't deserve top 6 status. I'm sickened. But I'm honestly more shocked that Phil and Haley beat Gina more than he-who-should-not-be-named, because HWSNBN is at least some, albeit odd, phenomenon, whereas Gina leaving is just WRONG. She's a rocker girl with class. She did great tonight on a VERY tough song to sing while crying!!

As for the other stuff, well, HURRAH! MICHAEL BUBLE!! Poor Tony Bennet--that really stinks. I'm so glad, though, that they got MICHAEL BUBLE!! I think he had a cold and he looks more grown up and woohoo, has an album coming out. We love Michael Buble!

Oh, and did Gina throw her pickle on the ground?

And could someone please tell Haley that mini-skirts are so 90s?

Top 9 Minus 1 - Tony Bennett Gets The Flu - Michael Buble Performs In His Stead!

...a 1974 4-door Stead sedan.

Ba dump...bump


Let's just see what happens to Phil baby...

Jordin, Kisha and Melinda - all safe - no surprise.

Sanjaya, Chris, and Blake are in the middle - no surprise except for Sanjaya, and we know what that's all about. This may be how Bush managed to get elected.

Leaving Phil, Haley and Gina. Phil is safe, and Gina goes. Others besides Simon like her legs. But it's just a matter of time before Haley follows, methinks.

And so it goes...

John

SANJAYALAND

I was watching a talk show today, and it was all about "The Sanjaya Phenomenon"! They gave several examples of how crazy the country is going over him (for and against!).

1. Tony Bennett, an American Icon, thinks he's "terrific".

2. An online gambling website posted odds Monday night on how Sanjaya would wear his hair: 2 to 1 for a "Johnny Depp", 13 to 1 for a "Donald Trump", and 20 to 1 for a "Britney Spears".

3. KFC is offering him a lifetime of free food ("the delicious KFC bowls") if he wears a bowl haircut with the letters KFC shaved into the back of his head during one of his performances.

4. A deejay in Philly has camped out on the roof of a car dealership and won't come down until Sanjaya is booted.

5. A girl on YouTube went on a hunger strike to help get Sanjaya kicked off the show, but had to quit after 16 days!

6. Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News is doing/has done a story on him and whether or not he's ruining the credibility of A.I.

And if you can't get enough Sanjaya, here's a funny video from YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAT27LhkQ-4

TOP 9 - TONY BENNETT WEEK

So we're back to the "decades and decades" worth of experience...in this case, 6 of them for Tony Bennett!!! Wow!

BLAKE - Very good!! Another intuitive, "just enough" performance!

PHIL - In the meeting with Tony it looked like he was growing his hair back, but no, he must shave it right before performance. Very good! The judges don't seem to like him much, but I think he's good.

MELINDA - The plunger on the end of the trumpet (or horn or whatever...sorry I don't know my instruments...) was cool! This is completely her genre. I liked her hair. She did an excellent job as usual.

*So Simon likes to be mean just for the sake of being mean...it's not like we didn't know that, but at least he admits it!

CHRIS R. - (or I guess I can just say "Chris" now... :) ) Because of earlier comments it appears to me that the contestants are meeting with Tony the day before the live show. Are you telling me that the day before the show he STILL hasn't learned the words to the song? (And when he sang it, it had like 5 words: "don't get around much anymore"...how hard is that to learn???) Not to mention that you know you're going to be singing in front of Tony Bennett, and you don't make it a priority to *know* what you're singing???? I think that's poor form and shows a lack of... preparation? caring? professionalism? Come on!!! I didn't like that at all. His performance was pretty good, but I am not pleased with him...

JORDIN - Very good!!! I like her a lot! I disagree with Simon, she did make the song young and hip!

GINA - Very good! I have to say, I am distracted by her tongue piercing. I can't help thinking of the bacteria in there, food and gunk being caught, etc. Yuck! But good singing... ;) (No offense to anyone out there with tongue piercings, btw, maybe I'm wrong about that... :) )

SANJAYA - He's trimmed his hair! It's shorter on the bottom. We'll have to see how it looks when he's got his natural curl in it. First I have to say...WHAT GUTS to go up and dance with Paula in the middle of his performance! I give him credit for that, even if it was a little goofy. I still think he needs to be able to project more, but he's doing something right! It'll be interesting to see how long he stays, because I don't think he's going anywhere yet...

HALEY - She should have included Paula and Randy in her answer to the viewer question - those 2 get (rightfully) miffed when people single Simon out and act like they aren't even there. It's like she was saying she didn't care what Paula or Randy thought or had to say (and you saw that in their comments...they basically didn't and turned it over to Simon since "that what she wanted to hear"). Bad move Haley! Her song was pretty good, but she may be in trouble this week.

LAKISHA - Really good! It's a tough call when the mentor tells you they think you should do a certain thing with your song (in this case, holding the power note at the end), but you want to do something else. Do you risk looking like you don't care about their opinion or like you think you know better by doing what you want anyway? I like that she did what she wanted to, but I think Tony was right - she should have ended it on the money note.

TOP - Well, no one completely blew me away this week. There were a lot of good performances, but no major stand-outs for me. I'll say JORDIN and MELINDA were the best for me tonight.

BOTTOM - Also like the top, no one did completely awful tonight, so there wasn't some stand-out in the bottom. For me, I'd put SANJAYA and CHRIS first, followed by HALEY and PHIL. I think any of those may be going home, *except* for Sanjaya - he'll definitely make it through.

Top 9

Well, THAT was a great night of performances! It's taken long enough but NOW it's an interesting season! One of my favorite nights so far this season! 7 (varying degrees of) GREAT performances and 2 bleh ones. Not bad!

1. Blake - "Mack the Knife" is a great song for him! Now, I like Blake FAR better than Chris Richardson, but I have to say that Chris made it more his own than Blake did, but Blake still did a great job and I like jazz on him. He's a cool cat.

2. Phil - "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay aaaaaaaaaaaaand Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiight" was . . . so . . . dull . . . and . . . boring . . . and . . . weird. He sounded off to me. And all different in a weird way. Like that time all of a sudden Josh Gracin sang country. It's strange. I think Phil's getting the boot tomorrow.

3. Melinda - "I've Got Rhythm" is awesome on her! She sings with attitude and I like that. Thank goodness it was up tempo for a couple of reasons. One, it's about time she do something up tempo--it sounds good on her and she hasn't done it much and she, in my opinion, needed that this week. Two, she followed Phil and I don't think I could've handled much more stagnant plodding. That was awesome. Go Melinda!

4. Chris - I loved it! "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" was SO SO good! I'm happy for him that he got such praise. I *love* that he makes it his own, week after week. THAT is always impressive for me. He made a standard hip without taking away from its classic integrity. That takes talent. Talent he has. I hope that he's not in the bottom 3 tomorrow as he's been for a while. He doesn't deserve it. That was fantastic.

5. Jordin - "On A Clear Day" was SO GOOD. She is PHENOMENAL. I get what Simon's saying about making it contemporary, but WOW that girl can sing. She looked cute, sounded great. And she IS a magnet of joy! What the heck was with that stupid camera shot of Simon's snickering mug? Spare us all.

6. Gina - "Smile" was very good! She is a beautiful girl. She did a nice job and I like her. She didn't exactly make it her own, but she did a good job. I'm not jumping out of my seat, but I like it.

7. Sanjaya - I wish they'd stop playing it up. Just act normal and let it go. There's some sort of odd movement going on with Dave (votefortheworst host) and Howard Stern to get this guy to win. It's so stupid. Their whole reasoning is that they like to see the crappy singers. Then do what everyone else like you does--watch the auditions and then go watch something else. And, if you really like Sanjaya, then vote for him the way everyone else does, but please don't subject us to this torture. He's getting weirder by the week. It's like watching Michael Jackson's years of strangeness in a much faster and more condensed version to see him every week. It ("Cheek to Cheek") was so high school and he excels at picking songs that really emphasize that. I'm so uncomfortable every week. I think the judges are wise to just praise him and shut up. It's too much. It was weird, awkward, unoriginal, icky, and uncomfortable for me for him. I hope his pseudo-fans are as stupid as they are tone deaf and feel that he's safe enough due to the judges' comments to not vote for him much. Maybe he'll get the boot. I doubt it, but maybe.

8. Haley - She doesn't believe in covered thighs, does she? It ("Ain't Misbehaving") was okay. I mean it wasn't bad, but it WAS pageant-y. And the Bennet clip was hilarious--uh, you can't exactly be doing that for "you and you and you" if you're true to one person. ROTFL! She's so sick of hearing that she looks good since it's a singing competition and I don't blame her, but ugh. She's up against some stiff competition. And be bopping her head around isn't going to make up for that. It's not her fault, but ugh. She could be bottom 3. With Phil and then someone who doesn't deserve to be there.

9. Lakisha - "Stormy Weather" was very good. She looked and sounded amazing. I loved her saucy skirt tug and sassy looks. She's got moxy. That's at least the second time that the guest star has suggested something and she did what she wanted anyway. It comes across as a bit full of herself. Don't get me wrong, she's amazing. But she seems to think she's beyond suggestions from others and quite frankly, Lulu and Tony Bennet have both been right so far, so . . .anyway, it was great.

Tony Bennet is impressive for a man of 80. He really is. It was sweet that he teared up like that. He did a nice job with them.

I don't really miss Sligh. And I won't be missing Phil either--I think he's gone tomorrow.

Great Songs! Great Show!

I knew Tony Bennett night would be a good one. Not only is he a great performer with true staying power, the songs are classics, but I get ahead of myself. Unfortunately I still find myself losing interest in the show in general this season. Well, on with the show!

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Simply put, great songs make performers better. These songs are classics, evidenced by the fact that so many artists have chosen to interpret and reinterpret them over time. So Tony Bennett really likes Sanjaya? Interesting. Nice kid. Kudos to him for working hard each week, but it's sad already. The chuckle of the night happened when Sanjaya went into the crowd and sang directly to a 10-12 year-old girl. He knows his audience. Simon seems to have a hard time with positive emotions, but we've said that before. Is Haley getting cheated on her weekly clothing allowance, because the dresses are getting smaller. How many times did Paula cut off Simon? I bet he gets sick of that sometimes. I grew up listening to these songs, and still choose jazz preferentially so tonight was difficult in a way. I'm so familiar with the great artists that have done these songs, that it's nearly impossible to measure up in my eyes, but there were some pleasant surprises and a couple of "wow's." It seems that we now have to refer to "pitchy problems" rather than someone being simply "pitchy."

BLAKE LEWIS ("Mack the Knife"): Solid all around. I liked the performance aspect especially. He was in tune, showed the style for which people love him, and even interpreted the song pretty well. I don't think he was in the same league as a number of contestants tonight, but he did well enough to keep going.

PHIL STACEY ("Night and Day"): Tony warned him. You've got to have some beat behind the song. All of the good versions of this song are a bit more uptempo. And what the hell was with his voice tonight. At times I thought he was trying to imitate Tony Bennett, but mostly it sounded like his nasal passages were congested. He was out of tune much of the time, like his earlier performances. And to say he's reminiscent of a young Frank Sinatra is really just saying something like, "Didn't Frank Sinatra used to wear suits when he sang?" It doesn't (and shouldn't) mean that Phil actually sounded like Sinatra in the least. And his lame "charisma" act after his performances is so old . . .

MELINDA DOOLITTLE ("I've Got Rhythm"): This is her genre. This is her style. And because of that she shines tonight. That is also part of the reason she starts to get a little stale on other genres. She will probably be an artist similar to Natalie Cole, recording lots of jazz standards, and doing songs here and there with more of a pop feel. I liked the fact that she went uptempo this week. And she is the best overall performer in this competition, by the way.

CHRIS RICHARDSON ("Don't Get Around Much Anymore"): Not bad for learning the song this week. Before the judges said it Stacy and I both said he seemed to put his own style into the song. He was in tune, had fun, and did a solid job. He's been unfairly treated by the voting public in weeks past and I hope he gets his due this week. He seems to be one of the few contestants that really works hard each week to improve his performances. No way he deserves to even smell the bottom three.

JORDIN SPARKS ("On a Clear Day"): Amazing! She did a great job. She gets better and better each week. It's amazing what putting raw talent in with so much positive reinforcement and great coaching can do. I agree with what Simon said about it being a bit old for her, but you can't really begrudge her too much.

GINA GLOCKSEN ("Smile"): One problem with her song selection is that it's been done so many times it's ridiculous. And the edgiest performance of it I've heard recently is Steven Tyler's (yes, the Aerosmith Steven Tyler) version he did on Santana's album. With all that said, Gina did have a solid vocal and it's rough when Simon starts comparing everybody. Her style is different from the others, but she's still a good performer.

SANJAYA MALAKAR ("Cheek to Cheek," alternately "Cheese to Cheese"): Next.

HALEY SCARNATO ("Ain't Misbehavin'"): When you choose to accentuate the way you look so heavily sometimes, the reality is that people may not take you seriously. Doesn't make it right. It's just how it is. Unless Haley brings the performance of her life each week, outfits like tonight will detract from what she has done. Bottom line is that it was a bit like Miss U.S.A., and it wasn't as good as others tonight. Shame on the judges for not coming up with anything better than "Paula, what do you think?" "Green is your color," and "(drool) um (drool) um, heh heh, um (panting) um."

LAKISHA JONES ("Stormy Weather"): It takes some serious nerves to basically say to a 6 decade recording legend, "I'm gonna do what I want, so @#$% you," which is what she did. He said don't do that extra stuff at the end (great idea). She did it anyway (mistake). As great as her performance ended up, that additional "ain't no sunshine when you're gone" took away from the total effect. She started out really out of tune, too. Ultimately she's one of the top talents in this year's competition so she's not going anywhere.

MY TOP 3: Melinda, Jordin, Chris
MY BOTTOM 3: Phil, Sanjaya, Haley
CRYING ABOUT WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN, NIGHT AND DAY: Phil's shiny pate, and his personality, too.

I hope it's more than wishful thinking! The big wild card is how long Sanjaya will stick around. It's anyone's guess at this point.

Top 9 with Tony Bennett!

Is it that time of the week again? Alrighty then...

Ryan's looking spiffy, and Simon's wearing an open collar casual shirt.

Tony sings one of my very genres of music, so I'm looking forward very much to the song selections.

Blake Lewis - 'Mack The Knife' - starts with too soft of an edge, and the ending dweeb-do-wah is also a bit weak, but he holds his own in the middle. A little better than so-so, for me. The judges have nothing bad to say.

Phil Stacey - 'Night & Day' - Phil lives up to Tony's generous assessment of his skills, and delivers a very good rendition. Randy just doesn't know. Paula gives the good news, and despite Simon's incredulity, there is some resemblance to a young Frank Sinatra - I agree, though she's being a bit generous. Better than Blake tonight.

Melinda Doolittle - 'I've Got Rhythm' - Tony names her the best he's heard all day, though who knows where she was in the lineup. Great arrangement and faultless dynamics and delivery. Chills on this one, as usual. Crown her now. The judges agree except for Simon, who feels compelled to offer insightful judgment (he "likes being mean to people"). Poor, useless Simon.

Chris Richardson - 'Don't Get Around Much Anymore' - lousy arrangement and poor song choice, for me. He sang it well enough, but it didn't capture me, personally. The judges completely disagree with me. what.ever I just know what I like. His fans will think I'm mistaken.

Jordin Sparks - 'On A Clear Day' - Hard to compete with the unforgettable version by Barbra, but she doesn't really compete, but gives it her own style. She holds onto it well, and ends dramatically with a chill-giving finish. Very good. I disagree with Simon, and liked it better than Chris' performance. Maybe that means I'm a fan of her and not of Chris. I can live with that. Second best for me so far tonight.

Gina Glocksen - 'Smile' - lovely, big song, with lots of room for spectacular creativity. She does very well, and pulls some chills out of me, but I believe a more talented singer could have brought the house down with this song. I agree with Simon - one of her personal bests, but not on top of this group.

Sanjaya Malakar - 'Dancing Cheek to Cheek' - very first note is off-key. He recovers well, but the usual underkill in his volume is crippling, as usual. Randy's correct in that he is a better entertainer than a singer. Simon is brutally sarcastic, for a "change of tactic?". Hmph.

Haley Scarnato - 'Ain't Misbehavin' - I'm glad Tony straightened her out about the meaning of the song. Phew! In spite of that she still can't resist vamping the crowd and playing the seductress, sending a mixed message. Just okay for me.

Lakisha Jones - 'Stormy Weather' - pretty pitchy at first, but she pulls it together and closes well. However, it just didn't grab me the way I expect it to, coming from her. Somewhat of a low for her, for me. The judges are in love and disagree.


Tops: Melinda, Jordin, and Phil, in that order.

Bottoms: Sanjaya and Haley.

Entertaining elsewhere: Sanjaya, but for the perverse voters.

...John

JLo was on Ellen Degeneres Today...

They were chatting about American Idol, and when they mentioned Sanjaya, you should have heard the astonishing heartfelt booing from the audience at the mention of his name. JLo noted that he had a sweet voice and that he hadn't yet come into his own, but that she thought he was a good singer. They both agreed that the young girls were probably keeping him alive.

...John

Chris Sligh is going home

Well, that was fun! Gwen Stefani is a breath of fresh air. It's nice to have some hip, contemporary stuff on AI. It's about time, too.

Chris Sligh. No big surprise. I thought it would be Haley, but he'd be my next guess anyway.

My favorite part of the evening is when he hugged Phil and said -- in the middle of his song -- "You owe me 50 bucks!" ROTFL!

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! :)