Random Reality – American Idol – Elite 8

Shows

Gina went home last week as I now go 2 for 4 on my American Idol predictions in the finals. I thought it would come down to Phil or Gina to go home over Haley and Sanjaya. It was interesting to see the breakdown of votes last week, though. I have a good idea now how the finals will shape up. That’s right, I think I can pretty much tell you who will win and who will come in second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. I will make those BOLD predictions later, but for now lets see how bad Sanjaya can screw up this week!

**NOTE** I’m writing this as I watch it, so some of the song names will be missing since I can’t look them up until later**

Tonight’s guest music mentor is Jennifer Lopez. Tonight’s theme is “Latin Songs” obviously. That’s all you need to know, except that J-Lo is a fan of the show.

Melinda Doolittle started us off as she sang “Sway” by various people. You can tell that this is going to be a different kind of night. Not her best, but still better than most. Randy agrees with me. It was solid, but not her best. He liked it. Paula said it was “sexy and beautiful”. Simon didn’t like it and I knew he wouldn’t. He says that song is all about personality and she appeared much older than she is. He also says it was “lazy and wooden”. I agree with him, though. He was just there.

Lakisha Jones gets some dancing lessons from J-Lo. Remember, “it’s a hard life, but it’s a beautiful life. It’s a dancer’s life!” Probably three people will get that reference, but whatever. You should watch some more MTV. Anyways, back to the singing on this show. She sang “Conga”, which is a classic. Once again, I can copy and paste what I said about Melinda’s song and put it here. They are carbon copies of each other. Randy says that Lakisha was having fun with that song and that was true. Paula didn’t like it as much as Randy. She MUST be drunk then! Simon thought it was good, but not great.

Chris Richardson was next and he sang a Rob Thomas and Carlos Santana song called “Smooth”. Okay, the drums and guitar seemed off to me with his singing. I only really liked the ending, everything else seemed out of place. Randy liked it, though. Paula thought it was a hot performance. Simon says it wasn’t the best vocal he has heard, but actually liked it better than Lakisha and Melinda’s performance. It was more modern.

Haley Scarnato sang “Turn The Beat Around”. I knew she was in trouble when J-Lo said that this was almost like a rap song and she had to sing it like that to do well. This was a bad song choice, but at least she looked good. Randy didn’t like it. Simon couldn’t understand her, but says that to stay in the competition she has to wear as little of clothes as possible. Simon is no fool. That’s what I have been saying along. There are a lot better singers in the competition than her.

Phil Stacey sang “Maria” by Carlos Santana. Not that great. Could have been ten times better. Randy was bored, and said it all didn’t come together. His voiced cracked at the end. Simon thinks he is a nice guy, but says there was no originality. The performance was flat and lifeless. He wasn’t excited at all.

Jordin Sparks sang “The Rhythm is Going to Get You”. So it’s Miami Sound Machine night then. Wow, can I say repeat what I said about Melinda and Lakisha. Yep, same thing. She danced more, but the vocals were the exact same. She did throw in her “forced high note” just to have it, though. Randy thought it was wonderful. Paula continues the lovefest. Simon finally makes sense. It was just an okay performance. He didn’t see any progression tonight.

Blake Lewis sang “I Need To Know” by Mark Anthony. That’s her husband, so watch out! Not too bad. Great compared to everyone else. Randy, Paula, and Simon all agree. Excellent song choice for him and he sang it well. Simon says best performance of the night so far.

Sanjaya Malakar was last. Joy! He sang a Spanish song with a Spanish title. We can’t understand him in English, so lets try Spanish. I have nothing to say there. Boring. Randy liked it. Paula said it was nice. Simon said it wasn’t horrible, but said he sung it like a 14-year-old. Pretty much right. Not the worst, but just a hot mess.

This night was weird. No big breakout performances or anything. Just safe song choices and boring performances at times. Still I think I can divide up everyone into three groups.

My Standings

(Hot Sauce)
1. Blake Lewis
2. Chris Richardson

(Mild Sauce)
3. Lakisha Jones
4. Melinda Doolittle
5. Jordin Sparks

(No Sauce)
6. Haley Scarnato
7. Phil Stacey
8. Sanjaya Malakar

Okay, Blake and Chris blew the girls out of the water. Latin songs fit them more than the “same threesome”. Lakisha, Melinda, and Jordin are the exact same, if you couldn’t tell. I do think that those three will get to the final five with Chris and Blake. Haley, Phil, and Sanjaya will be going home. Sad to say, but it’s true. More on who is going home this week in a minute. First, I think that Melinda is still the clear choice to win. But her and Lakisha can swing back and forth every week. I think Jordin is going to get the third place spot of hatred. Someone that shouldn’t last that long, but does because she is nice and young and can sing somewhat. She is boring, though, which fits Jordin right in. Now we all know we need a fourth place contestant that SHOCKS everyone. That spot goes to Lakisha. So I think the finals will be Melinda and Blake. Chris will take home fifth, and sixth will be Sanjaya. That means it comes down to Phil and Haley this week. Phil sucked and Haley was hot. It’s tough, as I picked Phil last week and he didn’t go home. BUT Haley’s hottness and Phil’s sucky performance has made be go against my own rule of not picking the same person twice in two weeks. I will say that Phil will go home this week!

Sir Linksalot: American Idol

I'm not embarrassed to say that my favorite television show of all-time is The O.C. I live by the motto "you can't fight fate!" More importantly, I watch WAY too much television, but I do so for the benefit of everyone reading this now. So to my mom and my wife, I say thanks for reading! To everyone else that might stumble across this, remember TiVo should be your best friend!