Laptop Television Mom

I am on the
road this week, so I am happy to have the very first LTV *guest blogger* provide a recap of
this week’s American Idol. Thank you, Dixie, for the insight and laughs!

Dixie’s take on American Idol 6: The Top
7

Hee Yaw,
ya’ll! It’s Country Night!! Normally not one of my favorites, and this year was
no different. I like many, many country songs- it’s just that the contestants
never seem to pick any of the ones that I like.   
 
I was wondering if American Idol via Ryan was going to mention Virginia Tech,
and quite honestly, the way they did it at the beginning of the show seemed out
of place and disjointed, almost forced.  And WOW- that was some seriously
bad damage control for Simon to make that awkward statement about VT in the
middle of Blake’s critique!  I was shocked when the camera caught him
rolling his eyes when Chris talked about VT. I realize Simon was rolling his
eyes at Chris trying to get votes, but still… wildly inappropriate, Simon.
 
Here are my reviews:
 
Phil Stacy "Where the
Blacktop Ends"

When did
Phil decide he was a country singer? And where did that twang come from? And
thirdly, why didn’t he wear a cowboy hat? All that aside, Powder knocked this
song out of the proverbial Idol ballpark! See, good things happen when you find
the range right off the, um…. bat.  This was an incredible vocal on top
of a terrific arrangement. He hit a few gritty low notes (in a good way!) and
he received some of the most subtle and in-tune backing vocals of the season.
Sounds like a recorded hit already!  I was amazed at how comfortable he
was walking through the crowd, slapping hands, and staying completely on pitch!
The shirt was great also… the only thing missing was the 10 gallon lid.

Jordin Sparks “Broken Wing"

What is it
with the constant gasping for breath and wheezing through every phrase? It
completely distracted me from the prettiness of the song.  And then she
got to the chorus… where she is stretching and screaming through the biggest
notes and once again, my precious eardrums were bleeding. Her tone is beautiful
and pleasant when she is singing in her range, but then she goes all
McScreechy.  I just don’t like her upper range and have yet to hear her
stay on melody without getting shrilly. On a positive note, she looked
absolutely beautiful- her hair, makeup, and dress.  With that much pimpage
from the judges, she just MIGHT win.

Sanjaya Malakar "Something To
Talk About"

Back to
form with wacky hair and awful vocals- just the way VFTW likes him.
Personally, I don’t find him funny, witty, or subversive.  He’s just
a waste of space and the touch of arrogance (read ENTITLEMENT) is very ugly on
him.

LaKisha Jones "Jesus Take the
Wheel"

LaKisha was
uncharacteristically awful. To make matters worse, after seeing the practice
session with Martina, I was expecting a perfect goosepimply performance- I just
knew she was going to gospel this song up and bring the house to its feet.
What a let down!  The lines in the verses are really too rushed to
do anything unique with the phrasing, and although LaKisha was pitchy, it
sounded "okay." But when she hit the chorus, she turned the song from
a humble, plaintive request into a "JESUS!! YOU BETTER TAKE THIS WHEEL
FROM MY HANDS IF YOU KNOW WHATS GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!" screamfest.  The
chorus just doesn’t have the type of melody that should be belted. Then, near
the end of the song, there was an awkward break in the holdout. Wrong song
choice? Perhaps… but I am afraid that Country Night may be Lakisha’s last.

Chris Richardson "Mayberry"

Nasally is
a form of singing, you know.  That will forever go down as the single most
stupid thing ever said on television.  It should overtake Jessica
Simpson’s "Chicken of the Sea".  And then he has the audacity to
say "It would be different if I had done it every week." Tell me he
is kidding. Okay, he isn’t kidding, and then he brings up Virginia Tech? Maybe
I am being overly sensitive, but Chris, if you support Virginia Tech, and you
know people there, and you’re a hometown boy, would it be too much to ask you
to wear a maroon and orange ribbon? OR at least hold your sentiments until
later, like tomorrow night, when it would seem less like shamelessly sucking up
for votes? How odd was it that he brought up the tragedy immediately after his
nonsensical remarks to Simon? As far as the performance, I thought it was
horrible- many, many bum notes and a horrible nasally, whiney tone. The judges
have lost that loving feeling for Chris and I think it caught him off guard.
 

Melinda Doolittle "Trouble Is A
Woman"

Is there
anything this woman can’t sing perfectly? What an absolute joy! I don’t care
about all the extraneous stuff, and personally, I believe her reactions are
100% genuine. If it is still a surprise for her to receive glowing compliments,
then so be it! Remember at the beginning of the season, the judges found her
humbleness refreshing. Now, Simon is trying to call her out on it? I don’t
think so! One of the Gayles must have made a WONDERFULLY concerted effort to
improve her look because the hair (length, color, and style) and outfit made
the Doodles look confident, sassy, and youthful. Best of the Night…

Blake Lewis "When the Stars Go
Blue"

As much as
I liked his performance last week, I was not feeling this mess at all. Blake’s
vocals were so pitchy that the bum notes were too numerous to count. When he
tried to do a little power belting, his voice cracked and went even more off
key. And drowned out by the band, his falsetto was just not very well executed.
You know, everyone talks about Melinda’s lack of a neck, where is Blake’s neck?
Not sure why he got the pimp spot, or all the pimpage from the judges, but I do
know he will be around until the bitter end.

 
Going home? I have no idea… LaKisha may be in trouble, Phil has been in the
B3 for many weeks, Chris was horrible and has also been in the B3 twice…
Sanjaya is back to being horrible… I’d say it’s anyone’s guess.