The real game finally begins, as the American Idol Top 12 hit the big stage and tried to convince the country that we care at all about Diana Ross. Early grade: we don’t. I’ve decided to recap the show week-to-week and grade the singers on a sliding scale of how much I wanted to, or did, TiVo-bloop through the song. At the end of each recap I’ll make my pick for who should (and hopefully will) get the axe on the Wednesday night results show.
Let’s break it down, bloop bloop style!
1. Melinda Doolittle – Full on no bloop, put the phone on vibrate, close the iBook, drop the fork performance. I’m right with Simon who felt the song itself was dreadful, but the performance was dynamite. I dig her power, her control, and her look. And I’m only 8% put off by her horse teeth. She’s an effervescent performer, utterly absorbing to watch. This is definitely her competition to lose.
2. Blake Lewis – The smartest performance of the night. Blake knows he has a smaller voice than most of the other singers, so he pushes his strong suit of showmanship and arrangement. The music was kickin', I didn’t care that the vocal was small and quiet, and the moves were right on. I was thinking it would be a locked up one bloop for Blake when I heard it was a Diana Ross night, but he pulled through. I put the TiVmote on the coffee table for this one.
3. Haley Scarnato – One bloop it so you can avoid the singing, but still take an extended opportunity to leer at the hotness of Haley. Girl brought it fly last night. I picked her as one of my horses, and though I don’t think she’ll get by on her voice (it’s thinner than Sanjaya’s flat ironed hair), she is easily the hottest, most camera-friendly contestant. And as Katharine McPhee will attest, kittenish good looks and a suspect voice will take you very far in a resoundingly LA-fivish finalist pool. Put it to you this way, Stephanie, Gina, and Sanjaya the boychick all have better voices than Haley, but push come to shove, who would you rather watch week in and week out? Exactly.
Article comments
1 - Adam X
"We" don't care at all about Diana Ross? Speak for yourself loser. After reading your tired "article", I can't imagine anyone caring at all about your opnion.
X
2 - Joe
Nobody cares about you, loser. Diana Ross is a legend, and even though I'm not a fan, she has had an incredible career. These AI kids won't last 5 years, let alone 40 plus like Diana Ross has. What the hell have you ever done????? Yeah, that's what I thought.
3 - The Jay
Calm down there, people. I'm not saying Ms. Ross isn't talented. Or that she isn't deserving of praise. I'm saying she's relevant anymore. The only thing she's done of any interest in the last ten years is get arrested and molest Lil Kim at the MTV Video Music Awards.
And for the Idol producers to parade her out as an icon of contemporary music is ridiculous. I get that the singers need to be able to sing music from the past, but we as potential future consumers need to see that they can sing music from today. Which is why you so saw so many of the singers messed with her arrangement. It's because they can't relate to her music, regardless of its quality.
A.I. needs less Diana Ross theme nights and more Gwen Stefani and U2 nights (which coincidentally they have coming up).
4 - The Jay
* Typo. The comment above should read that she's NOT relevant anymore.
5 - Kid Marcello
I have to say I’m kind of 50/50 on this one, on one hand I understand the relevance of having a Diana Ross themed night since she did have a great career and is considered an icon in the music world and you do really have to know how to sing to chime out her songs. On the other hand since the Idol audience is a younger age, it also helps to have younger singers on their theme night roaster to help keep the show relevant (although I don’t think Gwen Stefani would make my list). For you Idol fans out there I came across some pretty cool stuff, I heard Pringles is having a contest where you can win two tickets to the final show, just upload your very own video for Jingles for Pringles on www.jinglesforpringles.com/?market=1. They don’t have too many videos on there, so your chances of winning are pretty good. I know this info coz I work with Pringles.
6 - Jewels
Overall this season is disappointing. Only a few have real vocal talent. The rest are not even that interesting personality wise. I had Brandon pegged to go home.
Man, never insult Ross, hey? LOL
7 - Straus
I am not an Idol Fan. Really never watch it very much. However, when I read that Diana Ross, was giving advice, and appearing, I had to watch.. Man, I have never been so disappointed, by a list of 12 contestants/finalists. Idol scrapped the bottom of the barrel to select this group. There are a couple women what got big pipes, but you don't need to blow every song out of the arena, to be considered as having talent. While Ross may not have the pipes she once had, she stills knows how to command the stage. Just look at the entrance she made on Idol...Gosh. I got goose bumbs, just looking at her entrance. No one does it better. This Diva, makes up in showmanship what she lacks in vocal range. Diana Ross' is an entertainer...Pure and Simple.
8 - Amanda
I've never heard the words "Jason Mraz" and "obnoxious" in the same sentence... Mraz is anything but.