Idol Gives Back

A few links this week for fun: http://www.americanidol.com/idolgivesback/ and http://www.one.org/

Ten cents per call....four hours to vote....two numbers for each contestant....this is a dream for me. Please place your bets now on how many times I voted.

Also this week's special guest will be my mom. She watched with loyal fans (Grandma and Aunt Nancy) live from St Francis ER Room 14. Not to worry, everyone is fine. I'll save her wrap-up for the end of this analysis.

Chris Richardson - Change The World - Excellent selection for him. Not sure about his outfit. One of his best performances to date. He brought it.

Melinda Doolittle - There Will Come A Day - Wow! I got chills when she sang this song. Amazing song selection. Her dress is great. She was outstanding....again.

Blake Lewis - Imagine - Kick a%% vocal! Blake's got his own sense of style, and I guess I get it. Super song selection. He looks very nervous after last week's ridiculous bottom 3 nightmare.

LaKisha Jones - I Believe - Fantasia song? Really? Is she really picking an old Idol anthem? (Can you tell I am disappointed?) Her dress is very flattering. It was a big vocal tonight. She's in the bottom three though, I believe.

Phil Stacey - The Change - Powerful song. He picked well. Phil knows what he is doing in this competition. He was on this evening.

Jordin Sparks - You'll Never Walk Alone - I don't love the song selection. Jordin, however, is phenomenal. I got chills when she was singing too. She looked great this week again.

So check it, here is my ranking from best to not the best (can't say worst because Sanjaya and Haley are gone....oops out loud):
Jordin
Melinda
Blake
Chris
Phil
LaKisha

My mom's ranking is:
Jordin
Melinda
LaKisha
Phil
Blake
Chris

And so now that the votes are in.....I called and placed 100 votes (yes, that is 10 dollars) from 10:18 pm EDT to 10:43 pm EDT. They were all for Melinda Doolittle (1-866-436-5708).

Let the comments begin......

Country Music Night

And we're back! It's "game on" this week. I am ready. I am pumped. Wardrobe, song selection, performance, vocals...watch out!

LOVE Martina McBride! She's just super! Love her!

01 - Phil Stacey - Sparkly shirt? no, no, no Selection was solid. One of his best vocals. Top notch for him! WAY TO GO, PHIL!

02 - Jordin Sparks - She looks so great!!! Love the dress. Awesome song selection. Vocals were tight! Wow, Idol fans, she is running full force at the finale.

03 - Sanjaya Malakar - Oh. my. gosh! Bad hair, "scarf", shirt... If he was in this for entertainment value, he could have picked a WAY better song. Not super vocals. Blah, blah, blah, talk about, blah, talk about. Did he not want to learn many lyrics this week? I didn't like it....at....all. (especially compared to the others) Paula is reTARded.

04 - LaKisha Jones - Bold selection, but I think it was a good one. She looks great this week. It was difficult for me to not listen for Carrie's voice. She did sound good though. I might have preferred her to sing something else. I agreed with Simon's comments wholeheartedly. Props to Randy for using "wheelhouse" again...Yay!

05 - Chris Richardson - LOVE this song. See Jim's comments from last week to recall my opinion of his appearance. (love him!) It was way copycat for me. The second half of the song was better than the first. He could and should have done better. I think if he goes home, I would like for him to stay and just sit on the stage over by Ryan. He can be the next Brian Dunkleman. :)

06 - Melinda Doolittle - Look at her cute outfit! You go, girl! FUN selection. This girl can sing ANYTHING she wants! Does anyone besides me see a Jordin-Melinda finale? MELINDA ROCKS!

07 - Blake Lewis - Didn't like the outfit based on the genre. EXCELLENT selection for him. Great performance. Does anyone else think his facial expressions sometimes are boring? Anyway, he rocked it.

So here is how I see it:
Melinda
Jordin
Blake
Phil
LaKisha
Chris
Sanjaya

Sanjaya has GOT to go home....I can't take it anymore......

Jenny from the Block and 8 Idols

It's Latin Night!!!!

1 - Melinda - She looks phenomenal! Why can't I start voting now? AMAZING!

(Randy's glasses are huge!)

2 - LaKisha - Holy halter dress! Fun selection with a lot of personality.

3 - Chris - I love him. I like the song too. :)

4 - Haley - Oh I so wanted her to fall. Gloria Estefan, she is NOT. Not too many vocals in this song. Great background vocals. Have I mentioned that I don't like her?

5 - Phil - Guys are picking great songs tonight. It was one of his better selections for me.

6 - Jordin - Way cute outfit. She's walking around a little too much for me. I like her a lot. Fun choice, solid vocal.

7 - Blake - WOW. He is awesome. ROCK ON! Perfect for his voice.

8 - Sanjaya - I can't even speak about his appearance this week. Actually, this was his best week vocally.

Here is how I see it:
Blake
Melinda
Chris
Jordin
LaKisha
Sanjaya
Phil
Haley

Next week...Martina McBride and country music. :) I am giddy with glee already.

"I'm still, I'm still, Jenny from the block..."
(you are all singing now, aren't you?)

Season 6, Tony Bennett

This week's show was broadcast live and in full effect from St. Paul's Hermitage, where Grandma Betty was eager to see how well these "kids" could sing some of the greatest songs ever. We had our annual discussion about how they don't make beautiful songs like this anymore, how many more weeks are left this season, how that is a lot of weeks left, and how disappointed she will be when the season is over.

Alas, I begin our collective commentary for this week. I promise that none of Grandma's commentary was provoked.

01 - Blake Lewis - He's pretty good. I dug it. Super wardrobe.

02 - Phil Stacey - I love this song. (while singing along) I like him as well as I did the other one. Great vocal. Excellent selection.

03 - Melinda Doolittle - She's good. Oh my gosh! I bet she gets #1. Don't like the dress or the hairstyle this week, but who really even cares about that. Wow, America, we have to vote!

04 - Chris Richardson - I like him. I wish he would have dressed a little better. His best performance and a perfect song selection.

Ryan's cute.

05 - Jordin Sparks - She's got a good voice. Let's take a moment to reflect on the under 18 crowd of all seasons......She's top of the class. She looks super cute this week.

06 - Gina Glocksen - Like her performance; don't like her wardrobe. Pretty song. She didn't have to put a lot into that. She's good, but not one of the best.

07 - Sanjaya Malakar - His best, I think. However, I felt like I was watching the Love Boat. Oh this song is just beautiful. (note: she said song)

08 - Haley Scarnato - I want her gone. LOVED Simon's look before she sang. LOVED Tony's comments. And we're sitting again. What's she wearing? Well, that's short and tight, isn't it? That's a loud green, even I can see it.

Randy's comment got me thinking ---- What is MY wheelhouse of songs?

09 - LaKisha Jones - Her best until the END. She moved from the top performer to third with that silly ending, darn it. Why didn't she listen to Tony!!!??? She's good, there's no doubt about that.

Here are my rankings:
Top 3 - Melinda, Chris, LaKisha
Middle - Blake, Jordin, Phil, Gina
Bottom 2 - Haley and Sanjaya

I will close this week with a final thought from Grandma. Oh, I hate for it to be over; the songs are so pretty.