The Best Singer, the Most Gracious Loser

Kudos to Melinda Doolittle, one of the, if not the, most talented singers ever to grace the "American Idol" stage. And grace is the right word, because everything this lady has done on Idol has been enveloped in grace, including her exit.

She was mature, she was professional, she was prepared. She never shed a tear, kept a beaming smile and, as always, gave a flawless performance singing her exit song. We can't speak highly enough of Melinda Doolittle. We are tremendously saddened by her elimination, but are sure she will soar professionally. Her backup singer days are gone. We can't wait to hear her first CD.

Other highlights of Top 3 Results show:

OK, we loved the opening. You can't go wrong with "The Simpsons." Matt Groening may be the sharpest, funniest man alive and we love the snippets of Simpsons humor that he writes for Idol. Watch video of Homer Simpson introducing "American Idol":



Blah, blah, blah the producers again pimp the Idols Live 07 Tour. (This year it really will be a Pop Tarts tour, heh.) Is it coming to YOUR TOWN? Did you know it's the biggest one evuh? Will it still be the biggest one evuh when they pimp it next week? Is Jordin Sparks 17?

Film of each of the remaining finalists hometown visits are shown. First up is Jordin Sparks who was feted with a parade on Jordin Sparks Day. She also had a reunion with her best friend, visited her former school (she's currently being home schooled) and performed for a crowd of thousands. Watch video of the Jordin Sparks hometown visit.



After the clip, Ryan Seacrest acts as if he's going to give Jordin her results, by reading back the judges' opinions of her performances the day before. But we all know it's waaaaaaay to early for that and, of course, it is a fakeout. Jordin will have to wait 'til later (about 9:56 p.m.) to find out she's safe.

Next, it's time for the American Idol Developmentally Challenge quiz. Today's question is: "Are you breathing?" Answer "a" for yes, "b" for no, or "c" for not sure. You may win a trip to attend preschool in Hollywood.

It's time to watch Blake Lewis' trip back to Seattle and Bothell. To introduce it, Ryan starts singing, you read right, "This Love" while Blake jumps in with a bit of beat-boxing. Wish that segment lasted longer. (But you can catch it on the next video). Blake reveals that he had done a few shows with Sir Mix-a-Lot prior to his triumphant return home, where he also received a parade. Ryan and Blake talk about Blake's dad, a big emotional lug, who gets weepy in the video. Blake also sings the national anthem at the Mariners-Yankees game. Watch video of Blake Lewis returning to Seattle for his hometown visit:



When the clip ends, Blake's dad is standing onstage with him (awwwwwwwww), then has to be convinced by Ryan to leave the stage. After recapping the judges' comments of his performances from the previous night, Ryan asked Blake what he thought happened with the results. Blake said that they'll cut to a commercial break. Ryan said close, then asked if they are that predictable. Instead, it's time for Elliott Yamin to perform. Watch video of Elliott Yamin singing "I'll Wait for You":



After the video, Ryan speaks with Elliott, who, after growing out his hair and having his teeth fixed, now looks like Adam Sandler in "Reign Over Me." Ryan then goes to the judges to evaluate Elliott, while Elliott says "no judges." Randy Jackson tells Elliott he is happy that Elliott came home. Paula Abdul says she's speechless and very proud. Simon Cowell joked that it wasn't that great, then said, no it was great. Elliott tells the final three that this is only the beginning for them.

The Ford video is next. It features the threesome singing Billy Squier's "Everybody Wants You," first as youngsters than as "American Idol" star adults. It's actually kinda cute and the casting of the kids playing the three was spot on. Watch video of Ford commercial "Everybody Wants You":



Before going into the next commercial break, Ryan says, "When we come back, Melinda goes home." Now, he meant to her hometown, but in retrospect, it really seemed shocking when we watched it back. Did he mean to say it exactly that way, or was it a Freudian slip? The best parts of returning home for Melinda were getting to drink sweet tea and being able to look people in the eye and thank them. Watch video of Melinda Doolittle's hometown visit:



Pimp, pimp, pimp the Idol producers' new band show before Maroon 5 take the stage to sing "Makes Me Wonder," not one of one favorites by the group. BTW, in an interview with TV Week, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, speaking of Tuesday night's producers' pick for Blake, Maroon 5's "This Love," said:

"We didn’t think we'd get it cleared, to be honest with you, and we suggested it, but then, we couldn't get it cleared, and Blake actually called them up and said, 'Hey, can I sing your song?' And they very kindly said, 'Absolutely, Blake.' We were delighted."

Watch video of Maroon 5 singing "The Next One Makes Me Wonder":



Finally, at 9:56 p.m., it was time to actually find out who was going to be eliminated. First Jordin was declared safe, next Melinda was told it was the end of the road. Daniel Bubbeo in Newsday said:

"Doolittle took the news of her elimination with the humility that's been her trademark, though Sparks seemed genuinely surprised by the results. Comfort came from the judges who all expressed their admiration for Doolittle. Randy Jackson told her she had
'nothing to be ashamed of' and Paula Abdul gushed
'You already have made it and you're going to have a big career.' A disappointed Cowell remarked: 'You are one heck of a singer.'

Watch video of Ryan Seacrest giving the 3 finalists the results:



Watch Melinda Doolittle's journey video:



Watch video of Melinda Doolittle's last song, "I'm a Woman" encore:



Eleventh-place finisher Stephanie Edwards did some analysis of this week's performances and results for her home TV station:

Top 12 finalist Stephanie Edwards talks about Tuesday night's performances.

Top 12 finalist Stephanie Edwards talks about Wednesday night's elimination.

Next week, the grand finale from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. Kelly Clarkson performs, Taylor Hicks performs. Many guest stars we'll write about as we get info.

We're so annoyed with last night's results, that we're turning on a dime here, going out on a limb, knowing full-well that the producers want a Jordin victory, and predicting that Blake Lewis will take it all. What the heck, call us crazy.

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American Idol Top 10 Spoilers

UPDATE: The source we trusted for the spoiler information now reports that most of it was incorrect. Instead of putting any more incorrect material out there, we'll just wait until after the show airs to update you again. Later ...

Here's an advance look at the order of the lineup for tonight's show, as well as what is going to be sung and worn by the contestants. If you don't want to know in advance STOP READING NOW!

Before we give you the rundown, here's the biggest surprise of the evening and a change in the current rules, according to idolforums.com:

The entire 10 performances fit into the full hour of the show. The extra seven minutes are actually for the return of a pretaped segment of recordings by Antonella Barba, Sundance Head, Sabrina Sloan, Jared Cotter, Stephanie Edwards and Brandon Rogers (a capella). Viewers will be able to vote on an 11th phone line for one of these people to join the tour (not return to the show)!!

And although Fox originally released the theme as pop songs, in an interview with ET online, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe said that tonight's theme is songs that have inspired Gwen Stefani:

ET: What theme nights produce better shows? A restrictive theme, such as songs of Diana Ross, or this week's pop-music theme, when the Top 10 could sing just about anything?

Nigel Lythgoe: This week, it couldn't really be anything, because it is artists that inspire Gwen Stefani. Gwen has given us a list of artists, so it is pinned down a little bit. I think for the contestants, it is much better when the genre is open. "British Invasion" turned out much better than we all dreamed, because a good song has the ability of changing and coming up to date. I love the older songs more because there is more melody there and a proper written song. So it has a verse, chorus and a bridge. It just makes it a little more interesting.

On the rating drop this season, Nigel said: Even if we lost 50 percent of our audience, we would still be in the top three shows in the country. I am not that worried. Everybody keeps telling me it has to do with daylight savings. Also, it affects the programs with [the highest ratings the most], obviously. To be honest about it, people are saying that this is not our greatest year for talent. I don't necessarily agree with them. I think we have five or six of the best singers we have ever had. If it is a bad year for talent, we will find out over the next few weeks.

On the advice from the judges: The great thing about this show is it is so subjective. The fun is in disagreeing with what people say. If I was a contestant and listening to everything that has been said over the past six seasons, I wouldn't know what to do from one week to the next. Because they tell you one week, "You're playing it safe." Then the next week, they say, "It is dangerous to do this." Then, "You have chosen the wrong song." It is a tough one. You just have to get out there and sing people's socks off. End of story.

On which contestant has surprised him this year: Jordin continues to surprise me. I am watching her grow week-on-week from this 17-year-old that I saw a number of years ago when she auditioned for "American Juniors." I am watching a young lady come to fruition.

On genres not yet done he'd like to see: I would love to do The Eagles, the music of The Beatles, and there are a number of songwriters -- the lyrics of Hal David, Carole King -- anything that gives the contestants really good melodic songs to sing and a wide choice. I hate pinning them down too much.

On whether he laughed at the "Saturday Night Live" Sanjaya bit: I don't need the thick skin. Sanjaya needs the thick skin. I am old school, so anytime my shows are talked about I am happy in whatever way it is discussed. I will always defend anything on my shows if I feel it is defensible. "SNL" has often had pot shots at us and we have always enjoyed it. Part of our humor here is making fun of ourselves, so it really doesn't worry me that anybody else makes fun of us. (Watch the hilarious SNL bit below. Here are links to SNL videos of Carrie Underwood on the same show singing "Before He Cheats" and "Wasted.")



On whether Taylor Hicks will be on the show this season and what Lythgoe thought of Hicks' CD: Of course [he'll be on the show]. Taylor Hicks is our "Idol" this season. I haven't heard [his CD] it, to be honest.

Is it unusual that he hasn't heard Hicks' CD: No. Kelly Clarkson's I heard. Carrie Underwood's. I haven't heard Fantasia's, Ruben's or Taylor's. I haven't heard an awful lot of the other releases. It is not my type of music, to be frank with you. I like more middle-of-the-road stuff. When they leave us, they go to different genres. I like country, which is why I played Carrie. I wanted to see where Kelly was going because she was our first Idol. I have very little time to listen to outside music. I am constantly listening to the music that we are doing that week, and trying to get everything downloaded to give the kids as wide a choice as I can.

Tonight's performance order, songs, clothing and YouTube.com links (when available):

1. LaKisha Jones - "Love Has a Mind of Its Own" by Donna Summer (very long blue dress, jewlery all over)




2. Blake Lewis - "Love Song" by The Cure (black pants, white dress shirt)



3. Jordin Sparks - "Hey Baby" by No Doubt (pink dress that splits down the legs)



4. Chris Richardson - "Don't Speak" by No Doubt (black shirt, black shorts, bandana)




5. Gina Glocksen - "Just Like a Pill" by Pink (black tank top, white skirt)




6. Phil Stacey - "Every Breath You Take" by The Police (blue shirt, black pants)




7. Haley Scarnato - "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper (long pink dress)




8. Sanjaya Malakar - "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5 (tight black pants, puffy blue shirt)



9. Melinda Doolittle - “Sunset People” by Donna Summer (huge gown, bigger then Lakisha’s, red)



10. Chris Sligh - "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police (brown shirt, black pants)



The Ford Video: "Push" by Matchbox 20, which breaks into "Love Will Save the Day."

We're puzzled as to why Melinda and LaKisha have chosen obscure Donna Summer songs. Although they'll no doubt (ahem) sing the heck out of them, in the case of Idol familiarity seldom breeds contempt -- it usually garners votes. So we think these choices could hurt the two divas.

Listening again to the selections the other contestants have chosen, they all seem voice-appropriate and we are forecasting another good night of music for Idol. We do worry about Haley's pick of "True Colors." Although we love the Cyndi Lauper song, we seem to recall Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" as the Idol Kiss of Death for Nadia in Season 4 (or maybe it was her Mohawk that did it).

We're thrilled to see Sligh in the pimp spot and hope he finally proves to viewers what a great voice he has. We've known it for months, but he didn't really start demonstrating it until he sang "She's Not There" by The Zombies last Tuesday. We also hope the pimp spot means that he's been forgiven by the show's executive producers for his "Hi Dave" Vote for the Worst shout-out last week. It would be horrible if they were to set him up in the pimp spot and then eliminate him the next night (but keep in mind that Idol does love to shock viewers and nothing would be beyond belief at this point -- especially with the change in rules for the tour being initiated tonight). All we can say is "Go Sligh!"

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Will They Never Have Enough Money?

Listening in on the current TVWeek.com "Backlot Talk" interview with Idol executive producer Ken Warwick, we discovered that not only does he and his co-executive producer Nigel Lythgoe own a vineyard in Northern California, but they filmed a Fox Reality TV mini-series about their adventures purchasing it and running it. The series is called "Corkscrewed: The Wrath of Grapes" and the eight episodic unboxed video downloads are available on Amazon.com for $1.99 apiece. (Are these guys crafty or what? They even save on the cost of packaging the set.)

In the first episode, Nigel and Ken "decide to buy a Vineyard (with a little help from some of their famous friends, including Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Ryan Seacrest). After a trip to Paso Robles and a tour of several properties, they find the perfect one. But when their friends/co-financiers suddenly get cold feet, they are left with one big dilemma. Do they risk millions and go it alone? Or will this be the end of their Vineyard dreams?" Jumping ahead to episode 8, Nigel and Ken "are surprised to be suddenly summoned to Pasa Robles for a meeting with Austin Hope, the owner of the Treana winery. This is the man who cancelled the contract to buy their grapes. Is there more bad news? Nigel attends Priscilla Presley's party and Pasa Robles' 76th Pioneer Day, where he falls afoul of the law and is arrested. Ken has to handle the American Idol auditions in Memphis . . . alone." Wow. What a couple of wild and crazy old coots, er guys.

In the interview with Chuck Ross, Warwick also revealed that both he and Nigel grew up in Liverpool and that plans for an "Idol" songwriting contest have been put on hold.

"What with the charity show, we're up to our ears in it," Mr. Warwick said. "It may still happen, but at the moment it's on the back burner." Last year, it was the producers' intention to run the songwriting contest in parallel to "Idol," with the two "Idol" finalists both singing the winning tune.

Critiquing this week's performances, Warwick said about ...:

Haley Scarnato ("Tell Him"): She found her own niche this week -- I thought she was great.
Chris Richardson ("Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying"): I liked it, acually. I thought it was a nice step-down from what he usually does, it's a lovely ballad ... I think it went very well.
Stephanie Edwards ("You Don't Have to Say You Love Me"): She did a good job of it considering she didn't know Dusty Springfield ... I thought Stephanie made a good job of it. She's been a bit under the weather, but she's picking up, so hopefully it won't have affected her too much."
Blake Lewis ("Time of the Season"): He made it a little more modern, and he did a good job of it.
LaKisha Jones ("Diamonds Are Forever"): I thought she did a great job of it. She's got a great set of pipes.
Phil Stacey (Tobacco Road"): I thought it was a pretty good. Simon's right when he says he hasn't got that rock edge to his voice. He hasn't. Now that may become a problem, I don't know. The only thing with me, is I remember the originals so well, I'm consistently comparing them. And you've got to be really good to knock my socks off ... It was a good version. I'd imagine he'd be quite safe this week, I don't know. He made a good job of it, it's a good piece.
Jordin Sparks ("I Who Have Nothing"): I thought she was fabulous. She didn't know that song either when she went into the rehearsal this week ... She's going to do very well in this competition, I think. ... She's starting to do what all the actually Idols do, which is come up as the competition progresses, they get better and better and better. She was good last week, she was great last night. I can't wait. And it was effortless for her, which is great.
Sanjaya Malakar ("You've Really Got Me"): Ah, I mean it was manic, bless him. He just went for it. And to be honest with you, if you're going to do a song like that, you've got to go for it, because if you try to sing it and keep it usual in any way in his normal very soft way of doing things, you're going to be in trouble. The thing is, it caused a lot of stir in the actual audience, they loved it. It was very up-tempo. He went for it, bless him.
Gina Glocksen ("Paint It Black"): Of course, she didn't know the original very well, but she knew another version of someone I didn't know. That's the trouble. When these kids do their own versions, or versions they know, but the general public don't, they compare it, and they think it's just not very good. ... You can't change Motown, you can't change '60s too much, you know. You can play with it, but you've got to sing it for what people know.
Chris Sligh ("She's Not There"): He's got a good voice, Chris, he's got a very good voice. And I like the song.
Melinda Doolittle ("As Long as He Needs Me"): Yeah it's a great song, and it was made for her that song, really, for her voice, really. She's a great pro, she really is. ... And these are songs that stand the test of time.

CLASSIC IDOL VIDEO

Carrie Underwood sings Heart's "Alone," complete with big hair. Simon predicts she will not only win the competition, but she will sell more records than any of the previous Idol winners.






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Don't Let the Show Catch You Crying

Or something along those lines, at least where Ashley Ferl is concerned. Who is Ashley Ferl? Well, you probably know her as the blond, blue-nailed Crying Girl, whose copious tears flowed continually during Tuesday night's show, gushing into a virtual waterfall when Sanjaya Malakar performed.

We said yesterday that it smelled like a setup, and it was to an extent. Idol didn't intentionally bring in this little ringer. According to the L.A. Times, Ashley got tickets to a taping of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" from a Web site. The deal also included seats for either the dress rehearsal of that show or the dress rehearsal of "Idol." She picked the dress rehearsal of "Idol," and according to the Times, that where the waterworks began.

"Her prowess was quickly brought to the attention of 'Idol' producers who summoned the clan to a ringside seat of honor at the final taping." Uh-huh. Never underestimate the publicity-seeking noses of those "Idol" producers. So, we're still calling this a setup, because the producers knew exactly what they had and manipulated the situation to reap maximum benefits from it.

In an appearance last night on "Inside Edition," the 13-year-old Riverside, Calif., resident said she began crying hysterically because she was overwhelmed at Tuesday night's taping (but she started crying during the dress rehearsal, sez us). "Just being able to be there and everything about it ... it was so unbelievable."

"I love his [Sanjaya] voice and his hair," added the middle-school student, who rocked a T-shirt with a picture of Sanjaya on "Inside Edition."

Ferl's mother, Stacey, said her daughter has not stopped crying since the show's taping(!), "She was actually crying this morning again ... she's just so excited about all the media attention and talking about what happened last night on the show." Mom also said her daughter is also an aspiring singer (perhaps she should switch to professional crier), has attended all three "Idol" concert tours and can't get enough.

"Extra's" Terri Seymour (Simon Cowell's girlfriend) also sat down with Ashley, and she told Seymour that she hopes Cowell will "be nicer to Sanjaya," though Ferl admitted that most of her friends are rooting for Melinda and Lakisha. About Sanjaya, Ferl declared, "He is so bad!" And when asked if Sanjaya has a good voice, she exclaimed, "Uh-huh, yes!"

Watching the show, Ashley said, was the "best night of her life." Ferl's mother said, "She cried on the way home and at the restaurant," adding that this is not the first time her daughter cried over "Idol." She also cried and cried during a recent "American Idol" concert tour, when Carrie Underwood performed, and at last season's Top Three show.

A couple of points: This child's behavior is not normal. This is not merely a case of Sanjayamania. Any child, even a 13-year-old one, who would cry continuously for more than 24 hours over the excitement of seeing a star is either emotionally unstable or developmentally challenged. We'd wager that any therapist would say this is not a normal affect -- not for that amount of time anyway.

But we're even more disturbed by mommy Stacey's behavior. Mommy dearest seems to be milking this incident for every piece of face time she can get for Ashley (and herself). Shouldn't she have been concerned by her child's (over)reactions? Don't you think she'd want to protect Ashley from any further media glare? If this woman isn't already a publicist she ought to become one immediately. Right after Child Protective Services removes her child from her custody. Sheesh!

YES, VFTW CHALLENGED SLIGH

A more thorough reading of Dave's Vote for the Worst posting after Chris Sligh's shoutout does indicate that the site had baited him to pay homage to them. In his roundup of Tuesday night's performances, speaking of Sligh, Dave said,

"Chris Sligh then does She’s Not There. I’m a little underwhelmed by the performance, but it’s fairly good. The judges comment, and then it happens. Chris yells out “Hi, Dave”, not once, but twice. On the VFTW message board, we’ve always told contestants to give me a shoutout as a joke to show that they actually read our site. Smarterthanpickler wrote this [on March 17]:

This is a reminder to Chris:

Tuesday is coming, and this will be your final chance to reclaim your manhood. Remember, two simple words:

"HI DAVE"

Say these two words and I swear I will never bash you or call you a pussy again and that I'll use whatever influence I have to get you votes. Don't say these two simple words, however, and I will endlessly bash and humilate you until you are voted off the show.

The ball's in your court, chubby.

And Chris did it! This man is my hero. He wants VFTW to love him. Was it just me or did the judges look pissed? I just have to tell Chris, since we know he’s reading this site now, you are the man. Dude, we so need to go get a few drinks after this is all over and laugh about the show. You complete me. We totally can’t switch to you this week after all the work we’ve put in for Sanjaya, but if you keep it up, you’re guaranteed some VFTW votes once Sanjaya is gone."

So there you have it. Documented and apparently true. VFTW rules, at least as far as Sligh is concerned.

And we couldn't help but post this Sanjaya doll photo that appeared since yesterday on VFTW's home page. Love the site or hate it, anyone who doesn't laugh isn't breathing. (BTW guys, manufacture them and we'll buy one.)

THE REST OF THE RESULTS SHOW

Away with the easy stuff first, the week's Ford commercial had the contestants singing Sam Cooke's "Another Saturday Night" at the Laundromat. It wasn't bad compared with most of the Ford spots, but it really is commercial filler that we tend to ignore.

When Ryan Seacrest was about to reveal, as it turned out, seated in the stands with the contestants was Brad Garrett, in a not-so-subtle reminder that his Fox series, " 'Til Death" now follows the results show, and in fact, has been garnering much better ratings since it was moved there. Of course, he was the first person that Ryan sent home.

And we need to emphasize again how great we thought this week's mentors -- Lulu and Peter Noone were. They listened and gave sound advice to the contestants, even if it was not always followed (not their faults). But we were especially impressed by their performances last night. It is clear that Lulu's range is not what it once was, but she updated "To Sir With Love" to suit her current voice, plus she is the consummate stage performer. We would love to see her in concert. BTW, some interesting facts about Lulu that we wrote about earlier, but you may have missed:
She was married to Maurice Gibb (of the Bee Gees) from 1969-1973, and Tina Turner's hit "I Don't Wanna Fight" was written by Lulu and her brother Billy Laurie.

And Peter Noone is just tried and true. His "There's a Kind of Hush" sounded little different than when he performed it with Herman's Hermits in the '60s. He still tours extensively in the U.S., so you might want to catch one of his shows if he plays near your hometown. To check his concert dates, click here.

Finally, as you already know, Stephanie Edwards was eliminated. We expected so much more of her that we're not saddened too much. She wasn't going to get much further anyway. Chris Richardson, who is near the bottom of our list as far as this season's talent goes, surprised us by getting the second least amount of votes. We're obviously not a supporter of his, but we thought he had heavy fan adoration. In any event, his near-death last night should bring out his hoardes next week, protecting him from elimination for at least 2 more weeks. It seemed to work for Phil and Sanjaya this week. They were both safe, even though they were in the Bottom 3 last week. And so it goes.

Next week, Gwen Stefani will mentor the contestants and will perform "The Sweet Escape" with Akon on Wednesday's results show. It will be a pop-themed week, as contestants pick their favorite songs from that genre.

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© 2007