Well, it must be getting near the end of the season for American Idol when I start slacking off on my recaps. We are about an hour away from the start of the elimination show tonight and next week is the huge finale. I'm running into some motivation problems in completing tonight's blog (I run into this problem from time to time), so it if ends up being shorter than my usual recaps, blame it on that. This week, the contestants had three songs to sing. One was chosen by one of the judges, another was chosen by the producers of American Idol, and the last was chosen by the contestant themselves. Here's the recap from the top 3...
I completely forgot about American Idol and totally missed Jordin's first performance. By the time I turned it on, Ryan was telling Jordin that she would be back in just a short amount of time singing her next song. Drat. It was a song that Simon chose Jordin to sing, and from what I understood, Jordin did a good job with the song but did not blow anyone away by it. Pretty consistent for Jordin the past few weeks, I must say. So, we'll move onto Blake going next.
Paula chose the song "Roxanne" originally covered by The Police for Blake. I didn't really understand Paula for choosing this song for Blake - but he handled it pretty well. I must say, though, that he did sound awkward singing it at times, as if he was singing it with an accent like Sting has. Overall, I thought Blake performed it quite solidly and stayed away from the beat boxing which was a good decision on his part.
Randy had the pleasure of picking a Whitney Houston song for Melinda, "I Believe in You and Me." Randy always chides a contestant for picking Whitney songs, especially if they don't sing them very well. He wanted to throw out a difficult song for Melinda to sing, and it doesn't get very easy singing a Whitney song. I wasn't blown away by it, but it was another near-flawless performance from Melinda. I think she had a few pitch problems, especially in the beginning, and the song wasn't exactly upbeat for me. But, Melinda still did well with it.
Now I get to see Jordin perform for the first time tonight. It's time for the producers to choose songs for the contestants (where is Clive Davis, anyways?), and I think they chose a real odd-ball for Jordin to sing. It's the Donna Summer classic, "She Works Hard for her Money." It's actually a great, upbeat song for her and I think she does a good job with it. I enjoy listening to her sing it and these kind of songs do well for her.
The producers picked an absolute perfect song for Blake, as he sang Maroon 5's "This Love." Maroon 5 is one of my favorite bands so of course I'm gonna love this. I thought it was a very fun song and it's also very recognizable; something that has been released within the past five years. Blake does well when he stays current, so the producers didn't hurt Blake here. And the little bit of beat boxing that he did worked very well.
Throughout the competition, Melinda has sung songs that made her sound like Tina Turner - at least that is what the judges have commented from time to time. One such example was when Melinda sang Bon Jovi's "Have a Nice Day." So the producers followed up on that when they selected an Ike and Tina Turner Song, "Nutbush City Limits." Nutbush? Okay, I have never heard of this song myself and it seems like another goofy choice. Certainly there's a lot better Tina Turner songs they could've picked. It's a very upbeat, rock 'n roll kind of song and I enjoy it when Melinda rocks out. I don't necessarily believe the producers did any favors to Melinda when they chose this song for her, but she did not flail and it ended up being a good performance.
Now it's time for the contestants to pick their own songs and Jordin sang "I Who Have Nothing." I wasn't sure if I had heard this song by Jordin before (how quickly I forget), but then I did some research and sure enough, she sung it during the British Invasion week. An interesting choice, considering she had a couple other songs that she blew wide open throughout the competition, but this wasn't bad. She sang it exceptionally well and included a lot of power and emotion to her voice. It was nicely controlled and who cares if it's an old song, as Simon pointed out. You've gotta have some variety.
Blake chooses a Robin Thicke song, "When I Get You Alone." Blake stays contemporary going with a current song and that doesn't hurt him the least bit. It will definitely attract the younger voters. Personally, I didn't know the song, so I cannot compare it to the original, but I thought he did a fine job with it. Once again, he used the beat boxing in limited fashion which was perfectly executed. Last week I think he went a bit overboard with it and he learned a lesson. Blake did a nice job this week.
Finally, Melinda wraps things up doing the same as Jordin did, choosing a song she had success with earlier in the competition, "Woman." The first time she performed this, I was blown away by it; it was that good. This time around, even though it was on a larger stage, I just didn't like it as much. Yes, it was still good and consistent like Melinda has been throughout the competition, but it didn't live up to her earlier rendition.
And now the all important pick as to who goes home this week. I think this season is about as wide open as ever as to who will end up being in the final three. I think Melinda is a definite shoo-in for the finale, and Jordin will also make her way through to next week. That means Blake ends up being the odd man out. I really like Blake and I hate to see him go, but at this stage of the competition, there are a lot of good performers. I think the two ladies are just a small notch ahead of him.
Soon enough, we will know for sure who the final two will be. Enjoy the results show!
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