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Blog Entry 52 of 65 Editor's Blog

My name is Annie Hundley and I'm the editor here at valleynews.com. My blog will range from what's up with the site to life for a newbie in LA.

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Idol's top nine sing the standards

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Contributed by: Annie Hundley / valleynews.com on 4/4/2007

One word fairly sums up last night's American Idol performances: boring!

Everybody played it safe, performances were flat... even the great performances were boring because I expect the good contestants to be good. During the show I was finding excuses to distract myself - busing dishes into the kitchen, making desert, anything but watch the show! Even the judges were boring. Simon hardly made a snarky comment all night. What is happening to my show?

The celebrity coach last night was Tony Bennett and he was quite a bit more useful than last week's Gwen Stefani. He gave the top nine good tips on emotionally connecting with lyrics and trying to pay attention to the beat. Problem was nobody seemed to listen.

Here's a rundown of the performances:

Blake Lewis kicked off the show singing Mack the Knife. Lewis suffered from a problem several others did - appearing to have no idea what the song is about. He was prancing around with a big smile on his face while singing a song about killing people. It was weird. Simon gave Blake a seven out of 10, but gave the band an eight.

Phil Stacey sang Night and Day. The song is about love, but Phil was very somber. Randy said Phil seemed "disconnected" from the song. Simon said: "It had all the joy of someone singing in a funeral parlor. It was gloomy and really dark." Phil defended himself by saying he was trying focus on his wife in the audience, which made the performance seem even creepier.

Melinda Doolittle was one of those great but boring people. She sang I've Got Rhythm and nailed it - again. Randy said, "You come out every week and give everyone a lesson in singing." Paula one-upped him and said it was more like a "master's class."

Simon got to the heart of why this show has become boring with this comment: "I don't think we're ever going to be able to criticize you. It's a problem."

Exactly, Simon. It's boring.

Chris Richardson sang Don't Get Around Much Anymore and he did a good job of updating the song without totally altering its structure. Randy said: "You know how to interject your own style into an old standard. That was cool and young and hip." Simon called the performance "believable."

Jordin Sparks sang On a Clear Day, which is a song about it being sunny outside. Did I mention boring? But her vocals were solid. Randy said "You're like a pro and you're 17." Paula gushed about Jordin's skills but Simon reprimanded her, saying "You didn't make the song young and current. It was quite old-fashioned."

Gina Glocksen. OK, by this point I was in the kitchen. I have no idea what she did, but it didn't pull me back into the living room. I caught Simon telling her she was outsung by the others.

Sanjaya, Sanjaya, Sanjaya. Slicked back hair, white suit, black dress shirt. He looked like he was dressed as an extra for the last Miami Vice movie. Most perplexing of all was the Tony Bennett appears to like Sanjaya and even called him and "entertainer." An entertainer of whom? Bennet also praised Sanjaya for "daring to be different." Oy.

Sanjaya Malakar sang Cheek to Cheek. The vocals were terrible, the "entertaining" was absurd. Sanjaya tried to distract us by pulling Paula out of the judging chair and slow dancing with her. She looked as confused as I was, wondering later if she'd found herself on Dancing with the Stars. Randy said, "I can't even comment on the vocals anymore," but then proceeded to tell Sanjaya he was becoming a good entertainer. What!? Simon was as flippant as last week, saying "Let's try a different tack this week - incredible!" Somehow, Simon, I don't think this kid is getting sent home.

Haley Scarnato sang Ain't Misbehavin'. Here was another example of not understanding the lyrics. The song is supposed to be about a woman convincing her lover that she's not messing around. But she screwed up a line, making it appear that she's referring to several lovers instead of just one by pointing to several people in the audience. Tony Bennett had even caught this slip and warned her against it. But she screwed it up anyway. At this level, these performers should be able to not only memorize their lyrics, but also understand them. Then there was the dress, the cleavage, the legs and the hair, which all made Haley look like she was singing in the Miss America pageant. Simon was on my wavelength, saying "It was a good style of music for you. It was a little pageant-y."

LaKisha Jones closed out the show singing Stormy Weather. Her vocals were good, but some spark has been missing from LaKisha for several weeks now. Whatever it was that I was so excited about with LaKisha I'm not seeing lately. Maybe it's just Idol fatigue. The judges like LaKisha last night, with Randy saying she picked the perfect song. Simon said, "That was back on form, LaKisha. That was a sassy, great performance."

So who's going home this week? I think Gina made herself vulnerable, as did Haley and Phil. But I honestly wouldn't be too upset if any one of these top nine was sent home.

For the record, I voted for Chris and LaKisha.

Stay tuned for the results...

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