I'm gonna talk about the pool and the ballots in a minute, but if you want to see where you stand, click on Idol Ballots over there on the right.
I did say that I thought Chris S. was slipping but I didn't think he had slipped that far. I hate to admit it, but Dialidol nailed it with him and Haley tied for last, Phil somewhere in the middle and Sanjaya nice and safe.
I don't know what's more shocking... Haley surviving or Sanjaya not being in the bottom three. If he isn't in the bottom three after that hair, I gotta wonder how much longer he can hang. With Haley finally being on the chopping block, you kind of figure her number is coming up. With Phil being in the bottom three for the second time, you gotta figure his number is up too. If he manages to outlast those two, he's no worse than seventh.
Sanjaya was in the bottom three the first week, but never since. At least not that we know. Oddly, last week, they only gave us a bottom two. Why? The only reason I could think of for the show to hide one of the bottom three is to keep that singer's fans from rallying 'round him or her. If it was done for that reason, who could it be? Who would the show want off?
Let's assume it's NOT Melinda, LaKisha, Jordin or Blake, cause I just don't think any of them were in the bottom three and if they were, I don't think the show wouldnt want their fans to know they were in jeopardy.
That leaves Sligh, Gina, Haley, Phil and Sanjaya.
Who would be a candidate in the bottom three that the show wouldn't want us to know about? I think Chris Sligh is a good singer and certainly an interesting personality (though I think he performed poorly all three weeks of the finals). If it was Chris Sligh, then the strategy worked, but I would consider that a little unfair.
How about Phil? If he was, I think that would be the first time somebody was in the bottom three three times in a row without going home. I could sort of see the showing saying he doesn't have much appeal. Let's push him toward the door, but that's what fan votes do already.
Gina or Haley? Doubtful. In a year of strong black female singers, why put the last two white girls at risk, one of whom is a decently talented rocker and the other of whom is pretty.
So that leaves Sanjaya. If the show thinks it's some kind of hoax that he keeps him staying on and they are embarrased by it, I could see that.
But then it would be odd that he would climb out of the bottom three this week. Interesting.
On the pool side, here is the link for the results. http://theblinkcompany.com/idolizing/home.html.
Steve managed to hold onto his one point lead and Robin managed to hold on one point behind him. The thing to look at now is who do you still have "trapped" and where? Having Haley on the bottom isn't going to hurt you too bad, because nobody has her very high. Phil is also mostly spread around on the bottom half. If he goes next week, I don't think anybody will lose more than three points on him (one way or another). If he sticks around another week or two, the people who have him higher up start to benefit. Sanjaya is totally unpredictable now too and a few of your have him pretty high.
Of course the big points are going to be gained and lost when we see who makes it to the top six and beyond, so it's all still anybody's ballgame.
By the way, we had 40 entrants and $1,000, so here's how the prize money sorts out:
1ST PLACE: $500
2ND: 250
3RD: 125
4TH: 75
5TH: 25
LAST: 25
So now, truly, everybody is still in it.
I think that was here name. Season Four, skinny pretty black girl who wore her hair different each week. She was good and she was doing fine till she decided to get cute with a mohawk. And then she was gone.
I think the mohawk might spell the end for Sanjaya, along with the cocky attitude he has suddenly developed. Randy and Paula kind of called him lazy this week and he just laughed. I really really think folks are gonna get fed up with him this week. I think he's going.
And if he doesn't, it'll be Haley. Last week she delivered a good performance and was kind of sexy. This week she was neither and after winning Simon over, she lost him again. I will be sincerely shocked if one of those two don't hit the road.
If they go the next two weeks, that leaves eight. At this point do any of the guys other than Blake have a chance? Phil did a lot better this week, and he has a good voice, but he just doesn't seem popular. I'd be shocked if he made it to the top six. And for me, Chris Sleigh is slipping each week. Shocked that he's doing better than Chris R, but I have a theory on that.
I think in a different year, Chris R would have a chance, and I'm still shocked at last week's bottom two finish, but I honestly think there are a sizable number of people who consider him second best to Blake. They're both good looking, okay singers with a good beat, can dance a little and are more contemporary than everybody on the show and maybe in each of those categories, Blake is a little bit ahead of him.
It's probably the same deal for the Melinda and Lekisha, but they're both so popular, it hasn't affected them yet, but this could be the week that it starts. Both made it more "contemporary" this week by doing Donna Sommer songs. They both tried something different and ended up doing the same different thing. Clothes were kind of similar too. Meanwhile, Jordin, who I didn't think sounded so great seemed really young and contemporary by comparison. I think that girls got strategy. I think Spector is her secret advisor.
And Gina is creeping up too. I think Gina has lost some weight and she's picking the right songs and sounding okay. I think anybody who is expecting to see a Melinda-LaKisha finale may be surprised instead.
So who is going to round out the bottom 3. It actually could be Lakisha. She sang well, but she sang first. Simon kind of said that Gina was better than her and Melinda was too similar to her and maybe better. I think there were a lot of good people after Lakisha. Could be Sligh too. I'm actually thinking it won't be Chris R cause last week's bottom three might get some of his fans to rally. Make even some of those who prefer Blake will come over for a week to keep him safe.
Phil sang well, but he wouldn't be the first one to sing well and be low in the votes. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Lakisha will be in the bottom three, with Sanjaya and Haley, and Sanjaya will go home.
There, I said it.
I think that was here name. Season Four, skinny pretty black girl who wore her hair different each week. She was good and she was doing fine till she decided to get cute with a mohawk. And then she was gone.
I think the mohawk might spell the end for Sanjaya, along with the cocky attitude he has suddenly developed. Randy and Paula kind of called him lazy this week and he just laughed. I really really think folks are gonna get fed up with him this week. I think he's going.
And if he doesn't, it'll be Haley. Last week she delivered a good performance and was kind of sexy. This week she was neither and after winning Simon over, she lost him again. I will be sincerely shocked if one of those two don't hit the road.
If they go the next two weeks, that leaves eight. At this point do any of the guys other than Blake have a chance? Phil did a lot better this week, and he has a good voice, but he just doesn't seem popular. I'd be shocked if he made it to the top six. And for me, Chris Sleigh is slipping each week. Shocked that he's doing better than Chris R, but I have a theory on that.
I think in a different year, Chris R would have a chance, and I'm still shocked at last week's bottom two finish, but I honestly think there are a sizable number of people who consider him second best to Blake. They're both good looking, okay singers with a good beat, can dance a little and are more contemporary than everybody on the show and maybe in each of those categories, Blake is a little bit ahead of him.
It's probably the same deal for the Melinda and Lekisha, but they're both so popular, it hasn't affected them yet, but this could be the week that it starts. Both made it more "contemporary" this week by doing Donna Sommer songs. They both tried something different and ended up doing the same different thing. Clothes were kind of similar too. Meanwhile, Jordin, who I didn't think sounded so great seemed really young and contemporary by comparison. I think that girls got strategy. I think Spector is her secret advisor.
And Gina is creeping up too. I think Gina has lost some weight and she's picking the right songs and sounding okay. I think anybody who is expecting to see a Melinda-LaKisha finale may be surprised instead.
So who is going to round out the bottom 3. It actually could be Lakisha. She sang well, but she sang first. Simon kind of said that Gina was better than her and Melinda was too similar to her and maybe better. I think there were a lot of good people after Lakisha. Could be Sligh too. I'm actually thinking it won't be Chris R cause last week's bottom three might get some of his fans to rally. Make even some of those who prefer Blake will come over for a week to keep him safe.
Phil sang well, but he wouldn't be the first one to sing well and be low in the votes. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Lakisha will be in the bottom three, with Sanjaya and Haley, and Sanjaya will go home.
There, I said it.
Before I start, I just want to point out that to the right of this, above "neighborhood" and below "about me", you'll see a link to Idol Ballots. You can always click on that to see current standings.
So I turn on the results show in the middle and there is a 40-ish woman singing, with short blond hair, perky fake boobs and a round face that looks like it's had a little bit of work and my first thought was... hey, Pickler's back... and she's lost some weight...
But no, it wasn't a suprisingly aged Pickler, but a shocklingly youthful Lulu who at 58, looks damn good. How good? Well midway through her song, I dashed off an email to Sanjaya's sister telling her we're through. I know email breakups are cold, but that's the way I roll sometimes.
Midway through the song was the time I realized that Lulu wasn't Pickler, too. Besides the absence of body fat, she could sing. Real well. In fact she is far better looking and better sounding than I remember from her heyday. (Is it heyday or hayday? Does it refer to the days when you were making lots of hay, or the days when everybody was saying, "hey"?)
But I digress.
If you look at a photo of Lulu from her To Sir With Love days, you'll notice that she was not much to look at. But she's awful purty now. Pickler on the other hand... oh, why bother.
Peter Noone sang too. I was watching him and thinking that he's got a pretty good life. Worked hard for about five years and had all the fame and the birds (that's what english guys call them) and then coasted for the last 35 or so, playing state fairs and whatever and probably making a decent living.
Then one day Idol realizes that all the real famous guys from the '60s are either dead or not interested and all of a sudden you're doing your Karaoke-quality warbling for an audience of 30 million people, all of whom are wondering either, "how can a guy pushing 60 have such good hair" or "I wonder what kind of hijinks those Ford people have thought up for this week's whacky commercial."
Peter didn't look to me like he'd really dressed for the show. Looked like he threw on some dockers and a shirt from JC Penny like he was going out for dinner at Bennigans and then at the last minute his wife told him to put on a sport coat cause her boss might be there.
Have I spent enough time talking about everything except the important stuff?
I guess it's because my pick to win the whole thing got sent home last night (not all that surprisingly) and to rub salt into the wound, my nemisis, Little Stevie Spec-tacular Spector still sits alone atop the pool with 98 points. Robin & Natanya are the only ones within a point of him and then there's a tidy little group at 96.
I think the big shock last night was Chris Richardson's appearance on the bottom 2. He's cute and a decent performer so I didn't see that coming.
This seems to be the year that the audience really says "looks don't matter." You could say that Sanjaya is still around cause he's cute, but he's more than cute, he's a teen idol. Peter Noone has made a living for 40 years off a voice that was not much stronger than Sanjaya's and a similarly impressive head of hair. There's precedent for a guy like Sanjaya to become a star.
But with the exception of him, week after week, the audience has been sending the good looking people home. This in a year when there aren't too many good looking people. With Chris at risk, I really don't know what the audience is liking. Okay, quick survey for the ladies... who's cuter, Chris R. or Blake?
If you want to see how you're doing, here's the link. You can also find a permanent ballots link in the right column under About Me.
...if Sanjaya gets voted off.
I speak, of course, about the young girl who came to Idol last night and cried so much, she ended up with more screen time than most of the contestants. Oddly, the theme was the British Invasion, and I have not seen females fans crying like that since the British Invasion when teenage girls wept and fainted at the sight of the fab four. Like the show itself, such a display is something of a throwback to an earlier more innocent time, and while it was cute at first, I grew tired of the constant cutaways.
I particularly felt this way at the end of Sanjaya's song, when they cutaway to his superhot sister who chose this week to grace us with some fairly spectacular cleavage. Guess she thought the theme was the Titish Invasion. Realizing that we had been deprived of more Sanjaya-sister time (I'm sure she has a name by the way, and I promise to learn it between now and the time we become engaged) I began to resent the camera-hogging crybaby.
I fear now that other young girls will come to the show and weep openly in the hopes of getting shown and getting to hug the contestants. Perhaps I'll go to a show, cry my eyes out to get camera time and when Ryan invites me up to hug the contestants, ask if I can trade for a Sanjaya-sister-hug instead.
Shymali.
That's her name. Just looked it up. She's 19, attends college and enjoys cooking, volleyball and the inappropriate advances of middle-aged men. Interesting.
By the way, while googling Sanjaya and his sib, I learned something else. They auditioned in Seattle. Remember how the judges were touting Seattle as the worst city they ever visited? Well, not only did the Malakars audition there, but also Blake and Jordin, two-probable top-sixers. Rudy, who made the to 24 auditioned there too and also that guy Rick who was very good, but denied the last spot on the top 24 in favor of Sundance.
So Seattle couldn't have been so bad if it gave us all them. Plus Sanjaya. And his sister. Shymali. Who in case you haven't noticed, is rater attractive.
Ooops. Just remembered it's a singing competition.
So let's start with Sanjaya. He had his best week yet, I would say. I watched the show at Andrea's house, with Steve and Jill (where a fabulous dinner was served by the way) and before Sanjaya went to talk to Peter Noone, I predicted he would sing "Somethin' Tells Me I'm Into Something Good." Imagine my disappointment when he considered that, but went with "You Really Got Me Going." But Peter Noone earned his pay by advising him to go that way. The thing is, when you've got a very slight voice, you can either go with a song that's is built for a slight voice, and emphasize your voice's slightness, or go with a song that requires no real vocal skills, make a young girl cry, and get the audience worked up. It wasn't really singing, but it worked. I guess it's saavy like that that's kept Noone on top of the charts all these years.
Do you think any of the contestants knew who either Peter Noone or Lulu was? My three dinner companions, who are each a bit older than Sanjaya (and even older than his lovely older sister) never heard of Lulu, and even after I performed a medley of her hits, had no recognition. I thought she acquited herself well, though her presence, to me at least, just begged the question... I wonder why Petula Clarke said "no"?
For those of you who are sarcasm-challenged, I have no idea whether or not Ms. Clarke was invited. I just assumed the called her before settling for Lulu, just like the probably called Sir Paul and Sir Mick before rescuing Peter Noone from dinner theatre for a brief return to fame.
So... Sanjaya, in my mind, is safe this week. So who is at risk. Well, Haley went first and did pretty well for her. Though Jordin seems to be getting prettier every week, Haley is still the best looking contestant and she played it up by displaying some specatular gams. For those of you too young to know what gams are, that's what we used to call stems... you know... pins. If she stayed out of the bottom three last week, my guess is, she'll stay out of the bottom one this week.
The other woman I'd be worried about is Stephanie. She sang one of my all time favorite songs and while she didn't butcher it, she certainly didn't bring it. It's a power ballad and she gave it no power. Was it my imagination, or did the first two girls sing Dusty Springfield songs?
Some of my dinner-mates felt Lakisha fell from favor this week. Diamonds are Forever was a strange song, and while she sang it well, she wasn't great, and the distance between her and Melinda seemed to widen. Though I doubt she was in the top three this week, my guess is she also isn't in the bottom three.
I wonder, at this point if there are Melinda fans and Lakisha fans, who vote consistantly for their fave each week, or if there are a lot of people who will sway one way or another based on the week's performances. If so, I'd have to think Melinda would have gotten most of the swing vote (as she probably has every week except the first).
I wouldn't be surprised if Jordin leapfrogged over Lakisha (maybe she even beat her out last week). She picked a good song for her, sang it well, and has in two weeks shown as much aesthetic improvement as Kimberly Locke did over 12 weeks. By the way, Andrea tells me that Kimberly lost like 25 pounds on celebrity fit club and is totally hot now.
I keep thinking Gina is relatively safe cause she is the only "rocker" this year, but she's a pretty poor rocker for my money, so I wonder if she really is safe. This week, I'd say she's more likely to be in the bottom three than Haley.
And what about the men?
Phil sang pretty well, but then, he sang pretty well last week too and that didn't keep him from the bottom three, so I think he's in the red zone.
Up till now, I've referred to the two Chrises and Blake as the top guys, but I'm starting to see Sligh fall from that group. Blake and Chris R are both good looking guys. (pssst... don't tell anybody I told you but Jill has a crush on Blake). I don't think either has a great voice, but they are each kind of unique and contemporary. Both did quite well this week.
Not so much Sligh. His attempt at working the audience was awkward. Wearas Bo Bice and Daughtry used to grab the mike stand in a manly sort of way, Sligh just picked it up and didn't appear to know quite what to do with it. His song was okay, and his need to explain himself is bordering on annoying. I'll be Sanjaya got more votes than him this week.
So... bottom three... mmm.... Gina? Sligh? Stacey? Stephanie? My guess is that Sanjaya and Haley are safe, along with Sligh. The bottom three will be Gina, Stephanie and Phil and next week, when Shymali and I watch the kids destroy songs of the 19th century, or whatever the theme will be, Mr. Stacey will be home with wife and child.
[Sorry about the watermarks on the photos - couldn't be helped!]
Finally had a chance to really look over the ballots and I notice a number of trends. The first two trends are Melinda and Haley. Of the 40 ballots, 29 had Melinda in first and 29 also (not the exact same 29) had Haley in last.
The Melinda stat is far more telling than the Haley stat, since far more points are gained and lost at the top than at the bottom. In addition to Haley's 29 bottom votes, she has six votes for 11th, three for 10th and two for 9th. Assuming she finishes, no higher than seventh, that's not significant, because then the two savants who placed her 9th will have only picked up 3 points on the pack. But if she lasts to sixth place or better, the difference multiplies.
What are the chances of Haley sticking around for a while. I think pretty good. On a week when she sang just okay, she picked up Simon as a fan and stayed out of the bottom three. I think they are doing country next week, which could suit her. She's also so un-unique in her style that she is somewhat unique in the competition. Besides being in the rare position of being in the minority, by being one of only two white girls, she's way different than the other white girl. She's also different, stylistically, than any of the male singers with the possible exception of Phil. I see Phil going before her.
Also, over the past two weeks, the audience has sent home two attractive women and two attractive men. In a looks-challenged field, Haley is probably the prettiest girl left (though Jordin has certainly stepped up in the finals). So she could be this year's surprise. I could definitely see her outlasting Phil, Sanjaya and Stephanie. Jordin or Gina... maybe. Anybody else? Doubtful.
FYI, the other last place votes are split among Sanjaya (four) Phil (four) Brandon, Gina and Stephanie.
At the top of the ballots, Melinda is the big story and LaKisha, not surprisingly is 1a. She has seven of the 11 remaining first place votes. Rounding it out is Chris Richardson with two and Blake and Stephanie with one each. Seventeen of you have Melinda in first place and LaKisha in second. If those two make the finals and you do not have them one and two, your chances of finishing high are slight.
Blake is in third place and the two Chris' are about even, right behind him.
Based on the performances and voting last week, I'm guessing those places are pretty much correct. The spoiler, right now, might be Jordin. Besides being probably the third best singer last week, will Sanjaya's imminent departure, she will be the only youngster in a competition that has traditionally favored younger females. Stephanie is only two years older than Jordin, but doesn't seem teen-like. Jordin seemed older than her years prior to this week too, but the stylists really helped her out.
Nobody has her winning, and only Steve (Mr. 100) Spector has her as high as second. Could be the one to watch.
Thanks to the wonderful world of Excel spreadsheets and a bunch of other software I couldn't tell you the name of, your scores will now be available immediately each week. We will also leave up permanently a pull down menu to check yours (or anybody else's) ballots.
In future weeks, we promise even more arkane statistical info.
The person to that for all this is internet whiz Tom Leonard, whose company LeftMarketing does all kinds of wonderful things. Tom is also a first time member of the pool this year (and he's off to a so-so start. He's obviously better with servers than with singers.
Here is the link: http://theblinkcompany.com/idolizing/home.html
And now we can return to the last discussion. Kathryn was asking master prognosticator Steve Spector how he knew Brandon would be first to go. I'd prefer to hear Sam Altman tell us how he decided to move Brandon for last to second last at the last possible minute.
Seth
Thanks to the wonderful world of Excel spreadsheets and a bunch of other software I couldn't tell you the name of, your scores will now be available immediately each week. We will also leave up permanently a pull down menu to check yours (or anybody else's) ballots.
In future weeks, we promise even more arkane statistical info.
The person to that for all this is internet whiz Tom Leonard, whose company LeftMarketing does all kinds of wonderful things. Tom is also a first time member of the pool this year (and he's off to a so-so start. He's obviously better with servers than with singers.
Here is the link: http://theblinkcompany.com/idolizing/home.html
And now we can return to the last discussion. Kathryn was asking master prognosticator Steve Spector how he knew Brandon would be first to go. I'd prefer to hear Sam Altman tell us how he decided to move Brandon for last to second last at the last possible minute.
Seth
I think Dialidol is going to claim that they have a 100% record so far this year. But that's a lie. They have a very wide margin of error. So wide that last week, all eight guys were considered ripe for leaving. How is that to be considered at all reliable.
This week, the bottom three was Brandon, Sanjaya and Phil. They were ranked 3, 5 and 6 in Dialidol voting. Now, using the margin of error, all were considered on the bubble. Everybody but Melinda an LeKisha were. But how rediculous is that. They had Sanjaya third, with a big drop between him and the 4th place person. Brandon was fifth and again, there was a significant drop to the next person. They're just wrong.
America on the other hand, did pretty well. Sanjaya made it to the bottom three. So clearly the crush is coming to an end. Brandon is talented and cute, but he was weak last night and forgot his words. Add in that he went first and it's not surprising that he's going home first. Phil was, to me, the only surprise. But I guess it shows that he's doesn't have a strong image or fan base. The couple of women who answered my question last night said they did not find him attractive. The contrast of his bald head, dark eyebrows and gangly body make him look a little strange. When he wears one of his many hats, he appears almost hip, a pose that is belied by his total lack of funkiness. He can hit the big notes, but he's just not an interesting singer.
Bottom line, the women were better than the men and they are all safe. And of the six men, the three popular ones, Chris, Chris and Blake were safe too.
As for the pool, we appear to have forty people, and though the overwhelming majority had Haley going home, only one of you, Steve Spector, got it right. Didn't Steve begin another year like this? Don't think he finished it as well though.
If you read this earlier, you might have seen that Sam Altman also had Brandon last. However, Sam revised his ballot and moved Brandon up to 11. Sorry 'bout that Sam. Go with your gut next time!
Quite a few had Brandon in 10th or 11th, so if you had him better than that, you're not a front runner (at least not yet). Two of you, Kathryn and Amanda, had him in fifth place, but there's still a lot of time to make up those points.
Most of you had Sanjaya low and Phil also had a number of low votes, so overall, no real surprises.
Okay... quick question... how many people last night sang better than Diana Ross did tonight? I'd say most.
Does anybody know what the theme is next week?
Once we get the whole ballot thing together, we'll be posting all kinds of interesting stats for your poolsters. Stay tuned.
Leaving aside the fact that the top two are still the top two, I thought this season showed off more than ever before the difference between the small stage and the big stage. And it emphasized more that before that this is not a great group and the vast difference between the men and the women.
Before I go any further, I want to say the judges made it clear that there were two performers who stood above the rest but did little to distinguish which was #1. I can say however, that there was only one perfomance I rewound and rewatched and I actually did it twice. You have till the end of this article to guess who it was.
I have to start by saying that I was pleasantly surprised that so much variety could be gotten out of Diana Ross. When I heard she was the "theme" I thought it would be unfair to the guys. I also started thinking of Supremes songs, few of which I consider great solo showcases. I kind of dismissed her whole solo career (especially the disco queen era... even though the disco era was the highpoint of my life). I didn't realize that her duets with Marvin Gaye and Lionel Richie would allow the men to sing actual men's songs, or the loopholes provided by her Broadway and movie careers.
Let's start at the bottom... Sun-freakin-jaya. According to Dialidol, he ranked third last night, after Melinda and Lakisha and well ahead of everybody else. Ohmygod, he's El Debarge with laryngitus. He's got the weakest voice I've ever heard. He could sing in a library and nobody would shush him. He could sing in a Monastery and not get kicked out. He's every man's dream date... skinny, pretty, and you can't hear a word he says. And to top it off, he sings a song that really should be sung by a voice. Ain't no mountain high enough... ain't no microphone strong enough.
Well, he's going to be with us a while, so I should save some jokes.
Some of you had him in last place, though by far the most of you had Haley in that position. Haley tonight showed the value of cruelty. Simon has been merciless with her to this point and tonight when he said, that wasn't terrible, she burst out in tears of gratitude. See when you dole out the praise with an eye dropper, a little bit goes a long way. I almost wanted to like her tonight, but I really do think she lost her way in the middle of a boring song.
Now that I've revealed that Haley had the most last place votes, I should also reveal that Melinda has the most first place votes. And in both cases, when I say the most, I'm talking almost 75% of you voted Melinda first and Haley last.
I was one of the few who didn't vote for Melinda, picking instead Stephanie, who didn't fare well in the pool and even got a last place vote. Right now, the person who voted her last is looking a lot better than I am. The one who voted Brandon last is looking good too. I think Brandon lost the most going to the big stage. You knew Sanjaya didn't have a voice, but I wasn't ready for Brandon to sound so weak. Combined with his lyric slip and his early position, his smile and likability and charisma may not be enough to make up for it.
But Brandon wasn't the only disappointing man. Chris Sligh was the real shocker. What the hell was he doing with that song? Is there anybody that doubts that he doesn't like that song in the first place? Some songs can't be anything but a ballad and Endless Love is one of them. What's more, Chris has the chops to sing it pretty well. Miss Ross warned him, but he didn't listen.
I liked Blake's take better, but still didn't love it. He tried to "modernize it" but that song is already permanently modern cause of the instrumentation. He should have just let the band update that and let his vocals still have some emotion. Of course I still say he doesn't have much of a voice, but he could have done better with it.
Stephanie went the opposite way, taking a song whose best part is the uptempo and staying sultry with it. The judges said she should have done the uptempo part, but that part is repetitive and anticlimactic. Just a bad choice for a 90 second showcase. I thought she'd be the one putting the heat on Melinda and Lekisha. Instead it was Jordin. Jordin sounded good an looked great. Stephanie, for a girl singing such a sexy song, wasn't dressed right.
Jordin, I realized last night is just a big girl. And by big, I don't mean fat or even tall. I mean big-boneded. She is tall, she isn't skinny, but she's also big in the shoulders and thick in the torso. She has a tendency to look a little masculine. But she showed tonight that with her hair and makeup right and posed to minimize her size, she's actually quite pretty (at least compared to the rest of this year's cast). I didn't think her vocal was nearly as showstopping as Melinda or Lakisha, but she shows promise.
The other strong vocalists are Phil and Gina. Phil can hit the notes, but that guy does not have a funky bone in his body. I think as the season wears on, he will show signs of Federoff's desease. Of course Anthony did last till fourth place, so go figure.
Question for the ladies... is Phil attractive?
Do any of the guys find Gina attractive? I pretty much don't, though she looked better this week than before. Might have lost a pound or two. Picked the right song too, and Miss Diana did tell her to pronunciate, but she seemed to lose steam about midway through. She needed to put more oomph and emotion into it. I realized tonight that Diana Ross has sung a lot of songs where the tempo changes within a line. You'll be singing at one pace and then suddenly a line comes in at double time. A couple of singers got caught up in that.
And then we have the twin towers of talent. If I had to pick between the two, I think I'd go with Melinda tonight. Lakisha was amazingly poised, professional and controlled. They showed her with Diana and they were talking about her dress and mike stand. Why? Cause what is Diana Ross gonna tell Kiki about singing? Dianna Ross had a pretty weak voice herself. It has a nice tinkling quality in some songs, but she is not somebody who can just sing anything. When she did Lady Sings the Blues, there was some criticism in that she made no attempt to try Billie-esque vocals. She just covers the songs in her Diana voice. I remembered that one line into Kiki's version, cause on her best day, Diana Ross could not sing half as good as LaKisha. LaKisha sang a much more Billie'esqe version and by toning herself down, she made it more Billie'esque cause Billie didn't have those big peal-the-paint-off-the-walls notes like Kiki does.
Though she was great, I would still go with Melinda because she had the vocals and the emotion. Her tears seemed real and so did Paula's. Having once been there in that studio (thanks Tracy and Sadie) I know how electrifying it is when somebody sings like that there.
So, I thought Melinda was the best singer tonight.
But hers wasn't the perfomance I rewound twice. That distinction belongs to, of all people, Chris Richardson. I'll state again that I think Chris's voice is weird and that he misses as many notes as he hits. But, I just loved him tonight.
Not to sound too much like Simon, but when Chris comes out with those jackets, jeans, open neck shirts and skinny ties, he seems like the kid in the mail room who gets up at the Christmas party and suprises everybody because he can sort of sing. But I love that about the performance. At least tonight I did.
And, though I'm no fan of Dianna Ross (I admit it) and never thought she could hold Donna Summer's glitter ball as a disco diva, I have to admit, I always liked The Boss. It's one of the few Diana Ross songs with a beat and it's one of those big-band sounding disco songs that always got the crowd going at Mirage on Commonwealth Avenue, back when a Jack and Coke cost three bucks and quaaludes were free for the ladies. I liked Chris' moves, I like that he took it to the crowd and though he seemed to miss the notes, it felt like he nailed the beat, which is all that matters when it's 1 am, and dance floor is packed and your nostrils are full of the aroma of Aramis, Shalomar and sweat stained polyester.
Melinda might have brought a tear to my eye, but Chris gave me a mid 70's flashback and for that I'll be eternally grateful. In fact, I'm going back to the TIVO for one more hit, before I call it a night and fall off into a dreamland whose soundtrack will hopefully include some Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes.
