American Idol - Week Six- 4/17/07

Did anyone else think that country night on American Idol would go off a lot worse?

I can tell you I sure was expecting a horrendous mess, making Latin night sound like a 5-star musical.
But it wasn’t that bad.

Don’t get me wrong, there were a few clunkers from usually good contestants. But overall? Not so bad.
Then again, I’m not a country fan, so I can’t really judge that much. (my friends Chris and Jenn can probably give you a better idea on how well the Top 7 did on country night, since they are in fact, country fans.)
I can only judge the contestants on their overall performance, sound and vocal ability, and of course their connection to the songs they chose.

We did have a few surprises last night, (Phil finally comes into his own!), and a few disappointments (Kiki & Chris), but over all, was it a good night?

Debatable.
Let’s see how my individual contestant analysis pans out:

1. PHIL STACY - sung “Where The Blacktop Ends” – What the heck had gotten into Gollum? Like Simon said, it took him 10 weeks, but Phil finally steps out and shows us he can actually sing and perform. I think he had the best performance of the night, next to Jordin. (We’ll get to her on a second). I actually saw Phil comfortable onstage, and not only did he not stray off-key at any given point, but he looked confident. I’m not sure he ever mentioned it, but has Phil ever said that country is his genre? I mean, here I thought this year spawned no country singers at all, and it turns out there was one hiding in old Gollum from the get go. Though he’s been in the perpetual bottom three for weeks now, I truly think this week’s performance has put him in the safety zone. For this week at least, Phil is SAFE.

2. JORDIN SPARKS – sung “A Broken Wing” – OUT-standing. I was floored. As most of you know, I’ve been a growing Jordin fan from the start of the competition, but man, last night’s performance won me over to her camp for good. I’m officially hooking onto Jordin for the AI win. I love LaKisha and Melinda too, but Jordin blew them both out of the water last night. Her vocals were spot on, and she was the picture of elegance. (except for that odd pumpkin colored gown – I mean, lord, do these AI stylists even have mirrors back there? – but I digress) I still can’t believe she’s only 17. Dare I say, her vocal talents are almost up there with Kelly Clarkson’s. Just absolutely amazing, and I can guarantee she is safe this week.

3. SANJAYA MALAKAR – sung “Something To Talk About” – This has gotten beyond the ridiculous. Instead of embracing the surprisingly decent performance he gave last week, and actually give a good effort this week, old mop head here went back to pretty much just shouting into the microphone, and performing a horrible version of this Bonnie Raitt classic. As the judges said, this was a VERY bad karaoke performance, and I have to agree. There’s a karaoke night at one of my favorite bars, in which Neil, one of the bar goers, always gets up and sings after downing several drinks. His slurred and sloppy singing was better then Sanjaya’s poor excuse for singing. Simon has finally got serious, and pretty much told America, “Look, joke’s over, now we need to actually pick a good singer”. This could go either way in influencing the voting. It could have either bolstered the fans of the other idols to out vote votefortheworst.com. OR, it just gave more fuel to the Sanjaya fans to keep him in. Personally, I think it’s time for Sanjaya to go. He honestly gave a good performance last week, but this week he was right back to making a mockery of himself. Was it a bad enough performance to put him into the Bottom Three this week? I think so. Sanjaya has the honor of being my first choice for my Bottom Three picks.

4. LaKISHA JONES – sung “Jesus Take The Wheel” – Dear me, what in the world happened to my Kiki? A not-so-good performance last week, followed up this week by yet another not-so-good performance. I will give her this much, this definitely wasn’t her genre of music to sing. I hate to agree with the judges, but they were right. She could have easily spun this song to her own style, yet still retain the elements that made it country. For the first time I have to say, I was bored with Kiki’s performance. I felt no feeling from her like I usually do, and it’s a shame because I think she really could have had a great vocal on this song. Is Kiki starting to suffer from the same ailment that ousted Mandisa off the show last year? (was that last year?) Have we really seen the best Kiki can offer? Was it just the song choice? I don’t think Kiki would have done well this week, regardless of the song she chose. Kiki went into tonight with the odds against her from the start, just because of the fact that it was country music. I hate to say it, but once again, I have to choose Kiki again for the #2 slot of my Bottom Three picks for tonight.

5. CHRIS RICHARDSON – sung “Mayberry” – I was disappointed in Chris. I’m a Chris fan, (though it really doesn’t have a lot to do with his singing), but tonight’s performance was a little disconnected for me. I didn’t get it, and I don’t think he really connected with the audience for this one. Don’t get me wrong, he sung it well. He moved around the stage, and put in the best performance he could, but I just don’t think it was good, compared to the other contestants last night. Personally, I think Chris was distracted last night by the horrible tragedy at Virginia Tech. This was proven later when he said he was a Virginia native, sent out his prayers and teared up. For all we know, he knew some of the poor victims. Now can you imagine, having to put on a face, smile for the camera, and sing after learning some of your old teachers or close friends had been killed? You wouldn’t care about the performance would you? What would your performance look like? Exactly what Chris’ did last night. Unfortunately, I don’t think America will think about that, which I think he’s my final choice for my Bottom three picks.

6. MELINDA DOOLITTLE – sung “Trouble Is A Woman” – I was a little surprised by Mindy Doo’s performance this week. One of the judges (Randy or Simon) commented on how he saw a little bit of Tina Turner in her performance last night. I disagree. I saw a LOT of Tina Turner in Mindy Doo’s performance. I am constantly amazed on how well Melinda does, and this was a shocker for me. I thought this would be the first time Melinda would do badly because of the genre of music. Boy, was I wrong. I had never ever heard of this song, (that could be because I’m not a country fan, as I said before), but man, did she make me listen. “Sassy” is right when they used it to describe Mindy Doo’s performance. Thank GOD, someone (was there any doubt it would be Simon?) has finally told this girl to stop the whole “You really like me?!” shock faces after judgment. It was really becoming silly, and it took away from her being accepted as a real player for the final AI crown. If she can get past the faces, I can see her in the final showdown with Jordin or Blake. Without any question, Mindy Doo is safe this week.

7. BLAKE LEWIS – sung “When The Stars Go Blue” – I am really starting to like Blake, especially since he has stuck to just singing, and staying away from the beat-boxing. His performance this week wasn’t that outstanding, but was still good enough for me to still grow as a possible fan. It was a good vocal, and I definitely am starting to like the style he brings to some songs. (on an off-topic, one of my co-worker friends commented on how Blake sounds like a young Sting. This was whole-heartedly shot down by my close friend Kim, who is one of the biggest Sting fans in existence. Agree? Disagree? – but again, I digress) Blake has shown he has the vocal range and talent to stay in the competition, and though I don’t think this was one of his strongest performances, (again, the whole country genre) it still was solid and good enough to keep him safe another week.)

My Bottom Three Picks: Chris Richardson, Sanjaya Malakar and (though I HATE to say it AGAIN), Lakisha Jones.

My Pick to be Eliminated Tonight: I think Chris will be safe, even if it might be a sympathy vote because of his connection to the tragedy in Virginia. I think Kiki has a good chance of going home tonight, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Sanjaya’s journey has finally come to end tonight.

So what do you guys think? Agree? Disagree? Comments?