Laurel surprised me last week by emailing me several cute blog buttons for what has turned into sort of an American Idol meme for ten or fifteen of us…so thanks, Laurel, for that! And feel free to grab if the button you’re participating.

I’m VERY excited about the fact that they’re singing the classics this week – and being coached by Tony Bennett, to boot. Very promising.

Blake Lewis – “Mac The Knife” – Loved the plaid pants with striped tie. Very fun version of this song, though he sounded a little unsure of himself at the beginning. Great by the end – and I’m sorry, he’s just cool. And right when I was typing that, Paula said the same exact thing, and for some reason that frightens me.

Phil Stacey – “Night and Day” – Total throwback with this performance – classic and reserved. I didn’t love it, but I thought he did a good job.

Melinda Doolittle – “I Got Rhythm” – I don’t think there could be a genre of music better suited for her. And her performance tonight, oh interpeeps, was flawless. Absolutely flawless. Her best performance yet. And the band was phenomenal.

Chris Richardson – “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” – Dear Chris, You did a great job with the song, especially at the end – it was a very fun rendition of one of my all-time favorites. And I thank you for not going all Timberlake on us. But in about ten years you will look back at your wardrobe selection for this particular installment of AI, and you’re going to regret it. Deeply. And not just the hat. The suspenders, too. I daresay the suspenders, in ten years’ time, will make you shudder. I just felt I should tell you these things. But rock on, stranger friend. Love, BooMama

Jordin Sparks – “On A Clear Day” – She’s adorable. I think I say that every week. But I say it because it’s true. And she’s proving to be a very consistent performer – remarkably poised for her age.

Gina Glocksen – “Smile” – Okay, Tony Bennett getting choked up about our soldiers in Iraq nearly did me in. And I thought Gina’s version of this song was lovely. She seems so much more confident in the last couple of weeks – I feel strangely proud.

Sanjaya Malakar – “Cheek to Cheek” – The suit frightened me. As did the hair. But not as much as the fact that he bounced throughout the entire song. And that he pulled Paula out of her chair and attempted to dance with her. Awkwardly. [sighing] OH SWEET MERCY AMERICA, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, IT IS TIME TO STOP THE SANJAYA INSANITY.

Haley Scarnato – “Ain’t Misbehavin'” – Y’all, if this had been the 1996 Miss Mississippi pageant, I would have rewound this performance over and over, utterly convinced that she had the best. talent. evir. But it’s 2007. And typically a pop star doesn’t do a pivot turn on the stage, oh bless her heart.

LaKisha Jones – “Stormy Weather” – The last half of the song was incredible. When she really turns up the volume, she can knock it out of the park. The beginning was rough because she’s not nearly as strong with the low notes. But she was in great form for most of the song – a huge improvement from last week.

Who should go? – I’m going to say Haley in hopes that making a different prediction will bring about different results.

Best of the night? – Miss Doolittle was in her own league.

Love me some Gwen Stefani, y’all.

LaKisha Jones – “Last Dance” – First, it would seem that “Kiki” has picked up the Stephanie Edwards-cute dress torch, and for that I thank her. Second, I just feel like she’s not picking the right songs. She followed Simon’s instructions from last week in terms of redisovering her young and fun side, but this song wasn’t my favorite. It was good, don’t get me wrong; but I just didn’t think it was special. The judges, however, seemed to like it a lot, so good for her.

Chris Sligh – “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” – He did have a lot of trouble staying with the music. The part that bothers me the most is that I so want for him to stand out and be special, and it’s just not happening for him. He’s so likeable and funny, but he’s got to step up his vocal game if he’s gonna be a CONTENDAH.

Gina Glocksen – “I’ll Stand By You” – I thought this was hands-down her best performance of the competition. She sounded great, and she made me enjoy a song that I’ve never really liked before. I like her so much. And those fun red streaks in her hair are just gravy.

Sanjaya Malakar – “Bathwater” – WHAT IN THE SAM HILL? WHAT IN THE SAM EVER-LOVIN’ HILL? I can’t even talk about it. I can, however, give you three words: hot stinkin’ mess.

Haley Scarnato – “True Colors” – It wasn’t bad. But it just sounded like the background music to a commercial for a prescription medication. You know, the whole thing with a couple walking through the wheat field, a woman adjusting her sun hat, and a group of women throwing back their heads as they laugh and sip lemonade while an announcer warns the viewers that taking the medication could lead to dry mouth and stomach cramps. Which probably wasn’t the effect that Haley was going for at all.

Phil Stacey – “Every Breath You Take” – I thought he sounded pretty good considering that this song makes me want to run barefooted over red-hot coals and then stick my feet in a pool of menthol.

Melinda Doolittle – “Heaven Knows” – She looked so cute and fun, y’all! And she is absolutely the most consistent singer who has ever been in this competition. She is so great, and I just love the range of her voice…she sounds just as good singing those low notes as she does when she belts out the higher ones. Talent galore she has.

Blake Lewis – “Love Song” – Yes, it was an interesting interpretation of the song. I give him credit for his originality. But honestly, I was a little bored.

Jordin Sparks – “Hey Baby” – She’s adorable, but I didn’t love this song for her. There just wasn’t enough of a melody in this song for her to show off what she can do, so I sort of felt like she was “sing-talking” throughout her performance. She was definitely cute and playful, though.

Chris Richardson – “Don’t Speak” – I actually really, really liked his performance. This song sounded nothing like Gwen Stefani’s version, and that was a plus for me. He was a little nasal-sounding in spots, but I loved the arrangement.

Who should go? The boy who wore his hair in lots of ponytails as if hoping to distract us from the fact that HE CANNOT SING VERY WELL AT ALL.

Best of the night? Once again, I loved Melinda – but I think my favorite performance tonight was Gina’s. No kidding.

No detailed post tonight because I don’t have the benefit of TiFaux and am watching the show in “real time” while trying to also watch the Mississippi State / Florida State basketball game in the other room (LOUD WHISTLING FROM ME NOW), but here’s my condensed version:

Haley Scarnato – “Tell Him” – I thought she was adorable, but I hope she doesn’t buy into the notion that fewer clothes / shorter hemlines equals a better response from the judges. Though that certainly seems to be the message they’re sending her.

Chris Richardson – I was bored, but the judges seemed to like it.

Stephanie Edwards – Don’t know the name of the song because we were eating supper. And obviously her performance did not pull me away from the delicious pizza. So y’all will have to fill me in.

Blake Lewis – “The Season” – I was bored, but the judges seemed to like it, and I would probably like it more if I could rewind it and watch it again.

LaKisha Jones – “Diamonds Are Forever” – I think she is fantastic, but the song got in the way for me this week. I think it’s a song that’s only good with credits rolling.

Phil Stacey – “Tobacco Road” – Y’all, this performance made me nervous. Maybe it’s because I’m in “beach mode,” but it just felt all over the place to me. And I couldn’t understand the words, either – but I loved his enthusiasm.

Jordin Sparks – “I Who Have Nothing” – I thought she was incredible and I had chillbumps. LOVED IT.

Sanjaya Malakar – “You Really Got Me” – Somebody please make it stop.

Gina Glocksen – “Paint It Black” – It was very loud. But her hair was exceedingly and abundantly adorable.

Chris Sligh – “She’s Not There” – It was just a’ight for me, although the “FRO PATRO” sign cracked me up.

Melinda Doolittle – “As Long As He Needs Me” – I was a giant chillbump. Another incredible performance.

Who should go? – Sanjaya, FOR THE LOVE OF PETE.

Best of the night? – Melinda. Again.

Tonight the finalists hit the big time; can’t wait to see who stands out the most now that the guys and the girls are one big group.

Brandon Rogers – “You Can’t Hurry Love” – He seems oh-so-comfortable performing, but I just think this song is sort of boring for this stage of the competition – and then did he forget the words a little bit? Great arrangement of this song, though – and I thought the end was great. I guess I just expected him to come out a little bit stronger…he seemed like a nice guy doing a nice version of a nice song. But nothing special.

Melinda Doolittle – “Home” – Y’all. I had goosebumps to the very tip-top of my head. She has such a gift, and to know that she knows the Source of her gift? Well, it just makes it all the better. She’s incredible. And her humility is the icing on the top of the talent cake.

Chris Sligh – “Endless Love” – Okay – y’all know I really like him. But when he started singing, I thought he was launching into the theme from “The Love Boat.” As the song went on, it got much better – but he didn’t seem comfortable with it at all. It was an odd performance, and even though I loved his voice on the louder parts, the whole thing was just sort of weird. Also: I missed his glasses.

Gina Glockson – “Love Child” – Now while I do not believe “pronunciate” – which is what the lovely Miss Ross told Gina to do during rehearsal – is in fact a word, I will say that the advice was dead-on, because I had a really hard time understanding what Gina was saying. She seemed a little uncomfortable to me, too – trying so hard to make a song outside of her genre her own (which is admirable), but I didn’t feel it, yo. I still like her a bunch, though.

Sanjaya Malakar – “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – I’m trying – but I can’t get past his hair. Seriously, y’all. Did he use those spiral rollers or something? Because he has perfect curls. And I’m sure he’s an absolutely lovely person, but he is not a singer. However, I commend him for getting on that stage and giving it his all.

(Oh, internets – I’m trying so hard to be nice.)

(But I really don’t understand how he’s still on the show.)

Haley Scarnato – “Missing You” – See, I was thinking that it was her best performance so far, and then she forgot the words, bless her heart. I did think that this performance was her least “affected” so far in that it didn’t scream “Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Arkansas!” She really is a beautiful girl, and tonight, with the more subdued performance, I sort of “got” her for the first time.

Phil Stacey – “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” – Great song for his voice – and I think this was my favorite performance by him so far. He had some trouble with the low notes, but for the most part, he sounded really good. Glad to see him do well this week.

LaKisha Jones – “God Bless The Child” – HOW MUCH DO I LOVE THAT DIANA ROSS CALLED HER “KIKI”? She is so talented, and this song seems tailor-made for her voice. I think she could sing anything – and as she was singing tonight, I thought, “Yep, if she came to town, I would absolutely pay to see her perform. At this point, it’s hard to envision the final two being anyone other than “Kiki” and Melinda.

I’m so going to want to call her “Kiki” from now on.

Blake Lewis – “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” – Vocally I thought he was a’ight, but I definitely could’ve done without the dancing. And somehow the arrangement of this song sounded like something that would’ve been on a soundtrack for a John Hughes movie in the 80’s. I found myself wishing that he would just sing the song instead of trying to reinvent it.

Stephanie Edwards – “Love Hangover” – I just have to get this out of the way: LOVED HER DRESS. She sounded really good, but the song seemed to last forever, and because the lyrics are so repetitive, it got a little boring. I do think that she has the potential to break out from the pack, but she’s going to have to pick better songs.

Chris Richardson – “The Boss” – Oh, how I loved hearing those horns at the beginning. I don’t think was as strong vocally as he’s been before – I believe Randy would call it “pitchy” – but the arrangement was so good that I was willing to forgive the shaky parts. I thought it was fun – but I’m not so sure that it was good.

Jordin Sparks – “If We Hold On Together” – She’s pretty, and she can sing. I don’t think this song is a particularly good one – sort of the whole formulaic ballad thing – but she did a really nice job with it. Hard to believe she’s 17. As my mama would say, she has “presence.”

Who should go? – SANJAYA. PLEASE?

Best of the night? – Melinda, with LaKisha right behind her

If you would like to link to your own post about AI, just enter the URL to your specific post in the Mr. Linky below.

Dear Esteemed Local Cable Provider – 

I’m sure at this point you’re somewhat tired of hearing from my husband and me, seeing as how you have been summoned to our house at least seven times in the last two months, not to mention my husband’s thrice-weekly calls to your customer service department regarding our reliably unreliable internet service. (Feel free to use that “reliably unreliable” phrase in your next ad campaign, by the way. If that doesn’t suit your fancy, you can always go with “consistently inconsistent.” Because that too would apply.) 

I’m sure that part of our dissatisfaction with your cable television / DVR / cable internet products is because our last cable-television experience was exceptional. In fact, during the time that we spent with DirectTV at our former home, we called upon their customer service department approximately, oh, zero times. We enjoyed a crystal clear picture, a friendly DVR-interface via our beloved TiVo (or, as I liked to refer to it: The Baby), and an unfailing satellite set-up. Honestly, we planned to be customers for life…life and beyond, in fact, because there’s absolutely no way that heaven won’t come equipped with the DirectTV / TiVo combination. God has spoken to me about this, and I know I can trust Him. 

Now since my outlook is typically of the glass half-full variety, I have tried to look at our current Unfortunate Cable Situation in a more positive light. I’ve been telling myself that the reason we’ve had to call on you so frequently is because you want to get to know us. You want your technicians to get to know us. You want the customer service representatives in call centers located halfway around the world to know us. You’re relational. You’re building community. You’re investing time in our family. You’re not just a cable company; you’re an outstretched hand, offering us a warm welcome into our new home. 

But my perspective changed, you see, when your reliably unreliable DVR product did not record “24” last Monday night. It was programmed to record “24,” and it even showed “24” in our list of recorded programs. But when we tried to play our favorite show in the history of all time ever, we were greeted by a blank screen – a blank screen whose existence your customer service representatives could not explain. A blank screen whose existence your technician could not explain when he made a service call to our house the very next day. A blank screen that caused said technician to replace our faulty DVR unit with another one that wouldn’t record, only to replace that faulty unit with another unit that is apparently quite cheerful – at least that’s what we’ve determined since it makes a whistling noise all the time. 

I won’t even get into the fact that your TiFaux product didn’t record American Idol this past Tuesday night. Frankly, I just can’t talk about it because those wounds are still too raw.

Today a technician is supposed to bring us another DVR unit. And because history is our best teacher, I must tell you that I look forward to identifying the exact nature of our new DVR’s defectiveness – whether that means the unit might have smoke emanating from the area where the clock should be, a lingering odor that smells vaguely of old peas, or perhaps a tendency to inexplicably play showtunes from the 1950’s when I’m JUST TRYING TO WATCH OPRAH, FOR THE LOVE OF PETE.

At this point, nothing would surprise me.

You see, I can deal with the fact that your DVR interface resembles something from a Commodore 64 computer. I just tell myself that it’s retro. 

I can deal with the fact that your On Demand service is, according to your customer service representatives and your technicians, only reliable approximately 20% of the time. I just tell myself that it’s in the beta phase.

I can deal with the fact that last night we inexplicably started to receive every single pay channel known to man – despite the fact that we had not ordered them – and when my husband called your customer service center and asked you to remove them from our service because we have an almost-four year old and would prefer that he not wander across the fine film offerings on Cinemax, your response was that “most people would be glad to get something they’re not paying for.” I just tell myself that you’re generous.

And I’m willing to look past all of those things.

But I cannot deal with being deprived of Monday night’s Jack Bauer Power Hour.

Nor will I tolerate missing even a second of the cheese-tacular that is my beloved American Idol.

So just know this: I’ve got my eye on you.

And more importantly, Jack Bauer has my back.

Let’s get the DVR-thing right this time.

‘Kay, sweet thing?

Yours truly,
BooMama 

COME ON, NOW!

Here we go.

Jordin Sparks – “Heartbreaker” – First, I love that she loves football. And I think this was a good song for her, but the arrangement wasn’t my favorite. Sometimes I heard the background singers more than I heard her; it seemed like she was fighting to sing louder than the band. But the a cappella part was incredible. That’s what I wanted to hear – because she has a great voice.

Sabrina Sloan – “What’s It Gonna Be” – Big ups for an En Vogue song. And I really liked the way the song started. It’s a little weird, because I recognize that she has a really good voice; but like D. said when we were watching, there’s some kind of “disconnect” there. Maybe she’s too rehearsed? I don’t know what it is. She just doesn’t have that something special that sets her apart from the other girls. In my humble opinion, of course.

Antonella Barba – “Put Your Records On” – You know what I really like? When Corinne Bailey Rae sings this song. I surely do.

Haley Scarnato – “If My Heart Had Wings” – She’s adorable. And if tonight I had been watching the Miss Arkansas pageant instead of AI, I would absolutely want her to win. Actually, her voice would be great for musical theatre; I’m just not sure that she’s a pop star.

Stephanie Edwards – “Crazy” – Okay. The low parts were rough. But she does the R&B genre well – and she’s been consistent every single week. And – did y’all notice? Another cute dress this week. The girl has style and a great voice, to boot.

LaKisha Jones – “I Have Nothing” – When I heard those opening notes, I immediately said, “OH, COME ON, NOW, and sing some Whitney for us.” And SING SHE DID. Good grief. What a gift she has. Also: really great hair this week. She’s the total package, so transparent and real. And I totally want to meet those two women who were cheering for her in the audience. Specifically, I want to go to church with those two women who were cheering for her in the audience. I have a distinct feeling that they’d holler “COME ON, NOW” right with me.

Gina Glocksen – “Call Me When You’re Sober” – Trying not to be bothered by the troll. Trying not to be bothered by the troll. As for her performance, it was a little loud for me, honestly, because I’m old. But I liked seeing her personality, and she seemed more comfortable on stage than she has at any other point so far. Plus, she’s really likeable.

Melinda Doolittle – “I’m A Woman” – Did anybody else want to get out a handkerchief and wave it in the air? Because I was about ready to shout “HALLELUJAH” by the end of her song. She is SO STINKIN’ GOOD. And I really, REALLY want to hear her sing “Oh, Happy Day” up in the church house. Soon. She gets bonus points, of course, for being OCD. Love her.

Who should go? – Antonella and Haley

Best of the night? – Melinda. No doubt about it.

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