In 1996 No Doubt had their first impact on the charts. Lead singer, Gwen Stefani and the boys brought a fresh sound of musical fusion to the airwaves. They were influenced by punk, reggae, pop and dance music. All week the top 10 finalists were challanged by the experienced input from Gwen and her ecclectic point of view.
LaKisha Jones reached back to the disco/dance influence in No Doubt and selected the Oscar winner from 1978 for Best Original Song, Last Dance by Donna Summer. It peaked at #3 on the charts and this was a perfect match for her look, sound and style. LaKisha has a long career ahead of her as a dance diva if she wants it. It was energetic, fun and got the show off to a great start.
It was 1981 when The Police also peaked at #3 with Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. With Chris Sligh trying to handle lead vocals instead of Sting, his voice had better shine. Unfortunately for him, the vocals were not magic. Niether his voice nor his looks are as captivating as Sting's and it was a lost cause from the start. Every little thing he did was wrong, especially the complete lack of rhythm.
The last chart success for The Pretenders came in 1994 when they hit the top 20 with I'll Stand By You. This week Gina Glocksen wisely chose this song which allowed her to actually sing some lyrics and show she can carry a tune. She's very lucky she had this opportunity to come back after the mess she made last week. She even picked a cute goth ensamble that made her into the complete package - --- - for a change.
Mockery. That's what Sanjaya Malakar is making of this season. He's thoroughly embraced his role as a cartoon character, at least when it comes to his appearance. People tune in to see what he's gonna do with his long locks and he did not disappoint - it was a train wreck of pony-tails along the top of his head creating the look of a mohawk. Who cares what he sings or even if he sings. Clearly he paid more attention to his appearance than his tepid effort at the obscure album track Bath Water by No Doubt. He was too busy mugging for the camera to actually provide a worthy vocal.
Haley Scarnato, on the other hand, is really trying hard to prove that this is a singing competition and that she belongs here. While she still has a back-up plan by wearing a little black dress that shows off her other assets, she selected Cyndi Lauper's second #1 smash from 1986, True Colors. It's a tender, emotional ballad that is quite simple, but just in case you were missing the point, Haley belted out a few big notes to wake you up. It ended up being a little over the top and unnecessary, but it was a sincere effort.
If you're not Sting, it should just be a rule of thumb that you should not try to sing a Police song. Every Breath You Take was a huge mega hit in 1983 spending 8 weeks at #1. The reality is that this is one of the most boring songs of all time and it was only a hit because of Sting and his charisma. Phil Stacey has absolutely none of that dynamic charisma. His rendition was simply boring.
Look out LaKisha! Melinda Doolittle has her eyes on the queen of disco dance diva crown too. Melinda selected the #4 dance floor jam from 1979, Heaven Knows, that is also by Donna Summer. We already know Melinda has the wonderful voice that can belt out all the big notes with drama and power. That's exactly what she did, but even this uptempo anthem didn't help her appear any younger or more contemporary.
Throughout the 80's, The Cure were always considered the perfect alternative act and then they blew their image by having a huge chart smash in 1989 that peaked at #2 with Love Song. And it was exactly the song to make us love Blake Lewis even more. There was no injection of the beat box this time around. Just a dreamy, fluid vocalization that wrapped around the audience as it hypnotized and entranced. (sigh)
Jordin Sparks has raised her own bar each week with stunning vocal performances. Tonight she decided to lighten up a bit and perform a song that No Doubt took to #5 in 2002, Hey Baby. It's easily one of the best pop songs from that year, but it is definitely not a vocal showcase. Jordin had to let the back-up singers perform the hook while she just danced around like a 17 year old. The good thing for her is that it worked.
No Doubt had the biggest radio airplay smash hit of 1996 with Don't Speak. Chris Richardson had to hope that the familiarity that audience has with this song was going to keep him alive in the competition. Gwen Stefani has a unique personal style that she exudes while performing and Chris simply doesn't come close. Also, no one ever said that Gwen has the best voice in the world, but she sure sounds better than what Chris did to the song. His boy band vocal effort was a wreck.
Predicting the bottom three this season might as well be like dropping a quarter in a slot machine. Who knows who's actually calling in and voting. Hopefully the talented performers are getting votes and finalists like Chris Sligh, Chris Richardson, Sanjaya Malakar and Phil Stacey are failing to connect with viewers. All four of them were seriously lacking tonight. But since only three will be in the bottom, I predict it will be Chris, Chris and Phil. Chris Richardson will be going home and people just can't wait to see what Sanjaya is gonna do with his hair next week.
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