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Blog Entry 61 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 rocks

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Contributed by: Annie Hundley / valleynews.com on 5/2/2007

Bon Jovi night! Last night's American Idol was the perfect counterpoint to last week's Idol Gives Back charityapoloza. Last night was a fun and energetic hour of '80s and '90s music.

Jon Bon Jovi (who looks really good for being well into his third decade as a rock star) was an enthusiastic coach, telling the contestants that his kids love the show. You could tell he watches the show because he was familiar with each singer, and was able to offer them suggestions based on what he's seen from them all season. Perhaps the best moment was when 17-year-old Jordin Sparks came in for her session with Bon Jovi and told him she was so excited because her MOM grew up on his music. !!! You could tell that made the poor guy feel a bit old.

Phil Stacey kicked off the show singing Blaze of Glory. Phil was really excited, and when Bon Jovi told him he nailed the song in practice, Phil admitted he's been singing it in front of the mirror with a comb for about 15 years. That's what I love about Phil. He's such a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of guy.

Phil performed confidently, and Randy said it was Phil's best performance after country week. Paula grinned, and said "You're living your inner kid up there." Simon wasn't quite as enthused. "I didn't hear any authenticity. If this were an audition for a rock singer, I don't think you passed the audition."

Jordin Sparks sang Livin' on a Prayer. I found myself spacing out during her song, something that does not happen when Jordin takes the stage.

Paula criticized Jordin for trying to sing out of her range. Simon frowned. "As for the singing, it was out of control. It was like shrieking." Jordin said everybody has a tough week on Idol and "this was my week." She seemed humbled by how hard rock was to sing.

LaKisha Jones was flat-out amazing. This is the LaKisha I've been looking for! I don't think LaKisha's been this good since she sang that Jennifer Holiday song way back at the beginning of the season. Who would have guessed Bon Jovi week would have brought out LaKisha's inner diva? LaKisha sang This Ain't a Love Song and she owned the stage.

Randy could hardly get himself heard over the screaming crowd. "You sold me and sold everybody in the audience," Randy said. "You knocked it out the box." Simon was totally twitterpated. "LaKisha, I actually could kiss you after that. On the lips." LaKisha obliged, and walked down to the judges table to lay one on Simon. "You are so good," he said afterward. "You rose to the challenge. I didn't know the song and you nailed it. And nice lips."

I would have said it was impossible to top LaKisha's performance, but then Blake Lewis took the stage. Lewis sang You Give Love a Bad Name. In the tape, Bon Jovi said he was very concerned for Blake. He worried about Blake's decision to not sing during 16 bars of the song. Hmmmm... is Blake going to beatbox Bon Jovi? Yes, he did. And it was amazing. This performance truly set Blake apart as the most distinct contestant of the season, if not ever. Blake made this old song sound like something you'd love to dance to in a club.

Randy said it was the most original Idol performance ever. "You took a leap of faith and you won," he said, again over a screaming audience. Paula said, "this was amazing. This was your night." Simon warned Blake that half the audience at home would love his performance, but half will hate it. But, Simon said, "this is going to be what will keep you in the competition."

Chris Richardson had the tough job of following LaKisha and Blake. In comparison, his performance of Wanted Dead or Alive was more middle-of-the-road. Randy and Paula were positive, but Simon said "I think you did all that you could possibly do with that song, but I'm not sure it will be enough."

Melinda Doolittle closed the show singing a new Bon Jovi song, Have a Nice Day. I think it's impossible for Melinda to be bad, and she did make a great effort, but to me rock didn't feel like a very natural fit.

Randy told Melinda it was not her best, but still great. Paula was a bit delusional after such an exciting night, crowning Melinda a "rock star." Simon said he wouldn't go that far, but that Melinda was "like a young Tina Turner. Vocally it was in a different league than everyone else."

For the record, I voted for LaKisha and Blake.

Tonight's elimination show will be a big one. Because of their charity week reprieve, the show has to cut two contestants tonight. So we'll go from a top six to just the top four. The show will be combining last week's votes with this week's votes, which will favor people who performed well last week over people who performed well this week. Because last week was Idol Gives Back, lots of voters, like myself, voted many more times than usual. If people acted like I did, they went back to normal voting behavior this week. So, for example, I voted for Jordin 10 times last week (in order to donate $1 to charity), but I only voted for LaKisha once this week.

Overall, though, I think Chris and Phil may be the most vulnerable. But LaKisha could go home because she wasn't on top of her game last week.

Stay tuned tonight for the results and to see Bon Jovi perform.

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