Last night the girls had a chance to show their stuff again on “American Idol.” With the guys improving just a bit it was going to be interesting to see how they responded. Some of them did respond, but most were off the mark from last week, mainly because they set the bar extremely high for themselves.
Here is the recap….
THE VERY GOOD
Melinda Doolittle is REALLY REALLY good. If anyone took it up a notch last night, it was her, and she established herself as a frontrunner. Singing “My Funny Valentine,” Melinda proved that she is in a completely different league than just about everyone else in this competition. I’m getting goose bumps just thinking about that performance. Randy said Melinda is “in it to win it,” Paula said it was “astounding,” and Simon said that it was incredible and that he doesn’t think Melinda knows how good she is. Amen to that. Not only is she awesome, she’s humble.
THE GOOD
Since Melinda kind of blurred the line this week, it was slightly harder to judge the 3 categories. But here were the other good performances…
Lakisha Jones did Gladys Knight’s “Midnight Train to Georgia” and it wasn’t as good as last week’s effort, but still near the top of all of them last night. Randy said Lakisha seemed nervous, Paula loved it and Simon said she is a phenonmenal singer but didn’t act like it this week.
Stephanie Edwards did Beyonce’s “Dangerously In Love” and it was a bit dangerous of an attempt. I mean, this is Beyonce we’re talking about. Randy said it was like “Beyonce lite” and I kind of agreed with him, but Paula and Simon both thought it was great. Stephanie isn’t going anywhere.
Sabrina took on a Whitney Houston song and while she wasn’t quite as good as last week either, she was still awesome. Randy said Sabrina has a “big voice,” Paula labeled her a “contender,” and Simon said it was very good but that Sabrina was almost shouting the song. She is also not going anywhere soon either.
THE IN-BETWEEN
Gina Glockson was stuffed into this red dress like a sausage, and sang Heart’s “Alone” kind of pitchy and all over the place. She has a strong voice, but she’s really getting on my nerves. Randy said it was a good song choice but pitchy, and Simon said it sounded forced and that we’re not really sure who the “real” Gina is yet. We might not have a chance to find out, either. But here’s the kicker….after Gina dedicated her performance to her boyfriend, Ryan Seacrest asked how long they had been dating and she said two years. So Seacrest shouts out to Gina’s boyfriend on national TV, “Dude, time for the ring.”
Ryan, you can’t do something like that on national TV…..there’s got to be a man-law about it! I feel so bad for that poor guy, and not just because of who he’s dating.
Haley Scarnato sang Whitney’s “Queen of the Night” and it was way better than last week, but still not enough to inch her toward the top. Randy thought the band drowned Haley out and wondered if it was on purpose, Paula said it was better than last week, and Simon said she got an “A” for effort but that she is vulnerable this week.
Jordin Sparks was also pretty good but not as good as last week. Randy said she had pitchy moments but he was still impressed. Paula called her “infectious,” and Simon said Jordin has “massive potential.” I mean, she’s only 17. Jordin will likely stick around a bit. And may I please shout out to her dad, Phillippi Sparks, who was in the audience? Dude was a New York Football Giant!
THE BAD
Alaina Alexander sang the Dixie Chicks’ “Not Ready To Make Nice” and she was kind of pitchy and shouting. Randy said as much, and Paula said Alaina picked a hard song. Simon likened it to Randy Jackson running a 100-meter spring, that she kind of ran out of gas and was straining throughout the song. Alaina is in real danger of going home this week.
Antonella took on Celine Dion and was, like everyone would expect, all over the place. She just doesn’t measure up in this competition and her looks and Internet photos will only get her so far. Hell, the latter may just get her kicked off this week. Randy said Antonella is gorgeous but picked the wrong song, Paula said it was better than last week and Simon said he thought it was worse than last week. This girl has got to be going home, though nothing surprises me.
Leslie, the dog walker, has a lot of potential but I can’t help but think that something is missing with her. Randy said her performance was pitchy, and Simon summed it up best when he said that Leslie is good but that she’d been “whacked” by three or four big voices that sang before her. I think Leslie sticks around one more week but she is in danger of getting the boot, too.
So my picks to go home are, for the guys: Sunjaya and Brandon. For the girls, Alaina and Antonella.
Tonight there will be a performance by last season finalist Kellie Pickler. Will she say anything dumb? Stay tuned! There should also be another horrible group performance. Can’t wait, how about you?
