American Idol Talk: I'm So Excited!

Didja hear? American Idol is actually a competition, not a spectacular one woman concert with some other people singing too? Tonight it seems, most of the rest of the cast figured this out (with the exceptions of La Doolittle and Sanjaya, neither of whom should be there, for vastly different reasons.)

It was British invasion/60's week, with guest mentors Peter Noone (of Herman's Hermits fame) and Lulu (To Sir With Love). In direct contrast to Miss Ross, both provided constructive comments that were actually useful to the contestants and were quite funny. I take that back, Miss Ross was funny, but not in a good way.

On with the show!

Haley - "Tell Him" (?) - God help me, this was adorable. She was in tune and having fun. Sassy and flirty without being totally over the top about it. The song fit and this was easily her best performance yet. Note to Haley: I'm with the Fug girls on this. I don't care how great your legs are, stop with the formal shorts.

Chris R. - "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" (Gerry and the Pacemakers) A couple of weeks ago, Chris slowed down and sang a Keith Urban song all nasally and out of tune. He tried the same thing this time and it was better. At least it was in tune. If his voice appeals to you, this was probably a great performance. He works the song, the audience, and the arrangement. Ah, if only he could sing...

Stephanie - "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" (Dusty Springfield) - Stephanie confuses me. Generally, I think she sings well but I don't seem to connect with either her or the songs she chooses. Tonight was just the opposite. Loved the song and thought her vocals were really shaky and weak. Huh??

Blake - "Time of the Season" (Zombies) - Now, aside from the weird dancing, this modernization of a classic really worked. Good vocals, great arrangement, and the minimal beat boxing fit right in seamlessly. Very nice.

LaKisha - "Diamonds Are Forever" (Shirley Bassey) - Don't get me wrong, it was good. It just wasn't LaKisha good. It wasn't outstanding, and since that is what everyone has come to expect, it was a bit of a disappointment.

Phil - "Tobacco Road"(The Nashville Teens) - I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I don't know the song, but it seemed a good fit for him. He certainly looked like he was having fun singing it. His range is much better than expected, who knew? I guess I liked it, but I may need to watch it again to be sure. Note to Phil: Dry cleaners can generally get stains out of shirts before national television appearances. Look into it.

Jordin - "I, Who Have Nothing" (Shirley Bassey) - Absolutely, the performance of the night. Pretty damn close to perfect vocals. Emotional delivery. Wistful and tender where called for with a great big finish. Amazing. Note to Jordin: That may have been the most perfect of all the perfect little black dresses ever. I will be over to raid your closet soon.

Sanjaya - "You Really Got Me" (The Kinks). This was the most wrong anything has ever been. And I mean ever in the history of history. I'm too traumatized to talk about the specifics of the performance. Dolly Parton once said "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." I don't think this was what she had in mind. G. summed it up even better. He said "I will eat shit out of the ass of your choice if Sanjaya makes it to the finals." Can't get much clearer than that.

Gina - "Paint It Black (Rolling Stones) - I wanted to like this. It's a great song and seemed like it would be a good fit for Gina. But apparently she suffers from Philitis, which now that I've said that out loud, sounds a little dirty. The softer parts of the song were horribly out of tune. Towards the end she improved, but it was still a quite shouty. Not good at all.

Chris S. - "She's Not There" (Zombies) - I wasn't as impressed with his voice as I usually am. It wasn't bad, but I would have liked it better if he had sung it a little lower. We've already got a couple of guys in this with thin, reedy voices and he really needs to distinguish himself from them. Also, I really think he ran out of air towards the end. Great song choice, though and overall a pretty good job.

Melinda - "As Long As He Needs Me" (from Oliver) - Gorgeous, flawless performance. There really isn't much else to say. Note to Melinda: More gray? Really? I thought we discussed this.

Bottom three: Phil, Stephanie, Gina
Going home: Stephanie
Should be going home but won't due to power voting by 12 year old girls much in need of therapy: Sanjaya