Post from: Idol Stalker

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Post from: Idol Stalker

Melinda Doolittle

Okay, I need to voice my frustration here. Melinda is a fantastic singer. Tonight, she delivered a good performance of “Sway.” That’s right, I said good – not great. Aside from looking like Martin Short with her dance moves, I’m totally tired of her not picking challenging songs. If she is going to consistently pick easy, repetitive tunes, she needs to blow me away – she didn’t. She did look great in that black dress tonight, though.

Lakisha Jones

Lakisha is another strong singer who isn’t trying very hard. I loved when Jennifer Lopez told her that she doesn’t “have to do too much” Right – because J.Lo has never been known as the queen of excess. Moving on… If you had the Pointer Singers of “Neutron Dance” fame cover Gloria Estefan’s “Conga” you would get tonight’s performance. Lakisha really brushed off Paula’s constructive criticism which falls in line with her total dismissal of the advice from Tony Bennett, Gwen Stefani and Lulu. Keep ignoring the advice, Lakisha, and you might be sent packing.

Chris Richardson

It almost pains me to say that Chris was one of the better performers tonight, but he was. I love Rob Thomas and Santana’s “Smooth” and, although he did not quite get there, the second half of his performance was decent enough.

Haley Scarnato

She sang, “Turn the Beat Around” but I wish she sang “Turn the Volume Down.” Okay, the backup vocals are so strong during the chorus of this song that it might be easy to ignore her terrible singing but when she started singing on her own, the truth was undeniable – it was a mess. For half of the song she was so out of breath that she couldn’t even complete her words properly. Does she really think that those short-shorts are going to get her a record deal? I think we learned our lesson with Jessica Simpson – shaking your booty is just not enough.

Phil Stacey

This was probably Phil’s worst performance. He sang, “Maria, Maria” and let’s hope it was in prayer because only a miracle could make people think he sang in tune. He was ahead of the music at least twice and it was so boring that I think it was actually worse than Haley’s performance. At least he wore a hat.

Jordin Sparks

Is no one else bothered by her yodeling? And her vibrato is so distracting that she sounds almost like a sheep. Am I the only one who feels this way? She’s got decent intonation, she can definitely carry a tune but something just annoys me. I thought the performance was boring and her twitchy behavior was odd. Her clothing was moderately better, though. I liked the top a lot.

Blake Lewis

I think Blake came out on top tonight, which, considering how everyone else did, is not a major accomplishment. He sang, “I Need to Know” by Marc Anthony, who, despite looking a bit like Skeletor from the He-Man cartoon of the 80s, can sing his butt off. Marc’s version is stylish and Blake’s was very straight. However, it was a smart song choice since it suited his voice and, in the end, he managed to pull it off.

Sanjaya Malakar

I can say, for the first time in the 12 top performances, that I did not think that Sanjaya was the worst. In fact, I think he did reasonably well. The song choice (Besame Mucho) was great, singing in Spanish won him some points and as Randy said, he’s “one of the smartest contestants” ever. I don’t know how he does it, but I don’t think he’s going home tomorrow.

Breakout performance – Chris Richardson. It was more than I expected.

Most Surprising – Sanjaya Malakar. He actually sounded okay.

Worst of the Night – Haley Scarnato. No further comment.

Biggest Risk – No one. It was very safe and boring.

Prediction for bottom three – Haley, Phil and Jordin with Jordin being safe.

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Post from: Idol Stalker

Have Lauren Conrad and Chris Richardson hooked up? Conrad, a star of “The Hills” who is heavily embroiled in a current sex-tape scandal, and Richardson were spotted flirting outside of Les Deux nightclub on Friday night. They were quickly ushered inside but were reportedly seen together inside of the hotspot later that night. TMZ.com has a video of the duo before they went inside.

Could There Be a Love Triangle???

This heavily circulated photo from last week suggests that Chris Richardson may already be in a relationship…with Blake Lewis. Yes, I’m aware it is photoshopped but it’s still hilarious. Thanks for the link to the photo, Tall Freak!

I guess we’ll have to wait to see if a real love story develops!

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Post from: Idol Stalker

Yahoo! tracks the searching habits of Idol fans not only by who is being most searched, but also what, in particular, people are searching to find out. Let’s take a look.

Sanjaya is still the overall leader (can you believe the staying power of Antonella and Alaina?)

American Idol Leaders
Rank Idol Move Score
1 Sanjaya Malakar +14
2 Antonella Barba +4
3 Haley Scarnato +5
4 Blake Lewis – 2
5 Melinda Doolittle +1
6 Alaina Alexander – 1
7 Chris Richardson – 1
8 Gina Glocksen – 1
9 Chris Sligh – 1
10 Lakisha Jones – 0

But Haley is the biggest mover (don’t we know it…)

American Idol Movers
Rank Idol 1 Day Move
1 Haley Scarnato 217%
2 Melinda Doolittle 176%
3 Sanjaya Malakar 125%
4 Chris Richardson 110%
5 Blake Lewis 58%
6 Alaina Alexander 44%
7 Antonella Barba 37%
8 Gina Glocksen 36%
9 Chris Sligh 29%

But what, exactly, are people are searching for?

Here is a list of the top five searches broken down by contestant -

- Sanjaya Malakar

1. Sanjaya Malakar Hairstyles
2. Sanjaya Anthem
3. Sanjaya Conspiracy
4. Who is Voting For Sanjaya
5. Sanjaya Wig

- Haley Scarnato

1. Haley Scarnato Scandal
2. Haley Scarnato Legs
3. Haley Scarnato Pregnant
4. Haley Scarnato Shorts
5. Haley Scarnato Height

- Melinda Doolittle

1. Melinda Doolittle School of Humility
2. Melinda Doolittle Neck
3. Melinda Doolittle Shrek
4. Is Melinda Doolittle Married?
5. Melinda Doolittle MP3s

- Blake Lewis

1. Blake Lewis Shirtless
2. Blake Lewis Tattoos
3. Blake Lewis Love Song
4. Blake Lewis 311
5. Chris Richardson vs Blake Lewis

- Chris Richardson

1. Chris Richardson Dating
2. Chris Richardson Shirtless
3. Chris Richardson and Alaina Alexander
4. Chris Richardson Girlfriend
5. Contact Chris Richardson

- Jordin Sparks

1. Jordin Sparks Father
2. Jordin Sparks Height
3. Jordin Sparks I Who Have Nothing
4. Jordin Sparks Fan Sites
5. Jordin Sparks American Juniors

- Lakisha Jones

1. Lakisha Jones Videos
2. Lakisha Jones Biography
3. Diamonds Are Forever Lakisha Jones
4. Lakisha Fanatics
5. Lakisha Jones Last Dance

- Phil Stacey

1. Phil Stacey Navy
2. Phil Stacey Audition
3. Phil Stacey Wife
4. Phil Stacey Hair
5. Nosferatu Phil Stacey (LOL, my son said this last night!!!)

Post from: Idol Stalker

Wow. Some have called this season’s contestants dull and unoriginal. Tonight might have been an example. Classics are classics and must be respected but, while almost everyone sang well enough, there was little that will keep me up tonight.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO TELLING CONTESTANTS TO TAKE RISKS (Haley risked a “wardrobe malfunction” but that doesn’t count)?

My co-blogger, Jason, has done a fine job live-blogging the show tonight, so I’m just going to add my two cents about the performances. 

Blake doesn’t have to beatbox every week and he’s definitely among the best (and maybe the most versatile) but he sang “Mack the Knife” so straight, he almost sounded like he was auditioning for “Beyond the Sea 2: Bobby Darin Lives.” You can be respectful but still true to yourself.

Phil is a good singer but this did not even seem like a genuine performance. If you weren’t distracted by the sweat beads on his melon, there wasn’t much excitement in his rendition of “Night and Day.” In fact, I felt like a night and a day had passed by the end of it.

Melinda, as Simon said, is almost impossible to criticize. I happened to agree with what he said, however, about the first half of the song being kind of bland. That song has some real potential and I felt like she could have given more, but she’s great so who cares?

Chris gets props for mixing old with new by wearing jeans but did he have to steal Sanjaya’s hat? Just kidding. He stayed true to himself, even if it wasn’t his best performance (in my very humble opinion, at least). One tip though – learn to keep the microphone near your mouth. If you turn your head, the mic should follow! He’s had a problem with this all season. It’s bugging me.

Jordin was a bit boring to me. I’m not sure if the mic feedback was an indication that the sound was off because I’m wondering if the judges heard her whole performance. It was a clone-like, factory-made performance.

Gina is a good singer. She had a good performance. She could maybe control the eye seizures (those of you with TiVo, DVR, PVR, etc… check it out). I was somewhat irritated to have the soldiers in Iraq brought into the mix by Tony Bennett (not her fault). I was half expecting her to be draped in a flag with an eagle on her shoulder, or something. Well, at least it would have been interesting…

Sanjaya, as Mr. Bennett said, “dares to take risks.” Honestly, I do think this is part of the reason he’s still here. When he’s gone, we pretty much know how it’s going to go down and the performances will be predictable (with the exception of Blake, maybe) but Sanjaya has made himself stand out. His performance did sound a bit like a clip from an episode of Barney. Hey, Madonna’s not a great singer but she knows how to market herself. Don’t underestimate the importance of being an entertainer.

Haley is starting to annoy me in a major way. Her singing is just right for Broadway or Disney movies, and she knows it, so she sells sex, really. There, I’ve said it. Even Tony Bennett had to ask her to tone down the level of skank she was trying to put into the song. The shimmying and toying with men in the front row was almost shameless. She’s not going to win (let’s hope) so she’s using gimmicks to get votes. Why does Sanjaya get all the buzz? This is a family show and there have been times when I was embarrassed for her. Seriously.

Lakisha is back! She’s one of the few contestants I’ve seen in the history of the show who had the guts to go against the advice of the guest (Tony Bennett told her to omit the “ain’t no sunshine when he’s gone” at the end of her song but she didn’t). She is a PLUS-SIZE BEAUTY and I love her. I just want her to stay in the zone from now on.

Post from: Idol Stalker

Phil Stacey
Starting off the last five contestants is Phil Stacey. “Every Breath You Take” by the Police. Gwen was surprised by how good it sounded. Just stick with the melody and let his voice deliver the song. Phil is pulling out a little flashback from last season with Ace Young knit hat look. Not quite the same, but definitely reminiscent. Phil is doing well with the song, the last run was a little weird sounding though.

• Randy: actually kind of liked it, solid performance for him, didn’t push it and that was good
• Paula: so much personality and color to his voice, but the verses he plays it safe. Build more character into the verses
• Simon: actually thought that was very good. Great song choice. Only time he felt like he is taking it seriously and trying to do well in the competition.

Melinda Doolittle
Gwen says she blew her away watching her sing. I would say “good luck” but doesn’t think she needs it that much. Melinda is doing her usual. Delivering as expected. Strong, stable and dependable. She comes out every week and delivers a top-notch performance. Has she had a single non-stellar performance? Is it all about experience?

• Randy: the reason I called you a pro is that you look at the song and deliver the song every week. That was the bomb again!
• Paula: you have charisma from the word go. tell the story from the first word out of her mouth to the end. I look forward to hearing you perform each week
• Simon: don’t think this is the best performance. Vocally though she was outstanding as usual

Come back for Blake’s performance after the jump.

Blake Lewis
“Love Song” by The Cure is Blake’s choice. Gwen warns him about when he does the beat-boxing because it could distract. It wasn’t until this past week that I realized how many songs by The Cure I really like, and this is one of the top. This style fits Blake’s tone of his voice. It will be interesting to see where he weaves in the beat-boxing. He’s really letting his vocals rise to the forefront on this performance and trust himself with that alone. Maybe he won’t do the beat-boxing at all. And he doesn’t. Blake so reminds me of Sting.

• Randy: not sure if it’s the perfect song choice, made the most of it
• Paula: Loved what you did with the song. Taking risks and being original. Making the whole competition hip
• Simon: definitely the strongest guy in the competition, doing his Chris Daughtry thing and not become to self-indulgent. It confuses me when Simon commends one contestant for knowing who they are and bringing it every week as he does with Gina, but then encourages Blake not to get caught up in the rut.

Jordin Sparks
“Hey Baby” Cute and refreshing is what Gwen says. Not her best performance, may have taken a step down this week, but it was a tough song to come out with. I think it was a bad choice because it doesn’t allow her to really show off her vocals that well. It was high energy though, and maybe that’s what she was going after this week. Expanding the image the audience has of her a bit. Not sure if it’s going to work for her though.

• Randy: very risky thing to do, she can sing anything and that was brilliant
• Paula: and your adorable, hip and young. Love seeing you in this mode
• Jordin: probably most improved contestant we’ve seen, a bit copycat’ish though

Chris Richardson
Doing the classic No Doubt song, “Don’t Speak”. Gwen hopes he just sticks to the melody and just focuses on the song and the emotion behind it. I think it’s starting off well for Chris. Hopefully he stays within the ropes that Gwen wanted him to with the performance. He doesn’t appear to be embellishing it too much. Personally though, I’m just tired of the nasally, pinched sound he’s got. He can sing and I’m sure lots of people like it, but just not for me.

• Randy: very interesting, liked the R&B style, not his best vocal, liked his twist on it though
• Paula: you’re good Chris, you’re good, just good
• Simon: song choice got you in trouble last week, much better song choice this week and liked the arrangement. Didn’t like the vocals though

Who will it be then folks? Can we finally get rid of Sanjaya, or will he keep pulling it out again? It’s going to get really frustrating if he makes it through a couple of more weeks. Let’s vote for the right people this week gang, DO NOT VOTE FOR SANJAYA!

Post from: Idol Stalker

The contestants come out Gina and Melinda got their haircut and Phil is bald, oh wait, that’s normal. It was pretty impressive in that Simon Cowell got quite the applause and screams when they announced his name. On a side note, there are new Coke cups tonight.

Tonight we’re doing the British Invasion, the Beatles led the initial wave and following with some little groups you may have heard of like The Rolling Stones, The Who and Herman’s Hermits or even The Animals. It just struck me that if the Beatles were still alive and rocking, they’d be old farts like The Rolling Stones are now.

Let’s get it started.

Haley Scarnato – “Tell Him”
She’s really coming out and showing a completely different side of her. I think the advice from LuLu to keep it staccato was good advice. She also said not to worry about being compared to the “big voices” because there’s a place for everyone and Haley just needs to do what she can do and be herself. I’m ont sure if it’s because she really worked it out this week, or if the style really suits. One thing to say for sure, she sure did make good use of some warddrobe tape.

• Randy: perfect song choice, best performance to date
• Paula: girlish quality with a perfect song for her
• Simon: “you naughty little thing”, fun, young a bit shrieky in the middle

Chris Richardson – “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Cryin’”
Peter Noone didn’t have much to say about Chris. Said he didn’t hear much of his voice. Doesn’t sound like he was impressed with Chris at all. Singing a little acoustic set with just him and a guitar. So far it sounds like he’s delivering on his goal. The setting and focus of the him and the guitarist on stage puts all the emphasis on his singing and his voice. He’s got talent, but I’m just not a big fan of his nasally and pinched sound. This performance was a good one though, nice falsetto ending that will get votes too. It’s a competition tonight!

• Randy: another great performance, showed a really different side. It was beautiful, one of his best vocals
• Paula: playing this game to win, very sexy and charming for the entire performance
• Simon: “I think that was your best performance”, your control was excellent and didn’t make it sound old-fashioned. Simon agrees with me, a little nasally.

Stephanie Edwards – “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me”
Lulu said she’s so grounded. She reminded her of Beyonce when she hears her sing. But, we don’t need another Beyonce. Let’s see Stephanie. I’ll bet this will be a great performance. Very nice orchestral intro to the song. Everything backs off and let’s Stephanie’s voice to massage the lyrics into the air. The long black boots don’t work with her blue dress though. Oooh, sounds like her performance is just falling apart to me. Maybe it’s just the audio. Nothing memorable.

• Randy: good song choice, little pitchy, not her best performance
• Paula: loves what you’re wearing, picked the right song, minus some notes that fell off
• Simon: believes she’s losing her edge and her soul. A very good cabaret performance. Misses her passion and rawness

Anyone else think this show would be about half the time without all the commercials?

Blake Lewis – “Time of the Season”
Paula Abdul is rockin’ out at the judges desk. Very nice intro does it’s job of getting you on your feet. The final note of the chorus seemed a bit out of his range though. His beat-boxin’ and performance skills sets him so far apart from the rest of the competition it’s amazing. I think he could probably lose tonight and have an album before the winner is actually announced.

• Randy: cool, vibey, edgy, massive yo-factor, much props
• Paula: I felt like she was at a concert, he’s raised the bar
• Simon: a million times better than last week, I think this week it was a right song choice, kept the melody intact while putting his own slant on it.

Ryan danced a little bit and it I can’t decide if it was good or just completely goofy. I’m leaning a little more towards goofy.

LaKisha Jones – “Diamonds Are Forever”
LuLu tries to convince her to sing “You’re My World”, but she ends up and chooses “Diamonds Are Forever”. I’m not sure how she would have done on LuLu’s suggestion, but LaKisha’s performance isn’t doing a whole lot for me this week. There are a couple of lyrics and notes that she really launches at you, but overall I’m a little bored with the song.

• Randy: good choice, not his favorite performance. Didn’t feel enough LaKisha in it
• Paula: picked the right song, not much to talk about her song, so she resorts to talking about the diamonds she’s wearing
• Simon: feels it was like watching her perform 50-years from now

Phil Stacey – “Tobacco Road”
He’s picking a song because of how fun it is to sing. Peter believes it’s a good choice to highlight Phil’s range. Said he’d never heard it sung that well before. This song is full of energy and totally stretches the singer’s ability to hit a full range of notes and runs. A good variety of the tempo changes as well. I’m not sure what it is though, I like Phil and his personality, but for some reason on this song, his appearance just throws me off. He’s stepping up to the competition though and bringing it.

• Randy: had a good time up there, likes his upper register, good for him
• Paula: real good choice of song, some parts were pitchy, liked hearing the various ranges of his voice, good performance
• Simon: wasn’t crazy about, doesn’t hear any grit in his voice and it was needed in this song. It needed to be believably and he didn’t believe it

Join us after the break for the second half of tonight’s performances.

Post from: Idol Stalker

Probably the most entertaining performer to watch from the guys, but his performance didn’t do much for me at all Tuesday night.

Forgetting the words didn’t help at all, but Brandon’s performance as a whole left much to be desired. Only proved by the point that he was actually voted out by viewers before Sanjaya.

I used to put Chris in the same category with Blake Lewis, but now it seems he’s shifted to more of a country, nasal singer. Too squeaky for me. Probably not a bad separation though, always comparing him to Blake wouldn’t be good for his career either.

Chris Sligh pulled a Clay Aiken on us and ditched the glasses for hopefully contact lenses. Don’t know that for sure, but he wasn’t stumbling around the stage. Too much of a switch for me, the glasses were part of his personality. It was just as freaky as the sudden hair change for Sanjaya.

Although somewhat shocking, Phil’s bald head is just who he is now. I think he had one of his best performances Tuesday night, but showing up in the bottom three says America didn’t agree.

Last is Sanjaya. What is he still doing here? I’d like to remind the audience that this IS a singing competition. Yes, looks and personality and style all are factors, but whether or not someone can sing should be at minimum 85% of the vote and this guy just doesn’t come close!

All photos and more available at The Official American Idol website.

Post from: Idol Stalker

Phil Stacey
Diana really likes the song he’s selected because she sang it with Marvin Gaye. “Make You Love Me”, working out his Harry Connick, Jr. vibe on this song. Love song crooner. He’s really throwing hte guantlet down for himself on this performance. A little falsetto highlight at the end of some notes. I like this song choice because it mixes some nice ballad melody with plenty of energy to highlight his stage presence. I’m really glad to see him step up the performance tonight. By FAR the best male performance tonight.

• Randy: performance was a little boring, vocals were hot!
• Paula: didn’t like the song, but vocals were great, strong vocals
• Simon: right temp, okay, very good song choice, when he’s trying to hit the big notes he shouts, wasn’t outstanding, wasn’t awful, better than last week

— Commercial Break —

LaKisha Jones
Choosing “God Bless the Child” which is a Billie Holiday song and Diana Ross played Billie in the movie. Interesting question about whether or not to use the mic stand. I’m not sure, I mean I really like LaKisha and this is a great performance of the song. I’m just not sure it’s the song that’s going to connect with the audience like it needs to be connecting to them. She’s going to really need to end it on a very memorable climax and really capitalize on the performance as a whole.

• Randy: perfect song choice, loves the outfit, unbelievable vocal, didn’t overdo. “That was sensational”
• Paula: beautiful performer, beautiful girl, heart came through in the song
• Simon: you’ve either got it or you haven’t got it and she’s got. The quality difference between her and Melinda is that the two of them are in a completely different league. Outstanding. Not intimidated by the stage, audience or band.

— Commercial Break —

Blake Lewis
Putting a “modern spin on a Motown classic”. He’s totally transitioning the song from the 60’s to today “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”. I like the modernization, but I’m not sure it’s up to the par we’ve come to expect from him. This may be one of his worst performances in my mind.

• Randy: good things about it, don’t worry about “Blake-izing” every song. Let his vocals come out, let the classics be the classics.
• Paula: real good singer, she could have a hit again with it
• Simon: didn’t get that, didn’t get it at all, understood his reason, didn’t “sound” as good as we’ve heard him previously

Stay tuned after the break and the jump for Chris Richardson and Stephanie Edwards

— Commercial Break —

Stephanie Edwards
She’s in love with Diana Ross. Diana says for Stephanie to build up the “sexy” in the song and deliver it. Diana says she has “star quality”. Singing “Love Hangover”, Stephanie is highlighting that she has the vocal strength to compete with the other girls in this competition. She’s going to have to keep picking the right songs to be sure and highlight her skills. I’m not sure if this was a good song choice for her though.

• Randy: yo, forgetting a bit of the words, good vocals, strong choice, perfect choice
• Paula: should have taken advantage of putting the up-tempo section in
• Simon: straight arrangement of the song, felt like singing an intro, didn’t close particularly well. Outsung by LaKisha and Melinda. Multitude of songs to choose from and she chose the wrong one tonight.

Chris Richardson
Singing “The Boss”. Was star struck with her. Needs to find the hook and work the audience with the song. Encouraging him to move around a bit, sounds really good. I’m sure he won’t have a problem moving around. I’m not sure what happened to Chris. He used to impress me much more than he has the past few weeks. It’s weird, ever since he sung the country song, it sounds like he’s always singing threw his nose now. Not an endearing quality for me when it comes to music.

• Randy: holding the line for the boys, not his best performance, half and half on good and bad
• Paula: nailed the blend of bringing the contemporary to a classic, played with the vocals and did a great job
• Simon: just listening to the vocals, it was dreadful. thought it was vocally “terrible”

— Commercial Break —

Jordin Sparks
Diana believes that Jordin is absolutely gorgeous, but needs to communicate to the audience and project the song into the audience and connect with them. “If We Hold On Together” is a very slow tempo song to wrap up the night. I’m curious as to if the contestants know what slot they’re performing in when they pick a song. If I knew I was wrapping up the night, I’d want to come out and a nail a really high energy performance to be as memorable as possible going into the lighting up the phone lines with voters. A little too much vibrato in areas and pitchy in other areas. Screaming some of the big notes.

• Randy: at 17, he’s so impressed with her, Jordin made it a 3-girl race tonight with her song
• Paula: natural gift, a breath of fresh air, beautiful and can sing her heart out
• Simon: was a little bit gooey, totally agree and thought it was a very, very good vocal. Put herself in to be in the finals of this competition.

After some of the performances tonight and the variety of responses of my own opinions and the judges from my own and each others, music is so much a personal preference and taste for each individual.

I believe it should be Sanjaya to go home this week, but knowing that, it will probably end up being Brandon Rogers.

Post from: Idol Stalker