Despite my disdain for the theme, Bon Jovi was probably my favorite guest artist so far this season. He was so interactive and really worked with the contestants on his music (hmm, maybe it was because he thought they all needed a lot of work!), helping them with their vocal arrangements and playing along with them, rather than just listening. But is it just me, or did Bon Jovi look a little plastic? How old is that guy, 45 or 46? His face
seemed a little too flawless and shiny. Maybe his highlighted main was covering up his scar from a facelift? He looked like a life size Ken doll...of himself.Perhaps the most disturbing moment of the night, even more disturbing than Jon/Ken Bon Jovi, was the kiss that Lakisha planted on Simon. That's right, I said kiss. Like on the lips. It was quite disturbing, and needless to say, I put down my dinner for good after I watched that.
Anyhoo, on to the performances...
Phil Stacey~ I'm so glad it only took 3 consecutive weeks of almost going home for Phil to step up his game. And you can't blame it on the themes either...I don't buy that shit. Everyone is out of their element for things like latin week, and it wasn't until country week that people were like, "oh yeah, I forgot how good he is." And this week wasn't an exception to that revelation. He sounded great, putting a country flare on his song choice (which he seems to be doing every week now. And it seems to be working). I felt like Simon was listening to a different performance, however. He made some comment about it being boring and not up to snuff, which is weird because both Paula and Randy said it was in his top 2 best performances of the season. I usually agree with Simon, but not this time. And is it just me, or does this whole Phil Stacey as a country artist really new? Like it wasn't until country week when he said he wanted to be a country artist. And while I think his voice is suited better for something else (not sure what), he doesn't strike me as the type to be a country guy. I thought he was going to be a cheap Chris Daughtry imitation, and he certainly never chose country songs in the top 24 (strategy?), but now former cast-off Chris Sligh is even saying, 'I want to write songs for him, he's going to be really successful, as long as he sticks to country.' Weird. Judging from his performances for the last two weeks, he'll be in the bottom 3, and probably one to go home.
Jordin Sparks~ I never thought I would see the day. Jordin didn't do very well this week. She had major pitch and control problems. I think this performance was a good example of how I feel her vibrato and strength lacks some control. And the intro video to her performance showed how green of a performer she really is. Bon Jovi seemed to give her the most help with her vocals. But that's probably because her song has a CRAZY vocal range. I don't know how Bon Jovi sings that song! It sat at the very bottom of Jordin's range at the beginning, and then was at the very top of her belting in the choruses. Crazy! But it was nice to see her pull out an upbeat song for a change. Her outfit was bland at best, and she tried to channel Tina Turner with her crazy hair style. But how about that guitarist?? Man was he hot! She'll get through to the next round perfectly fine. I think at this point it's greatly about popularity, and since she's one of the top 3 in popularity, she can afford to have a rough week.
Lakisha Jones~ Kiki decided to take the easy way out this week, and it could save her ass for sure. She chose one of the slower, uncharacteristically rock songs from Bon Jovi, allowing her to escape unscathed from the genre being out of her comfort zone. The arrangement and tempo of the song wasn't anything new for Lakisha, which is one thing I would criticize her for, but she needed to find a song she was comfortable with, so she played it safe in that respect. She definitely redeemed herself for her past few weeks of shouting to reach the top notes. Overall I would say this performance was one of her best! It was the follow up to her first week when she blew everyone away with "I'm Telling You I'm Not Going." She may be in the bottom 3 based on last week, and also due to process of elimination, but her fan base may save her from going home.
Blake Lewis~ Ah, here we go. People are going to be talking about this performance for years. It was easily the riskiest performance choice in AI history. And that's an understatement! Now, if Phil Stacey took a risk like that, he would have gone home immediately. But not Blake. I could see the disappointment and fear in Bon Jovi's eyes when Blake pulled out the vocal percussion for "Shot Through the Heart." He even expressed his concern for Blake's choices. And the performance was very dramatic, to say the least. He started out with his sound effects for putting a record on, then he bursts into the song, blending a mixture of vocals (with the backup girls holding him up with the high notes) and crazy VP and vocal effects. I'm largely speechless about his performance. I was telling Alana that he was ruining the song and everyone was going to hate it, but it all fit in Blake's style perfectly. In the end though, Randy and Paula loved it, and Simon commended him for his tremendous risk. He may have butchered the song, but in my opinion he launched himself into Melinda Dolittle territory and set himself apart from all of the other contestants as a true performer and pop star. He's like Clay Aiken...it doesn't matter if he wins, because he'll still be successful. Now, let me address his new hairdo and say I miss the blonde! :( Maybe he'll lighten it up again in a few weeks. He'll definitely be in the top 3.
Chris Richardson~ As much as I would love my threesome fantasy with Blake and Chris to continue, I'm afraid it may end this week. While Chris has a large fan base resulting from his immediate popularity at the top of the competition, I'm afraid his lackluster performances may have caused his fanbase to wain a bit. I was kinda bored during his performance. I actually realized that I didn't listen to his performance at all, but rather watched a squirrel sitting on my porch the entire performance. Oops! Sorry, 
Chris. Simon gave him some good feedback, saying he pretty much did all he could with his songchoice, but it was pretty boring and lacked the power of many of the other performances. But damn the boy is hot! I think Ryan thinks so too...he was very touchy-feely with Chris (maybe I could change my threesome to a foursome. yeah...). I think he'll be in the bottom 3, and has a very good chance of being one of the two nixed from the competition tonight.
Melinda Dolittle~ I was scared for Melinda the entire show. If this genre is out of anyone's comfort zone, it's Melinda. The girl who wow's everyone with ballads where she can show off her powerful vocals and amazing emotion, singing BON JOVI? As my friend Jenn would say, "Oy, oy, oy." But she held her own, and did a pretty good job, overall. Not the top performance of the evening, but I had a lot of fun watching her try to have attitude. She couldn't even figure out the devil horns hand gesture! She sold her vocals well enough (her voice definitely has enough power to stand up against a few electric guitars), and even though her performance may have been lacking a little bit, she got into it at the end, and passed off ok with the judges. She'll be in the top three because, well, because she's Melinda.I can't wait to see who gets kicked off tonight! It's definitely going to be a good elimination show. I'm sure Ryan will call it 'the most dramatic elimination ever.' I just hope it can keep my attention long enough to keep my head out of the gutter!
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