YourHub.com \\ The Valley \\ Blogs \\ Pop Culture \\ Television

Blog Entry 55 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.

Blog Url: http://valleynews.com/~blarg

Entries:

Sanjaya fever hits Simon Cowell!

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

NEXT › ‹ PREVIOUS

Contributed by: Annie Hundley / valleynews.com on 4/11/2007

Well I've got to hand it to the kid, Sanjaya knows how to keep himself in the spotlight week after week. It's kind of amazing.

Sanjaya - who has seriously stunk it up pretty much since he reached the Top 24 - shocked the world last night with a performance that Simon said "wasn't horrible." But more on that later.

Last night we saw Idol's top eight tackle Latin rhythms with coach/mentor Jennifer Lopez. Lopez made sure the contestants arrived while she was mid-rehearsal, just to underline the fact that Jenny from the Block is very busy. But she proved to be one of the more useful coaches of the season, giving solid advice that ranged from what key to sing the song in to how to incorporate a few dance moves into a performance.

Everybody's favorite, Melinda Doolittle, kicked off the night singing Sway. It was as close to an old standard as she could find while still fitting the Latin Night theme. While Melinda's voice was spot-on, her performance took a hit because she was uncomfortable with the sexiness a Latin song requires. Randy and Paula loved it but Simon was more on the money when he called it "a bit wooden." He said, "it was bound to happen, Melinda. I didn't like it."

LaKisha Jones sang Conga and she also stretched out of her comfort zone by dancing a bit and tackling the second stage behind the judges. For me, LaKisha has failed to shine for several weeks now. She was my favorite from the beginning, but her performances, which used to give me goose bumps, have become too self-aware. Randy praised LaKisha for having fun, but Paula said she played it safe. Simon said: "It's not a singer's song. You were having fun, I'm not sure how much fun the people at home were having."

Chris Richardson chose to sing Smooth, a Santana song and Rob Thomas vocal. The song really suited Chris' voice and JLo saved the kid by adjusting the key in rehearsals so he was singing in his high range. Randy said it was "very, very cool." Paula creepily told Chris he was sexy. Simon gave Chris the thumbs up for bringing us into this century. "I actually preferred it to the first two because it felt contemporary," Simon said.

Haley Scarnato chose another "not a singer's song" song - Turn the Beat Around. I didn't like this performance at all. Haley shines when she sings soft, slow songs and I thought prancing around the stage in a fast song did not show off her limited talents. But she did show off her limitless legs in shorts so short she could have just been wearing panties. Oy. "That was really karaoke," Randy said. "That could have been anywhere." Simon was just as cruel as when he told Haley weeks ago that he couldn't remember her name. "I think you have a good tactic, Haley. Wear as little clothes as possible because you're not going to be able to compete with your voice because there are much better singers in the competition." Surprisingly, Haley bit her tongue and thanked the judges for their criticism.

Phil Stacey sang Maria, Maria. This was one where I really disagreed with the judges. The panned Phil and I really enjoyed him last night. I've been on and off the Phil train but last night I thought he stood out and gave a rich, emotional performance. It's true that his voice cracked on two separate high notes, which is never good, but to me Phil has so much more vocal potential than someone like Haley. Randy pointed out Phil's voice cracking, and said he didn't connect with the passion of the song. Paula said it was a really good vocal. Simon said, "I found no originality in that performance. It was a bit flat. Your voice cracked. So there's not much to be positive about."

Jordin Sparks sang The Rhythm is Gonna Get You, which was reminiscent of a performance a few weeks ago during Gwen Stefani week of Lady Marmalade. Jordin's voice is really powerful and she is in her element giving upbeat, fun performances. She's not totally my cup of tea, but I imagine she really appeals to a younger audience, since she's only 17. Randy said Jordin's performance was "absolutely wonderful." Paula praised Jordin for being so authentic. But Simon grumped about it just being OK, saying that the show wasn't offering a sense of progression in the singers. "It's very frustrating."

Blake Lewis sang I Need to Know, by JLo's hubby, Mark Anthony. Blake was totally dead-on. He was comfortable in the genre, he was believable telling the story within the song and his voice was great. Randy called it a "hot song choice, hot performance." Paula said Blake was "very smooth." Simon summed it up: "best choice of song tonight, best performance so far."

And now we come to Sanjaya. First of all, Sanjaya totally won JLo over in their rehearsal. He sang Besame Mucho and he was totally working her! He sang right to her and JLo turned to the camera and said "I love Sanjaya!" You've got to give the kid credit for managing that. Sanjaya's performance, to quote Simon, "wasn't horrible." He voice was decent and he really worked the camera. Sanjaya has become a water cooler topic for a reason - he keeps surprising us. Randy said, "You're one of the smartest contestants I've ever met. That was pretty good." Simon tried to insult Sanjaya, saying he couldn't understand the lyrics and it sounded like he was singing like a 14-year-old girl, but then he gave it to the Sanjayaness of the moment. "I'm going to hate myself for this, but it wasn't horrible."

So I think it's pretty safe to say this won't be the week Sanjaya is sent home. Who's at risk? I think Haley and Phil may both find themselves back in the bottom three this week. Because of that fact, I gave Phil a jingle. I also voted for Blake.

Stay tuned for the results tonight.

< Previous: 'Plan your holiday weekend' | Next: 'Farewell, Haley “Legs”...' >

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above blog