Seriously. How can you say you enjoy Diana Ross, the original Diva, and forget the dammed words? Here we go:

Brandon has the unforunate draw of going first on the Big Stage, and falls (albeit very hawt-ly) into the trap of boringness, and forgets the words on top of it, not even bothering to hum his way through it. It sounded like he just ran a 3-minute mile and couldn't handle singing at the end of it. But he's staying in just 'cause he's so dammed cute.

And then, Melinda: I love this woman. I really do. The best thing about her performance last night, aside from turning a crap song into a barnburner, was the fact that as soon as the music stopped, she went from on-stage powerhouse to meek little singer. It was awesome.

Chris Sligh, I am over you. I was rooting for you before, because of your quirkiness, but your lack of knowing how to arrange out of a Coldplay palette and taking off your signature glasses cannot make me think you are a serious dude.

Gina barely pulled off "Love Child," and it completely validated my theory that niche singers cannot go far unless you're willing to learn a lot more than whatever makes the hits with the kids. You can't do Evanescence every week, lady.

Is it me, or does Sunjaya get more ridiculous every week with that bloody hair? One week, it's a Farrah feather, the next it's a straight mess, this week it's like some weird fro-thing from Hell. I had to keep changing the channel until he was done. Keep smiling kiddo, it's the only thing keeping you on this show.

So Haley actually didn't do too terribly. She mumbled through forgetting the words, which covered it up nicely. But this time she actually had a little presence. Though I just kept thinking it was in the '80's again while she was singing it. I think she saved herself from the chopping block this week.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love Lakisha too. I really do. But there's something about her that seems to get tired every week. Maybe it's the idea that we know she's good. And she knows she's good. The judges know she's good. And she seems to be losing humility as every week passes. Is she turning into a diva already? And will America care if she does?

Stephanie did "Love Hangover," and I'm sure the judges would've talked about the cheeziness of the disco part if she'd sang that bit of the song. She just sounds so Beyonce that I don't see her lasting much longer. When she hits the big notes, she doesn't seem to be able to control them.

You know, Phil's not going all the way, but he'll hang in there for a couple of weeks. He has a really good voice for modern adult-contemporary radio, which will be a boon for him once he's off the show, but he really isn't the kind of dude to be a genuine pop star.

After Seacrest's radio show last week, when Sundance had mentioned that one of the guys was going around saying he had the show on lock, I was wondering what Blake was going to do this week with the Ross-ness. Handclaps from an 808 sampler to not make a song better, Blake. As a music nerd, his arranging wasn't much better than Sligh's, in my opinion. But he'll get through based on his cuteness factor.

I think I've figured it out with Chris Richardson, and just work with me here: while he was performing last night, I lost so much interest that I just looked at him and thought: "He looks a little like Ricky Schroeder. You know, if Ricky Schroeder and Justin Timberlake had a kid, it would be Chris Richardson." And just for fun, you can work this out, too:



Finally Jordin comes on and does a song from The Land Before Time, which she rocked on singing, and she sold it like Miss Ross told her to sell it. I think she's more surprised than anyone else that she's on that stage. I really really hope she makes it as far as she possibly can.

So that was it. DialIdol says that either Sligh or Stephanie is going home Wednesday, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's Stephanie. I would hope in my heart of hearts that it's Sunjaya, though.

Labels: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 11:55 PM