American Idol - Not Enough Heaven

Melinda Doolittle - "Love You Inside Out" / "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"

Coolia: Like Paula I don't have much more to say about Melinda - but that's because she bores me. I was impressed with the big note/big finish on the 2nd song. But I still don't get much of a sense of who she is or what her personality is like. I'm predicting her to go tomorrow night in an upset. I'm probably wrong, but I just can't picture people being motivated to dial the phone over and over for her. Oh, and Melinda we don't believe you when you say your first music purchase was a tape. We know it was a 78.
Nerdia: LOL! We poured over that fact about the Bad tape. But alas, I think she's too clever for us! My watching-buddy said "another telathon performance from Melinda." I really didn't like her song choices.
Terry:A Gloria Gayner type of take on song one. Good but not great. A very nice Aretha Frankliin type of take (gospel disco...a whole new genre). Very good overall.
Deb: Great vocals but there was an awful lot of background singing going on. I lost her a couple of times. Not a great song choice and the overall performance was....meh...for me. (I did like her hair though...suited her nicely). Better song choice on the second. She still sounded "background" as Simon put it. At this point I started writing about how bored I was....UNTIL she went BIG! I LOVE BIG! She has great "feeling" when singing. She got my attention tonight....it's been awhile since she's been able to do that.

Blake Lewis - "You Should Be Dancing" / "This is Where I Came In"

Coolia: I was disappointed by my man Blake tonight. There were so many great songs he could have done: "Nights on Broadway," "Tragedy", "Jive Talking", "How Deep Is Your Love". Why did he have to pick one nobody had heard of, and why did he beat box on both songs? I thought the first song was kind of fun, but the beat box portion made me think of that guy who used to do sound effects in the Police Academy movies. The 2nd one was just weird to me. I still voted for him because he keeps it interesting to me.
Nerdia: He sang "You Should Be Dancing" too slow. It was weird. It was like Disco was too fast for him. I only liked his vocal impersonations of machine effects, which still impress me. But not enough to give him the title.
Terry: First song actually making disco hip again. I didn't love it but I did like it. Second - definitely a modern hipped up take which I totally dig about this dude...but, it's still a boring song. And the judges are now pissing me off. First they tell him to tone down the beatboxing, then they applaud him for doing it, and now they're telling him he shouldn't be doing it. I respect his staying true to himself just as I did with Chris Daughtry last year.
Deb: Did NOT like this from the start. The echo was annoying and made his words hard to understand. The one short non-singing-beat-boxing part was the only enjoyable moment. HATED the ya-ah-ah-ah-ah....UGH hated that. Wow he wasawful tonight. His look is bad (did they do that on purpose?)

Lakisha Jones - "Stayin' Alive" / "Run to Me"

Coolia: Lakisha too missed a big opportunity tonight, and she's in danger of going home. It was a strange choice to slow down the first song. I think she was trying to turn it into an "I'm a survivor" type anthem. I don't think she should have gone sleeveless in both outfits. The dress looked good, but the first outfit reminded me of a costume from a high school production of Alice and Wonderland, as if she was a chorus girl in a mad hatter tea party scene. Her 2nd song was good, even if her voice did give out at the end.
Nerdia: "Stayin Alive" is only good for a movie opening, not for a live show. Run to Me sounds like crap when anybody sings it.
Terry: I expected more based on the rehearsal footage and Barry's glee, so this was very disappointing.
Deb: She just doesn't have that oomph on the lower ranges and it lacks something. I liked this arragement and she had really good vocals. She was better than Blake. Helllloooooo cleavage! I loved her "shouting" this time. That's what got my attention in the beginning. Please tell me WHY she shut it down at the end. She should have ended on a bigger note, I felt like my baloon had deflated. I think she could have nailed this one all the way in; instead she only got in half way.

Jordin - "To Love Somebody" / "Run to Me"

Coolia: Jordin was the only one to have two good song choices, even if she did falter a bit on the 2nd one. She showed why she'll likely win on the first one - powerful, emotional, and she looked beautiful. Sometimes she overdoes it on the runs, and I get bored.
Nerdia: Jordan handles it. F-ing brilliant to pick the Barbra album Barry Gibb songs. Why didn't anybody else do that? "What Kind of Fool," "The Love Inside," "Guilty."
Terry: Song one - Barry Gibb loved it...and so did I! (and this is one of my favorite of their songs). Second song - Perfect? No. Very darn good? Damn skippy! Perhaps a bit too by the book and missing any personal touches from her, but still very very good. Considering both performances of each contestant I think Jordin won this hands down.
Deb: GREAT song choice. This is what these girls have, big vocals, R & B typevocalst. She needed more of the "big" but she is great in my book. If it wasn'tobvious to you all, she's my choice hands down to win this (I hope)!!! [Second song] I felt another great song choice.....until I heard it all the way through. I wanted SO bad to be blown away by herperformance (specially after Barry's amazing words) but I was letdown. It sounded sharp in some parts and just didn't showcase heramazing talents. Ugh, it should have been so much better. I stilllove her though.

Mentor - Barry Gibb

Coolia: Barry seemed to be interested in the kids and made some good comments. He seemed to show some favoritism toward Jordin. He was at least open to different interpretations of his song, unlike some judges.
Nerdia: I could not get past the sounds he was making with his mouth. Sounded like bad dentures.
Terry: Barry Gibb didn't offer a lot, but I am now very much questioning whether that's actually the case or if the Producers have, for some money-grubbing reason (and those are the only ones they have), cut back on showing more of the mentor's comments. Barry gave more than some (too many shills recently) but not as much as others (the other Barry still rules the roost!).
Deb: Barry seemed to be a good help to the group (except Blake).

Predictions

Coolia: Going home - Melinda, 3rd place - Lakisha, 2nd place - Blake, 1st place - Jordin
Terry: Going home - Lakisha, 3rd - Blake, 2nd - Melinda, 1st - Jordin
Deb: Tonight it's a tie between Jordin and Melinda with Lakisha a very close third. Blake is so far down below them it's hard to even see him. PLEASE let America get it right and reward the girls their due (since a girl can't buy a win on Surivor). Let these 3 divas belt it out for the win!!!

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American Idol: Between Rock and a Hard Place

Performances


Phil Stacey - "Blaze of Glory"

Coolia: This was a rousing start to the show. I was surprised by how good Phil was tonight. His voice was strong, and he seemed confident. However, there was still something robotic about him, and I couldn't get too excited. I can't picture him rocking a stadium.
Nerdia: So this is what Phil sings well.


Jordin Sparks - "Living on a Prayer"

Coolia: I had been hoping Blake would get this song as I thought it was ripe for his sound effects. Instead, Jordin took it and really struggled. I expected more from our lil' 80s music fan. The song was too big for her, but she did have a strong finish, and I think she has enough fans to stick around. Definitely the worst performance of the night.
Nerdia: Three minutes of strugglen and anguish. Her best performance: listening to all that criticism.


Lakisha Jones - "This Aint a Love Song"

Coolia: I actually yelled out "Lakisha is back!" before Randy did. I really loved this - my favorite of the night. I like that she picked a less popular song and one that really suited her. The outfit, however, created a sausage effect, and it's never good to invite comparison to Mandisa's jeans.
Nerdia: Was this woman sawed in half before the show??? Horrible outfit. Loved the song. The performance tripped in the beginning but ended with the Lakisha we started with early this season. It was like someone pumped some life and attitude back into her.


Blake Lewis - "You Give Love a Bad Name"

Coolia: I think Jon Bon Jovi hated Blake's spin, but I thought it was fun. Blake has taken "you made it your own" to the extreme. I don't think Paula will ever be able to use that old chestnut on any future contestant. I also liked his new darker hair. Even as he fooled around with the song, he sang the choruses straight, proving he can sing. This was like Max Headroom collaborating with Art of Noise all over again - just plain cool.
Nerdia: I agree...Bon Jovi didn't seem all that happy that some young upstart was messing with a song America doesn't want messed with - or some such silly thing he said. Get over yourself. Blake=brilliant.


Chris Richardson - "Wanted Dead or Alive"

Coolia: I expected Chris to fail with tonight's theme, but he came through with my favorite performance of his. I am probably swayed by my love for the source material, but I thought Chris gave a sassy, passionate performance. However, he'll still probably be going home.
Nerdia: I was bored.


Melinda Doolittle - "Have a Nice Day"

Coolia: Bon Jovi advised her to put some church into it, and she did, shouting her way through the whole thing as if trying to keep a congregation awake. She looked hotter than usual, and I liked her attitude, but too much screaming. She seemed to want to turn it into a Heart song.
Nerdia: A complete faker. We got the old Gomer Pyle "Gollleee I can't sing rock" and then she powerhouse rocked it. Shameless. Utterly shameless. The whole "I'm a good church girl" bit is ridiculous, too. This one would slit your throat in an alley if it meant winning American Idol.


Guest Judge - Jon Bon Jovi

Coolia: Jon may not have contributed major insights, but I will always enjoy looking at him.
Nerdia: LOL


Predictions

Coolia: It's a tough call, but I think Phil and Chris are going home, Lakisha and Jordin will be in the middle, and Blake and Melinda on top.
Nerdia: I'm guessing Jordan and Chris.

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