The Final Four with Barry Gibb

Tonight we have a very talented Final Four who had the honor of working with music legend, Barry Gibb. They will have the chance to sing, not just one, but two of his beautiful productions

Melinda Doolittle set out to prove a point with her first performance of the evening - show that a song originally done in full falsetto can be belted out with a big voice. Love You Inside Out was the last Bee Gees song to hit the top of the charts. It spent just one week at #1 in 1979, but it showcased the signature falsetto style that fans came to know and love. Melinda has never displayed that an impressive falsetto was part of her versatile vocal range. Looks like it probably isn't. Her full voice rendition of this fabulous hit was her weakest showing so far.

The first bit of great news is that Blake Lewis has a blond streak in his hair again. He selected the disco anthem from 1976 that was another of the Bee Gees #1 hits, You Should Be Dancin. Blake is a musical genius who has the most impressive and versatile vocal range in the competition. It was no problem at all for him to shift from his full voice to falsetto. But even more impressive was his ability to vocalize the horn section in the middle of the song! He added some fresh sounding beat box enhancements that made this old classic sound new again. And on top of everything else, he danced across the stage with his usual rhythmic energy.

Stayin Alive is probably the song that most people think of when it comes to the Bee Gees. It spent 4 weeks at #1 at the beginning of 1978 and LaKisha Jones did her best to strut her stuff with her interpretation. It's not necessarily the best match for her voice, but her attempt to make it her own was notable. She made it more of a soulful, gospel number and it worked for her, although she's not even close to the musical genius that Blake is.

The Bee Gees are best known for their 70's disco jams, but they actually started having hits in 1967. One of those early hits was To Love Somebody and Jordin Sparks chose this ballad to set her apart from the crowd. Her voice was allowed to do everything that we hope it will when she takes the stage. Big soaring notes filled with power and strength from beginning to end. She may be young, but she understands the importance of song choice.

Long before there was an era called Disco, the Bee Gees had their first #1 song (four weeks) with How Can You Mend A Broken Heart in 1971. Melinda Doolittle once again stuck to what she knows best. She let her voice be front and center as usual, but when she's competing against a couple of musical dynamos, it's not very captivating. It's a great song that the Brothers Gibb did with intricate layers of texture and she just did a good job. The last note was supposed to be more impressive than it actually was.

Long after the Disco Era, the Bee Gees continued recording and in 2001 they released an album called This Is Where I Came In. Since it failed to become a hit for them, Blake Lewis chose to introduce the world to the title track. He created a musical fusion of reggae, pop and finger snapping beats. He taught the others how to make an unfamiliar song sound interesting with his very strong stage presence and ability to dance. This was easily his strongest vocal performance where he showed us what it sounds like when he belts with his full voice.

Reaching back to 1972, the Bee Gees had a minor hit with the lovely ballad, Run To Me. This song allowed LaKisha Jones to remind the audience of why she became a favorite early in the competition. Except for a very short time at the end of the song where her voice sounded hoarse, she was able to start sweet and build to an impressive crescendo. Add that to the fact that she has learned to dress better and convey more confidence on stage since the beginning and she may be sticking around for another week.

She was brave enough to take on Barbra before and Jordin Sparks has decided to do it again. Barry Gibb produced Ms. Streisand's most successful pop album in 1980 and she spent three weeks at #1 with the first single, Woman In Love. Jordin simply has a wonderful voice and it truly is capable of getting close to living up to the standard set by Barbra. She belted out the big notes and made them sound youthful and vibrant. Jordin has what it to takes.

Simply put: Blake Lewis is a musical instrument. He has vocal range, stage presence, rhythm and the unique ability to create music out of nowhere. He may be lucky to be the only boy left competing against three very similar divas. None of the girls has a striking "something special" to set them apart from the others, although Jordin's youth could be an advantage. I will go out on a limb and predict that LaKisha and Melinda will be the bottom two. At this point they could be competing for the same voters who may end up choosing niether of them.