A filled-up Kodak Theater with fascinating lights and powerful support from fans… That was the scenario at the season’s final performance night. Actress Denise Richards was part of the audience, and I’m sure there are other Hollywood stars that the cameras didn’t see. Other season 6 top 10 finalists were in the theater as well (spotted were Sanjaya Malakar, Lakisha Jones, Haley Scarnato, Chris Richardson, Melinda Doolitle, Chris Sligh, and Phil Stacey -who was kinda wearing a navy uniform-)
As reported earlier, Paula had a broken nose for trying to not fall over her dog “Tulip”. She didn’t appear with any nose bandage, she still looked as lovely as ever, but I thought I spotted a little bruise in her left cheek (I’m not sure though).
Constantine Maroulis was also in the house. And Chris Daughtry performed during the closing credits.
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Coin toss was made last week to determine who will go first. Blake was first to perform, Jordin last. Each had three songs to sing.
For Blake Lewis:
You Give Love a Bad Name Thank Goodness he chose to perform this song. No doubt it was his best performance. Paula said: “You outdid yourself, I wish I can give a 10 + 10 +10…”.Simon said: “You’re not the best singer, but you are the best performer…I’m someone in the middle.. But I don’t think it matters because it was you best performance”.
She Will Be Loved He sounded so confident singing this song, he can make a hit out this rendition, much to the chagrin of Maroon 5…well, not so much. Blake sang the song well, I’m sure Maroon 5 is proud too. Randy Jackson said: “Great song, great vocals—Very natural”. Paula liked the performance too.
This is My Now He was kinda pitchy in the middle part, but he was still displayed so much confidence and that’s what matters. He generally did a good job.
+++++++++
For Jordin Sparks:
Fighter She surely looks better without the curly locks. I thought she sounded good, but Simon thought otherwise, saying: “Vocals were a bit shrieky in the middle”. Simon preferred Blake Lewis for the first round.
A Broken Wing
This time, Jordin got the praises from the judges. Randy Jackson said that it was “Better than the original” , which was Martina McBride. Simon said with much conviction: “That was good”.
This is My Now This is more of Jordin’s genre. She fits the song, and she sang the song so well. In as much as I would want Blake Lewis to win, I think Jordin’s rendition for this song will pull in much votes for her. She even felt like a winner already, she went emotional. And the judges were impressed too. Simon said: “You just wiped the floor with Blake on that song”.
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“This is My Now” is clearly in favor of just Jordin. How could it not be so right for her? That song was practically a ballade and it was so not Blake’s genre. Oh well, crappy songs are so American Idol finale signatures.
In Season 4, Carrie Underwood had the better rendition of the finale song versus Bo Bice (of course, that very mushy song was so out of the rocker’s league). Last year’s finale song was like the worst forgettable song ever. Katharine McPhee and Taylor Hicks probably just endured the 5-minutes of singing that song.
Results will be out in a few hours… I do hope Blake wins. Yes, Jordin has the better pipes, but Blake is far more entertaining.
Paula Abdul broke her nose during the weekend when she tried to avoid her little Chihuahua. She said: “I took a nasty fall … trying not to hurt my dog. I bruised myself on my arm … my chest, my waist all the way down to my hip. All from my little chubby Tulip”.
Okay, the dog wasn’t hurt, and Paula is now healing. The question is, will she or won’t she be on the IDOLS finals? There’s only one way to find out. Let’s all watch the strong / tight / unpredictable finale to date.
(I still think Blake’s gonna win , though). Hihihihih biased, or what?
U.S. Navy spokesman Bob Anderson confirmed to PEOPLE mag that Idol Finalist, Phil Stacey, will be able to go on the much-awaited American Idol tour this year.
Petty Officer Third Class Phil Stacey will go on tour with fellow finalists Haley Scarnato, Sanjaya Malakar, Melinda Doolittle, Lakisha Jones, Blake Lewis, Gina Glocksen, Chris Richardson, Chris Sligh and Jordin Sparks.
Simon Cowell, the most vocal straightforward judge, had a lot to say about the coming finale next week on American Idol. But, for the first time, he doesn’t have a fearless forecast as to who’s gonna win this year’s contest. He’s always been opinionated when it comes to this one (and oftentimes right about his predictions)…but not this time.
Highlights from the AI conference call article by Nichola Groom of Reuters.
When asked about his prediction in next week’s finale:
“I can’t call it at this stage…For Blake, he’s a brilliant entertainer, but the negative is he’s not a fantastic singer. The advantage for Jordin is she is a great singer and the negative is she hasn’t done one performance yet which I can remember as a ‘WOW!’ “
******
On him being “rude” to the contestants:
“They all think they are going to be voted off if they are rude to me,” he said. “If I’m rude to them they are more than entitled to be rude to me back.”
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On the whole Sanjaya Malakar frenzy:
“The whole Sanjaya thing was hysterical…I don’t think I’d be happy if he was in the final, but looking back I think it was quite amusing.”
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On Melinda Doolittle being out of the finale:
“It was unfair…She had delivered 10 weeks in a row better than anyone else…”When you allow the public to choose, you’ve got to live and die by the vote”
And the most anticipated shock elimination finally happened. The best singer in this entire season is no longer in the running, to the dismay of Simon Cowell (the judge who wanted her so bad to be in the finale…read:”I want my girl, Melinda to be in the finals”–Simon).
Melinda is no doubt, the best singer this season. No genre is too hard for her, she sings any song with ease, confidence, and professionalism. No wonder she was dubbed by Randy Jackson as the “Resident Pro”, she truly is. But this season is about who the voting public wants to stay, and these voting public’s majority are the teeners, who are greatly rooting for “teen pop sensations”.
Nonetheless, Melinda Doolittle will surely go a long way, even beyond American Idol. She doesn’t need this competition at all. She’s too good for this AI stint..
Meanwhile, it’s Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis who’s gonna be duelling it out next week at the finale. If Jordin will keep on singing songs for oldies (like “I Who Have Nothing” type of songs), that will be her downfall. Blake Lewis is being on the right track. In fact, I AM SO ROOTING FOR BLAKE LEWIS. I think he’ll win this season. I am 99% going for the thought that he’ll win this season. I wish he’ll do a beatbox acapella next week…yeah, that will really be one hell of a stunt this season. I AM A BLAKER GIRL!!!!
Jordin Sparks first sang “Wishing On A Star”, a song chosen by Simon for her, but he ironically didn’t like how she performed it. I thought it was okay. Next song was “She Works Hard for the Money”, another okay rendition. Third song was “I Who Have Nothing” which I think was another blah moment. She performed it well, but again, it was an old song. I don’t know why she keeps singing that song.
Blake Lewis sang “Roxanne”, “This Love” and “When I Get You Alone”. All great singing from Blake, all with his own flava. I wish he’ll be in the finals.
Melinda Doolittle “I Believe in You and Me”…nice. Her second song was “Nutbush City Limits”..Brilliant! Her last song was “I’m a Woman”, which she sang a lot better the first time. With the last song, she forgot a good number of words, and her moves were so calculated.
Randy Jackson predicted that it will be Jordin and Melinda dueling in the finals. Simon just wanted Melinda to be surely in the finals. Whether there will be a shock elimination, which means saying good bye to either Jordin or especially Melinda, I just wan Blake to be in the top 2.I’m gonna be aBLAKER forever!
…Jordin Sparks audiditoned in L.A. but didn’t make it, so she re-auditoned in Seattle?
…Blake Lewis worked in a construction a month before he auditioned for American Idol? …and that he has never seen American Idol before this season?…and that he has never had a cup of coffee in his entire life? hmmmmm….
…Melinda Doolittle auditioned for American Idol with the main purpose of seeing the “funny people” that audition?…and that she was a school mascot in high school and college?
Yeah, I didn’t know those infos too. Check out the top 3’s guesting on Jay Leno. Have fun
“As with any great TV show, IDOL is reliant on strong characters, and this year’s frontline cast looks and sounds more like extras”(agree or disagree ?)
American Idol totally lost it’s ratings after Sanjaya was voted off. (agree or disagree ?)
Contestants couldn’t get out of the shadow of Sanjaya? (agree or disagree ?)
The final 4, a boring quartet?(agree or disagree ?)
No breakout stars this season?(agree or disagree ?)
This show has become very boring even for Simon Cowell?(true or false)
The show has had the worst rating ever this season? (true or false)
It’s a Barry Gibb who mentored the remaining Idols. Barry Gibb is music icon, boasting 5 almost decades of being in the music industry, and was a significant part of the Beegees. The idols are to sing 2 songs each.
First up was Melinda Doolitle with the song “Love you Inside and Out”. Like a norml Beegees song, it was originally supposed to be falsetto all the way. After Melinda sang during rehearsals, Mr. Gibb was able to say that “It works for a lady”. Paula said “Your vocals are great and that’s consistent”
Melinda’s 2nd song was “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”. I thought it was a slow boring song, nonetheless, Melinda brought the house down by showcasing her great pipes. Simon said, “I think the second half of that song has put you through the semi finals”. Melinda has all the confidence, just makes it work for every song.
Blake Lewis sang “You Should Be Dancing”, still with the beat boxing and break dancing of course.He has good falsetto, and the black hair works. I get the natural high whenever he does his beatboxing. Randy and Simon didn’t like the beat boxing at all, but I TOTALLY disagree.
Blake’s 2nd song was “This is Where I Came In”. This song was never a hit, but maybe this time it will be, because of Blake. However, Simon Cowell is not a big fan of Blake tonight, saying he sang a tuneless song.
Lakisha Jones sang “Stayin’ Alive” with a slower tempo She was showing some attitude on the stage and it’s really refreshing at this point. She didn’t sing much of the high notes like Barry Gibb suggested, but it was okay. Her 2nd song was “Run to Me”, and her rendition was the very definition of pitchy. Sorry, Kiki.
Jordin Sparks sang “To Love Somebody”. It’s actually the first I’m hearing this song being sang by a girl. Mr. Gibb actually predicted her to win this contest. She also got the best words form the judges tonight (the usual “best vocals, best song choice, yadah yadah yadah). However, the tides weren’t for her when she sang her 2nd song “Woman in Love”. I was actually nervous for her when she sang that song. It was a hard song, and a little boring, Simon didn’t like it.
Results night in a few hours will reveal the final 3. I think Lakisha Jones or Blake Lewis are on the danger zone. But then again, a shocking elimination can always happen.
On this year’s idol, a 64-year old man named Sherman Pore auditioned in front of Simon, Paula, and Randy, and probably brought a lot of people to tears (that includes me and Paula Abdul). His story was something poignant. He sang “You Belong To Me” and dedicated it to his late “lady love”, Melissa Miller, who died just 2 days before the audition. She had died of ovarian cancer.
The news is, an album of his is currently in the works, and the proceeds of the said album will benefit cancer research.
The 64-year-old American Idol hopeful who stunned viewers and the judges with a moving tribute for his deceased “lady love” during the Los Angeles auditions last fall is coming out with an album that will benefit the “City of Hope” cancer research.
He is also rumored to guest on the final episode of American Idol this season. That will surely be an anticipated emotional moment. Watch this video, and be moved as well.
