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1. Melinda - Are you surprised? I know I am sounding like a broken record, but if there was ever a professional to hit the stage of Idol, Melinda is it. Alan, from The Official Soul Patrol has in his mind that Lakisha at her best would give Melinda a run for her money. Melinda would have to have the flu and be doped up on cold medicine for Lakisha to even enter into her realm, but more on Lakisha later. I think Alan might be under this impression due to the fact that Lakisha has one maybe two notes higher in vocal range than Melinda, but what Melinda might lack in vocal range she makes up other areas. You will never hear Melinda sing Jennifer Hudson or Mariah Carey type notes and she is fully aware of that which is why she is a professional. She has complete and utter knowledge and control over her instruments. Her interpretation skills are excellent and she knows how to pull the best out of every lyric. I had never heard the song she performed, and I can’t remember every line but while listening she pulled me into the story of this “feisty woman in jeans” and made me want to know more about “her”. What I admire most about Melinda is the investment she puts into every song.
2. Phil – Now you are surprised, because I am too. I kept looking at my list and I kept saying wait, Phil can’t be my second best performance of the night, but playing the night back in my head, he is. Phil has a tendency to have bad starts in his performances, but this night he had a great start and was consistent throughout the performance. I think what helped was the song was simple and for more than half of it he was merely singing along with the background, who by the way are awesome. At times Phil’s voice impresses me especially when he is in his upper range. If he would take control of his instrument he would be a very enjoyable singer.
3. Jordin – On the right song this young lady is very impressive. Her best performance for me this season was “I Who Have Nothing”. She was tender and used more phrasing than high notes. No denying she has a powerful instrument, but it takes more than just long high notes to make a song interesting. Her “Broken Wings” came across to me as one long note and that got louder. I was not invested in the song at all.
4. Lakisha – I am not a “I told you so” type of person, but …..  What can I say? Lakisha made a big mistake in thinking she could take on a song that is super popular by an Idol winner. I don’t understand why she keeps picking these songs that have already either been performed on the show or done by past contestants outside the show. What is she really saying? Not only is she setting herself up to be compared to the original, but also the former contestants and she keeps losing. If she had the capabilities of Melinda, given her gospel background she should have been able to take “Jesus, Take The Wheeel” and turned it into a stirring gospel plea. The formula would have been simple. Slow the verses down almost to no tempo at all and build into the chorus with all the gospel flair she could muster. Instead she turned in a performance that was forgettable and in spots had you praying for “Jesus, forget the wheel, take over this song.”
5. Chris – I have a confession. The first time I heard Chris, I thought ok he is really something new to Idol. They have finally chosen a contestant that I could actually see competing in the real world. He has the “boy band” looks and appeal and is a decent substitute when you can’t get Justin Timberlake. Now I am annoyed. I don’t know if this is truly his voice or if he is really doing his best JT impersonation every week. Maybe he has convinced himself that this is truly his voice, if so he might as well give it up now. Justin has the “JT” brand on lock and is not letting go anytime soon.
6. Blake – A favorite of many, but never a one of mine and the cracks in his armor are showing. I think I said it a few weeks back that Blake would make a great producer. I still believe that. His performance tonight was in desperate need of his producer touch but he decided to just sing it. There was nothing I enjoyed about this performance. I could not wait for it to end.
7. Sanjaya – Why? Just why? He made the same mistake Lakisha made. Truly I am not the only one that remembers the fantastic job Fantasia did on this song in season three. This was hard to watch and listen too. After such a great job last week, it made it even harder to understand. The kid actually does have potential, but everything about this performance was wrong. The standing next to Kenya Hathaway(the background singer) only made me desire her to grab the mic from his hand and finish the song. His walking around gave me the impression that it is hard for him to walk and sing at the same time. This might be accurate for his best performance to date happened when he was sitting. That’s the key. Don’t MOVE!