earsucker

In this mini-series, up until tomorrow night, I’ll be giving my commentary before and after the show. Part One was my thoughts prior to seeing tonight’s show and this part will be my review.

Tonight’s show started off with Blake Lewis doing his rendition of “You give love a bad name” by Bon Jovi. Again, he beatboxed the heck out of it and gave it some true originality.

Following that showing, Jordin Sparks did Christina Aguilera’s popular upbeat track, “Fighter”. She gave it her all and was decent.

Round one went to Blake by everyone’s standards. And was it me or did Paula seem like she was jacked up on some serious painkillers? And what on earth was Randy wearing?!??

Next up, they were tasked with doing one of their favorite songs. Blake started this round off with “She will be loved” by Maroon 5. He didn’t knock this one out of the park, by any means.

Jordin one-upped him with “A broken wing”, which she had previously sung. She killed Blake with this song, hands down. Heck, she should, she’s been singing it since she was twelve.

Round two went to Jordin.

Finally, they both gave their renditions of the song written by the winners of the songwriting competition, “This is my now”. Blake was bland and Simon even suggested that he be judged by his first two performances. Jordin had her way with the song and shined with her vocal style and talent. It was almost as if this song was written for her.

Round three also went to Jordin.

We’ll see what happens, but my guess is that Jordin’s going to win. (Melinda should’ve been in her place!!)

Tonight is part one of the American Idol finale. Having Melinda Doolittle out of the way, I can ask this: Does anyone still care? I know I’ll be watching it, just because I have to put my two cents into anything related to music.

But honestly, the American public has already voted off most of the major talent from the show. The end result is that the sixth American Idol is going to be a mediocre kid with half of the real talent of ousted Melinda or Lakisha. Ya gotta know that Melinda was really wanting to win this thing, too, the woman has heart.

So, I’ll tell you what I will be boycotting: the sales of any Blake Lewis or Jordin Sparks music.

I read this over at CNN and was kinda baffled:

She was an “amazing talent,” a young singer with a wonderful voice who wrote beautiful songs. But she was no beauty, plus flat-chested and overweight to boot.

Remembering the aspiring star, music executive Jody Gerson still feels terrible about thinking: “She’s never going to get signed, even though she’s fabulous.”

They compared the two great wonders that American Idol ousted, Lakisha Jones and Melinda Doolittle, to the two remaining contestants, Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks. Saying that Lakisha and Melinda were the two real talents of the show was indeed an understatement. Their talent alone should’ve been enough to end them up in the final two, but unfortunately, it appears that their look is not what the music industry is looking for.

I pride myself on oncovering some real talent, here and there, for my own amusement. I don’t care if you’re fat, skinny, or have a third arm. If you have talent, then you’re going to be on my Ipod.

That’s why when Melinda or Lakisha come out with a CD, I’ll be jumping on that. So what if one was compared to Shrek and the other one is picked on for having a gap in her teeth. So what if they don’t fit the industry standard of what’s hot. They fit into my idea of what a real singing competition should be, and that’s talent. I closed my eyes and listened to the entertainers on that stage while they sang their hearts out, and that’s what America should do, too.

Suck it, Avril.

American Idol has the formula down for making you want to watch that nonsense. Recently, they sent home Melinda Doolittle, who has a gargantuan amount of talent, in lieu of two younger, less-talented kids, Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks.

Melinda Doolittle gave it her all on last week’s show and blew them both away, but American Idol can’t turn it’s back on their younger, more popular, audience base: 12-30 year-olds. The 12-year old girls like Blake Lewis and the rest of them think that Jordin Sparks is SO talented. Just shoot me, really let’s get down to the reality of the matter.

Check this out:

Truth to tell, though, this has not been a good year on the most popular reality TV show in the world, and there are signs that its stranglehold on North American youth is loosening. Early in the season critics complained that Fox Television, which produces and broadcasts the show in the U.S., had sunk to a new low when it aired the embarrassing audition footage of a young man who appeared to be mentally handicapped. This spring, the performance segments used to winnow down the top singers were notable not for the stellar talent but rather for a running battle between the notoriously nasty British judge Simon Cowell and the sweet but musically incompetent Sanjaya Malakar.

You see the formula here? They pick the less talented people to give us that wonderful entertainment of seeing Simon rip them to shreds on national television. We all like the bad guy, so we watch. We watch to see what the Sanjayas are going to do next and what the judges will say. We watch to see how drunk Paula acts and to hear how snarky Simon gets.

Is it centered around real talent? No, it’s centered around who will give Fox the most entertainment bang for their buck.

Per a post at Reuters, the sharp-tongued judge stated plainly that he cannot predict who the next American Idol will be:

“I can’t call it at this stage,” Cowell told reporters on a conference call. “For Blake, he’s a brilliant entertainer, but the negative is he’s not a fantastic singer. The advantage for Jordin is she is a great singer and the negative is she hasn’t done one performance yet which I can remember as a ‘wow.’”

Simon Cowell has always been known for his truthfulness and his snarky charm. He really gives the contestants honest comments, and I usually agree with him. On Tuesday’s show when he said that if anyone should be awarded a finalist spot, it should be Melinda Doolittle, I completely agreed with him. Melinda has a certain talent and stage presence that is not matched by Jordin Sparks or Blake Lewis. She will definitely go far and I can imagine that she will outsell both of the two finalists.

Chris Daughtry did it, and Melinda Doolittle will do it in the same vein. Some record label out there is going to pick her up and sell tons of records. She had pizazz and soul, something that both of the remaining contestants lack. Bad move, America, getting rid of Melinda when it should have been Blake to go.

I’m done rambling about this for now, but know this, when Melinda puts out her first record, she’s going to make Blake Lewis look stupid.

Last night, with American Idol’s ousting of Melinda Doolittle, we were left with the final two candidates, Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks.

While I thought, at the time, that Jordin’s “I who have nothing” would’ve sunk her as a target, primarily because no one likes a repeater, but I was wrong. Melinda Doolittle was consistent and a very talented singer, but still she was sent home to Nashville. They even named a street after her! Melinda will have a great musical career, heck, she could be the next Tina Turner.

On last night’s show, we were also treated to a song by third runner-uip, Elliott Yamin, who is (of course) promoting his new album. So, third place isn’t all that bad, but I hoped that Melinda would have went further. She’s a more talented and all-around better singer than Blake Lewis.

We’ll have Spazzy McBeatBox around again, for the finale. I knew that American Idol would do that, in the end, they usually have a girl and a guy. I think it should be based on talent, but there are still a lot of people who say it’s fixed. (Howard Stern, anyone?)

Just my two cents.

In a surprising upset, America has voted off Melinda Doolittle. This is a total shock and it sucks.

She will have a huge career because she is an amazing singer.

Well, it’s obvious that someone has to go tonight. It’s a hard choice for the people who voted and I think it will really come down to two people: Jordin Sparks, who did “I who have nothing” for the second time, and Blake Lewis, just because he isn’t as special as he thinks he is.

Melinda is obviously safe tonight because she did a wonderful job in all of the songs she sang and was very charismatic.

The verdict: My prediction is that Blake Lewis is going to say bye-bye. Even though Jordin McRepeater sang that song twice for the show, Blake just isn’t as talented as her.

Melinda Doolittle does Ike & Tina Turner’s “Nut Bush City Limits”:

What a great performance!

Next, we have Ms. Doolittle doing “I believe in you and me” by Whitney Houston. This is Randy Jackson’s choice for Melinda:

Another great performance.

Lastly, is Melinda Doolittle doing “I’m a woman”:

What a nice jazzy number, with a blues feel.

Melinda is going anywhere, folks, call it a hunch.

With the top three looming over our heads tonight, one has to wonder who is going to bite the dust on tomorrow’s pre-finale.

I’m going to put out my prediction right now, before the show airs tonight at 8pm EST. Blake Lewis is doomed. I don’t say that because he’s votefortheworst’s new mascot, but because he may be able to out-beatbox the two remaining girls, but can he outsing them? My answer is no.

I mean, he might really do a wonderful job on “Roxanne” and make us all get nostalgic and everything for The Police, but it’s not going to be good enough to maintain his place on the show.

Just my two cents. It’s a woman’s year to win….

Via Idol Chatter, we’ve come across some info on Tuesday’s show.

Each of the remaining three contestants will sing three songs. One will be of their choosing, one from the judges, and one from the producers.

Paula has picked The Police’s 80′s hit, “Roxanne” for Blake to beatbox to. Randy Jackson chose “I believe in you and me” by Whitney Houston for Melinda Doolittle. Word has it that Simon Cowell has chosen “Wishing on a star” by Rose Royce, for the youngest contestant, Jordin Sparks.

Jordin did reveal to students in her hometown that she’d be singing “I who have nothing”:

Sparks told students at her former high school in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday that she would be singing “I Who Have Nothing” on Tuesday. She performed that number earlier this season.

The top three on American Idol, Blake Lewis, Melinda Doolittle, and Jordin Sparks all have one thing in common: they are already winners. This season of American Idol has already made household names out of Sanjaya Malakar and Lakisha Jones, imagine if they would’ve made it further. I don’t think Sanjaya could’ve made it further, that was a time when America said enough is enough. Lakisha Jones will undoubtedly have a record deal soon, that girl can sing.

I’m not sure how the next show will play out, but I do have a guess: Jordin Sparks isn’t going anywhere. I’m thinking that unless Blake Lewis pulls something out of the sky and sings his heart out (minus the beatboxing), he’s a goner.

It’s the year for a woman to win American Idol, plain and simple. My money is on Jordin, but Melinda may surprise all of us.

Only time will tell.

Here is your Top Three, America!

We are now left with beatboxing Blake Lewis, quiet and shy Melinda Doolittle, or surprise may-be winner, Jordin Sparks.
Now that Lakisha Jones has been ousted from the show, the top three are left to strut their stuff and prove to us and the judges, that they have what it takes to become the next American Idol.

So, we will see what next week holds for us….and did I mention that Barry Gibb sucked tonight?!?? Oh yeah, I did.

In case you missed it, like I did, here is a recap of the action happening on last night’s Bee Gees version of American Idol:

Here’s Blake Lewis doing “This is where I came in”. He put his little beatbx spin on it, but I’ve never heard of this song before.

And here’s “You should be dancing” done by Blake Lewis:

Next is Melinda Doolittle doing her rendition of “How can you mend a broken heart”. Great stuff, as usual. Melinda is very talented and I don’t foresee her going home tonight.

Also, here’s Ms. Doolittle doing, “Love you inside & out”:

Great job, Melinda!

Up for your picking apart next, is Lakisha Jones, firstly doing, “Run to me”:

And, “Stayin’ Alive:

I’m boppin’ to that one, even though she didn’t do such a hot job.

And lastly, Jordin Sparks was on the scene, with “Woman in love”:

Pitchy and drab, just my two cents.

And again, Ms. Sparks, with “To love somebody”:

American Idol’s top four, Blake Lewis, Lakisha Jones, Melinda Doolittle, and Jordin Sparks are indeed a force to be reckoned with this season. Following last week’s ousting of Chris Richardson and Phil Stacey, America is left with a choice to make, who doesn’t make it to the top three. Certain websites have me thinking that Jordin Sparks will go all the way, primarily because she hasn’t really had too many messups and the judges drool over almost everyone of her performances.

Blake Lewis keeps it in step with his beatbox performances and shows the public just what it wants to see: a young generation bringing the groove back to some old classics, in his own way.

Melinda Doolittle is still a bit shy about the responses to her performances and keeps showing us that she is a performer. If American Idol doesn’t crown her the winner, I’m sure this diva will still get a record deal.

And last, but definitely not least, is Lakisha Jones. She is, unfortunately, Votefortheworst’s new favorite. I’d encourage everyone to call in and vote for Lakisha, not because she’s the worst, but this girl has talent.

It’s a hard choice to make, but it seems that America is following Simon’s advice and voting out whoever he says is horrible. Look what happened to Sanjaya, Simon finally cut out the crap and thought, this kid has to go, it’s time to get serious already.

We shall see what happens tomorrow night.

Melinda Doolittle “took it to church” with Bon Jovi’s “Have a nice day”. She gives the song some attitude and normally, we know that Melinda isn’t a rocker chick, but she gave this performance her best.

I was left thinking, however, that Lakisha would’ve sang it better. Just my two cents.

First up on this special episode of American Idol, Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell travel to Africa to learn of the deplorable conditions of living in such poverty. Ryan looks like he could use a shave and Simon looks sad and emotional, for once.

To lead off the competition tonight is Chris Richardson singing, “Change the world” by Eric Clapton.

I wasn’t too fond of this version of the song. I’m a fan of Clapton’s music and this didn’t come close for me. The judges seemed to eat it up, but I don’t think so!

The judges visited Louisiana, Kentucky, Chinle, and Atlanta, to see poverty in our own nation.
Next up is Melinda Doolittle singing Faith Hill’s song, “There will come a day”.

Very nicely done, I like her vocals. She is going to be hard to beat this season.

Blake Lewis is up next to answer a viewer’s question as to what his biggest sacrifice, which is his family. He sings John Lennon’s “Imagine”. The song lends itself to blandness and I don’t think it was a good song choice for Blake.

Next up is Lakisha Jones, singing Fantasia Barrino’s “I believe”.

It was a little rough in the beginning and somewhat pitchy, but I don’t see this as a real competition if Lakisha goes before Chris Richardson.

Up next is Votefortheworst’s choice, Phil Stacey. He is asked what he misses most about home, to which he answers, his babies. He sing’s Garth Brooks’ “The change”.

I think he butchered it, just my two cents, though.

Finally and last, but not least is Jordin Sparks singing “You’ll never walk alone”.

I wasn’t as impressed as I normally would be with her singing. It seemed to me that she was shouting a bit and it sounded fake. I disagree with the judges on this one, too.

Melinda Doolittle is set for the next round as we know, tonight we won’t be seeing her center stage.

I am not a fan of country music, but she really belted out the song here and did a fantastic job:

Starting off last night was Melinda Doolittle singing “Sway”. Very good performance. She picked on Simon saying that he was looking for something bad to say, when he said that she very cabaret. I disagree, this was a great performance.

Next up was Lakisha Jones doing “Conga”. I was singing at home along with this tune. She definitely pulled this song off and I don’t think it was a safe song selection at all.

Chris Richardson was up next doing his butchering of “Smooth” by Santana & Rob Thomas. Good lord, this guy was pitchy and this was the Sanjaya of suck. Covering this track made me cover my ears. Somewhere Rob Thomas is choking.

Haley Scarnato was up after that with her rendition of “Turn The Beat Around”. She looked like she was having a fun time, but no one noticed besides Simon, that she killed it.

Phil Stacey was up doing his version of “Maria, Maria” by Carlos Santana. There were parts of this song that I liked, but for the most part, he murdered it.

Jordin Sparks covered “The Rhythm Is Going To Get You”. She did a wonderful job and showed all of the enthusiasm a seventeen year old should have. She had a great time and did a great job. She’s not going anywhere.

Blake Lewis then did Mark Anthony’s “I Need To Know”. Very good choice of song and he performed it nicely.

Sanjaya Malakar did “Besame Mucho” last night and did half-way decent. I’ve never heard the original on this one, but it didn’t 100% suck. Simon agreed, stating that it “wasn’t horrible”.

The verdict and my prediction:
The bottom three will consist of Haley Scarnato, Phil Stacey, and Chris Richardson. I could be wrong on the Chris Richardson thing, but I really thought he pulled a Sanjaya last night. I don’t know what the judges were raving about.

Who’s getting the boot? My prediction is Haley Scarnato. We will have to watch tonight to know for sure. She should’ve known better not to tear up on stage, though.

Update: I was right!