American Idol 6 - Idol Gives Back 4/24 Songs To Inspire

Well another episode of American Idol is over and it was a pretty good episode. Most of the contestants rose to the theme and without he who should not be named it was a totally different show then it has been for the last few weeks.

I had rehearsal and so I was late getting home. Since I knew the order of the singers I started voting around 9:30 while I was driving home since I have one touch dialing on my cell phone. I was excited to find out I had 4 hours to vote but the system actually allowed me to vote until 1:45 a.m. I hit an all time record of votes last night and this morning. I put in a record 2,971 votes with the majority going to my 4 favorites of Jordin, Melinda, Blake and LaKisha. I did actually put in a few votes for Chris and Phil. I had 4 phones and just kept dialing especially with two numbers each. I was in voting heaven.

On with my comments and my I hate myself prediction on the elimination for tonight:

Chris Richardson - "Change The World"

I have to nick pick (oh how surprising) but this is not an inspirational song it is a love song, there is a difference but oh well. I liked the arrangement and I thought the choice of starting while sitting was good and the use of the guitar player to remind you of the original artist. Vocally this was one of Chris's better performances. His tone was nice and clear and thankfully his enunciation was good, I heard the words. My real problem is his performance did not inspire me, I did not feel the emotion of the song especially a damn love song. I can give Chris credit for the incredible vocal but there was no feeling in what he was singing. He did not have a clue on how to sell the emotions of the song.

Randy - for the first time in a long time, you were in it to win, great

Paula - fantastic, good song choice, well done, I am proud of the progress you have made throughout the show

Simon - the competition has started in earnest tonight, for the first time since your audition I saw the potential you have, good vocal, it was a soulful, sexy performance, you did well

Melinda Doolittle - "There Will Come a Day"

Melinda was looking hot, everything was working, the dress, the make up, the hair and the accessories, loved the shoes. Melinda delivered an brilliant A+ performance. Her vocals moved me, the woman can sing a song and this is a song all about inspiration. Melinda had me on my feet clapping. Melinda was working it and she proved she deserves to be a star. Melinda should have opened the show!

Randy - every week I say you are the resident pro, every performance, I don't know what else to say, you have arrived

Paula - it must feel great to come out to such praise, love, good comments, there is no one like you, magical

Simon - what I loved about this is it wasn't a copy cat, you made me believe you recorded this song, the second half was a master class of singing

Blake Lewis - "Imagine"

I absolutely adore this song and its beautiful message. Blake chose the right song and also made the perfect choice to just sing it without any vocal Olympics, there were no extras, he didn't change the arrangement. I was truly moved by this performance. I totally disagree with the judges on this one. I was crying by the end of the number and for the right reason. To me the simplicity of the vocal, there was great tone, it was on pitch, I just found this to be a joyous, transcendental vocal. I actually clapped when he was finished as I was trying to wipe the tears off my face. I will remember this number for a long time and I will be purchasing it off the Idol website.

Randy - it was a good choice of song, the performance was just okay for me

Paula - I was agreeing with Randy at first but then I realized the sensitive performance you were giving, I enjoyed it

Simon - this was tricky, it is such an iconic song so anyone would pale in comparison to the original and it is not a number you can belt out but it felt sincere and that is important, good

LaKisha Jones - "I Believe"

LaKisha was looking hot as well tonight. Very nice dress. I personally was not a fan of Fantasia and I did not ever vote for her and I thought her performance of this song on the finale was horrible, I liked Diana DeGarmo's version better. I actually thought LaKisha picked a good song and she sang it with out all the tacky and horrible histrionics that Fantasia used but the vocals were not that good. She started off very sharp and there were pitch problems. Her enunciation was 1000 times better than Fantasia though. The power of her voice is unquestionable but she wasn't using the power of that voice, she was shouting. I am not sure if it was a breath issue or what. I believe LaKisha was sincere and she was selling the emotion and meaning of the lyrics but her vocals didn't get me 100% where I should have been by the end.

Randy - there were pitch problems, it was good but it is hard to follow Fantasia (no it isn't)

Paula - was rambling about we say don't do Whitney or Celine but finally got around to saying that you are a powerhouse vocalist

Simon - what Paula was saying is she preferred the Fantasia version better, it was very emotional but you had a tendency to shout

Phil Stacey - "The Change"

Phil cleans up well and thankfully chose the right attire. I have to admit I did not like this performance at all, Phil was very stiff and I wasn't believing one word of what he was trying to sell. There were problems with his vocals, he sounded strange to me and at one point he was just talking not singing. I don't think it was song choice. I am not sure why this performance was turning me off. I was bored and was glad when it was over. I totally disagree with the judges. It was just okay for me, nothing special and I was not inspired.

Randy - strong performance, you have shown us who you are, good vocal

Paula - you have found your comfort zone

Simon - I really like you, you are showing more confidence, you need to stick with the country tone, your tone was different this evening, you connected

Jordin Sparks - "You'll Never Walk Alone"

The only bright spot of Rogers & Hammerstein's Carousel is this number. It was a great song choice and so matches the theme of the evening. Jordin was killer in that outfit. There are not enough superlatives to talk about this performance. It gave me chills. It was another Idol moment. It was hands down the absolute best vocal of the evening. This girl has so much control over her voice. There was so much emotion in her performance I was crying once again. It is amazing to me how much Jordin has improved and grown through the competition. It is performances like these which make the whole experience worthwhile including suffering through he who should not be named. What a way to end a show! Another performance I will purchase on-line.


Now that we have a competition it becomes harder and harder to make predictions. I am not sure they will have a bottom 3 or two during the results. I can't wait to see how they are going to give the results in the middle of two hours of performances, more clips of how we can help the poverty stricken, etc.

For me based on performance Phil and LaKisha should be in the bottom 2. If there is a bottom 3 throw in Chris.

While it pains me to put it in writing, I believe LaKisha will be going home tonight which will be a shame.

This is going to be the first time I will look forward to a two hour results show. I was cheated when it turned out Bono only assisted the contestants in the group number they will be performing tonight in a pre-taped interview. Bono won't be singing tonight which is a shame.

Until tomorrow.....