AIVI recap, Semi-Finalists, Gals x 8 (03/07)

Seacrest keeps plugging the “most important, ground breaking Idol project yet.” I think they’re having a songwriting contest for the winner to sing. How groundbreaking. Not.

Let’s get into it.

01 – Jordin Sparks, Heartbreaker (Pat Benetar)

Her “secret” is that she loves football. No, really? Let’s see. Her dad played at ASU and in the NFL. She lives in Glendale, AZ which is home to the Cardinals and the BCS Championship game. I bet her brother wishes that he had her size. Jordin really started the night off well. It was a fun, snappy tune. Nice twist on the Pat Benetar standard. Randy started off by saying it was such a different show when the women go. Called her song hot. Interjecting here, I think that the producers are probably kicking themselves for making this format bring out 6 guys and 6 girls. If they performed together, or were mixed I’d imagine that it might be 8 girls and 4 guys. Although it’s probably gonna be Melinda and LaKisha in a dead heat, Ruben vs. Clay style. Paula loved her energy and said she’s getting better each week. Simon was not as enthusiastic as the others and called the song manic and shrieky (I know it’s not a word, but I’m doing my best to spell it) in parts. Said it wasn’t her strongest performance but 100% deserves to be here next week. I agree. I like her. She should be safe tomorrow night, but the fact that Antonella seems bulletproof means probably Jordin, Gina or Sabrina will go home tomorrow (along with Haley).

02 – Sabrina Sloan, Don’t Let Go (En Vogue)

Her surprise is that she wanted to be the next Katie Couric. Her old videos don’t even look like her. Maybe it was her hair being jet black, but she looked darker in those videos too. It’s almost like she did a Michael Jackson lighten the skin job. Is that her original nose too? She’s a very pretty girl though and wore one of those purposely wrinkled dresses. My wife has a shirt like that. It’s great for traveling because they fold down to like a 3” by 3” square. And they can be dressy. Sabrina shows off her big voice tonight. Did a little dancing during the song too. Randy said it wasn’t his favorite performance, but it was still solid. Paula said the one thing consistent about her is that she can sing. Simon said her performance was lacking emotion and came off as a little robotic. Called it a hotel/resort performance. I think it was a little better than that. The interesting thing is that DialIdol.com (http://www.dialidol.com/asp/predictions/Predictions.asp) has her in the bottom 2 (along with Haley). I think it would be a shame if she got voted off in favor of Antonella staying.

03 – Antonella Barba, Put Your Records On (Corinne Bailey Rae)

What we didn’t know about Antonella is that she has played the violin since she was 5 and still teaches it when she comes home from school for summer. I don’t really know Corinne Bailey Rae that well, other than I’ve seen her CD at Starbucks. Is that really good for your career? To have your CD at Starbucks? Just asking. Antonella came out in a black jumpsuit/dress thing with big boots. She looked like a fembot from Austin Powers. Or a stylish flight attendant. You choose. I’ve noticed that Antonella has a fast vibrato that wasn’t really evident in her auditions. Although it could be the nerves at this point. How nervous would you be if you sucked in front of 30+ million people each week? Randy called it still pitchy and an okay performance. Paula called it the right song choice and heard the magic in the higher range. Simon broke it down real simple. She’s gone as far as she can go. He just wishes she could sing better. Don’t we all? Although Antonella’s attitude really puts me off. She seems bored and apathetic at times. Very self-absorbed. She should be gone tomorrow, but then again, she should’ve been history the last 2 weeks, based on performance.

04 – Haley Scarnato, If My Heart Had Wings (Faith Hill)

Haley reveals that she was a gymnast in her youth. I wonder if she had to sleep in a little box to keep her from growing, like how they torture those young calves in order to make veal? What’s funny about gymnasts is that their height is all relative. When you’re watching the Olympics, you see one gymnast who towers over the others, but in actuality, she’s 5’2”. The reverse is true with basketball players. Someone once asked me in my years at the Bulls if I was surprised at how big any one player was. My answer was the opposite. I was surprised to see how big Steve Kerr was. He used to look puny on TV, but seeing him in real life, I realized that he’s still 6’3”. Speaking of the Bulls, Haley looked like a Luvabull (Bulls’ dance team) tonight with her red top and black pants. Randy thought it was an interesting song choice. He was not jumping up and down. The song had no pizzazz. No “yo.” Paula said it wasn’t her favorite song, but she sang it well and looked good (Paula’s kiss of death). Simon called it just horrible. He called it very high school musical (but I take offense to that because High School Musical had better numbers and singers) and piled on by saying that he didn’t even know her name. Poor Haley didn’t take the criticism well. I think that she’s very cabaret and if she’s not going home tomorrow, I’ll be very shocked.

05 – Stephanie Edwards, Sweet Thing (Rufus and Chaka)

What we didn’t know about her is that when she was growing up, she would only perform in front of her parents. I like this song, but I remember it more from Mary J. Blige than from Chaka. Stephanie’s dress was nice, but it looked like a jersey from NFL Europe. In addition to looking like Tisha Campbell, my wife also thinks she looks like a cross between LaToya London and Fantasia. Randy gave her an A for a valiant effort, but when he hears that song, he hears Chaka and it’s hard to compare to that. Paula called her darn near flawless, but then contradicted herself (when does she not?) by warning her to watch falling behind the music. Simon called her one of the best, but said she has a tendency to copycat. I feel bad for Stephanie because I think that she is very talented but it really is a two-horse race right now. If Stephanie was in a different year, she could probably win. DialIdol has her in the bottom 3. Based on her performances and talent she should be safe tomorrow, but you never know.

06 – LaKisha Jones, I Have Nothing (Whitney Houston)

LaKisha is terrified of animals. But she’s not terrified of singing Whitney songs. She’s got a huge voice and she sang effortlessly tonight. Came out in a simple black dress. Came off as classy, compared to her salmon mishap last week. This song in particular is an interesting song because I think it was originally done by Dolly Parton. And I think it was playing in the background during the movie (The Bodyguard, not to be confused with My Bodyguard starring Christopher Makepeace, who also “starred” in Meatballs). Dolly’s song and Whitney’s interpretation are completely different. You wouldn’t even know it was the same song. Randy said it wasn’t her best, but it was another great performance. Paula said she’s already made us love her and she just needs to work on becoming the next American Idol. Simon lauded her passion, talent and believability. And also added that she looked beautiful tonight. She’s safe.

07 – Gina Glocksen, Call Me When You’re Sober (Amy Lee and Evanescence)

She let us in on her lucky charms (troll, pickle and pillow). She really played up the rocker chick tonight, which really hasn’t been represented in the competition since Ryan Starr in season one. Randy said there were some pitch problems, but finally saw the real Gina. Paula said it was more who she imagined her being but be careful to not oversing, but the style suits her the best. Simon noted that it was the first time she looked comfortable up there. She tended to scream a bit but called her a breath of fresh air. I like her. The contest needs her to be in the final 12. And she will outlast a few of the guys if she makes the final 12. I really think that Gina is playing with the house’s money at this point. I think she knows she can’t win but wants to stay as long as America lets her. DialIdol has her in 3^rd, so hopefully she’s still around after tomorrow.

08 – Melinda Doolittle, I’m A Woman (Peggy Lee)

We learn that she’s a bit OCD, having to give equality to things she does (step on a crack with one foot, need to also do it with the other, etc). Chris Jackson (also known as Mahmoud Abdul Rauf in the NBA) was famous (or was it infamous) for playing with Tourette’s Syndrome and also for not facing the American flag during the National Anthem (he reasoned that the flag stood for tyranny), but I remember reading an article about him once that highlighted his OCD too. Like how he would have to do things perfectly before he could move on to something else. His shirt needed to be tucked in the right way. He had to make free throws without hitting the rim and swishing through just right to make the right snapping sound. I think he shot over 95% from the free throw line one season. Back to Melinda. How good is she? I love how she walked down the stage today to give props to the background singers too. I’ll be very disappointed if she doesn’t win this thing. LaKisha will give her a good fight, but I think Melinda will be the runaway winner. Randy called it the hottest one of the night and added that she’s a consummate pro. Paula asked her if she ever thought she’d be up on that stage getting the adulation of the masses. Simon called her a little tiger, because he thought she was a pussycat. He noted that he could tell that she was actually enjoying every moment of the competition. She’s my favorite to win it all.

I think Haley is out for sure. Antonella deserves to be out, but I don’t think she will be. That means either Jordin, Sabrina, Gina or Stephanie will be gone and unfairly so. My guess is that it will be Haley and either Sabrina or Stephanie.