Melinda: The girl never hits a bad note, she is always solid and always professional. Maybe her rendition of "Sway" wasn't her best performance, but Simon Cowell was flat out wrong in his critique...Melinda did a great job.
Kiki: First off, her dress was horrible! I don't mind a sexy fit on a full figured woman, but last night Lakisha's dress was too tight. On the performance side, her version of "Conga" was a bit average. Nothing special. Perhaps I'm a bit biased, but Kiki never seems to be as strong as Melinda.
Chris: On many occassions I often wonder what the three judges hear in some contestants that I don't. This season that seems to happen with Jordin more than the others. But tonight, that wonderment came with Randy, Paula, and Simon's critique of Chris' slaughter of 1999's "Smooth." He sounded like a really bad Justin-Timberlake-wanna-be, hacking the hell out a Santana/Rob Thomas classic. Truly - his performance was an insult to the original.
Haley: First off, she was dressed like a reformed hooker who had taken a job as the updated Carol Lynley character on the fictional S.S. Poseidon. The song she sang, "Turn the Beat Around," is the song credited with starting the whole rap craze - and Haley failed to pull it off. Moreover, Simon had a point...she was dressed like a slut, and teenaged boys with their weekly woodies have probably kept her around for another week.
Phil: After coming thisclose to being booted off week after week, Phil could very well find himself packing his bags tonight. I thought Santana's "Maria, Maria" would be a good song for him but he had pitch problems through most of it and the performance overall fell flat.
Jordin: Randy loved her version of "The Rhythm Is Gonna Get You." Am I high? Tone deaf? What? I don't understand the hoop-la with this girl. She's really just an ok singer.
Blake: Singing Marc Anthony's "I Need to Know," Blake once again turned in another solid, sweet, sexy performance. In my book, he and Melinda tied for the best of the night.
SoyMilk (sorry...Sanjaya...whatever!): Ok...really...I'm getting sick of putting this guy in the weekly round-up. Here's the thing: If he impressed Jennifer Lopez during their mentor meeting, and if he impressed the judges in his intial audition, then perhaps his calling is to sing in front of crowds of 2 or 3 people. Because in front of an auditorium filled with a sold-out audience, and with a national television audience watching, SoyMilk never steps up to the plate. And an "American Idol" that does not make. He's an imbecile. Period.
