American Idol 2007

[MJ4H]

Yeah basically. Here, listen to a short excerpt if you want.

[Ksyrup]

Wow. That's one hell of a pure voice. Someone needs to get her away from the Disney music and put her in a band, though.

[MJ4H]

Disney music, indeed. Nella Fantasia is a song based on Gabrielle's Oboe from the movie The Mission, composed by a guy you may have heard of, Ennio Morriconne (recent lifetime acheivement award at the Oscars).

[Ksyrup]

Honestly, she'd be perfect for a symphonic metal band like Therion. They use real opera singers and such.

Just looking for some way to relate an obvious talent to something I might actually enjoy, that's all!

[Crim]

Re: Suckjaya's sister... have you guys noticed her freakishly large forehead and reptilian wide-set eyes?!? I mean, I'm a tit guy too, but that face is a deal breaker for me!

[MJ4H]

Now you know why paper bags were invented.

[wade moore]

So - are Melinda and LaKisha going to be in anyway pushed out of their comfort zone or forced to make a song out of their comfort zone in to their style? Seems like no, and I find that very dissapointing and discouraging personally.

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by MattJones4Heisman

Now you know why paper bags were invented.

a paperbag would not help

hxxp://slimtainment.com/idolblog/wp-content/photos/shyamalihooters.jpg

[Logan]

Originally Posted by wade moore

So - are Melinda and LaKisha going to be in anyway pushed out of their comfort zone or forced to make a song out of their comfort zone in to their style? Seems like no, and I find that very dissapointing and discouraging personally.

I hope so, and the AI producers should make it happen so they get knocked out. I believe a few weeks back we were talking about how bad the show would look if Melinda got knocked out, since she is 10x the singer than anyone else and could be a professional today. Well, my opinion has changed pretty quickly...the show will look bad once again when the winner ends up having a much worse career (or no commercial career) compared to the losers. And soon it'll be looking bad to not just the people like me who never watched a season like Ruben-Clay but know that the runner-up is more successful, but the core audience will start wondering why their winners aren't tearing up the charts like the ones they're going up against.

I mean, eventually it has to catch up with them right?

edit: Do you think people are going to end up going crazy over the Melinda-Lakisha combo during the Idol Tour?

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Logan

I hope so, and the AI producers should make it happen so they get knocked out. I believe a few weeks back we were talking about how bad the show would look if Melinda got knocked out, since she is 10x the singer than anyone else and could be a professional today. Well, my opinion has changed pretty quickly...the show will look bad once again when the winner ends up having a much worse career (or no commercial career) compared to the losers. And soon it'll be looking bad to not just the people like me who never watched a season like Ruben-Clay but know that the runner-up is more successful, but the core audience will start wondering why their winners aren't tearing up the charts like the ones they're going up against.

I mean, eventually it has to catch up with them right?

It's a good question that I'm not sure the answer too. In reality, I think you can say that only two Idol Winners have had commercial success - Clarkson and Underwood. Reuban, Fantasia, and Hicks have all had mediocre commercial success. However, Daughtry, McPhee, Grayson have all certainly been more commercially successful than those three winners - and I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting since last season was the first season I watched.

[Easy Mac]

I disagree. I think people see this as nothing more than a game or a contest and really don't care who sells more. This is reflected by the fact that if it was all about selling records for the audience, then 30 million people would be buying American Idol albums, but those numbers are nowhere close.

[Solecismic]

I find it difficult to read anything nefarious into the Idol system. The voting rewards the power voices, which don't necessarily translate into commercial success.

We are conditioned by the format to recognize the strongest instrument. Sometimes, that is coupled with absurd amounts of talent, like with Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. And sometimes it isn't.

It's a subjective system, and that pretty much guarantees a lot of people won't be happy with the results. At least it's better than how we choose presidential candidates.

[Toddzilla]

Please Please Please DO NOT vote Sanjaya off....

[Swaggs]

Andy Samberg did a pretty solid rendition of Sanjaya on SNL this past weekend.

[Solecismic]

Tonight's theme is Pop Songs of the '90s. Gwen Stefani, everybody's favorite gender unspecific singer, is guiding the proceedings.

As usual, many of the constestants are playing it fast and loose with the song choices. The divas are singing 1980s Donna Summer songs, the ballad-oriented guys are choosing 1980s Police songs. In fact, only the trio shamelessly sucking up to Stefani seemed to choose songs anyone would ever identify with the 1990s.

In order of performance...


Lakisha Jones - "Love Has a Mind of its Own" - Donna Summer

Randy says: "I liked it, I like you, what a way to open the show."
Paula says: "Murphl bloffy terrapin quaable"
Simon says: "It was a bit slow, a bit too much in your comfort zone. I'd like to see you try something a little more modern."

Expected Score: 80.


Blake Lewis - "Love Song" - Tesla?

Randy says: "I have no idea what it is, but I liked it."
Paula says: "Crunky blaffles!"
Simon says: "I didn't like your song choice this week. I thought it was too slow and a little odd. It was all Blake improvising, and I think you're at your best with more melody to work with."

Expected Score: 75.


Jordin Sparks - "Hey Baby" - No Doubt

Randy says: "It's good to see you out there, but I don't know that it was your best vocal."
Paula says: "Wizzle cranfl reskatootle blumpki."
Simon says: "You need to perform songs that show off your range and the quality of your voice. This is more an energy song, and it just wasn't a good choice for you."

Expected Score: 73.


Chris Richardson - "Don't Speak" - No Doubt

Randy says: "I like the song choice, I like the quality of your voice, I think it was a bit pitchy."
Paula says: (nothing, she's just drooling like a lapdog with a fresh bone).
Simon says: "I'm not sure it was a great choice for you, but I like you and I think you made your fans (glances at Paula) very happy."

Expected Score: 78.


Gina Glocksen - "Just Like a Pill" - Pink

Randy says: "I'm just going to frown at you, because you already know what I'm going to say."
Paula says: "You're you, and that's what I love about you."
Simon says: "The lower ranges were simply dreadful. I know you want to preserve your place here as the rock singer, but that seemed very forced. I think you're in some danger this week."

Expected Score: 52.


Phil Stacey - "Every Breath You Take" - The Police

Randy says: "I just don't know. That didn't really do it for me. I mean, it's good, but, uh, it's good."
Paula says: "Skibbie wooo furley rangerabbits."
Simon says: "You know what that sounded like? You know when your father has had a little too much to drink, and he meets a pretty girl, but your mother's there so he doesn't want to say anything overt, but he wants to let her know, and then he gets up on a table and sings. That's what it sounded like."

Expected Score: 57.


Haley Scarnato - "True Colors" - Cyndi Lauper

Randy says: "You know, I kinda liked it. Maybe not your best performance, but it was okay. I mean okay, you know."
Paula says: "You're Haley, and you're always going to be Haley, and I love that."
Simon says: "I don't think that was a very good choice for you. It just wasn't a very strong performance. I won't remember it tomorrow. I loved the dress."

Expected Score: 66.


Sanjaya Malakar - "Sunday Morning" - No Doubt

Randy says: "It's good to see you having fun up there. I'm not sure the reggae beat was a great choice for you."
Paula says: "Nilldy wanngrass flibby gerfunket."
Simon says: "I have no idea why you're still here. You have a good voice, but it wasn't a good performance."

Expected Score: 54.


Melinda Doolittle - "Sunset People" - Donna Summer

Randy says: "That was a hot vocal. I enjoyed the faster pace this week, you're in your comfort zone and it really shows."
Paula says: "Priyannamawgally!!"
Simon says: "Like LaKisha, I want to see you try something new and different. You really are a sweetheart, aren't you? Yes you are, Melinda. Yes you are, and that is just so rare."

Expected Score: 85.


Chris Sligh - "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" - The Police

Randy says: "That just didn't do it, dawg. It was kind of bad, you know."
Paula says: "I thought it was pitchy, but you know how much I love you."
Simon says: "You're going to have to step it up. There are three or four people here who want to be here, and that just wasn't good enough."

Expected Score: 61.


Overall... I'm not all that impressed with the song choices. I know the '90s pop scene was kind of a wasteland - grunge groups took off and the mainstream became a lot less cool. Still, finding a bunch of '80s songs that sort of fit in more reminds me why grunge was necessary in the first place. I see the LaKisha/Melinda combo dominating tonight even though they are staying firmly in their comfort zones simply because no one else will step it up. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not looking forward to tonight.

[adubroff]

I think Sunday Morning is Maroon 40 and Love Song is The Cure. I am most curious about Blake doing that one.

Of the shakier contestants, I believe Haley has done the best picking a song to fit her voice/talents.

[sabotai]

Just my opinion on what I've seen over the years, but it seems to me that people are more likely to vote for someone who sings a modern, popular song "well" over someone who hits an oldie out of the park. Melinda will not win this competition unless she starts singings songs that were written after the invention of indoor plumbing (or at least songs that sound like they were written after it). This week was her perfect chance to do that, and she blew it.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

Please Please Please DO NOT vote Sanjaya off.

Can't......stop.....watching.....

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm almost certain Sunday Morning is No Doubt as my roommate in college was a huge fan and played their music constantly.


Jim, that was hilarious commentary and so on point.


Edit: Per Google, Sunday Morning definitely is by No Doubt.

[JeeberD]

Maroon 5 has a song called Sunday Morning as well, but going by the category I would guess it's the No Doubt song tonight...

[adubroff]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Maroon 5 has a song called Sunday Morning as well, but going by the category I would guess it's the No Doubt song tonight...

Makes sense. I will go crawl back in my hole.

[RedKingGold]

I'm getting really tired of the divas escaping and getting good reviews for basically doing the same thing every freaking week.

[Sublime 2]

Gwen Stefani is yummy

[MJ4H]

Gina picks awesome songs. This song fucking rules.

[adubroff]

Originally Posted by MattJones4Heisman

Gina picks awesome songs. This song fucking rules.

Gina is the Greg Luzinski of this competition. She swings for the fences and when she connects, the ball goes REALLY far.

[MJ4H]

HAHAHAHAHA

[MJ4H]

dola

sunjaya

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Flasch186]

wow, she is extra hot tonight....

and I thought we'd have a courtney love moment there.

[FBPro]

Haley=yummy!!!!(who cares what she sounds like).

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by FBPro

Haley=yummy!!!!(who cares what she sounds like).

I concur.

[FBPro]

I just hope she sticks around just so we can look at her.

[adubroff]

I give the week to Gina. It's the first week I think you can make an arguement that Melinda didn't do the very best. It will be interesting come vote counting time, because the performances I think were all around pretty strong. I never like Chris, but I liked him this week. Ditto Phil. Blake, Melinda, Lakisha were their usual strong selves. Even Svenjaya wasn't awful this week in my mind.

I didn't like Jordin near as much as the judges, I'd put her in my bottom 3 this week along with Chris and Haley.

[wade moore]

I'd give the week to Gina with some order of Phil Stacey (to my surprise), Blake, and Melinda in the next tier.

[Thomkal]

Heh Jim, I liked your judges comments better than the real thing.

Well a pretty blah week for me, maybe because I'm not a Gwen Stefani fan and three of the people picked her songs. Other than one person none of them were my favorite performances from them. I think Gina wins hands down here.

The two Chris's are in the most danger I think, probably Phil too. That is if Sanjaya doesn't go after making himself an even bigger joke than he already is. My god everything about it from the hair to the song choice was awful. Loved Simon's comment about him being in his own universe though. Would that be "Bizarro Universe?"

[MJ4H]

1. Melinda - always technically sound, always emotive.
2. Gina - fantastic song. A few bobbles in the performance but I'm a fan of this song so I'm biased.
3. Lakisha - pretty technically solid, pretty boring. I can't really even remember it as I type this.
4. Phil - performed well, but tried to sound too much like Sting for me. Still pretty good.
5. Blake - yeah this was pretty rough pitch-wise in some spots, but Blake has style and is always entertaining.
6. Chris R - I'm amazed frequently that while Simon doesn't seem to get some of the technical music things, he almost always gets when someone has fundamental problems while Randy and Paula are frequently the opposite. Chris did struggle in the middle with his pitch and phrasing and Simon recognized it, but I'm not sure he knew exactly what he recognized--just that he was struggling.
7. Jordin - Yikes, I thought this was extremely hokey and completely missed the spirit of the original. Like Mary Poppins trying to sing Joan Jett.
8. Chris S - oof
9. Haley - Pretty girl who can sing ok.
10. Sanjaya - this isn't even worth a discussion.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

I'm getting really tired of the divas escaping and getting good reviews for basically doing the same thing every freaking week.

I could not agree more.

Someone explain to me the point of a "theme" if Melinda and Lakisha can basicly sing the same songs every week.

[Drake]

I would fully support a Skinemax musical for Haley.

[Mustang]

I'm officially bored with Melinda and Lakisha.. good singers but, if Blake gets the comment of 'You're doing Chris Daughtry and doing your own thing' not sure what exactly Melinda and Lakisha are doing. IMO, they have done nothing to be unique. At this point, I'd like to see a final of Jordin and Blake.

Unfortunately, my DVR screwed up when Sanjaya sang.. it is as though the finger of God scrambled it so I would not suffer.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Mustang

I'm officially bored with Melinda and Lakisha.. good singers but, if Blake gets the comment of 'You're doing Chris Daughtry and doing your own thing' not sure what exactly Melinda and Lakisha are doing. IMO, they have done nothing to be unique. At this point, I'd like to see a final of Jordin and Blake.

Agree 100%

[FBPro]

Originally Posted by Drake

I would fully support a Skinemax musical for Haley.

Anything to see more of her.

[Swaggs]

I think Gina and maybe Blake, if he had some really great songs, are the only two this season that I would be interested in seeing live or buying one of their CDs.

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by Drake

I would fully support a Skinemax musical for Haley.

Pair her up with Sanjaya's sister, and I'd walk funny for the rest of my life...

[Solecismic]

So much for previews this week. Pay no attention to the man behind the spoiler sources. If you don't watch out, seven little monkeys will spring out from Sanjaya's hairdo, pick up brooms and launch an aerial attack not seen since the days when Peyton Manning was all about touchdown numbers and failure in the playoffs.

Speaking of reversals, Gwen Stefani is looking pretty hot these days. I guess she took her own vocal advice about not oversinging good melodies and applied that to her makeup staff. There's no doubt, no doubt at all I would have given her more a listen in the '90s had she presented this more feminine side. First Fergie, now this. What's up with that?

Tonight was songs by artists who Gwen considers an inspiration. Strangely enough, they include Gwen Stefani. Did you know that if you play her first album at 78 speed, it's the perfect soundtrack for the premiere episode of South Park? For you kids who are too young to know what 78 speed means, Google it or something, as I get to the ratings:

1. Gina Glocksen. My spoiler site had her mangling a Pink song with a difficult lower register. She had other ideas, fortunately. She took on a sincere Pretenders song and kept it very much under control. It was night and day from last week as she was able to show her power without losing her pitch. Score of 93.

2. Melinda Doolittle. We run the risk at this point of expecting perfection every week out. She picked up the pace with a faster Donna Summer song and really performed it well, hanging back for the first minute and letting loose in the final bars. A very professional approach, well done as always. Again, I'm wondering why a seasoned pro is kicking ass in an amateurs' competition. Score of 90.

3. Chris Richardson. I liked this vocal a lot better than I thought I would. His tune is very good and he can handle complex runs as well as anyone in the competition. His voice doesn't have the pure tone I think is necessary to win it all, but he's making the most of every week. Score of 84.

4. Blake Lewis. I had him singing the wrong Love Song. This was The Cure's version, and much better suited to his brooding vocal style. I think he made the right choice not to beatbox it up, but he had a bit of trouble with the higher notes. Part of this score is just enjoying that someone is doing a competent job adding a completely different performance style to the Idol repetoire. Score of 83.

5. Phil Stacey. He did a very nice job imitating Sting performing a difficult song. Usually, Phil is bad karaoke. Tonight, he was very good karaoke. Score of 82.

6. Jordin Sparks. Jordin clearly studied the hell out of old No Doubt videos. She had Gwen Stefani facial expressions down pat, mannerisms, even dressed the part, taking care to cover the less toned midriff. Jordin will be a phenomenal Broadway star some day. It was good to see her take a chance, but it wasn't up to her usual vocal level. Score of 81.

7. LaKisha Jones. Three through seven today were separated by a handful of points. This wasn't really a bottom half peformance, it's just that after Melinda and Gina, the next five were good but not great. LaKisha also picked up the pace with Donna Summer tonight, and did a nice job, but I could tell she was out of her comfort zone. Score of 80.

8. Haley Scarnato. Miles and miles of space between number seven and eight, though. It started rough, then she had a nice run that had me hoping she could finally break through, but then she crashed badly in the middle and could not retain her rhythm or tone. She just can't get past these Miss America competition level renditions. I think she should make the transition to Miss America. I'd vote for her there, not here. Score of 60.

9. Chris Sligh. From day one, I've worried he doesn't put in the work. He had some decent ideas here, and probably should have done a lot better, but the end result was just a poor imitation of Sting. Stacey flat out beat him like a rug tonight. Score of 57.

10. Sanjaya Malakar. Last week, he had a lot of energy, and sold a decent parody. I liked it. This week, he lacked energy, looked like an idiot, but still tried to sell a parody version of a song. It was pure amateur crap as a result. Score of 34.

Who's in the bottom three: Chris Sligh, Haley, Phil.

Who should go: Sanjaya.

Who will go: Chris Sligh.

Average Scores to date:

Melinda 92, Jordin 84, LaKisha 83, Blake 80, Gina 78, Chris Richardson 76, Chris Sligh 67, Phil 63, Haley 63, Sanjaya 49.

[LoneStarGirl]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

In order of performance...

Where did you get that that was the order of performance? It was totally off.

I loved Gina tonight. She blew me away. Phil was second with Jordin third. Jordin is freaking awesome and I agree she would be terrific for the finale with Blake

[Ksyrup]

I'm with you guys on the Lakisha/Melinda thing. I'm officially on an anti-diva platform. After we rid the world of Chris R. I don't think I've ever seen a singer after whose performances I've said - every time - "that was flawless, but awful." But that's basically my comment after Mellinda sings every week. Horrible music, performed professionally. But as often as Simon says that he's seen these performances on a cruise ship or whatever, I have to say the same about Melinda - except, maybe not a cruise ship, but Broadway or some high-end Vegas show. Woop-de-freaking-do.

I hate that music with a passion, and the fact that they can sing the same shitty-sounding songs week and week regardless of the theme pisses me off to no end.

[Ksyrup]

Sanjaya's hair was what he tried to do last week for You Really Got Me, but the hair stylist couldn't get the gel to work, so he scrapped it at the last minute and came up with the individual ponytails to pull it off this week. I didn't think it was possible for him to be worse every week, but he managed it.

Chris S. was really bad too. I'll say it again - lose and go back to your band.

[Ksyrup]

BTW, Jim, hxxp://mjsbigblog.com/ pretty much nails the spoilers every week - even down to the wardrobe (they reported the Sanjaya hair thing last week).

[Eaglesfan27]

I mostly agree with Jim's rankings, but I would knock Chris Richardson down at least 3 slots to just above Haley and bump everyone else up 1 slot. Gwen looked incredible tonight. Haley looked even better. I hope she hangs around for at least a few more weeks.


Edited to add: I really loved Gina's look tonight as well as her song and had her first on my list. I see signs of improving confidence in Jordin every week which should carry her far with her talent.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

BTW, Jim, hxxp://mjsbigblog.com/ pretty much nails the spoilers every week - even down to the wardrobe (they reported the Sanjaya hair thing last week).

Sorry, not sure what happened this week. I use a variety of sources and this looked reliable. Obviously whoever came up with it made up the order and only had about half the songs right.

[Ksyrup]

Had I seen the differences before the show, I would have said something, but I didn't get to MJ's site today. I just went there, though, and they had most of the songs and the order. A couple they just knew the artist, but not song.