American Idol - Week Nine - 5/8/07

What could I say about last night?

I thought this to myself, as I was watching, and I came up with something: they ALL weren't their best last night. (yes, even Jordin, with the exception of her first song)

Maybe it was because it's BeeGee tunes?
Barry Gibb didn't seem like a horrible mentor, I thought he did a decent enough job. (heck he even sang along with the contestants too)

I'm not sure overall what I can say about last night, except that it definately looked (and sounded) as if all the contestants were having an off night. It's come down to the final four, so I don't think any of them are cocky enough to think they can breeze to the final, but at the same time I didn't see them giving their best. At this stage in the competition, I should be seeing knockout performances, not mediocre karoake singing.

Let's get right to the juice of it, since we have 2 performances for each contestant to analyze today:

1. MELINDA DOOLITTLE – sung “Love You Inside and Out” & "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?" - Mindy Doo, for the first time since I started watching her, did not do too well. I think I need to agree on the judges on this, wereas her vocals are flawless, she has yet, even being one of the final four, give me that star sparkle or shine. The first performance to me was bland. Yes, she sang it well, and her pitch was perfect...but there was no excitement. I mean, when you compare her performance to others, she isn't really exciting the audience that well. I think Simon said it best when he said it was like a back-up singer's version of the song, which was harsh...but I think true. Her second performance was a lot better, and she really brought it home in the middle of the song. I don't know about sailing through to the semi-finals though. I mean, granted, her second performance was better then her first, but it still didn't wow me. This may surprise all of you, but I think I may have to pick old Mindy Doo as one of my bottom two picks for tonight. I think last night's performances showed that she's having trouble breaking out to be the star she can be.

2. BLAKE LEWIS – sung “You Should Be Dancing” & "This Is Where I Came In" – FINALLY. Finally someone else has said what I've been saying all along. Randy told him straight out, "you don't have to beat box every single song". What's funny is I was actually enjoying his first performance for a little bit, until he started beat-boxing. I've said it from the start that Blake has a great voice, but that damn beat-boxing ruined the song for me last night. He was actually giving "You Should be Dancing" some justice, but once he added beat-boxing, it became corny, as Randy said. I don't agree with Simon, saying it was horrible, because the vocal part of it was good. The beat-boxing is what did him in though. His second performance, I need to ask off the bat, why in the world would you pick a song that no one has heard of? Heck, they were talking about last night on the radio this morning, and they mentioned how none of them knew this song...including Barry Gibb. Looking back, he did seem kind of surprised he wrote it, didn't he? Regardless, it was sung better then the first, and he did keep the beat-boxing to a minimum, but I think the song's obscurity gave him yet another bad review. Surprisingly, however, I don't think it made too much of a difference. I may not like the beat-boxing in every song, but younger people do...and there lies most of Blake's fan base. Even though his performances were sub-par, and he got bad reviews for both of his songs, guess what? I think he's gonna be SAFE tonight, based on the fact that I think there are more fans of his beat-boxing then non-fans.

3. LaKISHA JONES – sung “Stayin' Alive” & "Run To Me" – Kiki was back last week, with her great rendition of "This Ain't a Love Song". It seems like it was a short visit, because here she was doing the same exact things that put her in the trenches last time. Her first performance, a slower-paced, shouted version of "Stayin' Alive", was horrendous. It was a mess from start to finish, and I'm convinced now that Kiki cannot sing fast paced songs. (this was proven on Latin night too). Kiki is all about the big, voice heavy ballads, where she could belt out high notes and diva herself out. Not so much on the fast-paced songs. Her first performance was all over the place, and everytime you thought the song was gonna pick up the pace, she brought it down again. Her second performance, while definately better then the first, was still shouted I think. I was a little unfamiliar with the song, but that shouldn't matter. Other contestants have performed unknown songs before and they sold them to me. I didn't like her song choices tonight, and though I think she is a fantastic belter, I don't think she can handle other genres. This, coupled with the fact that she's back to her old sucky ways, makes Kiki my second pick for the bottom two tonight.

4. JORDIN SPARKS – sung “To Love Somebody” & "Woman In Love" –  Jordin looked like a star last night. (God, do I sound like Paula now?) But honestly, she looked fantastic, and I can finally really see her winning this year. Her first performance was spot on, and one of the best vocals I've heard from her since the show started. Her voice was controlled and she knew exactly when to open up those pipes and bring the song home. This performance was the ONLY one last night that stood for me. She was elegant, and her performance was mature and magnificent. Her second performance wasn't as bad as the judges made it out to be. I didn't think it was as good as her first (maybe because she chose two ballads?) but it wasn't as bad as they described. YES, she was pitchy, I'll give them that. But I think that her first performance outshined any lackluster reviews on her second. She is most definately SAFE, and though I've already predicted this in my past reviews, I think she is sailing on through as one of the finalists.
 
My Bottom TWO Picks:   Melinda Doolittle (shocking!) and Lakisha Jones.

My Pick to be Eliminated Tonight:   Considering what a phenom Melinda has been up to this point, I doubt one bad night will send her packing. Considering LaKisha is back to shouting her songs, and her mediocre performances, Kiki is gonna leave the competition tonight.  

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

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ONE MORE THING - I need all of my readers' help. It seems that more then one person has asked me about this, from a couple of people at work to an unknown stranger who only became a reader this year. They wanted to know if I review anything else after Idol is over. (I guess people like my take on it?)
anyway, to answer, I never really thought about it, as this Idol review started out as a thing I did strictly for my friends. Somehow it got forwarded to many people over that last 3 years, and I actually have no idea who or how many people read these weekly reviews.
Anyway, here's where I could use your help. If I were to continue reviewing something after Idol is over, what suggestions to you guys have? I think my reviews work best for reality shows or contests, so I could tell you I aready am a regular watcher of "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Project Runway". But I'm open to all suggestions.
So ask all my readers, 1) Should I continue to review a show after Idol is over, and 2) what should that show be?
Thanks everyone!!