Tonight the finalists had to stick to the theme of La Musica Latina. Unfortunately, they only guidance they got was from non-singer, Jennifer Lopez. Yes, she is a hit-making recording artist, but that doesn't mean she's a singer. So, in reality, left to their own devices, here's how it played out:
Melinda Doolittle had a tough challange ahead of her tonight. Every week she has proven her ability to sing better than the rest, but she has not been able to showcase any youthful energy. She styled her hair differently and wore a slinky off the shoulder number, but she couldn't hide that it was still her same old self. The latin rhythms barely got a shimmy out of her. Melinda sounds great - her recordings will be in high demand. Her live performances - not so much.
Conga introduced the pop world to Gloria Estefan and their first taste of the Miami Sound Machine in 1985. LaKisha Jones has been in the same zone as Melinda for the whole competition - Great voice, bland showmanship. This latin-flavored dance jam was a step in the right direction for LaKisha, but her discomfort was clear from the start. She did her best to dance and take command of the stage, but it fell somewhat flat. And vocally, this song didn't really allow her to do what she does best.
Santana had a huge comeback in 1999 when he teamed with Rob Thomas on the Grammy Award winning Record Of The Year, Smooth. The song spent an amazing 12 weeks at #1 and it is way too much for Chris Richardson to handle. The only thing this kid has going for him is his cute boy band charisma, but he just doesn't have enough to make any significant impact. His vocals were weaker than usual and his moves were not impressive.
No little black dress tonight. Instead, Haley Scarnato wore little black hot pants as she strutted her stuff through Turn The Beat Around. In 1976 Vickie Sue Robinson heated up dance floors with this syncopated disco anthem. Gloria Estefan loved it so much she made a hit out of it again in 1994. I am going to continue to give Haley an A for effort as she has more showmanship than Melinda, LaKisha and Phil combined. She works the crowd joyously as she moves comfortably around the stage in high heels. She also rose to the challange of this lyrically difficult song very well.
Santana continued his huge comeback through 2000 by spending 10 weeks at #1 with Maria Maria. This is a throwaway song that should not have been such a big hit. While Santana had the momentum of multiple Grammy wins to catapult the song to success, Phil Stacey has only one bland performance after another. He had nothing to give his boring rendition a push. It was just the same old Phil failing to captivate.
Yet another selection from the Gloria Estefan catalog was performed by Jordin Sparks. This time it was the top 5 jam Rhythm Is Gonna Get You. Jordin has once again demonstarted that she is the top female vocalist remaining in the Idol competition. She eased her way around every inch of the stage while projecting her sensational vocals to each member of the audience. She also interpretted the song with a fresh arrangement and completely appropriate ad-libs that thoroughly entertained.
And then we come to the top male vocalist remaining, Blake Lewis. Tonight was a breeze for him as he is the only finalist gifted with any natural sense of rhythm. He selected the huge hit from Marc Anthony (current husband of Ms. Lopez) I Need To Know that hit #3 in 1999. Blake's voice is simply a refreshing breath of fresh air and it is only made better as he combines it with his fabulous fancy footwork. He floated above all the others with this exceptional improvement on Marc's original version.
Tonight the only gimmick was the fact that he decided not to shave for a week. Sanjaya Malakar sat center stage and softly "sang" Besame Mucho with a narrow little caterpiller resting on his upper lip. His hair was permed and looking a little shorter than last week. He gazed into the camera in his blatant attempt to beg for sympathy votes. His voice is still the paper thin whisper it has been since day one. Nothing to write home about.
This week many of the finalists were taken out of their comfort zone and it could lead to quite a shake-up as the bottom three are called center stage. Blake and Jordin should once again be able to comfortably sit in safety, but the fate of everyone else is up in the air. Melinda and LaKisha showed their weaknesses, while Chris and Phil showed they are not capable of getting any better. I'm hoping that their weaknesses are not enough to put them in the bottom three, so my prediction is that Phil, Chris and Haley will be called center stage and Phil will finally get sent home.
No comments:
Post a Comment