Territorial Bloggings

Finals week #3 — As inspired by Gwen Stefani…

This was, unfortunately, a step back from last week. None of the performances provided that special “electric” moment. Some were good, some were better than others, some were worse, and none outright sucked. Overall, though, it was just kind of, you know, blah. Gwen Stefani looked really cute & all (thus proving that a demurely classic/classy look will always serve someone better than getting tramped up…), and I guess that she’s talented enough (though I must admit that I’m not a huge fan of either her or of No Doubt). I just think she’s a bit too young to be a credible guest coach — though it must be said that she certainly did a better job than some of the stiffs they’ve had in the past.

The musical choices offered for this week’s “theme” (such as it was) didn’t do the singers any favors, either. No Doubt’s stuff is quirky & not really open to “making it your own.” The Police was an iconic group, and their songs are hard to do in a non-karaoke way. So, the singers had their work cut out for them this week, and I think they showed some of the strain…

Once again, here are the performances, ranked according to my level-of-enjoyment:

Gina - “I’ll Stand By You”: I was happy to see Gina give this performance. It was so nice - powerful, sweet, & genuine. She looked good and she sounded better. I only fear that she could fall prey to the AI “voted out after a redemptive performance” curse. I hope not, because The Glock proved that she really does belong in this singing competition.

Jordin - “Hey Baby”: Jordin is a gathering force of musical nature. She doesn’t yet know just how powerful she can become, but she is (amazingly) self-aware enough to enjoy herself as she goes along this journey to greatness. I thought she did a great job with this song, infusing it with a tart playfulness & a cute “grrrl power-ish” charm. Not the most polished of performances, but it just felt genuine. And it definitely served to keep her momentum going & moving ahead full-steam.

Blake - “Love Song”: Not to damn him with faint praise, but he certainly is the class of the guys this year. Even in a year with strong guys (like AI:2), however, Blake would be a player. He has this way of bringing a hip coolness to the party that is very compelling and appealing. I never did like The Cure all that much (even when depressed, I’ve never though Goth angst was anything but poseur-like foolishness…), but Blake did a great job of making it hip, cool, & edgy in a contemporary way.

LaKisha - “Last Dance”: The first of two Donna Summer numbers on the night. And it was an improvement over last week’s effort for LaKisha. It didn’t blow me away, but I do think it helped re-establish her sense of momentum in the competition. She’s still, I think, at this point #2 to Melinda’s #1 (with Jordin as #3 with a big ol’ bullet). If she can continue to improve & get more polished, she has a chance of being a strong threat to make the finale.

Melinda - “Heaven Knows”: Overall, a bit boring for me. There’s something I find off-putting about her, almost as if she’s a bit too polished & professional. I can’t quite put my finger on it. That said, she’s still far and away the best, most consistent, performer in the competition right now. Last night’s performance didn’t change that.

Haley - “True Colors”: A nice solid performance. She sounded good, and looked even better (proving that she doesn’t need to shop at the House of Hoochie in order to get her assets to work for her!). Haley looks to be gaining confidence each week. If she continues to make good song choices, and give solid performances, she could - if the voting blocs break just right - end up in the top half of the bracket. Mind you, I don’t know if she’s a top-half talent, but I could see it happening…

Phil - “Every Breath You Take”: Military voting bloc aside, I had Phil pegged as the most vulnerable singer heading into this week (Sanjaya excepted, due to the freak-of-nature state of his popularity). Darned if he didn’t give a very solid performance this week. I didn’t love it, but I have to admit that he did a better job with his Police song than Sligh did. Most surprisingly, though, he did it without sounding overly karaoke, which was actually kind of impressive. This week, based on his performance, I’ll be more surprised if he goes than if he stays.

Chris S. - “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”: Ah, Chris. Your voice has such a nice clear, strong tone. It almost made that rendition of “Every Little Thing…” tolerable. Almost. I was very disappointed by this performance. Chris is not progressing as I thought he would, and I think it could portend his demise much sooner than I ever thought it would be. Bummer.

Chris R. - “Don’t Speak”: Like I said last week, I just don’t like his breathy, nasally, whiny delivery. He took a great song and gave it a decent performance. Not good, and certainly not great, but merely decent. Fortunately, unlike Paula, I don’t have the hots for him, so I can go purely based on his vocal talents. And they just ain’t good enough.

Sanjaya - “Bathwater”: Throw this baby out with the Bathwater. Please. He’s not taking the competition seriously. Or, if he is, then he has as much common sense/judgment as he does power in his voice - which is to say NONE! His talent is as real as his mohawk. I respect the judges tack this week - don’t say much of anything, ’cause it doesn’t really matter. Hopefully his fanbase got too distracted with texting each other about how cute he is to call & vote.

The Predictions:

This week it’s really tough for me to get a handle on just who will be in the bottom three. Some folks (yes, I’m talking to you, Phil) who I would’ve thought would be on the block, actually did quite well. Others (yes, you, Chris Sligh) had a performance dip that could be costly. I’m just not sure at all how voting blocs will play out at this stage of the competition. I do, however, have a sneaking fear that we might see the all-too-common occurrence of someone getting voted off after their best performance (unfortunately, I’m talking to you Gina).

Safe: Melinda, LaKisha, Blake, Chris R., Jordin, Haley, Phil

The Bottom 3: Chris S., Gina, Sanjaya

The Voting @ Schloß TB:
Mel: Sanjaya
Deb: Blake
ghp: Gina

Going Home: As always, it should be Sanjaya. Given the reality of my projected bottom three, however, it could well be Gina.

We’ll see tonight…

-ghp