AIVI recap, Finalists x 6 (04/24)

Now was that so hard? To get Sanjaya off the show? What gets me is that he blames “Country Night” for his demise. His “honestly, I’m not a country singer. I think that took a toll on me,” was a ridiculous statement. ALL of his previous songs took a toll on me. And he wanted to sing “Mercedes Benz,” but claimed that AI’s deal with Ford trumped that. Like singing “Mercedes Benz” would’ve made that big of a difference. And in his exit interview on American Idol Extra (I can’t stand this show, but it really does give me some good material) Sanjaya was so pleased with his “Besame Mucho” song. His comment was something like, I knew I was safe after that song. Like he was so good on that song that he didn’t deserve to be voted off. What about when he sang “You Really Got Me?” Like he deserved to stay after that train wreck? I’m just glad that we’ll be Sans-jaya from here on out.

Vote For The Worst has adopted Phil Stacey as their patron saint now. http://www.votefortheworst.com/ And they have a link to some Sanjaya t-shirts http://www.regalthreads.com/vftw/

Sanjaya was such a phenomenon. Believe me, I’m glad he’s off the show, but he was good to have on, from a writing standpoint. You’d always have something to complain about when he was around. Sanjaya’s deal was that he was probably never gaining any new votes from week to week. He got his actual fans votes, plus whomever he picked up from Howard Stern, votefortheworst.com, Adam Corolla, etc, but he probably never got votes from any of the contestants that were eliminated’s fan base. Those votes probably went to the other real singers in the competition.

So, onto tonight where “Idol Gives Back” and the contestants choose songs that inspired them. As a side note, it’s about time AI did something like this. This show is an absolute cash cow. Phone lines are open 4 hours after the show (instead of 2) and News Corp is donating $0.10 per vote for the first 50 million votes (which is way more than the previous high for votes, which I think was just shy of 40 million).

01, 07 – CRich, Change the World (Eric Clapton)
Not a bad song choice by Chris. He wore pants that looked like they were Bugle Boy pants. Remember those in the ‘80s? Did he “roll the cuffs” like back in the day? His outfit reminded me of how the athletes in high school used to have to dress up in a tie on game days. A blazer (although his was kinda cool tonight), tie with the top button unbuttoned on his shirt, Bugle Boy pants and tennis shoes. All you said was a tie and no jeans, coach… My wife Kristin said he has a nice tone to his voice, but she still thinks he’s too BoyBand-ish for her taste. His version of this song reminded me of if N*Sync sang it. Or Go West. One of the two. Randy said he was in it to win it and that it was great. Paula said he did fantastic and it was well done. Simon said he started the competition properly. It was a good vocal. It had soul and it was a sexy performance. I guess he liked it. He may still be in the bottom 3 tomorrow, but probably shouldn’t go home.

02, 08 – Melinda, There Will Come a Day (Faith Hill)
We let our 4 ½ year old son Jared watch AI with us tonight and he said, “I think she’s gonna win” when Melinda started singing. She looked very classy tonight. Her dress was 100% better than the sleep shirt and pants get up she had on last week. She had a necklace on, but it looked like a choker given her condition (no neckitis). I wonder if she is related to the Nashville Predators coach, Barry Trotz? One of my favorite columns every week is “In the Wake of the Week” in the San Jose Mercury (http://www.mercurynews.com/budgeracie). Bud Geracie is the columnist and is a very witty read. One of his lines about Barry Trotz was that “for two years the Sharks have been a pain in the neck for Nashville coach Barry Trotz – and that’s saying something because the guy has no neck.” Back to Melinda. She was wonderful, as always. She really should run away with this competition, but Jordin will make it interesting. I feel much better about Melinda winning now that Sanjaya is Sanjaya-nara. Randy said every performance is just great. Paula called her magical and that there is no one else like you. Simon loved it because it wasn’t a copycat performance. It was a vocal master’s class. She should be safe tomorrow.

03, 09 – Blake, Imagine (John Lennon)
Toned down Blake this week. Must’ve been because of the seriousness of the show. Wore a funky coat. Don’t know how to describe it other than it looked like the liner of a coat. I thought his performance was a bit boring, but then again it’s because I usually like the upbeat, dancing around, beatboxing Blake. Call me crazy, but I think that Blake looks like a young Charles Grodin (Midnight Run, Heaven Can Wait, Beethoven). Randy said it was a great choice of song, but it was just a’ight for him. Paula said it was his first sensitive performance and that went a long way. Simon said he chose one of the big songs of all time and said the performance felt sincere. I think he’s on the bubble for tomorrow night. I honestly think it’s going to be a Melinda-Jordin final and everyone else is just jockeying for position from 3^rd to 6^th.

04, 10 – LaKisha, I Believe (Fantasia)
Interestingly enough, my son likes LaKisha. Maybe he’s got his father’s deaf ear. How weird is it to sing a former AI contestant’s song? It really hasn’t gone over too well so far. Last year, Lisa Tucker was eliminated on Kelly Clarkson’s “Because of You.” Last week, LaKisha was in the bottom two with Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” When will she learn? Will it take being voted off tomorrow night for future AI contestants to stop singing previous AI contestants original songs? Probably not. They keep singing Whitney, Alicia Keys and Mariah Carey. I remember Fantasia singing this and, although I don’t like Fantasia, I know that she sang it better than LaKisha did. Randy called it another great song choice but it wasn’t her best (that stirred some boos from the crowd). Paula called her a powerhouse vocalist but had a problem with her singing Fantasia’s song because she can’t imagine anyone except Fantasia singing it. Simon said Paula preferred the Fantasia version (because Paula couldn’t bring herself to say that) and that he had an issue with her shouting the song. I really think LaKisha is in trouble tomorrow night. Her body language is that of a defeated contestant who wants to go home and be with her daughter. It must be tough for her. I think she’s shown enough to get some kind of record deal out of this and the sooner she can get home, probably the better.

05, 11 – Phil, The Change (Garth Brooks)
I really don’t have much to say about Phil. I think he’s lucky that he’s gotten so far in the competition. I think he has a good voice, but not a unique voice. He’s very frightening to look at sometimes. My son said that he needs a wig because he doesn’t have too much hair. He kinda reminds me of the Cobra Kai guys in The Karate Kid when they were at the costume dance dressed up as skeletons (and Daniel-san was dressed up as a shower). One of my favorite reads is The Sports Guy and he has an affinity for The Karate Kid. Check out this website (http://gethimabodybag.ytmnd.com/). Creepy yes, but it’s so ‘80s. I liked Phil’s tux jacket tonight by the way. Randy called it a strong performance. Paula said he’s really found his comfort and this was his best. Simon liked that he came back with confidence. Much like some of the others before him, he was decent tonight, but may go home tomorrow night.

06, 12 – Jordin, You’ll Never Walk Alone (various artists)
This girl has made my wife Kristin cry two weeks in a row. And that’s a good thing. Not a “Sanjaya is so bad that he makes me cry” thing. She really could win this thing. She’s got an amazing voice. Randy called it the best vocals by anyone ever in the competition (Really? It was good, but ever? In the whole competition?). Paula called the song very haunting and that it swells. Called Jordin glorious. Simon joked that, unlike Randy, he thought she was fantastic. She really can sing. She’s very likeable. If it comes down to her and Melinda, I really don’t care who wins.

Because AI is donating for votes tonight and because the phone lines are open late, I’ll be voting for Melinda and Jordin tonight.

One more note. My son Jared and his 5 year old cousin Emily have taken to playing “American Idol” at our Sunday night dinners. They play the judges. Emily plays Paula and Jared plays Simon, because it sounds like saimin (really yummy noodles from Hawaii) and he likes saimin. Gotta love the way kids think.