Picture, if you will, a night where none of the Idol singers stunk. That's what we got, but we still have to get rid of someone. Haterade tells you who he thinks it's going to be.
I'm going to try to not live up to my moniker this week. Why? Because this show is supposed to be Idol Gives back. Feel the warmth. Feel the geneosity. Feel the loooo....ok, enough of that. Hopefully, the singers will have love to give to us, instead of us wanting to give the remote to the dog to munch on and switch to Animal Planet.
By the way, interesting touch in the Idol intro of Taylor Hicks's image being removed. Bitter much?
Ford, Coca-Cola and AT&T will be donating. Idol's parent company, FOX News Corp., will donate up to 5 million dollars with 50 million calls.
After more Idol Gives Back filler (which I'm sure is exactly why you're reading this...not.), we get some performances. The theme is inspirational anthems. As I said yesterday, none of the singers should have much of a problem picking something good. Now it's down to execution - or who gets executed. Just to make sure that the least popular gets eliminated, we get 2 phone lines and 4 hours worth of voting. We'll still get people griping about the results though.
Chris Richardson decides to change the world. He could start by changing the facial expression in his vocal.
The Good - Excellent choice of song. He picked a nice song that he could play with the vocal runs at the end, and he FINALLY was able to convey vocal power and talent to seal up the song.
The Bad - Unfortunately, we had to sit through a first half of the song that featured him rambling through the words and muddling the pitch.
The Verdict - The audience doesn't remember the first half of the song. They remember the pretty second half, and on that, it's the best Chris Richardson we've seen - ever. He has not only set the bar high, but he's making a challenge to be the top male vocalist.
Melinda Doolittle decides to go for a little Faith...Hill, that is.
The Good - She nailed the song and performed it the best of her ability.
The Bad - The problem is that the song itself is limited. I did not like the choice of song, because this is something that she should have popped out of the park. Instead, she hits a ground rule double against the wall, because that's all the capability of what the song can do.
The Verdict - This is the week where you should be going for the popular anthem and belt out the song. I think the choice of song hurts her and I think she may have something to worry about should Jordin and Lakisha sing their butts off.
Blake Lewis imagines all the people voting to save his butt because he was in the bottom three last week. He tries to channel the spirit of John Lennon in order to do so.
The Good - Something that I haven't said in a while - good technical job and a solid effort.
The Bad - Something I didn't think I would be saying - now THIS is a song he SHOULD have tinkered with the arrangement on. The vocal arrangement didn't have that charge that it needed.
The Verdict - Needed a great performance to outdo Chris Richardson to get out of the Bottom 3. Didn't get it.
Lakisha Jones decides to believe that she can match a Fantasia Barino vocal. I don't know about that...
The Good - The emotion and passion reminds me of the first time we listened to her.
The Bad - The lack of pitch reminds me of Sanjaya from last week. The overscreaming of the song reminded me of how Fantasia's version ran circles around her version.
The Verdict - If you take on a monster song - especially one sung by an American Idol - it spells disaster. She completely lets any possible upset bid from Melinda slip away and cements a spot in the bottom.
Phil Stacey decides to go with Garth Brooks and 'The Change' in rememberance of the Oklahoma City bombings.
The Good - It's a great sort of song to bite his teeth into.
The Bad - It would be better if he sang it with bite. He sang a lot of notes, but the soul wasn't there. I can sing a lot of loud notes in tune, but it means nothing if you don't put in any musicality into it.
The Verdict - I did not like this song as much as the judges did. People are going to vote for Chris because he had the best male vocal. People are going to vote for Blake because he is in trouble from last week. This was an ok performance and this could land him back in danger.
Jordin Sparks decides to walk through a storm for us. I'm hoping she won't be all wet.
The Good - Chris, Blake and Phil all need to take a lesson from Jordin in how to emotionally convey yourself and charge yourself into the song.
The Bad - Uncharacteristically pitchy to start off the song. I'm not sure if this was the right key for her.
The Verdict - Best performance of the night. If there was any doubt that she was the person to beat, there shouldn't be now.
The Overall Verdict - With no song performed 'badly', this was a welcome change. However, with no song performed badly, it makes last night difficult to figure out who's going to be where. But we will find the answers to some questions - What really was responsible for Sanjaya's popularity? How strong is Melinda's fan base? Can you sing a pale imitation of a song made famous by an Idoler and get away with it?
We'll do the two groups of 3 Idol Circle thing. Jordin obviously goes into the safe zone. We'll say that Lakisha did not get enough votes for the upset over Melinda and drops into the bottom three. We can also toss Blake into the bottom again, as he got nailed by both Phli and Chris.
Now who's voting base will be stronger - the 9 year old Fanjaya base for Chris, or the Vote For The Worst Base for Phil? We'll say that the Fanjaya base is stronger, and since Phil didn't sing anything remotely close to young, Chris will get a safe spot.
Now was Phil better than Melinda? You can make the argument that he was, but I think that Melinda's fan base, which has kept her out of the bottom three all season, will hold up their end of the bargain. It won't shock me if Melinda winds up in the bottom, just because the people calling to save Lakisha could forget that Melinda, with her ok performance, needs votes too - but we'll say that she's safe. That leaves -
TROUBLE - Blake, Lakisha, Phil
Yesterday, I thought that Phil could be in trouble, but he sang well enough to get himself out. He will find the way back to the safety couch, which leaves Blake and Lakisha. LaKisha has committed two deadly sins here - 1. The two people that she needed to beat - Melinda and Jordin - both sang circles around her and 2. Even more importantly, she sang a song made famous by an American Idoler and she didn't come close to matching Fantasia's performance of it. Almost every time that happens, it has resulted in the dismissal of the singer, and I don't think that this will be an exception.
OUT - Lakisha Jones
Tune in on Wednesday to see which singer American Idol gives back to society.
G.
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Haterade -- Do you think the charity component will help any one candidate? Were people who don't normally vote guilted into doing so last night? If so, who benefits?
Great question. The answer is a definite yes. I believe that a number of people probably voted for the very first time. I also think that a number of people watched the show for the first time.
I think that there will be a few people helped out by this. For starters, the people that showed up to perform. Jordin, Melinda, Phil and Chris all sang well last night, and I think it will hurt Lakisha, who did not sing great, as well as Blake.
But let's look at another factor - the 4 hours for longevity after the voting. That could hurt people who need the 9 year old vote, as I'm doubting that their parents will let them stay up until 1am to text. That could hurt people like Blake, Chris and Jordin and help the Lakisha, Phil and Melinda, who's voting power comes from the older set.
With all of these new factors, you could not only see anyone in the bottom and anyone in the top, but you could make a case as to why ANY of the 6 people could be eliminated - even Jordin and Melinda. Hence why this week is probably going to be the toughest pick of the entire season.
1 more thing to think about. Idol right now is set to end on May 22-23rd. The last night of sweeps is on May 23rd, but the first night of the sweeps is Thursday, April 26th and FOX on Thursday is a wasteland. Idol is promising a 'surprise' and I would not put it past them - especially with all of these new factors - that if they get a result that they do not like, and with all of the hoopla, to expand the show for a 'bonus' day of voting for tomorrow. FOX would love to get another day's worth of Idol ratings into sweeps instead of the fading 'Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader'. I have nothing to back that up, but just a thought of why you would want to end a benefit show with an elimination.
G.
If the one day extension turns out to be true, you're a genius.
I infer fro this post that AI is raising oney for charity, right? What charity?
Idol has teamed up with the Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF) to hold a benefit to help end poverty. During the course of either Tuesday or Wednesday, you can donate money for the cause.
In the United States, CPEF has selected Save the Children, America's Second Harvest The Nation's Food Bank Network, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Children's Health Fund as beneficiaries. These organizations deliver support to poor children in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the country, providing them with medical care, food and grocery products, health and life skills, literacy programs and obesity prevention, among other important initiatives.
In Africa, funds will be dedicated to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, Malaria No More, Nothing But Nets, Save the Children and The U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Each organization will receive funds to support efforts to battle poverty through various health and education programs, including delivering medical supplies and providing clean water. These organizations also aim to control and prevent malaria through practical resources and programs, including providing life-saving bed nets and other activities tied to Africa Malaria Day on April 25.
By the way, the ratings for ;ast night's Idol - lowest of the season. Insert conspiracy theories here. It's still, however, more than double of what '5th Grader' is getting.
G.
hey Miss C, how's that sticky keyboard holding up?
The one that got wet will not work AT ALL! This old one still lips along with for issing letters (3 letters and one nber). Bt I snagged a new one fro eBay which shold be here in a cople of days.
I'm normally a hard man to impress, and i fucking HATE Celine Dion's singing, but the execution on that number with Elvis was pretty near flawless. Excellent technical job.
It continues to astound me that Chris Richardson is considered a "good singer." I'm blown away that he got away with that "nasal is a style" argument. He's a second-rate Timberlake wannabe with no real vocal power or gusto. And his style cues - puppy-dog eyes, noodle-necking, and deep-knee bend style of dancing - are pretty darned weak.
Blake may have a similarly soft tone, but he does have actual vocal talent, charisma, and some interesting style - when he's bold enough to employ it. Of course he took a pretty nasty smack down for tinkering with songs early on, so you can sorta understand his being a little reluctant to remix other tunes now that the competitive is even more fierce.
I'm still a little put off by Phil Stacy's appearance and cornball persona, but vocally, he has definitely shown improvement. Would certainly be better if he'd learn that volume doesn't necessarily mean power. And mercy, somebody get him a cowboy hat! A goatee wouldn't hurt either...