Manhattan Chowder, Back in the Big Apple

Idol Chat (Part 7)

Okay, so this week is the big "Idol gives back" bru-ha-ha. Very nice. Touching. Of course Ryan could have shaved for the occasion, but that's just me. We went to Africa, New Orleans and even had a case of the warm fuzzies with Simon feeding the hungry in downtown LA. This meant that the song choices for the contestants this week were inspirational in sentiment. For the most part all the contestants did pretty well, and as Simon said, the competition has begun in earnest. Of course he didn't say so, but I think he was implying that with you-know-who behind us, the show has regained its credibility. So, on with tonight's performances.

Chris Richardson--Sang "Change the World"--beautifully! When he started there was a nice, quiet, easy confidence to him. He sang with honesty and conviction. And then like the Chris of old, he kicked it up vocally on the refrain for a really first rate performance.

Melinda--Sang Faith Hill's "There Will Come a Day." Beautiful, strong, pure, original. Melinda is a star.

Blake--Sang John Lennon's "Imagine." With a theme like tonight's, "Imagine" is a bit of a cliche. It is too familiar and almost impossible to divorce from the John Lennon version. Also, while the lyrics may be appropriate for the theme, musically the song is one level. It's just a little too simple and easy, especially when your competition is going to be pulling out all the vocal stops. That said, Blake gave a very honest, lovely performance of the song, albeit a bit dull.

LaKisha--Once again Lakisha suffers from an appalling lack of originality choosing to sing the signature song of yet another winning American Idol for the second week in a row. This time she chose Fantasia's "I Believe." The arrangement was left in Fantasia's key and therefore too low for LaKisha, she was sharp in the beginning verses. Once again comparisons are inevitable, if there is one audience NOT to sing past Idol winner songs for, it's the Idol audience! We're all too familiar with Fantasia's version which was better, frankly. The judges said as much as well. LaKisha has a great voice, but really lacks the instincts to be a great, original performer.

Phil Stacey--I missed the title of his song because Scott called just then. Anyway, it was a Garth Brooks tune that he sang very well. I did think he sounded a bit throaty and pushed in places, but he did well with it overall. He's got a great voice. It's just a matter of whether his look gets in the way for you. It does for me. So there you go.

Jordin--Sang "You'll Never Walk Alone." When I simply heard the song choice I got verklempt and I was a mess from that point on. Taking a HUGE risk by singing a traditional showtune, Jordin committed emotionally to the song and delivered an extremely powerful, spectacularly moving vocal. This girl never misses now. She is so exciting to watch. Love her!

Best Performance--Melinda and Jordin.

Worst Performance--LaKisha.

Bottom Three --Blake, Phil, LaKisha.

Who Will be Voted Off--LaKisha, too many missed steps in a row. But it could be Phil, too.

RESULTS UPDATE: No one goes home. It was charity night. Either that or they were so happy that Sanjaya is gone they let everyone else stay another week.

Labels: Idol

posted by Michael @ 9:03 PM