May 15: I’m Going Home
American Idol 6, May 15: I’m Going Home by Betsy Wasser -- 05/16/2007 There are three Idol hopefuls left. Each of them will sing three songs, and we’ll see three hometown visits. Which two will have what it takes to make it to the finale? There are only three American Idol finalists left – Melinda, Jordin, and Blake. Usually before the show starts, I have a pretty good idea of who will be going home, regardless of how they perform. But this time, I’m not so sure. I think Melinda is a lock for the finals, but Blake and Jordin will both have to sing their hearts out to make it. Plus, with only three contestants left, it’s time for the Idols to make some whirlwind hometown visits. Remember that last year? The entire town of Richmond pretty much shut down to honor Elliot Yamin. Birmingham, having already done this for Ruben and Bo, was all set to give a fabulous welcome to Taylor. And Los Angeles barely looked up from its coffee to say, “Oh, hey, Katharine.” Let’s hope this year’s finalists all get a little more love than Katharine did! Ryan explains that each judge has chosen a song for the contestants, the executive producers have chosen a song, and each contestant will also select one of his or her own. Got it? Good, because it’s time for Jordin Sparks. Jordin heads home to Glendale, Arizona. She learns from the mayor that Simon has picked her song. The crowd boos at hearing his name. She will sing “Wishing on a Star” by Rose Royce. Jordin looks very happy about that. Jordin looks great in a cute little dress. She’s got a real R&B vibe with the song and seems to be having a good time. It’s fine, but we have seen much, much better from her. Randy: Like last week, Randy wonders who’s in it to win it. He thought she did well, and compares her to Beyonce. Paula: Simon chose a good song for her. It was a great way to start the show. Simon: She sang it well, but he didn’t like the jazz arrangement. Although he picked the song, it wasn’t one of her better performances. Ryan teases Simon about not liking his own choice. Simon clarifies that he didn’t like the arrangement, and Ryan pretends to not understand. Jordin says she’d never heard the song before, but she liked it. She thanks Simon for choosing it. “Pleasure,” coos Simon. Now we head to Bothell, Washington for Blake’s rally. The mayor receives a message from Paula. His song will be “Roxanne” by The Police. Cool choice, Paula. Well, there’s no beat-boxing this week, so Randy can’t complain about that. Blake sings the song pretty much straight, and he does it well. It is not, however, the hottest version of this song I’ve ever heard. That honor belongs to the rendition of it that’s in the movie Moulin Rogue. Still, very well done. Randy: Great performance. He loved Blake’s moves and thought the vocal was “pretty good.” Paula: “You did me proud, Blake.” She liked the new phrasing. Blake thanks her for the song. Simon: It wasn’t earth-shattering, probably because it’s hard to sing the song without impersonating Sting. It wasn’t as good as the original. He and Paula argue about whether or not it was fantastic. Ryan says that they have one of the best crowds of the season. The crowd, predictably, goes wild for itself. In Nashville, Melinda learns her song, chosen by Randy. The governor reads the song, peppered with many the “check it outs” that typify correspondence from Randy. She’s going to sing Whitney Houston’s “I Believe in You and Me.” She better bring it, or Randy himself will be all over her for not doing Whitney well enough. Is it just me, or does Melinda look a little nervous? She has no reason to be, because she’s doing very well with this song. If you want to be conspiracy theorist about it, the judges picked the best song for Melinda. It’s one you can really, really knock out of the park, as opposed to Jordin and Blake’s songs, which just don’t have the potential wow factor. That’s not to diminish Melinda, because she kills this one. Kills it and leaves it dead in the street. It’s possible that another of my metaphors has gotten away from me. But anyway, what’s cool about this performance is that she sings and well, but doesn’t feel the need to full-on diva shriek it. Randy: He picked the song because he knew it’d be a challenge. She did great. Paula: “You were fantastic.” It was one of her best performances of the season. Simon: It was a difficult song to sing, and her best in the last four weeks. Round 1 goes to Melinda. I agree with Simon. Melinda thanks Randy for having the faith in her to sing Whitney. Ryan says he hopes that Randy soon is moved to get out of his seat. Simon wonders aloud if Ryan is drunk. He doesn’t seem to be sipping any of Paula’s special juice, and Ryan assures us that he is totally sober. Ryan has a viewer question from Jordin – what is her favorite song of all time? Jordin says that “Mmm Bop” by Hanson always puts a smile on her face. She defends herself by saying that she’s only 17. Ryan claims to have it in his car. The producers have chosen “She Works Hard for the Money” for her. Is it appropriate for a 17 year old kid to sing a song about a hooker? Because isn’t that what this is about? Anyway, Jordin is not working hard for the money with this song. There’s no passion, and none of the usual Jordin Sparks fly. It’s really pretty meh, the kind of thing you might expect from a Haley. I know, harsh, right? But we’ve seen how well Jordin can sing, and this is not it. Randy: No matter what song she does, she turns in a hot performance. Paula: “You worked hard for the money tonight.” Simon: It was very good, but a bit old-fashioned. He loved the money note at the end. Blake has a viewer question, too. If they were to make a movie of his life, what would the title be, and who would play him? Blake says he’d be played by Jim Carrey and called “Organized Chaos.” If they made a movie of my life, I’d play myself, but my husband would be played by Ewan McGreggor. Not that my husband looks like him, but that it would give me a great excuse to kiss him. The movie would be entitled, “You’re Dreaming, Betsy.” Oh, and Blake? He’s going to sing “This Love” by Maroon 5. Cool choice. Blake struts onto the stage and starts dancing. He throws in some beat boxing and vocalizations, and it absolutely works. The song is a solid, fun pop song, and that’s exactly what Blake delivers. So far, this round belongs to Blake by a mile. He injected all of the fun into his song that Jordin just didn’t. Randy: When he makes a record, this is the kind of music he should make. Nicely done. Paula: He was totally in his element, and it’s a good night for him. Simon: Simon liked this better than the first one. He sounded very comfortable, and it wasn’t a copycat performance. Ryan jokes that it was painful for Simon to say such nice things. Blake sympathizes with Ryan for having to give out so many numbers – three for each contestant. Melinda’s grandparents are in the audience. Her viewer question is “Who was your idol growing up and why?” Melinda say it would have to be her “mommy” because she always looked up to her. Ryan jokes that she should have said her grandmother. Melinda’s song will be “Nutbush City Limits” by Ike and Tina Turner. Damn. I mean, if you can sound that much like Tina Turner, then why do you not sing every single song like this? Melinda sounds completely amazing, and if she’d rocked out like this more often, I’d be some crazed Melinda fan by now. I only wish they’d given her “Proud Mary,” because she would have torn that up. Randy: When she makes a record, she should put some of that Tina sound in it. Paula: “We love you!” Simon: He loves that side of her, and it was a brilliant performance. Ryan asks who won that round. Simon hesitates, and says it was a tie. I don’t think it was at all. Blake was looking good until Melinda put her Tina on. Jordin paled in comparison to either of them. Jordin is going to reprise “I, Who Have Nothing,” for her final song. We go to Jordin’s hometown, and she’s thrilled that there’s a star for her at her local mall. She jokes that everyone can walk all over her now. Well, this is spectacular. I remember the first time Jordin sang this song. It was a showstopper then, and it still is this week. Jordin’s previous two performances really seemed restrained, but this time she left everything on the stage. Outstanding. I wish she’d been this good all night. Randy: It was her best performance of the night. “Very, very hot.” Paula: The song worked well for her voice. Simon: There’s no disputing that she sang it very well, but he hated that a 17-year-old was singing a 60 year old song. The crowd boos. Simon says that the song is old-fashioned, so he wishes she’d picked something else. Ryan observes that she loves singing that song. Simon agrees that it’s good for her – that wasn’t his point. She then asks if Rose Royce was from the ‘70s and thinks that Simon is keeping her back. No backtalk, Sparks! Blake is going to sing Robin Thicke’s “When I Get You Alone,” but first, we see a clip of Blake in Bothell. He performs “Baby’s Got Back” with Sir Mix-A-Lot! I don’t know this song, but I do know that when Robin Thicke was on this show, I found his performance painful. But this? This is awesome! Blake really turned it on this week, especially in his last two songs, and sounds fantastic. Randy: He can see why Blake picked it. It was cool, but he liked Blake’s second song better. Paula: All three songs showed who Blake is as an artist. He had three great performances. Simon: “I actually really liked that.” He likes that Blake doesn’t play it safe and looks like he’s having fun. Blake smiles that he’s having a blast. Ryan jokes that Simon has a “musical crush” on Blake. Melinda’s song is “I’m a Woman,” and we discover that Melinda now has a street named after her in her hometown. She is overwhelmed. Melinda has some cute moves, including starting with her jacket over the shoulder, then slowly dropping it to the floor. She sang this song before, but she’s having even more fun with it this time around. She totally vamps it, including dancing with the backup singers. At the risk of sounding like Randy, that was hot. Randy: We saw the range of Melinda, and she could sing the phone book. Paula: She’s stepping into the spotlight, and it’s great. Simon: Loved “the little striptease at the top.” They’ve known each other for 11 weeks, and the person who has consistently delivered has been Melinda. She deserves to be in the finals. Well, that was a really good night. I like it when the contestants have some freedom in the kind of music they sing, and we saw great variety from all three of them. I do wish that Jordin and Melinda had picked new songs for themselves, but they did choose well if they were going to repeat. Here’s how I rank them: Melinda Blake Jordin So, who’s going home? I said before that I think Melinda is a lock to make the final two, something that’s been pretty apparent since the top 24, really. With her performances tonight, she absolutely proved that she deserves to be there. As for that second slot, to be honest, I like Blake better, yet I kind of hope he doesn’t make the finale. Why? Well, I think that Blake – and all three of them, for that matter – will have a career regardless of who wins. They’re all just that good. So, since he doesn’t need to win, I’d rather he not have to sing the traditionally horrible Idol finale song about how he rode a unicorn across a rainbow to find his dreams come true. But, after tonight, I think we’re going to hear a little beat boxing about the rainbows and unicorns. Jordin, other than her final song, really didn’t sing as well as she usually does. In fact, her songs came across as sort of Melinda-Lite. She didn’t do anything that Melinda couldn’t –- and didn’t – do better. So, I predict that Jordin will be heading home tomorrow night. I think she’s great, and I think that she’s going to be a big success. But her lackluster performances in the first two songs sealed her fate.
American Idol 6, May 15: I’m Going Home by Betsy Wasser -- 05/16/2007 There are three Idol hopefuls left. Each of them will sing three songs, and we’ll see three hometown visits. Which two will have what it takes to make it to the finale? There are only three American Idol finalists left – Melinda, Jordin, and Blake. Usually before the show starts, I have a pretty good idea of who will be going home, regardless of how they perform. But this time, I’m not so sure. I think Melinda is a lock for the finals, but Blake and Jordin will both have to sing their hearts out to make it. Plus, with only three contestants left, it’s time for the Idols to make some whirlwind hometown visits. Remember that last year? The entire town of Richmond pretty much shut down to honor Elliot Yamin. Birmingham, having already done this for Ruben and Bo, was all set to give a fabulous welcome to Taylor. And Los Angeles barely looked up from its coffee to say, “Oh, hey, Katharine.” Let’s hope this year’s finalists all get a little more love than Katharine did! Ryan explains that each judge has chosen a song for the contestants, the executive producers have chosen a song, and each contestant will also select one of his or her own. Got it? Good, because it’s time for Jordin Sparks. Jordin heads home to Glendale, Arizona. She learns from the mayor that Simon has picked her song. The crowd boos at hearing his name. She will sing “Wishing on a Star” by Rose Royce. Jordin looks very happy about that. Jordin looks great in a cute little dress. She’s got a real R&B vibe with the song and seems to be having a good time. It’s fine, but we have seen much, much better from her. Randy: Like last week, Randy wonders who’s in it to win it. He thought she did well, and compares her to Beyonce. Paula: Simon chose a good song for her. It was a great way to start the show. Simon: She sang it well, but he didn’t like the jazz arrangement. Although he picked the song, it wasn’t one of her better performances. Ryan teases Simon about not liking his own choice. Simon clarifies that he didn’t like the arrangement, and Ryan pretends to not understand. Jordin says she’d never heard the song before, but she liked it. She thanks Simon for choosing it. “Pleasure,” coos Simon. Now we head to Bothell, Washington for Blake’s rally. The mayor receives a message from Paula. His song will be “Roxanne” by The Police. Cool choice, Paula. Well, there’s no beat-boxing this week, so Randy can’t complain about that. Blake sings the song pretty much straight, and he does it well. It is not, however, the hottest version of this song I’ve ever heard. That honor belongs to the rendition of it that’s in the movie Moulin Rogue. Still, very well done. Randy: Great performance. He loved Blake’s moves and thought the vocal was “pretty good.” Paula: “You did me proud, Blake.” She liked the new phrasing. Blake thanks her for the song. Simon: It wasn’t earth-shattering, probably because it’s hard to sing the song without impersonating Sting. It wasn’t as good as the original. He and Paula argue about whether or not it was fantastic. Ryan says that they have one of the best crowds of the season. The crowd, predictably, goes wild for itself. In Nashville, Melinda learns her song, chosen by Randy. The governor reads the song, peppered with many the “check it outs” that typify correspondence from Randy. She’s going to sing Whitney Houston’s “I Believe in You and Me.” She better bring it, or Randy himself will be all over her for not doing Whitney well enough. Is it just me, or does Melinda look a little nervous? She has no reason to be, because she’s doing very well with this song. If you want to be conspiracy theorist about it, the judges picked the best song for Melinda. It’s one you can really, really knock out of the park, as opposed to Jordin and Blake’s songs, which just don’t have the potential wow factor. That’s not to diminish Melinda, because she kills this one. Kills it and leaves it dead in the street. It’s possible that another of my metaphors has gotten away from me. But anyway, what’s cool about this performance is that she sings and well, but doesn’t feel the need to full-on diva shriek it. Randy: He picked the song because he knew it’d be a challenge. She did great. Paula: “You were fantastic.” It was one of her best performances of the season. Simon: It was a difficult song to sing, and her best in the last four weeks. Round 1 goes to Melinda. I agree with Simon. Melinda thanks Randy for having the faith in her to sing Whitney. Ryan says he hopes that Randy soon is moved to get out of his seat. Simon wonders aloud if Ryan is drunk. He doesn’t seem to be sipping any of Paula’s special juice, and Ryan assures us that he is totally sober. Ryan has a viewer question from Jordin – what is her favorite song of all time? Jordin says that “Mmm Bop” by Hanson always puts a smile on her face. She defends herself by saying that she’s only 17. Ryan claims to have it in his car. The producers have chosen “She Works Hard for the Money” for her. Is it appropriate for a 17 year old kid to sing a song about a hooker? Because isn’t that what this is about? Anyway, Jordin is not working hard for the money with this song. There’s no passion, and none of the usual Jordin Sparks fly. It’s really pretty meh, the kind of thing you might expect from a Haley. I know, harsh, right? But we’ve seen how well Jordin can sing, and this is not it. Randy: No matter what song she does, she turns in a hot performance. Paula: “You worked hard for the money tonight.” Simon: It was very good, but a bit old-fashioned. He loved the money note at the end. Blake has a viewer question, too. If they were to make a movie of his life, what would the title be, and who would play him? Blake says he’d be played by Jim Carrey and called “Organized Chaos.” If they made a movie of my life, I’d play myself, but my husband would be played by Ewan McGreggor. Not that my husband looks like him, but that it would give me a great excuse to kiss him. The movie would be entitled, “You’re Dreaming, Betsy.” Oh, and Blake? He’s going to sing “This Love” by Maroon 5. Cool choice. Blake struts onto the stage and starts dancing. He throws in some beat boxing and vocalizations, and it absolutely works. The song is a solid, fun pop song, and that’s exactly what Blake delivers. So far, this round belongs to Blake by a mile. He injected all of the fun into his song that Jordin just didn’t. Randy: When he makes a record, this is the kind of music he should make. Nicely done. Paula: He was totally in his element, and it’s a good night for him. Simon: Simon liked this better than the first one. He sounded very comfortable, and it wasn’t a copycat performance. Ryan jokes that it was painful for Simon to say such nice things. Blake sympathizes with Ryan for having to give out so many numbers – three for each contestant. Melinda’s grandparents are in the audience. Her viewer question is “Who was your idol growing up and why?” Melinda say it would have to be her “mommy” because she always looked up to her. Ryan jokes that she should have said her grandmother. Melinda’s song will be “Nutbush City Limits” by Ike and Tina Turner. Damn. I mean, if you can sound that much like Tina Turner, then why do you not sing every single song like this? Melinda sounds completely amazing, and if she’d rocked out like this more often, I’d be some crazed Melinda fan by now. I only wish they’d given her “Proud Mary,” because she would have torn that up. Randy: When she makes a record, she should put some of that Tina sound in it. Paula: “We love you!” Simon: He loves that side of her, and it was a brilliant performance. Ryan asks who won that round. Simon hesitates, and says it was a tie. I don’t think it was at all. Blake was looking good until Melinda put her Tina on. Jordin paled in comparison to either of them. Jordin is going to reprise “I, Who Have Nothing,” for her final song. We go to Jordin’s hometown, and she’s thrilled that there’s a star for her at her local mall. She jokes that everyone can walk all over her now. Well, this is spectacular. I remember the first time Jordin sang this song. It was a showstopper then, and it still is this week. Jordin’s previous two performances really seemed restrained, but this time she left everything on the stage. Outstanding. I wish she’d been this good all night. Randy: It was her best performance of the night. “Very, very hot.” Paula: The song worked well for her voice. Simon: There’s no disputing that she sang it very well, but he hated that a 17-year-old was singing a 60 year old song. The crowd boos. Simon says that the song is old-fashioned, so he wishes she’d picked something else. Ryan observes that she loves singing that song. Simon agrees that it’s good for her – that wasn’t his point. She then asks if Rose Royce was from the ‘70s and thinks that Simon is keeping her back. No backtalk, Sparks! Blake is going to sing Robin Thicke’s “When I Get You Alone,” but first, we see a clip of Blake in Bothell. He performs “Baby’s Got Back” with Sir Mix-A-Lot! I don’t know this song, but I do know that when Robin Thicke was on this show, I found his performance painful. But this? This is awesome! Blake really turned it on this week, especially in his last two songs, and sounds fantastic. Randy: He can see why Blake picked it. It was cool, but he liked Blake’s second song better. Paula: All three songs showed who Blake is as an artist. He had three great performances. Simon: “I actually really liked that.” He likes that Blake doesn’t play it safe and looks like he’s having fun. Blake smiles that he’s having a blast. Ryan jokes that Simon has a “musical crush” on Blake. Melinda’s song is “I’m a Woman,” and we discover that Melinda now has a street named after her in her hometown. She is overwhelmed. Melinda has some cute moves, including starting with her jacket over the shoulder, then slowly dropping it to the floor. She sang this song before, but she’s having even more fun with it this time around. She totally vamps it, including dancing with the backup singers. At the risk of sounding like Randy, that was hot. Randy: We saw the range of Melinda, and she could sing the phone book. Paula: She’s stepping into the spotlight, and it’s great. Simon: Loved “the little striptease at the top.” They’ve known each other for 11 weeks, and the person who has consistently delivered has been Melinda. She deserves to be in the finals. Well, that was a really good night. I like it when the contestants have some freedom in the kind of music they sing, and we saw great variety from all three of them. I do wish that Jordin and Melinda had picked new songs for themselves, but they did choose well if they were going to repeat. Here’s how I rank them: Melinda Blake Jordin So, who’s going home? I said before that I think Melinda is a lock to make the final two, something that’s been pretty apparent since the top 24, really. With her performances tonight, she absolutely proved that she deserves to be there. As for that second slot, to be honest, I like Blake better, yet I kind of hope he doesn’t make the finale. Why? Well, I think that Blake – and all three of them, for that matter – will have a career regardless of who wins. They’re all just that good. So, since he doesn’t need to win, I’d rather he not have to sing the traditionally horrible Idol finale song about how he rode a unicorn across a rainbow to find his dreams come true. But, after tonight, I think we’re going to hear a little beat boxing about the rainbows and unicorns. Jordin, other than her final song, really didn’t sing as well as she usually does. In fact, her songs came across as sort of Melinda-Lite. She didn’t do anything that Melinda couldn’t –- and didn’t – do better. So, I predict that Jordin will be heading home tomorrow night. I think she’s great, and I think that she’s going to be a big success. But her lackluster performances in the first two songs sealed her fate.