No preamble from me, I’m ignoring Ryan and the blatant filler (although I think I just saw Michaela Conlin from Bones in the audience). And if Paula sounds medicated, well, she’s earned it just by showing up. Let’s get to the performances:
(Note: I’m abandoning my usual 6.5 for the first song because, well, otherwise the “hit single” wouldn’t get above a 2. Anticipating suckage. Yep.)
Blake Lewis, “You Give Love a Bad Name”, Bon Jovi
Randy – I give you a 10 out of 10 on the beatboxing, the singing for me was just aiight.
Paula – I think you outdid yourself. I wish I could give you more than a 10.
Simon – You’re not the best singer in the competition but you’re the best performer that we’ve had.
Blake starts the show off right with what can only be described as a concert-ready performance. What I liked about this was that Blake played the beatboxing off the drummer, showing his ability to use the band to his advantage. Average singing, but as far as getting the party started, Blake did it, and did it in spades.
Rating: 9/10
Jordin Sparks, “Fighter”, Christina Aguilera
Randy – It wasn’t the greatest entertainment thing but your voice, it was stellar. You were brilliant.
Paula – You were stellar, awesome.
Simon – It’s great that you chose a younger song. I thought the vocals were a bit shrieky in the middle. I’m gonna call round one… to Blake.
Add XTina to the list of singers you shouldn’t try to sing when you’re not at their level. Christina blows this song out of the stadium, and in comparison, Jordin’s rendition seems mousy. A good effort, but not good enough in my books.
Rating: 6.5/10
Blake Lewis, “She Will Be Loved”, Maroon 5
Randy – Great song, and a very nice vocal. Very nice.
Paula – You got into the ease of the song, you sounded great.
Simon – It was good, it was safe, it wasn’t as good as the first performance and I actually wouldn’t have chosen that song in the final because I don’t think that it makes that much of an impact.
Perfect song for Blake – it shows the voters who he is, and he went from high energy to mellow and straightforward. Didn’t think that the vocals were great, but they were solid at least. But as Simon said, it was a safe choice.
Rating: 7/10
Jordin Sparks, “A Broken Wing”, Martina McBride
Randy – Tonight, you can blow. That was flawless, that was unbelievable, that was better than the original.
Paula – You are in great, great vocal voice tonight.
Simon – Now THAT was good.
Like Blake, Jordin made the right choice in pulling out her best performance of the season. I’m still not a big fan of her country inflections because they come off as fake, but she really does have a passion here that is generally lacking in her performances.
Rating: 8.5/10
It’s “hit single” time, and if the two are singing the same sappy ballad… Blake is so screwed.
Blake Lewis, “This Is My Now”
Randy – I know this isn’t the kind of song that really suits your voice, but you did a pretty good job with it, it was aiight.
Paula – I think you were in great voice and you did a great job on the song.
Simon – I thought it was all a little odd. You looked a bit frustrated. It’s not a bad song, but it’s not the type of song you would normally sing. I think that we have to judge you tonight primarily on your first two performance.
This is the songwriting winner? This is shit. This is a bad, bad song. This is Blake getting hosed because he wasn’t going to do well singing a patented sappy Idol winner ballad. This is apparently what Blake looks like when he’s clearly uncomfortable with the song. This is clearly paving the way for Jordin to win, providing that she has even a half-decent final performance.
Rating: 3/10
Jordin Sparks, “This Is My Now”
Randy – You were the best singer tonight.
Paula – You have a lot to be proud of.
Simon – Last week, I didn’t think you were good enough to be in the finals. I was wrong. You just wiped the floor with Blake with that song.
I will give Jordin the edge here because she WAS better than Blake with the song, but only marginally. And therein lies the problem – how can you give her the win when she barely outdoes Blake with a song that’s clearly in her wheelhouse? Jordin was off-key, shouting a lot of the song and unlike Blake, showed her nervous energy by staying firmly frozen in one place. Wiped the floor with Blake? Hardly, but I suppose that 19 Entertainment has plans for Miss Sparks, so it had to be said. Must be nice to have the judges pimp you to the moon with what can only be described as a lackluster performance for a sub-par song.
Rating: 4/10
Who Should Win: Blake
Who WILL Win: Jordin
Maybe I can convince Richard to do Canadian Idol…
Wong… Out.
