And We Are Telling You She's Gone

Yes, the latest to be eliminated is LaKisha Jones. Singing "Stayin' Alive" (poorly) Tuesday didn't save her. We praise her for one of the few "wow" moments of the season on the first week of the semis ("And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"), but, unfortunately for Kiki, it's been an uphill battle most of the way since. Still, she survived at least two weeks longer than most people expected. And being eliminated in the same position as Tamyra Gray and Chris Daughtry is nothing to be ashamed of. Plus, she'll be with the Idol Live 07 Tour all summer. There's no doubt in our mind that she'll eventually land an album contract, but, like so many finalists who preceded her, we think Broadway would be an even better bet for LaKisha. What Simon Cowell calls shouting when she sings, Broadway used to call being able to sing in the theater without being miked!

The producers cannily never really revealed how the over 45 million vote tally went. There really was no Bottom 3 or even 2. They'd like us to believe that Blake Lewis placed second from the bottom (he was the last one left standing with LaKisha), but host Ryan Seacrest never said as much. For all the audience actually knows, Jordin Sparks, who was released to safety first actually placed third. But since we'd prefer to try to base this on whatever facts we think we can grab onto, we'll go with the finishing order doped out by DialIdol:

1. Blake Lewis
2. Jordin Sparks
3. Melinda Doolittle
4. LaKisha Jones

DialIdol's results also showed that the contestants were grouped in pairs: Blake/Jordin and Melinda/LaKisha, with the number of votes between the two in each pair relatively close, but the distance between Melinda and Jordin rather huge. So don't be shocked if Melinda Doolittle doesn't make the finals. Of course, everything could turn on a dime with next week's performances. (Traditionally, each finalist will sing three songs, one chosen by the contestant, one chosen by the judges and the third chosen by Clive Davis).

But since the producers chose to make it look as if Blake was in peril this week, it wouldn't be surprising if his fans voted in droves next week, no matter how good or bad his performances are. If that happens AND if he really was already so popular that he actual did place No. 1 this week, it could assure him a spot in the finals.

Then the question would be which diva will join him there. Our guess? Jordin Sparks, based on the strength of her combined young/old fan base. Unquestionably, the best singer all season has been Melinda Doolittle. But it might not matter in the end. And we think the producers would be more than happy to have either Jordin or Blake win. We imagine they assume that because of their youth either of the two would be both more malleable and marketable than Melinda.

Here's how the rest of the evening went down:

At the opening of the show, Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul had swapped chairs, so that when Ryan introduced them, Simon clapped like a trained seal and Paula kept rubbing her chest area, but Ryan told Paula that, with no disrespect intended to her, Simon had more to work with there. OK, kids let's get out of the playground and on with the show.

The filmed recap of the previous day's show was followed by Ryan's man-on-the-street interviews which were old by the second time he did them, and at this point are unbearable.

In case you are living on Pluto, they made sure to repimp the Idols Live 07 tour, announcing there will be 50 shows, making it the largest Idol tour evah! Whoopee! Fifty more chances to see Sanjaya Malakar struggle with pitch. And now Haley Scarnato can shop for 50 new pairs of short shorts. We're psyched. Are you?

In a taped segment (meant to air on the Idol Gives Back show but bumped back), P!nk ( Pink ) sang "Who Knew." She looked and sounded great. Interesting story here. According to TMZ.com, the pop star was originally set to sing her current racy hit, "U + Ur Hand" (another great song, watch video). That was until TPTB realized the song made references to, er, self-love as TMZ puts it (well, duh, how long does it take to figure that out?). The Idol producers supposedly asked P!nk to alter the lyrics to make them more appropriate for the "family-friendly" show. Well-placed sources say P!nk wasn't willing to compromise her artistic integrity (you go girl!) and agreed to sing her last single, "Who Knew," instead. Calls to reps for P!nk and "Idol" were not immediately returned. Watch video of P!nk on Idol:



The Ford commercial was kinda cute with the four finalists chased by fans all over town after being spotted by fans, a la The Beatles in "Hard Day's Night." The music was The Kinks' "You Really Got Me," and much to our relief, Sanjaya did not pop up out of a garbage can to help them sing it. Phew! Watch video:



Technical glitches kept the mikes off part of the time as the four finalists sang a medley of Bee Gees songs. Much as we love the Bee Gees, we wish the mikes had been kept off the entire time. It wasn't one of the night's shining moments. Yes, the group sounded good together last week, but they didn't this week. We'd prefer to give Phil Stacey credit for that, instead of Chris Richardson, but honestly, their two voices missing in the mix made a huge difference. Watch video:



Or, you can, instead, watch video of the Season 2 Bee Gees medley (which was better, anyway).

This was followed by Ryan filling more time chatting with the contestants, before going into a shameless plug for the newest Fantastic Four movie, "Rise of the Silver Surfer," which coincidentally happens to be a 20th Century FOX film. Oh my! The film's four stars were in the audience, including Jessica Alba, who got the promo's pimp spot. She and Ryan bantered about blondes before she told us that the film was so great, everyone should go out and see it ... twice! Uh, nice try, but no thanks.

A look at some pictures of the four finalists' early lives before it's time for Ryan to send the first finalist to safety. Watch video:



The four huddle and refuse to separate for Ryan. He asks them to line up. They don't. He begins anyway and they, surprise!, resign themselves to the fact that the elimination will begin huddle or not. Ryan tells Jordin she is safe and that she can sit down.

Next a plug for a new show by Idol's producers that will apparently be a battle of the unknown, unsigned bands series. Tentative title: "The Search for the Next Great American Band." Interesting? Perhaps. Before we can find out the next finalist sent to safety, Barry Gibb gets his pimp spot. He sings "To Love Somebody," and doesn't sound too bad, especially since his cheeks hardly move. Trying to check up on what might be the cause, we're now not sure whether he's Botoxing or perhaps taking cortisone or other steroids to relieve the rheumatoid arthritis that we've read has crippled him significantly. It's readily apparent that he has trouble moving his right arm, and we've read he can no longer play tennis or dance. Anyway, the performance is very well-received. Especially enjoying it is Bill Maher sitting in the audience (and who Ryan teased was even mouthing the words to "Islands in the Stream" during the Bee Gees medley). Watch Barry Gibb video:



Finally, it's time to get back to the matter at hand. Melinda is the next sent to safety. With just Blake and LaKisha left on stage, Ryan asks Randy who will be sent home. He says they both had rough nights the day before and keeps repeating, "I don't know man," leading Ryan to say "You don't know, do you?" sending Simon into a laugh. Next, Ryan asks Simon if he knows who's leaving. He says he doesn't know, but he could guess and his guess would be LaKisha. Shocker! But after he says it, you can see LaKisha's composure start to fall apart. And, indeed, Simon is proved right seconds later. Watch video of results and LaKisha's journey:





Her journey film causes streams of tears to fall from her eyes and reminds us of her great promise in the competition, a promise that will no doubt be fulfilled somewhere in show business. We doubt very much that LaKisha will ever need to return to her bank job, and that she has already begun to make a better life for herself and her daughter. Watch video of Lakisha's final performance:



Next week: Three contestants, three songs each, and on Wednesday a look at the finalists' visits to their hometowns.

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© 2007

An Evening of Inspiration

Sometimes the world spins smoothly on its axis, the way it should, and other times it seems to go wildly out of control. When we last checked DialIdol before going to bed, the results may not have been exactly as we would have chosen them, but they made sense:

1. Jordin Sparks
2. Melinda Doolittle
3. Blake Lewis
4. LaKisha Jones
5. Phil Stacey
6. Chris Richardson

While at the time Jordin ran far ahead of the pack, the percentages between Melinda, Blake, LaKisha and Phil were very close. Chris Richardson was trailing the other finalists so significantly, he seemed doomed to elimination. At least (thankfully) the last still holds true this morning. Voting has just concluded in Hawaii (last night's voting window was four hours and there is a six hour difference between here and there), and the list has changed significantly so that it now reads:

1. Jordin Sparks
2. Phil Stacey
3. LaKisha Jones
4. Blake Lewis
5. Melinda Doolittle (!!!)
6. Chris Richardson




Jordin had a great night last night (though not her best in our opinion), but the fact that Melinda could even be in danger of being eliminated just blows us away. We have to believe that her fans (ourselves included) have become so complacent that she'd definitely be in the Top 3, most probably in the finale and probably this year's winner has made us lazy about supporting her this week (it happened to Chris Daughtry last year). Her performance last night, if not the out-and-out best, was at least tied for best. We don't think she could give a bad performance if her life depended on it. It's just not in her. So what happened?

The conspiracy theorist in us keeps wondering what 19 Entertainment will do with Melinda if she wins. (If she loses there is no question she will get a record contract and work.) She could be a worse marketing nightmare for them than Taylor Hicks. At last he has the twentysomething female groupies (and if you don't believe us, go to one of his concerts) screaming for him. But Melinda? You tell us. After all, the producers are looking for a pop artist, and clearly Melinda is anything but. Could you picture her singing Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend"? Uh, not. She is a brilliant vocalist, but we don't see her capturing the 15-35-year-old market. However, Jordin could do that, probably Blake as well. Just saying ...

Anyway, we're fervently praying that even if Melinda winds up in the Bottom 3 (where, certainly, Chris, LaKisha, Phil or Blake deserve to be ahead of her), that she won't be eliminated tonight. What kind of bummer would that be at the climax of IdolGivesBackPalooza? Bet they'd lose a lot of viewers if it happens.

There were plugs and film clips all evening for tonight's two-hour Idol Gives Back show. Ryan Seacrest said that this week the finalists were mentored by U2's Bono, though we didn't see any film clips with him and the contestants. The theme was songs of hope and inspiration.

Now to last night's performances (YouTube.com videos of all of last night's performances included in the critiques. Click the song titles to view them) ...

Opening the night was Chris Richardson, whose top half was dressed collegiate (jacket, tie, pin-striped shirt) and whose bottom half was casual (cargo pants and sneakers). But the colors matched and it wasn't jarring. Wish we could say the same of his rendition of Eric Clapton's "If I Could Change The World." Right sentiment, wrong voice. Yes, pitchy and nasally all over again, but tonight the judges, including Simon, chose once again to be deaf to it. Were they trying to sidestep another confrontation with Chris, in fear of wreaking the spirit of Idol Gives Back? Or were they hoping if they praised him he'd wind up in the Bottom 3 again as he did two weeks ago? Though we've heard worse from Chris, this was clearly the evening's weakest performance. Randy Jackson, who has total tone deafness when it comes to Chris and who has been championing him all season, sickened us with "Tonight dawg, for the first time in a long time for me, you're in it to win it." Paula Abdul reverted to her "I'm really proud of you" platitude from seasons past, while Simon Cowell surprised us with "It was a good vocal, it kind of had much more soul in it, it was a kind of a more sexy performance, I think you did really well." But Simon has admitted in the past that he lies when it serves his purposes, so who knows what he really thought. Hopefully, not that.

Melinda Doolittle has never looked more beautiful on the show than she did last night. She was absolutely glowing with a new quiet confidence. Dressed in a soft gray belted wrap dress with asymmetrical hem layered over a ribbed gray halter top, she was accessorized with multiple choker-length rhinestone necklaces (four or five by our count), that actually accentuated her neck and made it look longer. She beautifully sang Faith Hill's "There Will Come a Day," never needing to go for loud power notes to get it across. Her phrasing and expression always say it all and make you feel it. The judges always love her and you could feel a mighty love last night. "You have arrived, Melinda is here," said Randy, while she was declared magical by Paula. "What I loved about that performance was it wasn't a copycat performance. You took a song, you absolutely made me believe that you had recorded it originally," extolled Simon, adding that it was a vocal master class.

Blake Lewis took a major risk by selecting John Lennon's iconic "Imagine," a song with simple vocals that says so much. To carry it off you have to be sincere and earnest. Though it won't make anyone forget the incredible job Jordis Unga did on "RockStar INXS" a couple of years ago, he did a fine job. His voice is never going to be able to reach a power note, but it was a solid performance and one of Blake's best. Randy was lukewarm, saying "On the performance side dude, it was just kind of alright for me." Paula, who got the performance more, said "it's the first real sensitive, emotional performance from you, Blake, that I've seen, and I think that goes a long way. I really enjoyed it." We were pleased that Simon essentially agreed, with "It felt sincere ... the only problem was that it didn’t go anywhere, it was a little bit like that [making a flat motion with his hand] throughout. I think the most important part, probably, was the fact that you sang it with sincerity, so good." It was an accurate call. BTW, we hated the stringy, raggy denim cuffs and patches attached the sleeves of the wool herringbone jacket. They just looked stupid. Sometimes we can't imagine what the show's stylists are thinking when they do things such as that.

LaKisha Jones looked stunning last night. The Grecian-style black gown was flattering and fit her to a "T." We only wish we could say as much about her song selection. It's well-known that Kiki has a mind of her own and doesn't take to advice well. She bombed last week singing a former Idol winner's song (Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel"). Treading in former Idol winners' territory is laden with land mines. So what does she do this week? She picked Season 3 winner Fantasia's coronation song, "I Believe." That's two strikes, because, as everyone knows, the coronation songs suck. Strike three was sing-shouting it. As bad as the song is, LaKisha is not going to make anyone forget Fantasia's version of it. Probably the only reason LaKisha is not going to beat Chris out the door tonight, is that the judges totally trashed her (again) this week, and she probably got a huge sympathy vote. Randy said he thought it was pitchy and difficult to sing after someone like Fantasia did it. Paula agreed with, "Even though Fantasia hasn't been around a long time ... she is so undeniable and wonderfully and magnificently unique ... I just have a hard time getting past Fantasia." Simon Cowell, cutting to the chase, added "I kind of think I know what Paula was trying to say, which was that she preferred the Fantasia version." He also had an issue with LaKisha shouting the song.

Phil Stacey continues to be the surprise contestant in the competition. Many predicted, ourselves included, that he would have been gone long ago, but he has tenaciously kept hanging on, while others fell. We think it's because he has a decent voice and is a really nice guy. If he weren't quite as odd looking as he is (we can get past the baldness fine, it's the point on the top of his bald head that's distracting), who knows how far he could go? Meanwhile, it's already farther than most everyone thought. And if Dialidol is right, he was No. 1 last week and No. 2 this week, pretty amazing (and a bit unbelievable). Wearing what looked like a fitted black velvet tuxedo jacket, white shirt with black buttons and black jeans, Phil smartly choose Garth Brooks' "The Change," staying the country track with a touching performance that was not quite as powerful as his one last week. Randy called it "Another strong performance on a very nice vocal on a very great song." Paula felt he had really found his comfort zone and that it was his best performance. Simon admitted, "Phil, you know what, I really like you ... and I'm glad that you had a good week last week, and you've come back with spring in your step, confidence." He added it was a good song choice, but advised him to keep more of a country tone in his voice, as he had the previous week.

Looking lovely in a long satiny taupe dress and strappy sandals, and enjoying the pimp spot, was Jordin Sparks singing "You'll Never Walk Alone," from the musical "Carousel," and famously sung by Jerry Lewis during the Muscular Dystrophy telethons. We had heard advance raves about this performance and were psyched. The song choice was brilliant because it's a song that, unless you totally wreck it, is going to give the audience goosebumps. Jordin didn't wreck it by a long shot, but we've heard it sung better and we've heard her sing better (her best to date was "I Who Have Nothing). Plus, she also shouted the song and not one judge noted that. It's not fair to praise Jordin and trash LaKisha for doing the same amount of shouting. In fact, if you listen to the Judy Garland version, it is poignant without pounding you over the head with power notes. Even Jerry Lewis, who is not known as a singer, doesn't power-note it and can give you chills. So we enjoyed it, but wanted more. Randy said "I think that's one of the best vocals by any contestant ever on this show, ever in six seasons." Not even close, my friend. Paula told her, "You sure picked an amazing song to close the night" and Simon kidded "Well, unlike Randy, I thought you were fantastic," adding that even though the song was 60 years old, he thought she could have a hit with it, and he's probably right. This is going to be Jordin's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on the finale show.

Our Top 2 in descending order: Melinda Doolittle, Jordin Sparks

Our Bottom 2 in descending order: Chris Richardson, LaKisha Jones

Our Middle, in descending order: Phil Stacey and Blake Lewis (tie)

America's Bottom 3: Chris Richardson, Melinda Doolittle, Blake Lewis (we'll go along with DiaIdol on this as they were spot on last week)
Voted off: Chris Richardson

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© 2007

Bye-Bye-A Sanjaya

Yes, believe it or not, America gave Simon Cowell an early birthday gift and is shipping Sanjaya Malakar home to Federal Way, Wash. Suddenly, all the recent arrogance evaporated, and the kid cried like a baby watching his journey. LaKisha Jones, who had taken Sanjaya under her wing, also seemed devastated, her head buried in Melinda Doolittle's shoulder.

Bottom Three:
Sanjaya Malakar
LaKisha Jones
Blake Lewis (!!!)

Surprisingly, DialIdol had it EXACTLY right for the first time all season.

More in the morning ...

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© 2007

Cowell Once Competed as Well

One of the bad things about celebrity: Your past always comes back to bite you in the ass. Today's bitee is none other than Simon Cowell, according to HollywoodScoop.com. What pompous millionaire would ever want film to surface showing him before he had it over all the rest of us? Well, probably no one, but pompous millionaire Simon Cowell wasn't that lucky. It seems that before fame and fortune, Cowell was struggling to get some face time on air and made his first TV debut in 1990, on a British daytime game show called "Sale of the Century." Cowell, 30 at the time, was aiming to win a Fiat Uno. But all he went home with was a £20 ($39) set of kitchen utensils (is that even the equivalent of getting a Golden Ticket to Hollywood?).

Unfortunately for Cowell, fellow contestant Barbara Humphreys, 54, from the West Midlands, saved her appearance of the show for posterity and recently uncovered the footage while clearing out some old boxes. "Watching the video now I remember thinking Simon was quite posh and handsome. He had a good sense of humour but I would never have put him down as a future superstar. He prattled on a lot backstage about wanting a Fiat Uno, but it obviously wasn't the height of his ambition," Humphreys said. She also mentioned that she didn’t recognize Simon because he had a lot more hair and he "obviously had his teeth done."

"He was very pleasant and said he was a record company director," Humphreys continued, "But the main thing I remember about him is he couldn't answer one of the questions. He didn't know who Saddam Hussein was, but I suppose in 1990 a lot of people would have been the same."

Now if someone would only unearth some footage of Donald Trump on "Supermarket Sweep."




FOX DISCOUNTS THE POWER DIALERS

ABC's "Good Morning America" took a look at voting practices at "America Idol" and whether the results could be rigged.

"As a democratic society, we think that anything involving voting is going to be incredibly fair," said "Good Morning America" technology contributor Becky Worley. "With technology today there are lots of ways to subvert the system."

"American Idol" tells viewers to vote by calling or sending a text message, but thousands of people have found other ways to give their favorite contestants an advantage, such as with 'phone freaking.' Basically, [with phone freaking] you download a program from the Internet. … Your computer becomes a power dialer that can make up to 1,200 phone calls a minute," Worley said. "That can shut out a lot of other people."

Jim Hellriegel runs a popular Web site [DialIdol.com] that allows users to place thousands of calls for their favorite contestants with the click of a mouse.
"It's all about driving up as many votes as you can cast in a two-hour period," the computer engineer said.

Fox says the number of people who actually cast their votes this way is so small compared to the millions who vote each week that it doesn't affect the outcome one bit.

Some say an even bigger potential problem is computer hackers. "That would be a pretty elaborate process, but if we are talking about someone who has money riding on this, say with an online gambling site, you can see the incentive," Worley said.

IDOL ARRANGEMENTS

EW.com interviewed ''Idol'' composer/arranger Michael Orland, who you've seen on "American Idol" countless times but you probably don't know it. He's the guy sitting behind the piano while the contestants rehearse with the guest mentor. As Idol's official musical composer, Orland gets to work with each contestant on their arrangements.

On contestants' schedule for deciding on a song? By the Thursday before the Tuesday of the show, they know and we work out the arrangements. Friday they work on them again and perfect them, Saturday we meet with our guest mentor for the week, Monday we rehearse with the band, and Tuesday is the show. It's a quick turnover, especially when you realize people spend months working in a studio on a single song.

On whether he regrets Coldplay-ifying "Endless Love" for Chris Sligh: We will take the blame for an arrangement but a lot of times — and it's happened a lot more this season than seasons past — contestants have had exact ideas what they wanted to do. My mother called me after ''Endless Love'' and said, ''Why did you want to do that?'' But he came in with that arrangement. That was totally his idea and when they want to do something like that we cannot stop them. That song is so beautiful that, as Diana Ross said, all you have to do is sing the melody. At one point the contestants had this need to put their stamp on everything, not realizing it was changing the integrity of the song. They're all learning now that they can sing it straight.

On whether he coached Blake Lewis to stop beatboxing every song: As long as we're not picking a song for anybody, once the choice of song is made we're all over it. We help as much as we can. That's something Blake chose to do. He decided he could give it a rest for a couple of weeks.

On why this season's contestants [LaKisha, Haley, Phil] seemed to be ignoring the advice of the guest mentor Tony Bennett: Believe me, no one wanted to come off being disrespectful. I know the kids were just blown away by him. I was a wreck playing the piano in front of him. He just happens to be a real purist with the melodies. Unfortunately, because of the way they had the clips, it made the kids look like they weren't going to listen to what he said. But we tried it his way. I worked with Haley and LaKisha that week and we tried changing it up and playing it straight. We came back to the studio on Monday and said, ''Let's try it his way.'' It just didn't work. They have to do how it feels right to them.

On whether he encourages contestants not to change songs late in the game, as Chris Sligh did with ''Every Little Thing She Does is Magic'': You know what? We did something on "Access Hollywood" with Chris with just the piano after he got voted off and he was so great. Sometimes the big band and the lights and the pressure just gets to them. When we did it I was like, ''Oh my god. Why didn't you sing it like that?''

On whether the contestants have the option to ditch the band entirely and just have a piano on stage: Absolutely. I remember when Bo Bice did an a cappella song. It was so daring. We've done stuff with just a guitar. They can request whatever they want.

On whether there are ever moments when someone just can't seem to find a song: Everyone has a struggle with different themes for different reasons. A lot of them will be great for country week [April 17]. But sometimes you struggle because you've found five songs you like. I'll make the contestants sing through each one of them. We tell them to get on the phone with their mother, father, boyfriend, girlfriend, and ask them what to sing. And when somebody is really struggling, [executive producers] Ken [Warwick] and Nigel [Lythgoe] will sit there with their laptops and play song after song after song. That's what's so special about the show. They are so hands on from the top down.

On whether he ever wants to say, "Nooo! Don't sing that!'': Of course. A contestant might pick a song and I'm cringing on the inside but you gotta let them do what they gotta do. I wish someone had told Gina [Glocksen] not to sing ''Smile'' because I think going all sentimental was what got the rocker girl voted out.That is a gorgeous song. But remember the contestants come in and go, ''Oh my god. Do you know what the judges said to me last week?'' and ''Last week I did up tempo so this week I want to sit down.'' They second guess themselves and try to figure out what the judges or the audience wants to hear.

On coping with having to work with some singers who are so far superior to others: That definitely happens every year. Bo Bice and Taylor [Hicks] and Chris Daughtry would come in every week and say, ''This is what I want to sing,'' and those are people that make it easy. They also had a great work ethic. That's what makes the difference between someone really good and really great. But yes, some people need more help than others. It makes it fun, actually.

On the judges' criticism this year: I'm shocked and appalled by some of the judges' criticism. Take Phil Stacey. I wish they had seen his dress rehearsal this [Tony Bennett] week because it was better and Phil has a tendency to doubt that what he sings is enough so he keeps adding to it, but he has got such a great voice. Then they just started slamming him. You just never know what the judges are hearing and what they're in the mood for.

HARD CORE IDOL
TMZ.com says it's official: The "American Idol" sex tape is real ... real dirty. The Web site obtained the exclusive first images of the shocking video, featuring Season 2 semi-finalist Olivia Mojica. The video, which Mojica made with her boyfriend a month ago in her New York City apartment, is set to hit shelves on May 3, courtesy of Vivid Entertainment, the adult entertainment company behind Kim Kardashian's X-rated romp. Reps for Vivid, who claim they obtained the footage through an unidentified third party, are currently trying to contact Mojica to see if she will help promote the video and share in revenue from its sale.

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© 2007