Three songs! Three songs each!

Jordin Sparks –

“Wishing On A Star” – It was great for Jordin’s voice – it’s just not one of my favorite songs, really. It almost seemed like she was holding back a little (it stands to reason – she was first to sing on what was no doubt the biggest night of her life), and I want to see her blow it out of the water on the next one.

“She Works Hard For The Money” – Now I’m a little sad for Jordin, because I think she got a bum rap on the song selections tonight. This song just feels like karaoke to me – it doesn’t matter who’s doing the singing. So even though Jordin did a good job with it, ultimately I just found myself feeling sorry for her that she got stuck with this song.

“I Who Have Nothing” – I thought this was brilliant – and it was a great choice on her part to sing it again. Absolutely her best performance of the night; and hopefully it’ll be enough to push her into the final two.

Blake Lewis –

“Roxanne” – Okay, until I saw this performance, I’ve never thought about the similarities between Blake and Sting…but they actually sound a little bit alike. I have to say, though, that this was sort of weird to me, because “Roxanne” is not a happy song…but Blake sang it like it was a summer beach anthem or something. A little bizarre. But he did sound good – he really did.

“This Love” – I like this song a whole bunch, and it’s pretty much tailor-made for Blake (Jordin should file a protest or something; he got a good, relatively current song – why didn’t she? I’m thinking too much about this. I need to let it go). He did a good job and should thank the producers for picking the song that they did. Unlike Jordin. Who should not be thanking the prodcuers.

“When I Get You Alone” – VERY fun. It’s a perfect Blake song – and I think, with this performance, he may have edged out Jordin for the final two. Because if that were a single? I’d totally download it. And listen to it over and over. Smart song choice on his part.

Melinda Doolittle –

“I Believe In You And Me” – That was perfection. Her best yet.

“Nutbush City Limits” – COME ON, NOW WITH SOME TINA TURNER. Personally, I would’ve rather heard “Proud Mary” (AND I WOULD HAVE DANCED TO IT), but she did a great job with a song that’s no doubt a little outside her comfort zone.

“I’m A Woman” – Did she stumble over the words at the beginning? Because if so, that’s the first mistake we’ve seen from her all season. Even so, she took a song that could be campy in the wrong hands and made it current, fun and catchy. The girl can SANG. Not sing. SANG.

Who should go? – Based on tonight alone, I have to say Jordin. Blake and Melinda were stronger across the board – and part of that is because they had better song choices from the judges and from the producers.

Best of the night? – Melinda’s version of “I Believe In You And Me”

If you wrote tonight’s AI on your blog, feel free to sign the Mr. Linky below and link to your post.

OH, how this stage in the AI game makes me jump for joy…everyone sings two songs and everybody’s really talented and the only thing that would make the prospect of tonight’s show any better is if I had a chocolate fountain on my coffee table and a very long straw with which to drink All The Chocolate Goodness.

(sidenote: I haven’t had refined sugar in about a month now. And you know all those people who say that if you give something up for 28 days you’ll eventually form new habits and not miss the old stuff? THEY’RE A BUNCH OF LIARS. So I’m a wee bit fixated on chocolate, and right now I’d like nothing more than a dark chocolate brownie with milk chocolate chunks and chocolate sauce on top, along with some Hershey’s Kisses. But other than that I’m not thinking about chocolate at all.)

So.

Is there a TV show I’m supposed to be talking about or something?

I’ve lost all train of thought.

Melinda Doolittle –

“Love You Inside And Out” – Of course she sounded great, and when she hit that bridge I knew she was in her element…that’s when she really made it her own. I don’t love this song by any stretch of the imagination, so while I can’t say it was one of my favorite Melinda performances, it was good.

“How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?” – Now y’all know that I love me some Melinda. But I was bored during this performance, honestly. And again, that’s not so much a reflection on her as it is on the song itself. I love what she did with the last third of the song, though…but on the whole, she’s way better than tonight’s performances indicate.

Blake Lewis –

“You Should Be Dancing” – Honestly, the falsetto creeped me out a little bit (she says, ducking for cover). But I’m wondering if I’m going to love any of tonight’s performances because I’m not exactly sure that the Bee Gees’ songs stand the test of time in terms of entertainment value. I’m just sayin’. And as for Blake’s beat boxing, it was pretty cool for about two seconds, and then I just wanted him to stop it, already, because it’s getting a little old.

“This Is Where I Came In” – It was just aight for me, dawg. It sorta felt like a bad 80’s song – and the tempo was just weird. It wasn’t slow, it wasn’t fast – and I’m pretty sure that it lasted forever. But that’s okay, because it gave me more time to think about chocolate.

LaKisha Jones –

“Stayin’ Alive” – I liked this version of the song – WHO KNEW it could be such a sassy anthem? That being said, I think the song got in the way of the performance for me. I almost feel like she didn’t have much to work with – and because of that, she should’ve picked a different song.

“Run To Me” – I thought it was great. You can tell that her voice is hurting, but this was way better than her first song.

Jordin Sparks –

“To Love Somebody” – On a completely superficial note, I wish she hadn’t done the whole dress with jeans look (why? BECAUSE IT IS TIRED). But I’ll forgive her because THAT WAS GOOD, Y’ALL.

“A Woman In Love” – Aside from the fact that this song BORES ME TO TEARS (Not a Bee Gees fan. Can you tell?), she did a great job with a sappy ballad.

Who should go? – Blake. *ducking*

Best of the night? – Jordin.

And to the AI producers: please, for the love of all that’s good in the world, NO MORE BEE GEES THEME NIGHTS EVER AGAIN. Thank you and good night.

If you’ve posted about tonight’s AI on your blog, add your link to the Mr. Linky below.

Tonight, apparently, we’re “celebrating the music of Bon Jovi.”

FOR AN HOUR?

Um, okay.

It’ll be fun, right?

Phil Stacey – “Blaze of Glory” – Hey, y’all? I think Phil may have found his perfect song. He got to start off loud and stay loud, and it worked beautifully for him – he even got knucks from Randy in the middle of the performance. I thought this was his best week so far – and again, I just love the confidence that we’re seeing from him. Great job.

Jordin Sparks – “Livin’ On A Prayer” – CAN I HAVE HER HAIR, PLEASE? I don’t know that this is the genre I’d pick for her, but given what she had to work with, I thought she did pretty well. And even if this wasn’t her best performance, I think she’s built up enough good will to stick around for another week.

LaKisha Jones – “This Ain’t A Love Song” – COME ON NOW, SISTER. For the first week in a long time, I feel like LaKisha took a song and made it her own. I’m proud of her and for her. I’ll be watching this performance over and over again.

Blake Lewis – “You Give Love A Bad Name” – If I have a favorite Bon Jovi song, this one is it. And while part of me wants to say “Okay, Blake – we get it. You’re different. We get it,” the other part of me just has to say: THAT WAS REALLY COOL. Loved it. And I think it could totally be a hit record right now.

Chris Richardson – “Wanted: Dead or Alive” – I’m a fan of the Chris. I enjoy him very much. But I just don’t think his voice was big enough to handle this song. It just felt like something by a cover band to me – nothing terribly original or outstanding. It was fine, don’t get me wrong – but I didn’t think it was great. And I think that, in order to stick around for another week, Chris needed to be great.

Melinda Doolittle – “Have A Nice Day” – Melinda said “Rock On” about as well as I do, which CRACKED ME UP. And y’all, she reminded me a little bit of Tina Turner tonight – and I loved seeing such a different side of her. I had wondered how she would fare when she had to sing something modern, and she did JUST FINE, thankyouverymuch. She was great – and fun, to boot.

Who should go? – I have no idea. Since votes carry over from last week, my guess is that LaKisha and Chris will be going home.

Best of the night? – Melinda. And Blake gets big originality points.

And surprisingly – at least to me – I think this was the best show since standards week. WHO KNEW?

If you posted about tonight’s AI, be sure to sign the Mr. Linky below.

Ahhh. I can finally watch without fear of my blood pressure shooting into the stratosphere. And I can’t help but feel like the real competition is starting tonight, and that makes me strangely happy.

Chris Richardson – “Change The World” – I actually liked the arrangement and was glad that they kept the song true to its acoustic roots. However, at this stage in the competition, Chris needs to WOW SOME PEOPLE – and he’s still sounding a little bit like Timberlite. I will say, though, that this performance was leaps and bounds better than last week – and I was surprised by how well the song suited his voice.

Melinda Doolittle – “There Will Come A Day” – When D. and I lived in Louisiana, I used to ride around and listen to this song. LOUDLY. Which is neither here nor there, really, but anecdotes are fun, aren’t they? And here’s the thing: I liked Melinda’s version better than Faith’s version. I really did. I thought Melinda was in her element tonight. I mean, did y’all see the joy on her face as she sang those lyrics (“There’s a better place / where our Father waits / and every tear will be wiped away…”)? I think she was having church on that stage – and I was shouting “SING IT, SISTA” in my living room. Also: she looked great.

Blake Lewis – “Imagine” – I know it’s some form of musical sacrilege, but I don’t like this song. I am so sorry, y’all – but I don’t. However, my dislike of this song has nothing to do with why I didn’t particularly care for this performance of Blake’s. I just feel like he does the same thing week after week – almost like he’s trying to audition for Coldplay. And this is going to sound crazy (which is appropriate because I am crazy), but he doesn’t blink when he sings, and for some reason that bothers me. His performance did seem earnest and sincere – but I was just a little bit bored.

LaKisha Jones – “I Believe” – I thought this was the best LaKisha has done in several weeks, so that’s a good thing. But I think where she doesn’t do as well as, say, Melinda, is that she doesn’t make songs her own. She typically sounds really great singing whatever she chooses – but she doesn’t necessarily sound different from the original artist. As the competition goes on, that’s going to be increasingly problematic for her, I’m afraid. Still, I love me some Kiki.

Phil Stacey – “Change” – What a great, simple arrangement of this song – and I really liked Phil’s performance. Unlike a couple of weeks ago, he seemed to really connect with the lyrics of the song. He is increasingly confident when he’s on the stage – very much a man’s man – and I think that’s going to resonate with voters.

Jordin Sparks – “You’ll Never Walk Alone” – She just gets better and better each and every week. I completely forget that she’s only seventeen years old. And the ending of tonight’s song? Good grief. She can flat-out belt it. I really do think that she’s going to be in the final two with Melinda. Oh yes ma’am I do.

Who will go? – It’s a tough call – but I think of all the performances tonight, Blake was the weakest. Teenage girls will probably save the day for him – but he would be my pick.

Best of the night? – Melinda. Love her.

SURELY this week will be an improvement over last week – surely.

Please?

Also, I adore Martina McBride. To pieces.

Phil Stacey – “Where The Blacktop Ends” – I’m just so tickled that he’s not wearing a hat. I can’t even tell y’all. The first thing that struck me about Phil tonight is that the song was in the perfect key for him…he sounded really good. And I thought the ending was great. The biggest difference was that he seemed so much more comfortable on stage – and I’m proud for him that he did so well. Yay, Phil.

Jordin Sparks – “Broken Wing” – IT. WAS. FLAWLESS.

Sanjaya Malakar – “Something To Talk About” – OH I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ALL RIGHT. But what I have to say would not, as Mama says, “further the Kingdom.” So let’s just tick-a-lock and move on.

LaKisha Jones – “Jesus, Take The Wheel” – I thought she sounded great. And I actually thought it was a great song for her and was surprised when the judges were giving her such a hard time. I wanted to hug her.

Chris Richardson – “Mayberry” – It was just “a’ight” for me – mainly because he seemed disconnected, like he’d rather be somewhere else singing something different. It felt like he was going through the motions, but given the craziness and sadness of the last couple of days, that’s certainly understandable.

Melinda Doolittle – “Trouble Is A Woman” – She can sing anything. ANYTHING. Great fun. LOV-ING the longer hair.

Blake Lewis – “When The Stars Go Blue” – He was good, no doubt about it. For some reason, though, I feel like he’s doing the same kind of thing every single week – and I just wish he’d do something FUN, for pete’s sake. But another solid performance, for sure.

Who should go? – The one who wore a bandana all tongue-in-cheek-like only it wasn’t one stitch funny in my humble opinion.

Best of the night? – Jordin. She blew me away.

No AI blogging from me tonight – just don’t have it in me, to be honest. But if you blogged about it and want to add your post to the Mr. Linky, link away, my friends. And if you have any thoughts about tonight’s show, I’d love to read them in the comments!