May 1: One Wild Night
American Idol 6, May 1: One Wild Night by Jenn Brasler -- 05/02/2007 It’s fitting that Gina Glocksen stops by the week the Idols rock out to Bon Jovi songs. Will her presence rub off on anyone? LaKisha has ripped off a couple of past Idols already. But how will she do ripping off Bon Jovi? Idol pulled a switcheroo last week by not eliminating any of the top six singers, so Betsy Wasser and I decided that it would be fitting to pull our own switcheroo this week. I’ll be recapping the performances tonight, and tomorrow night Betsy will be here with the results. Ryan needs a shave and… holy crap! Dilana from Rock Star: Supernova kidnapped Jordin and messed up her hair! Leave the poor girl alone; she’s been through enough. (I’m still waiting for my apology, Ryan.) Ug, Antonella’s in the audience. Who let her in? Gina’s there, too. Yay! I guess that makes up for it. Ryan says thank you to everyone for donating almost $70 million by participating in Idol Gives Back. (So for all those who said that this was just the show patting itself on the back… okay, but $70 million is a lot of money, and it’s going to do a lot of good.) This week’s mentor du jour is Mr. Jon Bon Jovi. He’s still very pretty. He tells the Idols what they’ve probably heard a thousand times - his kids love the show. He tells us the Idols need to bring out sincerity in their performances. The audience has heard the songs they’re going to sing before, but the Idols are telling the stories for themselves now. Bon Jovi doesn’t know how the audience will react, but that’s what’s fun. Phil is up first with “Blaze of Glory.” He’s excited to be “jamming” with Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi says he knocked it out of the ballpark and obviously has sung this song before. Yep, Phil used to sing it in front of his mirror while holding a comb. Feel free to make your own hair joke. Phil thinks he enjoyed singing it more than Bon Jovi enjoyed it. Phil starts out in the audience. His outfit is all kinds of wrong. Fortunately, he’s not doing that weird thing he always does with his voice, so it doesn’t sound too bad. He’s connecting with the audience better, and he’s putting more passion into his performances, so I’d say he’s definitely improved over the past few weeks. I just don’t know how much longer his fans can keep him in the competition. Randy: Randy’s happy because he recorded the song with Bon Jovi. He thinks that this is Phil’s best performance ever (other than country week). He was like Steve Perry doing Bon Jovi. Paula: This is a year Phil will never forget. He’s like a little kid on stage. She thinks this is the best opening we’ve had all season. Simon: Simon thought it was okay. (Boos from the audience, of course.) He didn’t hear any authenticity, and in the middle, Phil was like a bad actor playing a rock singer. If this were an audition for a rock star, Phil wouldn’t pass. Simon doesn’t think he’ll make it to next week. Randy tells Ryan that he and Paula tell the truth and Simon doesn’t. Simon disagrees, of course. After Ryan is done giving his numbers, Phil says he still loves Simon - but the judges aren’t the ones keeping him around. Ryan tells us tickets for the Idol tour go on sale May 19th. He points out Gina in the audience and notes that she would probably love to be on stage tonight. Jordin is next. She says she was very nervous walking in to meet Bon Jovi, and her mom will flip out because she made Jordin a Bon Jovi fan. She’s singing “Living on a Prayer,” and Bon Jovi says it’s a hard one to sing. They had to work on the melodies a little; some of the notes are too low for her. Bon Jovi says he couldn’t sing half as well as Jordin when he was her age. She hopes to make him proud and promises to practice a lot. Scary hair aside, Jordin has the rock star voice and outfit, but I’m not completely sold on her being a rocker. I just can’t forget her singing “Reflection,” you know? Still, it’s a good performance - not her best ever, but better than half the stuff we’ve seen this season from other singers. Also, someone needs to tell the light guys to chill out because I’m about to have a seizure. Randy: This was interesting (Jordin says it was interesting for her, too). The choruses were good but the verses were rough, and he knows Jordin knew. Not her best. Paula: No one knows what the workshop process is like for the singers, but she gives credit to Jordin for going for it. Simon: He warns that there will be boos. Simon doesn’t like the look - it’s too Addams Family. The singing was out of control and almost shrieking. However, Jordin is at a disadvantage because she’s been given guys’ rock songs to sing. Jordin seems to appreciate the feedback anyway. She tells Ryan she was excited but uncertain about how this would go. She still enjoyed meeting Bon Jovi, though. Ryan notes that the theme could be really tough for someone every week. Jordin says this week was the rough one for her. Ryan appreciates her honesty. LaKisha’s hair looks great. She won’t sit down, saying she wants the camera to get her slim side. Her viewer question is about what training she had before the show. LaKisha says none, just singing in church. She says she’ll give us “a little somethin’ somethin’ tonight.” Hey, personality! LaKisha says she’s never really seen Bon Jovi, except on Oprah. She’s singing “This Ain’t a Love Song.” Bon Jovi says it’s about saying that if you’re wrong about everything you’ve said to the person you love, then this isn’t a love song (but it is). He says this is LaKisha’s time to shine, and he doesn’t think she’s going home this week. I will take that bet, sir. Okay, so it’s not horrible, but it’s not great either. I’ve soured on LaKisha, so if you like her, don’t listen to me. She does go for it, but I don’t think this is enough to save her. Plus, she’s singing third, and we haven’t heard Melinda tonight, so there are still three more chances for LaKisha to be outshone. (Well, two. Chris isn’t going to outshine LaKisha, I don’t think.) Randy: LaKisha sang like she had something to prove. The beginning was a little rough, but then she blew it out. Paula: Paula likes LaKisha’s low tones, and she did give everyone “a little somethin’ somethin’.” Simon: He could kiss her. On the lips. And so he does. Simon tells her she was good, but then gets cut off by the music. Ryan loves seeing LaKisha’s lipstick on Simon’s lips. Simon gets to finish this thought – LaKisha rose to the challenge and nailed the song, which he didn’t even know. Ryan hangs out with the judges and says they’re bugging each other. They don’t seem to want to talk to him. Blake is singing “You Give Love a Bad Name” and says he won’t give away his game play. Bon Jovi says Blake has a big job ahead of him to sell a song most people don’t want to see messed with. Blake is willing to take a risk because that’s how you see new things in love. Bon Jovi says there will be 16 measures of Blake not singing on a show that highlights singers. Blake and his flat brown hair do some weird jukebox mime/beat box thing before he begins singing. It’s a kind of techno version of the song. I’ll say it’s not horrible, and I’m sure a lot of people will really like it, so Blake is safe. At least he’s doing what the judges always say the singers do, even if it’s a contradiction - he’s keeping the melody but making the song his own and something new. Also, he has a lot of energy and his voice sounds good, so there are some extra points for him right there. Randy: Randy gives Blake the award for the most original version of a song ever on this show. He took a chance and it paid off. Paula: Blake really put himself out there. She thinks Bon Jovi really liked this version. This is Blake’s night. She also thinks Simon’s mom was rocking along. Simon: Simon thinks half the audience will hate the song and half will love it. (They boo, for some reason.) However, Simon thinks this was the right thing to do, and Blake was brave to do it. This will carry Blake through to next week. Ryan calls Chris Justin Timberlake. So original. The viewer question for Chris is, how do you feel when you walk out on stage? He says “just have fun” over and over. Smooth. Chris is not only singing “Wanted Dead or Alive,” he’s on after Blake. Plus, Chris Daughtry did this song last year. That’s, like, 14 strikes against him. Chris says someone has to do it. He can’t remember the words in the rehearsal and says it’s embarrassing, but you have to move on. Like he’ll do after tomorrow night’s results show, when he goes home. Just kidding! Maybe. Bon Jovi says you have to wrap your arms around the blues and make it glorious. If Chris can do so, he’ll be around next week. Um… I miss Daughtry. This isn’t that great. Chris just doesn’t have the voice for this song. He’s up against too much of a wall here to make it through. He’s trying really, really hard, though. Randy: Randy was worried before tonight because none of these sings is a rocker, but he likes the R&B twists Chris put on the song. Paula: Chris doesn’t have to worry about “taking the rap.” It was a great night for him. Simon: Simon thinks Chris did as well as he could with the song, with it not being his style. However, he’s not sure it’s good enough to keep Chris around. Melinda gets the last spot again. She tells Bon Jovi that she’s bad at rock, but he promises to teach her. She’s singing “Have a Nice Day,” one of the newer Bon Jovi songs. He says that even before she walked in, he knew she’d bring in soul. He tells her to bring in the church hands, and she says, “Okay. I like church.” I love you, Melinda! She tries to do the “rock on”/“I love you” hand thing but isn’t sure which way to turn her hand. Hee. For a non-rocker, Melinda rocks pretty well. This song is all about the attitude, and Melinda brings it. I’m not sure this was the best song choice for her, but I’m honestly not sure what song would have been better, given the limitations. Randy: Not Melinda’s best performance, but still good. She threw in a little Tina Turner attitude. Paula: It was a great workout from the first note. Melinda has to give it up to rock stars now, because that was hard. Paula says she’s a rock star now. Simon: Simon agrees with Randy - Melinda was like a young Tina Turner. She was still in a different league vocally from all of the other performers. Oh, for the love of… President Bush and the First Lady have taped a thank-you video for us. The President is happy that we donated money, guys! It was all worth it! I’m not going to comment on how stupid and messed-up this is (oh, wait, I just did), so I’ll just move on. Tonight was very interesting, to say the least. I was very surprised by some performances and not surprised at all by some of the others. Here’s how I rank tonight’s performances: Blake Melinda Phil Jordin Chris LaKisha Remember, two Idols are going home tomorrow night, with the votes from last week being added to this week’s votes. That means that no matter how well someone did this week, if he or she got low votes last week, the sum might not be that great. I think LaKisha will definitely be gone, but as for the other Idol to go, I can’t decide. It’s still very much about fan bases, and despite Jordin’s shaky performance, her fan base is very supportive, so I think she’ll be safe. Blake and Melinda are definitely safe, too. That leaves Phil and Chris, and I just can’t pick which one I think will go. I’ll say Phil, since it seems like his vote totals have been lower in the past.
American Idol 6, May 1: One Wild Night by Jenn Brasler -- 05/02/2007 It’s fitting that Gina Glocksen stops by the week the Idols rock out to Bon Jovi songs. Will her presence rub off on anyone? LaKisha has ripped off a couple of past Idols already. But how will she do ripping off Bon Jovi? Idol pulled a switcheroo last week by not eliminating any of the top six singers, so Betsy Wasser and I decided that it would be fitting to pull our own switcheroo this week. I’ll be recapping the performances tonight, and tomorrow night Betsy will be here with the results. Ryan needs a shave and… holy crap! Dilana from Rock Star: Supernova kidnapped Jordin and messed up her hair! Leave the poor girl alone; she’s been through enough. (I’m still waiting for my apology, Ryan.) Ug, Antonella’s in the audience. Who let her in? Gina’s there, too. Yay! I guess that makes up for it. Ryan says thank you to everyone for donating almost $70 million by participating in Idol Gives Back. (So for all those who said that this was just the show patting itself on the back… okay, but $70 million is a lot of money, and it’s going to do a lot of good.) This week’s mentor du jour is Mr. Jon Bon Jovi. He’s still very pretty. He tells the Idols what they’ve probably heard a thousand times - his kids love the show. He tells us the Idols need to bring out sincerity in their performances. The audience has heard the songs they’re going to sing before, but the Idols are telling the stories for themselves now. Bon Jovi doesn’t know how the audience will react, but that’s what’s fun. Phil is up first with “Blaze of Glory.” He’s excited to be “jamming” with Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi says he knocked it out of the ballpark and obviously has sung this song before. Yep, Phil used to sing it in front of his mirror while holding a comb. Feel free to make your own hair joke. Phil thinks he enjoyed singing it more than Bon Jovi enjoyed it. Phil starts out in the audience. His outfit is all kinds of wrong. Fortunately, he’s not doing that weird thing he always does with his voice, so it doesn’t sound too bad. He’s connecting with the audience better, and he’s putting more passion into his performances, so I’d say he’s definitely improved over the past few weeks. I just don’t know how much longer his fans can keep him in the competition. Randy: Randy’s happy because he recorded the song with Bon Jovi. He thinks that this is Phil’s best performance ever (other than country week). He was like Steve Perry doing Bon Jovi. Paula: This is a year Phil will never forget. He’s like a little kid on stage. She thinks this is the best opening we’ve had all season. Simon: Simon thought it was okay. (Boos from the audience, of course.) He didn’t hear any authenticity, and in the middle, Phil was like a bad actor playing a rock singer. If this were an audition for a rock star, Phil wouldn’t pass. Simon doesn’t think he’ll make it to next week. Randy tells Ryan that he and Paula tell the truth and Simon doesn’t. Simon disagrees, of course. After Ryan is done giving his numbers, Phil says he still loves Simon - but the judges aren’t the ones keeping him around. Ryan tells us tickets for the Idol tour go on sale May 19th. He points out Gina in the audience and notes that she would probably love to be on stage tonight. Jordin is next. She says she was very nervous walking in to meet Bon Jovi, and her mom will flip out because she made Jordin a Bon Jovi fan. She’s singing “Living on a Prayer,” and Bon Jovi says it’s a hard one to sing. They had to work on the melodies a little; some of the notes are too low for her. Bon Jovi says he couldn’t sing half as well as Jordin when he was her age. She hopes to make him proud and promises to practice a lot. Scary hair aside, Jordin has the rock star voice and outfit, but I’m not completely sold on her being a rocker. I just can’t forget her singing “Reflection,” you know? Still, it’s a good performance - not her best ever, but better than half the stuff we’ve seen this season from other singers. Also, someone needs to tell the light guys to chill out because I’m about to have a seizure. Randy: This was interesting (Jordin says it was interesting for her, too). The choruses were good but the verses were rough, and he knows Jordin knew. Not her best. Paula: No one knows what the workshop process is like for the singers, but she gives credit to Jordin for going for it. Simon: He warns that there will be boos. Simon doesn’t like the look - it’s too Addams Family. The singing was out of control and almost shrieking. However, Jordin is at a disadvantage because she’s been given guys’ rock songs to sing. Jordin seems to appreciate the feedback anyway. She tells Ryan she was excited but uncertain about how this would go. She still enjoyed meeting Bon Jovi, though. Ryan notes that the theme could be really tough for someone every week. Jordin says this week was the rough one for her. Ryan appreciates her honesty. LaKisha’s hair looks great. She won’t sit down, saying she wants the camera to get her slim side. Her viewer question is about what training she had before the show. LaKisha says none, just singing in church. She says she’ll give us “a little somethin’ somethin’ tonight.” Hey, personality! LaKisha says she’s never really seen Bon Jovi, except on Oprah. She’s singing “This Ain’t a Love Song.” Bon Jovi says it’s about saying that if you’re wrong about everything you’ve said to the person you love, then this isn’t a love song (but it is). He says this is LaKisha’s time to shine, and he doesn’t think she’s going home this week. I will take that bet, sir. Okay, so it’s not horrible, but it’s not great either. I’ve soured on LaKisha, so if you like her, don’t listen to me. She does go for it, but I don’t think this is enough to save her. Plus, she’s singing third, and we haven’t heard Melinda tonight, so there are still three more chances for LaKisha to be outshone. (Well, two. Chris isn’t going to outshine LaKisha, I don’t think.) Randy: LaKisha sang like she had something to prove. The beginning was a little rough, but then she blew it out. Paula: Paula likes LaKisha’s low tones, and she did give everyone “a little somethin’ somethin’.” Simon: He could kiss her. On the lips. And so he does. Simon tells her she was good, but then gets cut off by the music. Ryan loves seeing LaKisha’s lipstick on Simon’s lips. Simon gets to finish this thought – LaKisha rose to the challenge and nailed the song, which he didn’t even know. Ryan hangs out with the judges and says they’re bugging each other. They don’t seem to want to talk to him. Blake is singing “You Give Love a Bad Name” and says he won’t give away his game play. Bon Jovi says Blake has a big job ahead of him to sell a song most people don’t want to see messed with. Blake is willing to take a risk because that’s how you see new things in love. Bon Jovi says there will be 16 measures of Blake not singing on a show that highlights singers. Blake and his flat brown hair do some weird jukebox mime/beat box thing before he begins singing. It’s a kind of techno version of the song. I’ll say it’s not horrible, and I’m sure a lot of people will really like it, so Blake is safe. At least he’s doing what the judges always say the singers do, even if it’s a contradiction - he’s keeping the melody but making the song his own and something new. Also, he has a lot of energy and his voice sounds good, so there are some extra points for him right there. Randy: Randy gives Blake the award for the most original version of a song ever on this show. He took a chance and it paid off. Paula: Blake really put himself out there. She thinks Bon Jovi really liked this version. This is Blake’s night. She also thinks Simon’s mom was rocking along. Simon: Simon thinks half the audience will hate the song and half will love it. (They boo, for some reason.) However, Simon thinks this was the right thing to do, and Blake was brave to do it. This will carry Blake through to next week. Ryan calls Chris Justin Timberlake. So original. The viewer question for Chris is, how do you feel when you walk out on stage? He says “just have fun” over and over. Smooth. Chris is not only singing “Wanted Dead or Alive,” he’s on after Blake. Plus, Chris Daughtry did this song last year. That’s, like, 14 strikes against him. Chris says someone has to do it. He can’t remember the words in the rehearsal and says it’s embarrassing, but you have to move on. Like he’ll do after tomorrow night’s results show, when he goes home. Just kidding! Maybe. Bon Jovi says you have to wrap your arms around the blues and make it glorious. If Chris can do so, he’ll be around next week. Um… I miss Daughtry. This isn’t that great. Chris just doesn’t have the voice for this song. He’s up against too much of a wall here to make it through. He’s trying really, really hard, though. Randy: Randy was worried before tonight because none of these sings is a rocker, but he likes the R&B twists Chris put on the song. Paula: Chris doesn’t have to worry about “taking the rap.” It was a great night for him. Simon: Simon thinks Chris did as well as he could with the song, with it not being his style. However, he’s not sure it’s good enough to keep Chris around. Melinda gets the last spot again. She tells Bon Jovi that she’s bad at rock, but he promises to teach her. She’s singing “Have a Nice Day,” one of the newer Bon Jovi songs. He says that even before she walked in, he knew she’d bring in soul. He tells her to bring in the church hands, and she says, “Okay. I like church.” I love you, Melinda! She tries to do the “rock on”/“I love you” hand thing but isn’t sure which way to turn her hand. Hee. For a non-rocker, Melinda rocks pretty well. This song is all about the attitude, and Melinda brings it. I’m not sure this was the best song choice for her, but I’m honestly not sure what song would have been better, given the limitations. Randy: Not Melinda’s best performance, but still good. She threw in a little Tina Turner attitude. Paula: It was a great workout from the first note. Melinda has to give it up to rock stars now, because that was hard. Paula says she’s a rock star now. Simon: Simon agrees with Randy - Melinda was like a young Tina Turner. She was still in a different league vocally from all of the other performers. Oh, for the love of… President Bush and the First Lady have taped a thank-you video for us. The President is happy that we donated money, guys! It was all worth it! I’m not going to comment on how stupid and messed-up this is (oh, wait, I just did), so I’ll just move on. Tonight was very interesting, to say the least. I was very surprised by some performances and not surprised at all by some of the others. Here’s how I rank tonight’s performances: Blake Melinda Phil Jordin Chris LaKisha Remember, two Idols are going home tomorrow night, with the votes from last week being added to this week’s votes. That means that no matter how well someone did this week, if he or she got low votes last week, the sum might not be that great. I think LaKisha will definitely be gone, but as for the other Idol to go, I can’t decide. It’s still very much about fan bases, and despite Jordin’s shaky performance, her fan base is very supportive, so I think she’ll be safe. Blake and Melinda are definitely safe, too. That leaves Phil and Chris, and I just can’t pick which one I think will go. I’ll say Phil, since it seems like his vote totals have been lower in the past.