Wednesday, April 25, 2007

TV Wednesday: American Idol

Sanjaya managed to stretch his 15 minutes of fame into 30. But after a run at the title that had the country all a-twitter, he didn't make it last week. In interviews this week, he's expressed his desire to sing, model, and be an all-around entertainment diva. News flash: you just ain't that talented or cute — even though you have a distinquishable first name like Cher or Madonna. Now just go milk your name recognition with a product endorsement for Pantene and call it quits.

As the field is whittled away, we're seeing previously strong contenders finding their way to the bottom. After all, now with 6 finalists, half of them will be in the bottom three. Last week, Sanjaya was in the bottom three with LaKisha and Blake. Five of these folks are gonna go home before it's over.

** SPOILER ALERT FOR REST OF POST **

Now for this week's show:

The theme was Idol Gives Back, with vignettes interspersed showing where the charitable contributions being raised will go. Segments included forays to Africa; and Lousiana, Atlanta, and Los Angeles here in the U.S.

The Final 6
Jordin Sparks (pictured) — She did it again this week. Powerful and moving. She was misty eyed as she sang and got more emotional when she listened to the judges and I got a tear in my eye, too. I think she's going to take the title. Week after week I can imagine listening to her on the radio.
Chris Richardson — I liked the song and his tone, but the warbling was back. Maybe if I hang a bird house in the back yard he'll stop by sometime.
Melinda Doolittle — Another solid performance, this time more gospel with a churchy-type song.
Blake Lewis — The choice of song suited him perfectly! No gimmicks like the street dancing or beat box. Just a straight-up (ahem) vocal that was quite enjoyable. It didn't challenge his voice, which could be seen as a negative, but I liked it. Yet another week, though, with a questionable choice of clothing style that didn't appeal to me. Is he appealing to a certain demographic? Am I too old? Do I not get it? If his goal is to be unique, he certainly is accomplishing that.
LaKisha Jones — Her cover of Fantasia's I Believe was slow and plodding. I like Fantasia so much it's hard for me to hear someone else sing her words. LaKisha got better as the song went on and had a strong finish. And, since I've been critical of her appearance in the past, I have to be even handed and say that she looked great in the black dress and bright jewelry.
Phil Stacey — I'm not a Garth Brooks fan, and now that the judges said Phil did so well with the song, I'm reminded why. I think he's locked up the CW vote and may go down to the final three because of it. I'm not sure Blake has it in him to deliver "talk at the water cooler" performances to block Phil from advancing.

My Predictions For This Week
Best — Jordin Sparks
Worst — Phil Stacey
Out — Chris Richardson

Past Results: The Top 10 Go On Tour This Summer
Out 4/18/7 — Sanjaya Malakar #7
Out 4/11/7 — Haley Scarnato #8
Out 4/4/7 — Gina Glocksen #9
Out 3/28/7 — Chris Sligh #10


Out 3/21/7 — Stephanie Edwards
Out 3/14/7 — Brandon Rogers
Out 3/8/7 — Jared C., Sundance H., Antonella B., Sabrina S.
Out 3/1/7 — Nick P., A.J. Tabaldo, Alaina A., Leslie H.
Out 2/22/7 — Rudy C., Paul K., Amy K., Nicole T.
*

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It looked like Blake was wearing the deconstruction fashion -- I think the looks springs from the going green movement. Some new designers spring their fashions from recycled and redesigned thrift-store finds while the old guys like Ralph Lauren shred new blazers and jeans and toss a bit of paint on for pizazz. And Gavin I'm a year older than you -- get with it!

When it comes down to the last two, don't they write their own songs? I want to see what Blake and Melinda will create and perform. So I guess they are my picks.

I think Jordan