Blake's Tuxedo T-Shirt

The buzz on the tuxedo T-shirt that Blake Lewis wore on the Wednesday results show? Miles Siggins, stylist to the Idol stars, told Entertainment Weekly, "I thought it was horrendous. It was like somebody had gone to the Playboy club in Jamaica. It was a tacky gentleman's T-shirt. I was so busy before the show that I never saw it, and then once he was on stage it was too late. I wish I had seen it because I really had issues with it. It wasn't a good one."

Siggins has to remember that any buzz is good buzz (does the name Sanjaya ring a bell?), and people are buzzing about it all over. People magazine says, "This 'American Idol' finalist is not only making headlines with his voice. First his devoted fans designed T-shirts, buttons and hats to show heir support, then he got America talking about his new hair color. ... Maybe in an attempt to keep up the new hipster image, Blake hit the stage in an ironic tuxedo printed T-shirt. We must admit that we like the quirkiness of the look so we found similar ones for all you Blake fans out there. Check out this classic black one (above), $15, at amazon.com and for more colors, styles and even women's and kid's check out tuxedotshirt.com."

Personally, we looked around as well, and decided if you're going wear to tux T, go for the best look. we liked this one from allposters.com ($17.99) because of the air-brushed three-dimensionality of it.

But there is another site that won our heart hands down, called Choice Shirts. Their line is gorgeous. Take a look at this one, with the amazing red-checked vest ($19.95). Did we say red-checked?

Team Plaid, alert Blake! At the same Web site, we found the T-shirt that suits his personality to a T. Check out this plaid vest T-shirt (the harlequin model, $19.95 or long sleeves for $22.95). What could be better? Go Team Plaid!

THE REST OF THE OUTFITS

Here's what Siggins had to say about the clothing the three women wore:

On Lakisha's black-and-green dress: It was fantastic. And thank God, because she was going to wear this other horrendous dress. I was telling everyone it wouldn't work. She wanted to wear a satin dress and I was like, ''Satin doesn't work on camera on bigger girls.'' Then a tuxedo shirt she was going to wear got ruined at the dry cleaners. She didn't have a good week with outfits, but on the other hand, she did. And that dress was all of 29 bucks.

On the judges' criticism that Jordin's turquoise dress was a thread away from a pageant dress: I didn't think it was pageant-y at all. I thought maybe it was a bit gown-y for her. I personally wish it was shorter on her instead of full-length. I have a problem with full-length gowns before the finale. It takes away from the finale. It's the same reason I don't want the girls in diamonds now. I keep saying no to diamonds before the finale.



On Melinda looking really hot in jeans and good tops, especially the black top: She's just come into her own. It was basically two tops — Vivienne Westwood and Margela tops. It was good. And best of all, she found them this week when we were out shopping. To me, when that happens it means I've done my job.






On whether Melinda will be wearing dresses this week: We're going to do a dress this week, but the dresses will be a bit funkier than previous dresses. I still think with Melinda there is a place for more classic dresses as long as they don't make her look too old.

On how everything about Melinda is looking better. Is it the clothing or has her body gotten better too: I don't think she's lost weight. I think she's just getting more comfortable in her own skin. I think a lot of clothing is looking better on her because she's more comfortable wearing it.

Each contestant wears three outfits this week. On whether he's been shopping every waking second: I've only shopped with Melinda so far this week. She's the only one with outfits. They have hometown visits, Blake had to go and get foot surgery because he has a bad ingrown toenail, and Jordin has had school. They all get back on Saturday, so Saturday and Monday I have to shop. I hate shopping Saturday because it's practically a security risk with everyone at the mall. It's going to be a tough one this week.

WHOSE SONGBOOK?

People magazine asked some celebs whose songbook Idol should do? Here are their answers:

Queen Latifah: Prince would be fun – no, no don't do Prince. They butchered Prince already. Stevie Wonder might be cool.

Fantasia: James Brown. Yes! That's what they need to do. I love James Brown. So many people that are out now raised up watching James, and studying James – Justin Timberlake, Usher, Michael Jackson. That's what I call a true performer. No matter how old he got, he was still up there doing those splits and giving 150 percent to the audience. They need to do James Brown.

Taylor Hicks: The Rolling Stones. Call me crazy, you know? They have a lot of great songs.



Tracy Morgan: Michael Jackson.





Mario Vazquez: Stevie Wonder. I love Stevie and if I was back on Idol that would be my choice of songs to sing. The contestants would benefit a lot from him and his music."

Andy Roddick: Lionel Richie. He has enough songs that are fast, slow and are hits.



Nelly Furtado: Idol should do Prince's songbook because it is challenging, provocative and fun.



Neil Patrick Harris: Something hard like Journey. That would really, really separate the cream from the curd.




Ruben Studdard: Have they done a Beatles show yet? [Duh, Ruben, do you ever read a newspaper or listen to the news?] If not, that's the obvious answer. They have a wide range.

Check out our poll at right and pick the songbook you'd most like to hear the Idols sing.

WHAT YOU DIDN'T SEE

Thank goodness People magazine is in the audience every week to report back on the things we mere mortals never get to see:

Fantastic Four Meets the Final Four: Jessica Alba was the delight of the night, as she accompanied her "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" costars Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans and Ioan Gruffudd to watch Idol's final four face the music. Just before the start of the show, Simon Cowell switched seats with Paula Abdul to get a better look at the star because, as Paula put it, "she's so hot!" And while Ryan Seacrest was about to introduce the cast and a clip of their movie, Alba, who plays the Invisible Girl, left her seat empty and hid behind the host, tickling his back as he pretended that she had vanished. But having the beautiful actress so close proved too much for Seacrest – he almost fumbled his lines completely.

Gibb Goes Down: After a powerhouse rendition of "To Love Somebody," Barry Gibb lingered in the spotlight, blowing kisses to an audience on their feet as the show went into commercial. But just as everyone was saying goodbye to the legend, Gibb tripped while making his way backstage and took a hard tumble, instantly silencing the room. As stagehands ran to his rescue, Gibb beat them to it, springing to his feet, throwing his arms in the air and shouting, "I'm all right!"

Unbreakable Bond: In the final break before learning their fate, the Idols turned toward one another and formed a big group hug that couldn't be broken. Seacrest was already in place when Blake Lewis was still giving kisses on the cheek to LaKisha Jones, Jordin Sparks and Melinda Doolittle. But the Idols wouldn't budge – even after holding the position for almost three minutes during the commercial break.

Follow the Signs: Wednesday's audience was as loud and aggressive as ever, but it was the fans of Jordin and Blake who made most of the noise. In fact, it was so loud and out of control at times that the stage manager had to police the situation and remind fans that they must keep it down. By the sheer number of Jordin and Blake signs in the audience, there was no question who was favored to survive another week.

It Must Be the Heat: The judges were all laughs and were in their chairs (well, Simon was in Paula's) with minutes to spare before the show went live. During just about every commercial break, rather than run offstage, they remained together, chatting and goofing around – even banding together against Ryan by giving him a hard time when asked to comment on the final four. Simon was all over Paula again, constantly touching her, getting behind her seat and putting his arms on the back of her chair, even checking to see if she was okay after Seacrest's street interview where two fans imitated her style of clapping. But Paula had fun regardless – dancing, clapping and even spinning around in her chair at one break – and she seems to love the attention from Cowell.

Politics Aside: "Politically Incorrect" host Bill Maher left the politics at home and took a front row seat to watch one of his idols, Barry Gibb, perform live. Maher, known more for controversy, let loose at American Idol, bobbing his head while mouthing each and every word in unison during Gibb's performance of "To Love Somebody."

LaKisha's Final Bow: Even though the audience couldn't help themselves when they cheered at the announcement that LaKisha was going and their favorite Blake was staying, it was more of a joyous exit than a tearful one. As she gave her final powerhouse performance of the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive," Jordin and Melinda's tears turned to smiles as the single mother celebrated having made it into the final four of American Idol. Afterward, all the judges took the stage to say their goodbyes, but it was Simon who looked the saddest as he made a whimpering face before giving LaKisha a big hug and one more final smooch!

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© 2007

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