American Idol Season 6

Bottom Three: Lakisha Jones, Blake Lewis, Sinjaya Malakar

Voted out this week: Sinjaya Malakar

The top 7 did a group medley to “I’m doing Alright.” I thought they all sounded really good and it was a good performance.

Fergie made a surprise appearance on the show tonight. She sang one of her new songs that I actually hadn’t heard before which was cool. It was a good song, and she did a good job with it.

The Ford commercial this week was to a song called “I ran.” All of these commercials can be seen on www.americanidol.com. Ryan announced that next Tuesday and Wednesday are two segments they’ve called “Idol Gives Back.” They have Pink, Gwen Stefani, Earth Wind and Fire, Il Divo, Kiera Knightly, Josh Groban, Hugh Grant, Jack Black, Rascall Flatts, Quincy Jones, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Annie Lennox and more. They also say they will have a duet of two musicians you will have to “see to believe.” It seems like its going to be a really entertaining show.

Once again they split the contestants into three groups. The first one consisted of Sinjaya, Lakisha and Blake, the second one had Chris, Jordin and Phil, and the third one included only Melinda. Melinda was the first one said to be safe. Shortly after, the top three was announced to be Chris, Jordin and Phil. I thought this was a pretty accurate decision, except that I wouldn’t have had Blake in the bottom three.

Next, they showed a video clip of the idols going to Dreamworks Animation for a behind the scenes look at the soon to come out “Shrek the Third.” They had a tour of the studio and a presentation of how the animation is created, and they got to voice a scene, meet Antonio Banderas, and see the new movie.

Martina McBride then sang a song from her new album. It was called “Do It Anyway” and it was a really good song. After she sang, her daughter came on stage and Ryan asked her some questions. She was really cute and outgoing. Finally, Sinjaya was told that he was going home this week. I was really relieved that it was him, and I thought it was a fair decision. However, I must say, the competition will be very different without him.

April 17th, 2007

Martina McBride is the mentor for the idol contestants this week. As you might have already known, this week’s theme is country.

Phil Stacy
Where the Blacktop Ends – Keith Urban

Martina really liked Phil, and said he chose a good song for his voice. This is one of my favorite country songs, and I expected him to do really well with it. His vocals were perfect, and he looked really comfortable on stage. I thought it was a flawless performance, and he almost sounded as good as Keith Urban. I didn’t even know Phil was a country singer, but it turns out that’s what genre he’s more focused on. The judges all really liked it.

Jordin Sparks
Broken Wings – Martina McBride

I really liked Jordin’s dress and hair tonight. It looked very professional. I thought it was a good song choice, because she has such a strong voice, and it’s a really strong song vocally. The performance felt really sincere, and I liked that about it. Her vocals were impeccable. The judges all loved it, and Simon said that he thought she could win it.

Sinjaya Malakar
Let’s Give ‘em Something to Talk About – Bonnie Rait

This is one of my favorite songs of all time, and I just hoped he would actually do the song justice. His hair style once again was unattractive. It’s hard to take him seriously when he doesn’t present himself professionally. I know I cut him down a lot, but I honestly think his performance was the worst this season on American Idol. The vocals were no where near the level they should be.

Lakisha Jones
Jesus Take the Wheel – Carrie Underwood

Lakisha picked this song because she could really relate it to her own life. Martina McBride even got emotional as she was singing in practice. For some reason, I didn’t like her tone with this song. Carrie Underwood has such a soft and understated voice, whereas Lakisha sang it much too harshly, and I thought she sounded the worst she’s ever sounded. She just had an off night, and I think it was due mainly to her song choice. The judges cut her down more than they ever have.

Chris Richardson
Mayberry – Rascall Flatts

I couldn’t really picture Chris singing a country song, because he’s more of a Justin Timberlake than a Keith Urban. I feel like he just didn’t bring anything special to the song, and he even sounded off a few times, which is abnormal for him. I think he needs to do something new and really original to keep his voters voting. To me, Phil completely outshined him tonight. The judges cut him down.

Melinda Doolittle
Trouble Is a Woman – Julie Reeves

I thought Melinda’s hair looked amazing tonight, and she should definitely keep it that way. I wasn’t too crazy about hearing Melinda sing country actually, but I thought she did a really good job. I’d never heard the song, but I liked the way she sang it. It was an amazing performance, but she still isn’t my favorite for some reason.

Blake Lewis
When the Stars Go Blue – Tim McGraw

This is a really great song, and it definitely will suit his voice if he performs it well. I’m not sure if the song was too big for him, or if he just wasn’t having a good day, but he had trouble hitting some of the notes. There was also one part in the song that sounded a bit off arrangement-wise. To me he looked a bit uncomfortable which is uncharacteristic of him. Surprisingly, Randy and Paula really complimented him.

April 11^th, 2007

Bottom Three: Phil Stacey, Haley Scarnato, Chris Richardson.
Voted out this week: Haley Scarnato

The group performances finally came back this week as the final 8 sang a Latino medley. The song started off a bit shaky, with Haley and Sinjaya, but it got better once everyone started singing. I think Lakisha messed up the words at one part, but it was hardly noticeable. I thought the ones who sounded the best were Chris Richardson and Blake Lewis. Phil Stacey also sounded very good. Overall, it was a bit of a boring performance.

After the performance they showed a video of Ryan going around and asking people their opinions on this season’s American Idol. He then announced that Akon would be performing his newest release “Don’t Matter.” I didn’t even know he was going to be on the show, so that was a pretty good surprise. I like this song, and I thought he sounded pretty good. At times he sounded a bit shaky, but it was mainly a good performance.

The Ford commercial this week was to “Happy Together.” It was a cute and simple little commercial. Following this commercial, Ryan introduced a clip of Simon in
Africa. They are supporting a program in which people donate $183.00 in order to buy a complete school kit for less fortunate children in
Africa. I thought it was an amazing thing that they did, and hopefully the millions of viewers watching will help the cause. The clip ended on a humorous note as one of the African girls drew a picture of Simon, but with a set of boobs. Needless to say, he wasn’t too happy about that.

When they announced that Chris was in the bottom three, I was completely shocked. I just don’t see how he deserves to be there when his performance was ten times better than Sinjaya’s. It doesn’t really make sense. It was relieving when he was the first one to be sent back to safety.

Before they did the final elimination, they showed a clip of Jennifer Lopez, and then she finally sang. From the clip, you could see that she is a very sweet and inspirational person. She sang a song completely in Spanish (off of her new album), but it was a really entertaining performance. She had her dancers with her, so that was cool to see as well. I wasn’t a big fan of her dress, but everything else I liked. After the performance, they announced that Haley was the one to go this week. I wasn’t too surprised with this, and I thought that it was a fair decision.

April 10^th, 2007

Jennifer Lopez is the mentor for the idols this week, which I thought was really cool. I can’t believe how many big stars they are getting this season. The idols are going to be singing Latin songs this week.

Melinda Doolittle
Sway

Jennifer said that Melinda’s biggest goal for this song is to be really sultry and seductive. I thought Melinda really did a good job of capturing that sultry style. It was another perfect vocal, but I’m actually starting to get a little tired of her. She isn’t a singer who takes a song and makes it more modern. She just kind of sings it the way it was sung before, so I would like to see something really new and different from her. Simon, for once, didn’t like her performance because he said she appeared much older than she was.

Lakisha Jones
Conga

I wasn’t a fan of Lakisha’s hair style tonight. It was a bit too flat to her head, and I also thought her dress was a bit too revealing. I don’t think it was the best song choice for her. It seemed like she wasn’t as good of a singer as we know her to be. Paula and Simon didn’t really like the performance, and thought that the song was a safe choice.

Chris Richardson
Smooth

I thought that this song would really suit his voice perfectly. The beginning was a little rough for me, and it wasn’t my favorite performance. He still did really well, and Randy and Paula really complimented it, but he just didn’t sound as good as I’ve heard him sound before. I liked it better than the first two, but I wasn’t completely thrilled.

Haley Scarnato
Turn the Beat Around

Jennifer said that this song was really hard to sing because the rhythm is so strong. I thought Haley’s performance tonight was a little bit fake. Her facial expressions were too exaggerated for me. This song is definitely very hard to sing, and she didn’t really pull it off. Even her big notes were unpleasant. It was supposed to be more of a fun performance, but it was actually a bit difficult to watch. The judges really cut her down.

Phil Stacey
Maria Maria

Phil sounded really amazing in his rehearsal with Jennifer. He definitely has one of the best voices, but I just don’t think he knows how to work it yet. I thought he sounded really good in the beginning, but then had a couple notes off-key later in the song. I’m not sure if it was the arrangement of the song or not, but it was a bit lacking entertainment-wise. His voice actually cracked a couple of times, and the judges cut him down a lot.

Jordin Sparks
The Rhythm is Gonna Get You

I really liked Jordin’s hair and outfit tonight. It was very classy. I thought her performance was pretty solid. It wasn’t the best vocally I’ve heard from her, but it was still really good. Simon didn’t like it because he is worried that she hasn’t been progressing lately. Hopefully next week she will pull out something a bit better.

Blake Lewis
I Need To Know – Mark Anthony

I loved Blake’s performance tonight. The song suited him so well, and his voice sounded impeccable. I don’t have a hard time picturing him on the radio already. Each week he comes out with something new and interesting and I just really love him as a performer.

Sinjaya Malakar

Jennifer was really impressed with Sinjaya, and complimented him more than anyone else. She thought it was an excellent song choice for him. I really didn’t like his mustache and beard this week. It didn’t suit him at all, and made him look as though he was trying to look older. Simon didn’t like the fact that he couldn’t understand the song because it was mostly in Spanish, but he actually admitted that it wasn’t completely horrible. I thought it was a good performance from Sinjaya, but still nothing that blew me away.

April 4^th, 2007
Bottom Three: Phil Stacey, Haley Scarnato, Gina Glocksen
Voted Out This Week: Gina Glocksen

The ford commercial was a bit weird this week, and I wasn’t really sure what it had to do with anything, but it was still cute. This week, Ryan split the contestants into three groups, based on their standings. It was pretty clear which group was the bottom three because it contained Haley, Phil and Gina, whereas the other groups had most of the contestants who have never been in the bottom three. I was right in assuming this, and the rest of the contestants were sent back to the couch.

It was interesting to see who was in the middle and top three for the first time, just to see how people are actually voting. The top three consisted of Jordin, Lakisha and Melinda, and the middle three were Sinjaya, Blake and Chris.

They took a break from the elimination as Canadian singer Michael Buble sang. I’ve always really liked Michael Buble, but I didn’t think he was that amazing live. I actually thought he had a few notes that were off key, and it wasn’t the most entertaining performance, but I still like him.

Finally, the results were announced as Phil and Haley were told to go back to the couch. I was actually pretty surprised with the decision to vote out Gina, because I thought her performance last night was pretty good. It was really upsetting when Gina started to cry. I just felt really bad that she got voted out when she was ten times better than Sinjaya. It’s not really fair to the other competitors.

April 3^rd, 2007Tony Bennett is the mentor for the competitors this week.

Blake Lewis
Mac the Knife

I really liked Blake’s performance tonight. There was only one tiny part where he went a bit off key, but other than that, it was very strong vocally. Like the judges said, he made an old hit sound more contemporary, which was cool. All three judges said it was a good choice of song, but it wasn’t Simon’s favorite performance. He thought the band outshined him.

Phil Stacey
Night and Day

I thought Phil would really shine with the song, and he did have a good vocal, but something was missing. I think the problem was that is lacked somewhat of a build-up. Randy said that he sang it well, but it just wasn’t very entertaining, which pretty much summed up the performance.

Melinda Doolittle
I’ve Got Rhythm

Tony Bennett said Melinda was the best singer all day. I wasn’t a fan of Melinda’s dress tonight. It just didn’t really suit her body. This wasn’t my favorite performance by Melinda, and when I say this, I mean that it is still amazing, just not my favorite. I found Blake a bit more entertaining than her so far. Randy and Paula really commended her, but Simon didn’t like the first half of the song, which I think was the problem I had with it too.

Chris Richardson

This song really let Chris perform the song, which was good. He’s definitely a good performer, and it was entertaining. He, like Blake, made his song much more modern, and appealing, which was really cool. Paula thought it was his best performance, and Simon thought it was very good and believable.

Jordin Sparks
On a Clear Day

This song seemed like it was really difficult to sing, but she sounded flawless. It wasn’t my favorite song because it was a bit repetitive, and I felt like the song didn’t take her anywhere. Even still, she managed to sound amazing. Simon thought she sang it really well, but failed to make the song “young and current,” which I really agreed with.

Gina Glocksen
Smile – Charlie Chaplin

I think this song is just a really beautiful song, and I thought it was a perfect song for Gina. I’ve decided I don’t really like Gina’s clothing style. I like that she tries to make her outfits her own, but a lot of the clothes she chooses doesn’t flatter her body. Randy said her performance was really controlled, which I agreed with. It bugged me a bit how she didn’t have a bigger build-up, but she still sang it perfectly.

Sinjaya Malaker

I thought Sinjaya would really shine this week, since this is a bit more his style, but I wasn’t impressed. Nothing stood out about his performance, and it was a bit boring. He almost sounded like the song was a bit too hard for him. Paula and Randy said the vocals were a bit off, but Paula thought it was entertaining.

Haley Scarnato
Ain’t Misbehaving

I didn’t like Haley’s dress this week. She wore a sparkly light green dress, and it just looked a bit tacky. I thought the arrangement of the song was a bit weird. I liked the end of the song more than the beginning, because it was a bit more upbeat and playful. It wasn’t my favorite performance because of the arrangement. None of the judges were thrilled with her tonight.

Lakisha Jones
Stormy Weather

Sometimes Lakisha goes into a really low register, and it’s hard to explain the sound, but I really don’t like it. She definitely doesn’t seem as good to me as she did in the beginning of the competition. I think people like Blake or Chris would have a better chance of surviving in today’s music industry. It wasn’t my favorite performance at all, but the judges all really complimented her of course.

March 28^th, 2007

Voted Out This Week: Chris Sligh
Bottom Three: Chris Sligh, Haley Scarnato, Phil Stacy

As Ryan Seacrest came out at the very beginning of the show, he was wearing a huge Mohawk to make fun of Sinjaya, which was pretty funny. This week’s Ford commercial was cowboy themed, and the main characters were Chris Richardson and Jordin Sparks. It was cute, and very entertaining.

The first person announced as part of the bottom three was Phil Stacy, with Haley Scarnato soon to follow. Before they announced the third competitor, Gwen Stefani performed. Suprisingly, Akon was also there to sing his part in her new hit “Sweet Escape.” He sounded good for what he sang, but he didn’t sing a lot because he isn’t really a huge part of the song. I thought Gwen sounded a little shaky at the beginning, but I thought that it was overall an awesome performance.

Finally, Chris Sligh was told to go to the centre of the stage, as he was the final part to the bottom three. Once again, I was surprised with this decision. Chris does have some difficulties in the competition, but I thought that Sinjaya definitely should have been in the bottom three. Chris was actually the one to go this show, so it was a bit upsetting. It definitely sucks to lose him, and I’m still so shocked that Sinjaya manages to stay in there.

March 27^th, 2007

Lakisha
Let’s Dance the Last Dance - Donna Summers

Gwen was really happy with Lakisha, and thought she was amazing. Tonight, she sang an incredibly popular song, and one that is a bit more upbeat. Sometimes I found that the register was a bit too low. She could still hit the low notes, but they weren’t my favorite to listen to. Overall I wasn’t completely blown away by her, but she is still very good, and all of the judges seemed to like it.

Chris Sligh
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

^{One thing that the judges always comment on with Chris is that he is off tempo, and even Gwen commented on it. I did find that he was a little bit fast in the beginning, and also during the chorus too. This concerns me, because he doesn’t really seem to be able to fix the problem. All of the judges really cut him down.}

Gina Glocksen
I’ll Stand By You

I was so impressed with Gina tonight. She started out really amazingly, and I thought it was the best that she’s ever done. I think she really stepped it up this week, and she chose the perfect song, so I was really happy with her. Simon complimented her more than he did Lakisha and said it was by far her best performance of the entire season.

Sinjaya Malakar
Bath Water – No Doubt

I can’t even begin to understand why he chose the hairstyle that he did tonight. I was actually pretty embarrassed for him. He had a huge Mohawk… but I have to give it to him for really going for it. I actually thought he did a decent job. It’s a really cool song, and I know it was difficult for him, but I think it suited his voice. He forgot the words at one part, but I actually thought it was one of his best performances. This was the first night where I actually could see that he has a decent voice.

Haley Scarnato
True Colours – Phil Collins

Haley looked really pretty tonight in a sleek and short black dress. I thought the performance was okay. I think she could have done a lot more with the song, and I expected more out of her. It was a bit boring, and it wasn’t amazing vocally either. Paula said that she should aim to be more contemporary, which I thought was a good suggestion.

Phil Stacy
Every Breath You Take – The Police

Gwen said she was really presently surprised with Phil, and didn’t expect him to be that good. This is personally one of my favorite songs, and I knew that it would really suit his voice. From this performance, you could really tell that he has awesome vocals. I found that this was the first week where he didn’t shout too much. He stuck to the great parts of the song and that’s what made it good. He got good comments from all three judges.

Melinda Doolittle
Heaven Knows

Gwen loved Melinda, and said that she didn’t even need a good luck because she was so good. I thought her outfit was really cute tonight…kind of 60’s-ish. It makes me think a bit though that I’m not sure she should win the competition. While she is and amazing singer, I’m not sure she is contemporary enough to fit in with the music these days. However, she was still so amazing.

Blake Lewis
The Cure

I thought Blake looked so cute tonight. He had on a really nice sweater, and his hair was cute in a messy style. The song was slow, but he still managed to make me watch him the whole time. I never find him boring, and I just really like his singing style. Paula really loved him, and Simon called him the strongest guy of the competition.

Jordin Sparks
Hey baby – No Doubt

I love this song, and I was excited to see what she would do with it. It’s definitely a hard song to sing, and I thought she did a decent job. I wasn’t too impressed with her tonight. I thought the song was a bit too big for her, but she is still really good. I was glad she went for it, but it wasn’t my favorite. I just expected more from her.

Chris Richardson
Don’t Speak – No Doubt

This is another really great song by No Doubt. I didn’t really like what he did with one part of the melody, and it wasn’t my favorite performance by him, but I still really like him. I don’t think the vocals showed his true talent, but I believe that he will be better next week.

March 21st, 2007

Bottom two: Stephanie Edwards and Chris Richardson
Voted Out This Week: Stephanie Edwards

First, they had a recap of the night before, and then Peter Noone sang. I’m not going to lie, I’m not the biggest fan of Peter Noone. I think he definitely relates more to the older audience. After that, they showed their Ford commercial for the week. I thought it was pretty cute, and did a good job of showing all of the idols personalities.

Brad Garrett from the tv show “Everybody Loves Raymond” was on the show tonight, and was actually sitting with the idols before elimination time. Ryan Seacrest announced that the first idol who was voted out tonight was Brad. It was a funny little scene.

When they announced that Chris Richardson was in the bottom 2, I was really shocked. I thought that in no way did he deserve to be there. After Chris took his walk to centre stage, Lulu did her performance. I thought she was better than Peter Noone, but still not really my type. In fact, I thought some of the idol contestants were better than her.

Finally they announced that Stephanie Edwards would make up the second half of the bottom 2. In the end, Chris was safe, which definitely a big relief for me.

March 20th, 2007 

The theme this week is BRITISH INVASION (Songs from the 60’s)

Peter Noon and Lulu are the mentors for the competitors this week

Haley Scarnato

Tell him – Billy Davis

It sounded like the song was too difficult for her. I can’t really pinpoint why she isn’t successful in the competition, but for some reason, she just doesn’t shine as much as the others. For me, it was a bit boring, but she definitely gave it her all.

Chris Richardson

Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying – Jerry and the Pacemakers

Chris chose to do a slower song this week, which I thought was a good idea. We really got to see his vocal range, so it worked out well for him. I liked the performance a lot, and thought his vocals sounded amazing. Simon thought it was his best performance ever, and that the control of his voice was really good.

Stephanie Edwards

You Don’t have to Say you Love me

I thought her dressed was very beautiful tonight. It was a very pretty blue colour. I thought she did a decent job. The beginning of the song was good, but as the song went on, it got a little worse. She had a few off-keys, and didn’t get very good reviews from the judges. Simon thinks she is losing her edge, which I think is true.

Blake Lewis

Time of the Season

For me, this was Blake’s best performance in the competition yet. It was the perfect balance of great vocals, a little dancing, and some awesome beat boxing. It was a slow song, but I didn’t get bored once, and it was just an entertaining performance. The judges all loved it.

Lakisha Jones

Diamonds are forever - Shirley Bassy

This wasn’t my favorite song choice for her, but it was still good. Her vocals sound good with any song she chooses, but this one was a bit different. I didn’t like the performance, and not because I don’t like her, I just didn’t like the song. It was a bit repetitive, and different sounding. Needless to say, the judges weren’t quite as impressed with her as they have been in the past.

Phil Stacy

Tobacco Road

I didn’t know the song before this show, but I really like it. I thought it was a good song choice for him because it showed a bit more edge. His biggest problem is that he tends to shout when he hits the big notes. He definitely has very good vocals, but I think he overdid it a bit, and it was kind of all over the place.

Jordin Sparks

I Who Have Nothing

This was the best performance of the night by far, and I think it was my favorite performance of the entire season 6. I’m not sure why I loved it so much, but I think it was because it was so heartfelt. It’s an amazing song, and her vocals were impeccable. You just felt so much by watching her sing, and it gave me a lot of chills. Simon liked it, but thought it was too depressing.

Sinjaya Malakar

You Really Got me – The Kings

I’ll give him props for really going for it. I thought he did a really good job considering he doesn’t have the voice that some of the other contestants have. I still don’t really like him, and I feel that his performance was a bit staged, but I was glad to see that he performed more. Simon made fun of him.

Gina Glocksen

Painted Black

I don’t think this was the best song choice for Gina. It’s a great song, and she did a decent job, but I’m not sure how the audience will react. This is a song that you really have to do perfectly, and I don’t think she was quite there. She just didn’t do it justice, vocal wise.

Chris Sligh

She’s Not There – The Zombies

This is another really great song, and another great performance. It probably wasn’t my favorite of the night, but he did the song justice, and his vocals were spot on. He began the song in the audience which I thought was pretty cool. I think he will go very far in the competition. The judges all liked it.

Melinda Doolittle

As Long As He Needs Me

Her voice is so amazing, and it really showed through tonight. For some reason, it didn’t affect me as much as Jordin’s, but it was still one of the best of the night by far. The judges gave her more props than they did Jordin. Randy said that she was already a pro. It wasn’t my favorite performance, but it was still amazing.