Season Four Miss American Idol, Carrie Underwood, was the big winner at the CMT Awards this week. Carrie would have been the perfect mentor for the finalists as they face the challange of singing Country music tonight. Apparently, she wasn't available, but the alternative, Martina McBride, is also a perfectly accomplished artist to work with them and give competant guidance.
Phil Stacey started out the evening with Keith Urban's Where The Blacktop Ends. This song has a good beat and even when it is paired with Phil's droning voice, the performance managed to keep the audience awake. He ran around the stage a lot more than usual, so there was more energy, but it didn't necessarily showcase enough vibrant stage presence which he is still sorely lacking.
Martina really has one of the best sets of vocal pipes in the industry, so if someone is going to cover one of her songs, she had better be good. We have already seen in the past few weeks that Jordin Sparks is much more than just good. She is a gifted young lady who is bright shining light, so it is no surprise that her interpretation of McBride's Broken Wings was simply stellar.
Bonnie Raitt had her only top 5 hit with Something To Talk About in 1991. Sanjaya Malakar's vocals were absolutely nothing to talk about. They are usually a scratchy whisper and his big notes are wretched screams. This boy knows the only thing we are talking about is his hair, so he tied up his poofy curls in a big red bandana, but there was no distracting from the weak voice this time around.
LaKisha Jones made a wonderful selection in what could have been a very difficult genre for her. Carrie Underwood released Jesus Take The Wheel as her first single in 2005 and she has since become a superstar. It's a song with a special lyrical connection for a single mom, and LaKisha was able to tell the story and sound sincere and powerful.
Great country artists are accomplished story tellers who connect emotionally with the audience. There is no chance that Chris Richardson is going to be a great country artist. He sang Rascal Flatts' Mayberry with his unimpressive voice and he couldn't rely on any attempts to connect through his usual tactics. There was no room for late 90's boy band dance moves, so he was just out of luck.
First of all, Melinda Doolittle, has never looked better that she did tonight. She wore her hair long and relaxed and it made her look more youthful than she has in the entire competition. On top of looking fabulous, she also selected the perfect toe tapper to compliment her great voice. Julie Reeves had a minor hit in 1999 with Trouble Is A Woman, and Melinda could rejuninate this song and bring it all the way to the top of the charts.
Tim McGraw is one of my favorite artists and in 2006 he had a hit with When The Stars Go Blue. Tonight we found out what happens when one of Tim's songs goes Blake. It gives me chills in a totally good way! Blake Lewis stays true to himself while perfectly adapting to the theme each week. He sang this tender ballad and effortlessly hit every note shifting seamlessly from his smooth tenor to a thoroughly dreamy falsetto. You could close your eyes and let yourself drift away, but then you'd be cheating yourself from seeing Blake float across the stage. When the stars go blue, Blake becomes a STAR!
My prediction for the bottom three seems like a total no-brainer this week. How could it not be Phil, Sanjaya and Chris? The other four finalists are exceptionally good, while they are blatantly not in their league. Watch this apparent no-brainer turn into the week of the big SURPRISE elimination! I hope I am right when I predict that this is the week America decides that they are finally ready for Sanjaya to go home.
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