Tuesday Night AI

This time tomorrow, we'll be down to the top 10 on American Idol.

I was actually impressed tonight. I think someone told the contestants that if you make it through this week, you get paid to go on tour all summer. Either that, or the guest coaches (some lady named Lulu and a guy that sounds just like Nick Arrojo on What Not To Wear) were particularly inspiring this week. Every single one of the performers (including Sanjaya) left it all on the stage tonight.

Anyway, here's my impressions:

Haley: Well, unfortunately, I got a phone call while she was performing. She sang "I Know Something About Love". The judges said she did well, so I'll have to take their word for it.

Chris Richardson: "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying". I think he did a good job, slowed down and relaxed and kept it real. The girls probably loved it. I am not a particular fan of his style, but he's not in danger for a few more weeks.

Stephanie: She's falling back into the pack lately, after being one of the top 3 in the beginning of the show. "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" should be performed such that the verse is sung off-rhythm, then the chorus snaps to the beat. Stephanie tried to do the whole song off-beat and she fought the band the whole way through. It sounded like a cat fight. Not good.

Blake: Sang "It's The Time Of The Season" and arranged it in a modern fashion. The judges really liked it. I personally didn't get it, but I have already conceded that Blake's style sometimes is too modern for me to understand. I thought he was off-pitch quite a bit, but sometimes that was intentional. The song lends itself (especially the way he arranged it) to being in a weird key, but I felt it wasn't right some of the time.

Lakisha: "Diamonds Are Forever". I loved the song and the performance, but it was un-original. I could imagine the Bond Babes With Guns in silhouette on-screen when I closed my eyes. Unfortunately, when I opened them, Lakisha was there and I had to grab for the eye bleach. Lakisha has dropped back a bit since establishing dominance early in the competition. Still in second place, but she's not as strong as she once seemed.

Phil: "Tobacco Road". I liked his performance on tape with the coach much better than the actual on-stage performance. He pushes a little too much when the band is playing behind him. He strutted and dipped and played with the mike stand and really tried to rock out. His voice is too clean for this kind of song, though and he really didn't sell it, despite a great effort. He needs to smoke a pack or two before trying this one again.

Sanjaya: Poor kid. He just doesn't have it and I finally saw him try to give us what we have been wanting for weeks - a song with a pulse. He attempted to rock out to "You Really Got Me". Unfortunately, this is NOT a song where vocals are important. He somehow managed to make me cringe to a Kinks song. Only a couple of times, though, which is a tenfold improvement over previous performances. Please, America, put him out of his misery.

Jordin: CRACK! Another one over the fence! She's my favorite and she didn't let me down. I had never heard the song before (and can't remember the title now), but it was a pleading, heart-ripping, love song, and she totally sold it. The vocals were impeccable and she blew everyone away. What was once a Lakisha-Melinda battle is turning into a Jordin-Melinda battle.

Gina: I knew she'd falter sometime. She picked "Fade To Black" and I think she chose poorly. The Stones were the correct band, but this song is too repetitive and non-melodic for a singing competition. Her performance was solid but not perfect, and not inspiring. I think she's in the bottom 3 this week.

Chris Sligh: A pretty good comeback after last week's debacle. He sang "She's Not There", which he said was one of his favorites. He didn't play with the arrangement at all this week. Vocals were good but vanilla. I think he needs to update his sound or he'll start losing votes for being boring. Nice job playing the crowd, but he looked distracted.

Melinda: It seems like the songs I liked best this week are ones I can't remember the titles to. Melinda sang a ballad and jazzed it up nicely. She is just flawless on stage and her held notes are crystal pure. The only bad thing to say this week is that her outfit was terrible and made her boobs look like a National Geographic photoshoot.

My Top Rankings:
1. Jordin (tie)
1. Melinda (tie)
3. Lakisha

Somewhere In The Middle:
Chris
Chris
Phil
Haley
Blake

Bottom 3:
9. Gina
10. Stephanie
11. Sanjaya