This Week In Tonight In American Idol [27 March 2007 Edition]

7:55 PM: Top Ten nite is here. Our mentor tonite is Gwen Stefani. The announced theme is supposedly "songs from the 90's", but if the rumor boards are correct, someone has a weird temporal definition of "the 90's". Many of the leaked song selections are from the 80's and even the late 70's. But I guess we'll all see soon enough.

UPDATED: The DialIdol numbers are now in...keep reading...

8:00 PM: Another gimmicky thing we're doing tonite -- AI will run from 8:00 to 9:07, in order to harsh on Dancing With The Stars' buzz.

8:01 PM: Ryan tells us the theme is: "No Doubt songs and songs from the bands that inspired them". So, "whatever the hell the singers want". Gwen tells the Idols that some of her favorite artists are not known for their "singing" but more for their "style" or "personality". Sort of like Gwen Stefani [ooh, snap!!! -- Ed.].

8:03 PM: First up tonite is LaKisha "KiKi" Jones. KiKi is performing Donna Summer's "Last Dance".

Of course, KiKi nails the vocal. Many Idol watchers keep saying KiKi and Melinda will eventually have to get out of their comfort zones. But not this week, obvs.

Randy: "...i liked the uptempo choice...that was hot..."
Paula: "...that was great!..."
Simon: "...you're 30 years younger this week...Great way to get it started...great vocal..."

I love what the Idol stylists have done with KiKi over time. She has been looking great every week. And all the judges love her knee-high boots this week.

8:11 PM: Next up is Chris Sligh. Chris is performing The Police's "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic". Gwen cautions him about getting off the beat.

As he starts, he seems a little weak...and...a little behind the beat.

He does sound a lot like Sting on this performance tho. But his being off the beat is really bothering me. He's both behind and ahead. It's disconcerting.

Randy: "...good song choice...rhythmically, you and the band were at different tempos..."
Paula: "...stay in the pocket...good song choice...the beat was off..."
Simon: "...that was a mess...it was all over the place...that song didn't represent you...I'M NOT FINISHED YET!!!"

Chris recognizes that he made a poor song choice for his style, but he was committed and it was too late to change.

8:16 PM: Next up is Gina Glocksen. Gina is taking on The Pretenders' "I'll Stand By You". Gwen and I agree -- it's a great choice for Gina's style.

Great effort, but very pitchy. The audience really seems to love it, tho.

Randy: "...one of your best performances ever...you've got that great voice -- just believe and choose good songs -- that was a good song for you..."
Paula: "...really was your best performance so far..."
Simon: "...it wasn't 'one of your best performances'...[audience boos]...it was YOUR BEST PERFORMANCE so far...it's all about believing in who you are......best of the nite..."

8:25 PM: Next up is Sanjaya Malakar. Sanjaya is performing No Doubt's "Bathwater".

This is a HUGE mistake!!! Or, maybe not.

This is horrible!!!

And WTF is up with that fauxhawk???

Randy is laughing again.

Randy: "...i'm speechless everytime...you actually can sing, dude, just put it out there..."
Paula: "...it's like, 'c'mon, man'..."
Simon: "...obviously, there's no mirror in your dressing room...it doesn't matter what we say anymore, obviously...you're in your own universe...good luck..."

8:29 PM: Next up is Haley "how nekkid can I be this week" Scarnato. Haley is performing Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors". Gwen warns her not to run too far with it.

Haley is wearing a little black dress that exposes only about 2/3 of her thighs. So, conservative for her.

I thought that was okay.

Randy: "...you really didn't grab me with it..."
Paula: "...Gwen was right, you don't need to do much with that song...but you look great..."
Simon: "...sweet but forgettable...any female vocalist could do that...nothing to remember...you need to do better..."

8:37 PM: Next up is Phil Stacey. Phil is performing The Police's "Every Breath You Take".

Phil is wearing a hat again tonite. Idol watchers have been taking careful note of Phil's hat-no-hat choices, but it hasn't seemed to matter much in the results.

Phil sounds more like Sting than Chris Sligh did. But they both sound eerily like Sting.

Randy: "...i liked that...solid..."
Paula: "...a good choice...work on the verses...a good performance..."
Simon: "...this may surprise you, Phil, but I thought that was pretty good...the first time in the last few weeks I've felt that you were taking this seriously and trying to win this competition..."

8:41 PM: Next up is Melinda Doolittle. Melinda is performing Donna Summer's "Heaven Knows". Gwen thinks Melinda is the best singer in the competition, and doesn't think she can give Melinda any advice.

Nailed it, 'course.

KiKi and Melinda are so head-and-shoulders above everyone else that I fear they will suffer on the high expectations that they set for themselves with their performances.

Randy: "...you do what a professional does, you get in the lyrics and you live the song..."
Paula: "...you're so joyful when you're singing..."
Simon: "...not your best vocal, but outstanding as usual...hate the outfit..."

8:49 PM: Next up is Blake Lewis. Blake is performing The Cure's "Love Song", via 311. Gwen warns him to tone down the beat boxing.

Randy: "...i'm not sure it was the perfect song choice...i liked it but i wasn't jumping up and down..."
Paula: "...i liked what you did with this song...you're making this competition hip and contemporary...you're the dark horse..."
Simon: "...the best male in this competition...you are like Chris Daughtry -- be careful not to be too indulgent...definitely the leading male in this competition..."

Blake was OKAY tonite. He may very well be the best male in the competition, but that bar is very low. Keep that in mind.

8:53 PM: Next up is Jordin Sparks. Jordin is performing No Doubt's "Hey Baby". Gwen says Jordin made the song sound more "musical" than it is.

I'm not digging this performance, and as I suspected, it was a bad choice.

Randy: "...that was risky...you could sing anything, you'd be a great recording artist..."
Paula: "...you're adorable, and i love seeing you like this..."
Simon: "...you are the most improved contestant over the last few weeks...but i thought that was a bit copycattish..."

I think the judges went easy on her. I was not impressed with that performance at all.

8:59 PM: Oh, look -- it's time for House. WAIT -- Chris Richardson is still left to perform. Chris is performing No Doubt's "Don't Speak".

I told my sister this could be a dark horse for the vocal of the nite.

And there are parts of it that sound like Justin Timberlake covering No Doubt. But not enough. Meh.

Randy: "...very interesting...I liked the R&B / ska combo...not your best, but that was good..."
Paula: "...you're good..."
Simon: "...i liked the arrangement, but i didn't like the vocal...i think you need to pay more attention to your vocal right now..."

10:ish PM: After reviewing my notes and the performances, my "vote" for the Bottom 3 is: 8-9) Chris R., Chris S.; 10) Sanjaya.

I don't believe that these 3 will actually end up in the Bottom 3. I don't believe we'll see 3 men in the Bottom 3, and I'm not sure Sanjaya will be there.

If you're looking for a woman who could slide down this week, I would propose: a) Haley -- Even though Haley did alright this week, she is living on borrowed time and is always in danger of being "on the edge"; b) Gina -- even though Gina also did alright this week, her raves could assist in her downfall -- she got such good reviews that her fan base may be overconfident in her safety this week.

We'll be back later with the DialIdol numbers.

UPATED 12:00 AM: the DialIdol numbers are now in. Here's what people who only have a "land line" think about Tuesday night's performances: 1) Melinda Doolittle; 2) Chris Richardson; 3) Lakisha Jones; 4) Sanjaya Malakar [!!!]; 5) Gina Glocksen; 6) Phil Stacey; 7) Blake Lewis; 8) Haley Scarnato; 9) Jordin Sparks; 10) Chris Sligh.

DialIdol is calling the "'top 4' 'safe'" tonite. Obviously, we'll need to see what Ryan tells us on Wednesday nite.

See you then.

ciaobaby