Tuesday, April 17, 2007

the top seven: yee haw!...

They're gittin' it on tonight, as Martina McBride stops by to give the good ole boys (and the ladies) some good country lovin', so strap on your stirrups and grab your hat, it's country night.

Because THIS is American Idol!

Ryan begins the final seven episode by sending good thoughts to the campus of Virginia Tech. We all join in those good thoughts, and hope the VT community is on the road to healing.

So here they are, my initial impressions, subject to rewind, review and revision and, as usual, from worst to first:

The Sanjaya List:

Sanjaya Malakar (Let's Give 'Em Something to Talk About). Sanjaya, complete with curls and bandana, says he chose this song because, well, he's been givin' people to talk about. There was speculation after last week's successful outing that his Fanjaya's might not have flocked to the phones in an effort to save the boy. No worries this week, as he single-handedly destroys the number and Simon essentially tells him the joke was funny for awhile, but that they're trying to find an American Idol. (Interestingly no one on the panel refers to it as a "singing competition.") That should do it; Sanjaya will be safe again.

And the others:

Chris Richardson (Mayberry). Okay, it happened. I stopped listening. I can't bear it. Incomprehensible lyrics coming out of a nose is not my idea of good music. If Sanjaya didn't have his own list on which he is both worst and first, Sanjaya wouldn't be worst on the big board. In fact, Chris may get his own list next week. If he survives that long.

LaKisha Jones (Jesus Take the Wheel). Cardinal Rule: Do not try to sing a platinum hit from a past American Idol. It's just not smart. Carrie Underwood shouting a song is one thing; she's already won. LaKisha doing the same is another thing. I didn't think it would be possible for me to dislike this song more than I already do. I was wrong. And she gets appropriately admonished, and Simon finally says what I said weeks ago: KiKi peaked in her first performance.

Blake Lewis (When the Stars Go Blue). Hmm. I expect more from a pimp spot performance. I'm not understanding Randy and Paula's gush over Blake this week. He was pitchy throughout most of the performance. Blake, though, has enough cash stored in the bank to withstand one poor outing.

Phil Stacey (Where the Blacktop Ends). Martina picks up on what everyone has known for weeks: Phil can't start a song. And he must be on the producers' hit list this week, drawing the opening slot. If any one of them needed a hat, it's Phil, but he decides to go au naturel. But he delivers his best, by far, performance of the competition. He effortlessly cruises through the audience and tells Randy that he's a closet Josh Gracin when Randy suggests he try country music, which makes me wonder why, when he's had the chance, he has forsaken the country songs. All three judges agree that it was his best effort to date. And, as Simon observes, it only took 10 weeks.

Melinda Doolittle (Trouble is a Woman). Wow, Melinda looks FAB, performs up to Doolittle standards and, upon the advice of Simon, accepts her acclaim with gratitude rather than astonishment.

Jordin Sparks (A Broken Wing). My new favorite, Jordin, who seems able to adopt and adapt to each and every genre thrown at her, decides to sing a Martina song in front of Martina. She says she's nervous, and Martina suggests that she plant her feet and sell it. Jordin, who might be the only 17 year old to actually listen to her elders, does exactly that. And blows the roof, the walls and the floor out of the song, burying memories of Diana DeGarmo's version three seasons ago. The judges drool, with Simon conjecturing that the teenager might just win the whole competition.

Now the tough work, with only seven left.

Who I want: Phil, Chris, LaKisha
Who should: Phil, Chris, Sanjaya
Who will: Phil, Chris, LaKisha

I think it's time. Chris, your fans will save you. Phil, you've escaped more times than Houdini, even after crappy performances. LaKisha, what fans you have might let you down.

See ya KiKi.


So, your thoughts?

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17 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think Chris should go (well besides Sanjaya).

Is it just me or has Lakisha lost bunches of weight? She looked nice. Melinda looked pretty too.

9:30 PM, April 17, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree with you Jennifer. Jordin, Melinda and Phil were the best. Maybe Phil should look into country. Even though he was pretty good I don't know if tonight can save him.

Jordin and Melinda were great!

Sanjaya, he looked like a horses
a-- and sounded like one!

Dori

9:38 PM, April 17, 2007  
Blogger Unknown said...

It could be LaKisha's turn to go but I'm going for Phil. I think Chris was the worst of the bunch but his teary-eyed shout out to VT got him a ton of votes I think. We shall see!

9:40 PM, April 17, 2007  
Blogger kjl said...

I think your rankings were right on--although I'm kind of hoping Phil's great performance will save him this week! According to DialIdol, it just might!

10:07 PM, April 17, 2007  
Blogger Laura said...

I do like Chris, but his time is a-commin. And sooner rather than later. Phil may have bought himself another week with his better-than-average performance. Chris or LaKisha could go, but I think any of the 3 have an equal shot.

If there is seriously any justice left in the world, though, Sanjaya will leave.

10:09 PM, April 17, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jennifer, I agree completly...Jordin just lit the place up and set it on fire!!! She just picked up all of Haley's fans and probably a boat load of disappointed Kiki voters. At this point I can see Melinda and Jordin signing for all of the marbles.
I thought Blake just sounded a little tired tonight.
I have long thought that Justin Jr. should be gone. Chris's nasal whine is almost more than I can take. The only thing worse was Stumblelya. I thought I was going to puke. I didn't want Jesus to take the wheel, I wanted Him to take Mowgli by the throat and cast him into the outer darkness.

DrillerAA - jr

10:12 PM, April 17, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jennifer, I stumbled upon your blog midway through last season, and I absolutely love it. Absolutely fabulous, and I almost always agree with what your saying... one of your comments tonight has me wondering though. I have gathered that you strongly dislike Carrie Underwood, which is all well and good. But the comment about LaKisha's performance (which was abysmal, by the way) made me wonder: do you really think Carrie has a bad voice/shouts when she sings? I'm not really a fan of that song, but I don't think she shouts on it, and would have to admit that she has a great voice. Just wondering your perspective on this : )

10:40 PM, April 17, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't think Blake sounded bad at all tonight, he just didn't jazz the song up at all in his way, and it wasn't a knee slapper.

But I do have to agree with the top 3, which makes it weird, because I don't think Blake was off enough to not be top 3, but Phil sounded so much better than normal, and had some life to him, that I could not argue against him being third.

Jordin. Jordin. Jordin. She left the building the past 2 weeks, but tonight, HOLY COW BATMAN!! She came back with a hurricane behind her, and was absolutely amazing. Follow her up with Melinda, and this was the first night I thought Melinda might actually have enough variety in style to carry her to the finals.

I still favor a Blake/Jordin final, it's more hip, and as we go forward, I expect you've called it with Kiki's backers are going to be likely switching to Jordin backers, and as the others go down, I think Jordin and Mel will split a lot of Kiki's votes, and Blake will end up with more from Chris, Phil and Sanjaya than the other 2 will. Did you see that group of girls around Ryan when he intro'd Blake? I get a feeling he's starting to be the "heart throb" for the young girls, and once Sanjaya goes, the younger ones too are more likely to go his way.

The show is finally getting interesting :) I think the big drama now isn't who'll be in the finals or top 3, but how far Sanjaya goes, and who's chance he screws up. And God forbid, if he makes the Top 3, Jasmine will no longer have to feel bad about making 3rd!

JJ

3:50 AM, April 18, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh...i dont know what to say...but i LOVE Jordin and i hope she wins it all.Blake is my next fave...and if youve heard the BONO/Coors version...Blake did fine.Im tired of Lakisha...Sanjaya...will he EVER go?This years AI is sooo bland...doesnt even compare a tenth to last year(lova ya Chris!)and to the year before..BO!!!)so i guess it doesnt matter to me who wins...but if i voted id vote for Jordin and Blake...i may have to start voting...and God i cant wait for Bon Jovi week(yea i like the rockers..lol)and Barry Gibb should be AWESOME...

4:36 AM, April 18, 2007  
Blogger Kat said...

I agree with everything you said jennifer... Jordin is my new favorite.. and Melinda is showing some versitility and Phil blew my mind... now if he could just sing country the next few weeks he's stay out of the bottom three.. lol.. Kathryn

5:51 AM, April 18, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jordin has been on the top of my list for a few weeks now.. ever since she sang "I Who Have Nothing". I taped that show for a friend and I've listened to her performance many times since.
Melinda was great last night, and I agree Jennifer, she looked just lovely... the strapless top was just the thing and her longer hair made a big difference.
I agree with the poster that thought Blake was tired last night, and I think, a little nervous... not his best performance but compared to two of the remaining guys was still up there.
Phil was great last night and looked so comfortable up there.. I think McBride and Lopez have been some of the best coaches I've seen so far.
Chris has never held any appeal for me and I'm amazed he's made it this far.
I actually thought Kiki did ok on some parts of the song but overall just didn't bring it.. does she ever have any fun????? She looks miserable most of the time. I do agree that she looks like she's lost weight.. good for her.
Let's see who's left... oh right.. Sanjaya................
This time I looked away so I could listen instead of being distracted by his incredibly strange looks... it didn't help.. the first part of the song was ok but man...
Here's a question... everybody said at the beginning that the girls were all far better than the guys... why then are there four guys left and only three girls????
Let's hope it'll be three and three tonight.. no more girls should go home before Chris or Sanjaya..

9:31 AM, April 18, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I just checked with Dial Idol and Sanjaya is at the bottom, "Finally".

This is the first time he's been on the bottom. That I can remember.

The problem is Dial Idol isn't very accurate it just gives you their odds.

What it means is he is going to leave real soon. I hope.

Dori

9:51 AM, April 18, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have to agree with those who think LaKisha is going home tonight... after all, everyone keeps comparing her to Mandisa and Mandisa got booted after country night!

Also, Jennifer is right that doing a song from a former idol is never a good idea. It just makes audiences compare you to how that Idol was doing at this stage of the competition. Everyone who's tried it has ended up leaving the next day (most notably Lisa Tucker from season 5 attempting a Kelly Clarkson song).

Put both together, and bye, bye LaKisha!

10:23 AM, April 18, 2007  
Blogger angelof_mercy81 said...

LaKisha made a bad move last night. You just don't sing songs by a previous American Idol, especially when the aforementioned winner racked up 3 wins at the country awards the night before...

I think that, coupled with the Mandisa factor that other posters mentioned, doesn't bode well for KiKi tonight. Even if she doesn't go home, she at least booked herself a ticket to the bottom 3.

My guess for the bottom 3 tonight-

Who should: Sanjaya, LaKisha, Chris
Who will: LaKisha, Chris, Phil

Of course, with this show, you never can tell.

11:08 AM, April 18, 2007  
Blogger Ed I. said...

How does a woman with no neck and the shoulders of a linebacker look good in a strapless number? I finally figured out who she reminded me of last night, anyone ever see the movie Radio? I can picture her saying "My name is Radio"

We already know the producers won't let her win, because she may be the only person who would sell less albums than Taylor Hicks, unless Gladys Knight comes back into style.

Jordin is the true definition of what the show is looking for - she has superstar written all over her.

11:25 AM, April 18, 2007  
Blogger Nelle said...

I think LaKisha did ok until last night...bad bad choice for her and I simply hate that song and am not a fan of country music anyway. I thought Jordin did great. Jodin's star seems to be rising fast.I hope Chris goes tonight since Sanjaya won't.

11:35 AM, April 18, 2007  
Blogger Vivian said...

Hi Jennifer!

This season has become so difficult/challenging to watch that I can't bear to view it live anymore. I DVR it and fast forward through the most painful parts.

Phil's performance was a welcome surprise last night. I put Chris on mute after his first few notes. I haven't listened to Sanjaya for weeks. Last night the sight of him in the bandana and those earrings almost made me wish I was blind.

I like Blake but las night his performance was as much of a disappointment as Phil's was a surprise. I was happy to see that LaKisha wasn't showing 95% of her mammary glands last night. But I was disappointed that she didn't show her full vocal skills either.

Going into the show I wasn't sure how Melinda would do with country music. I thought her vocals were great. While I know AI isn't a beauty pageant, Melinda isn't easy to watch.

Jordin became my favorite a few weeks ago. Although I'd like to see her win; I don't really care who wins this year. I just want some talented people to get noticed, land some great contracts...sell lots of records, win some Oscars/Grammys, etc....make it big! I just hope this year's winner is not as unheard from as Taylor Hicks!

4:25 PM, April 18, 2007  

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