With the theme being Latin night, and with Jennifer Lopez on as the guest vocalist, the songs this evening have the potential to be muy caliente...or muy chupo.
The thing that I love the most about the results of the Round of 9 is that you see where all of the singers are at. but it also forces the singers who are at the top to keep singing, lest they get passed up by the people chasing them.
But on to tonight's show. With the theme being Latin night, and with Jennifer Lopez on as the guest vocalist, the songs this evening have the potential to be muy caliente...or muy chupo.
Jennifer tells the singers to sing with passion and emotion. The person who is the most impressive is not necessarily the person who sings the highest notes, but who can convey passion and emotion. Are you listening, Mr. Richardson?
Melinda Doolittle starts off with 'Sway'. This is a great song with the potential to be jazzed up.
The Good - Melida FINALLY sings something that is not an R and B retread. I could definitely hear some traces of Celia Cruz in there - and that's a good thing.
The Bad - The problem with the performance was not that she was old-fashioned (although she was). The problem is that she sang it as a back-up singer standard and not as a sexy diva - which was the whole point of this week.
The Verdict - It wasn't as bad as what Simon thought, but it wasn't as good as what Randy thought. At least Melinda finally got out of the R and B Box, and I'll be VERY interested to see what she does during country week next week.
Lakisha Jones decides to do some Miami Sound Machine and Conga. This is a VERY ambitious selection, and I hope she pulls it off.
The Good - She does - and impressively. Great choice, and like Melinda, she was able to showcase her vocal talents in a different genre - AND she got young as well.
The Bad - Whoever forced her to wear that tiger dress should be tarred and feathered. Whoever told her to shimmy with that sort of figure begging to pop out of that dress should also be tarred and feathered.
The Verdict - I think what the judges are missing is that not every song has to be a belt your lungs out song. There are some songs that should be sung for fun. Lakisha gets the edge over Melinda, and while I agree that it wasn't their best performances, I'd like to think that they should get points for expanding their song selections - and increasing their voting base.
Chris Richardson channels some Santana and decides to be smooth. Is his performance going to be?
The Good - If anyone learned something from Jennifer Lopez, he did. It's the best emotional performance from him, and the runs at the end were very nice.
The Bad - It was 'Good'. 'Good' is good, but it is not 'Great', which is where I think he needed to be this week.
The Verdict - I remember more of the guitar and the bongos than the voice. This could be very problematic for Chris, as he could be in severe trouble if Blake and Phil blow him out of the building.
Haley decides to sing 'Turn The Beat Around'. Haley brings Blake in to beat box during the rehearsal, but Blake is not available during her performance.
The Good - She has great assets, which she utilizes well in the song.
The Bad - Simon says that she doesn't have the best vocals, but the strategy of wearing as little clothing as possible is working. I agree with that statement, and she needed to bribe Blake to not only beat box during the performance, but to remove articles of her clothing during her performance.
The Verdict - Maybe 'Shake Your Bon Bon' would have been a better choice. Not a great performance, but as she is the only hot chick left, she should get most of the Gina Glocksen vote and be ok - even if it means a return trip to the bottom three.
Phil sings Santana's 'Maria, Maria'. Jennifer is hoping that Phil gives everyone goose bumps.
The Good - We get good-sounding Phil this week. I'm not sure about goose bumps, but at least my ears didn't fall off and run screaming into the bathroom.
The Bad - What's up with the lyrics? Santana didn't write the song that way, and he cracks the last note completely.
The Verdict - Despite Phil cracking jokes about his daughter (it didn't work last week with his wife), the fact that he also cracked his voice means that we can reserve a seat in the bottom three for him.
Jordin decides to sing 'The Rhythm is Going to Get You'. Here's hoping that Simon doesn't get her.
The Good - Jordin has the musical chops to perform this song well. Her choreography is very good and does not feature her flashing any skin.
The Bad - Pitchy at the beginning, and I think it was not a good choice of song.
The Verdict - I think she bails herself out with some beauty notes at the end, but this was not a great performance.
Blake decides to take a page from J-Lo's hubby and 'I Need To Know'. What I need to know is if he can hit the high notes, which he didn't do last week.
The Good - FINALLY some emotion, great moves as well, and he redeems his vocal range from last week's mess.
The Bad - He sang against the band and was actually dragging to start the song. He also made a half-hearted attempt at the glory notes at the end.
The Verdict - Best performance of the night. Not only could that put him in the Top 3, but that could spell massive problems for Chris and Phil.
We end the show with...Sanjaya? Huh? He sings Besame Mucho, which is a Spanish song. If he sings it in Spanish, he could do better, just because we won't know what he's singing.
The Good - A...good performance? Wha? Not only does he perform the song well, he performs in front of the camera with a purpose.
The Bad - A littly pitchy to start the performance. Not the best song to sing, because you're taking a risk that could mean the end if you don't execute.
The Verdict - This pains me to say this, but...second best performance of the evening. He actually pulled it off. And let me say this - if Sanjaya continues to select good songs, then he could make himself a legitimate candidate.
Overall Verdict - This was a 'Good' night, not a 'Great' night, with the exception of Blake. I don't think it hurts the front-runners this week (though it wouldn't surprise me to see Lakisha or Jordin down there in the bottom three), but I do think that if we get the same sort of performances during country week, we're going to have a very nasty surprise awaiting one of the 3 divas.
But for right now, let's focus on this week. Blake and Sanjaya's performances means that the other 2 guys get to hang out with Haley this week in the center circle.
TROUBLE - Haley, Chris, Phil.
Chris, because he wasn't awful, will be safe. Phil, because his fan base knew he was in danger last week and only got him up to the bottom three, is in trouble. So is Haley, who has also been in the bottom two for the past 2 weeks. The question is - where is the votes from the departed Gina going? I think they go to Haley, which means that...
OUT - Phil Stacey.
Join me in 24 hours to see who gets to cha-cha-cha right off the stage.
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If you're right and Phil goes, it will be a real shame. I thought he did a pretty good job last night (even with that lame Simon Cowell/cow joke after his performance). And I've got to be honest here, I just don't get Blake. I don't think he's that good. I don't particularly care for the way he sings..it always sounds like a weak impersonation to me. Still, I suppose the appeal is that he's a bit "different".
Good god, did we really need to hear three songs previously recorded by Gloria Estefan??
As far as Sanjaya being good. No. Good for him maybe, but that isn't saying a heck of a lot. He seems like a nice kid, but that stage is way too big for hm..
Thanks for the great wrap-up, Haterade!
Hey Cindy -
The problem with Phil is that he's been in the bottom two twice and he needed something that would get him out of there plus someone to mess up. He didn't get the song that would get him out of there. Even with blah performances by Lakisha, Melinda and Jordin (and they were blah), I still think that a fanbase witnessing a mediocre Lakisha performance will vote more than a fanbase witnessing a mediocre Phil performance.
As for Sanjaya - if you took a step back, forgot about the past 3 months and took all of the performances, Sanjaya's 'perfomance' (not just singing, but his facial expressions and contact with the camera) was one of the better ones of the evening. It's not to say that I think he's the best singer up there - far from it. I think that on this night, Sanjaya did a great job.
As for said women, 1 mediocre performance isn't a big deal. The proble is that I don't expect them to do anything on country night, and that could mean a major upset.
Yeah, except at last count Phil was in the bottom all of THREE times (we really can't count the round of 10 because there were only two in the bottom three, which is some twisted math in an of itself, but that's another rant for another day).
I've said this before and I'll say it again and I'll keep saying this until it need be said no more... If Phil isn't saved this week, he'll NEVER be saved.