American Idol Gives Back - Top 6 Perform

My friends, welcome back for another rendition of the American Idol Blog. It's hard to make fun of the show on a week like this when they're actually doing something for a really good cause. Sure it's going to bring in big ratings for Fox, and be a perfect platform for many artists to plug new albums or actors/actresses to plug their summer blockbusters about to be released. But, the more eyes that are glued to the TV translates to lots of money to help "make poverty history" at home and abroad! Yes, my friends....LIVE AID/8 has invaded AMERICAN IDOL! Very touching clips throughout the show bring into our homes the horrific scenes of poverty around the world. I even found myself picking up the phone to make a call for my favorite instead of texting (but yeah..I did that too!)

Anyway, I'm not here to express my political views on the world! Just here to talk about amateur talent! So after a 2 hour telethon/concert tomorrow night, we will have narrowed down our top 6 to 5. Someone has to go home. Tonight, as Simon stated, seemed like the competition got serious. The Haley's, Chris Sligh's and Sanjaya's are out of our "hair" (no pun intended). Everyone left can sing, even though some of them may still seem like the devil and drive us absolutely nuts! So who goes home next? I'll be honest...I have no idea! But I'm sure as hell going to try and figure it out as I always do! Let's dive in to our SONGS THAT INSPIRE and try and figure out exactly what "MENTORED BY BONO" really means!

Chris Richardson

Song: Change the World

Artist: Eric Clapton

Remember the days of the MOVIE Soundtrack? Oh I do. I remember that crazy movie Phenomenon where John Travolta became a genius overnight! (Only in the 90's!). I remember wanting to own that crazy soundtrack. Why? Well that escapes me now. The only thing I remember now is that Eric Clapton wrote this nifty little song for it. How did Chris do? Well, not too bad I guess. He hit all of the notes. He went on a few runs near the end. His voice remains the weakest of the competition, but he still has an appeal about him. The judges thought it was great. Simon even called the guy sexy! I know that's the first thing I think of when I see blazer/cargo pants ensemble! But let's remember, Chris has been in the bottom 3 a few times now. His time may be running short. But there are still others that may bail him out this week.

Melinda Doolittle

Song: There Will Come a Day

Artist: Faith Hill

I really am impressed with the miracle workers in the Idol Dressing Rooms. They really have outdone themselves with Melinda. 2 weeks in a row, she's looking pretty good. And it compliments her fantastic vocals very well. I am not very familiar with the Faith Hill song (funny how a couple contestants opted to stay in the Country genre for the 2nd week straight), but no one can deny she sang the hell out of it once again! I still say that she's missing that Idol-winning quality, and I'm even more convinced after another performance tonight. But I've come around on Melinda, and I can see why there are many out there that like her. She's definitely safe!

Blake Lewis

Song: Imagine

Artist: John Lennon

Oh, I know Blake is all cool and stuff...but what's up with him not pronouncing his P's Properly anymore? It's like he whispered them and they came off as B's. "Imagine all the Beople....living life in beeeeeeeeeez" Awesome dude! There is no doubt, that the Lennon song is a beautiful song. Possibly one of the most inspirational songs ever written! But as I was listening, I was just as conflicted as the judges. There just isn't much you can do with the song to showcase your talents. And Blake didn't even try to take it anywhere. On the other hand...where do you take it? As the judges say, he WAS sincere as he sang it (except for minding his P's and B's. That was all for the "Blake Effect"). I'm lost on this one. But, if anyone else is as perplexed as me on what to do with Blake, he may just find himself sitting in the bottom 3. Hey, he was there last week, right? And there isn't much room for error now that we're down to 6 and we had 3 pretty decent performances.

LaKiTHsha Jones

Song: I Believe

"Artist": Fantasia Barrino (written by Season 1 finalist Tamyra Gray)

I can't believe I'm going to say this. I actually miss Fantasia! Like it or not, if you watched the season 3 finale, all you will ever remember when you hear this song is Fantasia jumping up and down, and going crazy with the Idol Choir backing her up and the confetti dropping from the sky. Take that image, and replace Fantasia with LaKisha. Can you imagine this scene? Can you imagine LaKisha being crowned the winner of American Idol? I didn't think so. Not much else to say. The performance was okay...and as the judges say...it wasn't Fantasia. I despise Fantasia, but I'll always remember that performance. Watch it for yourself by clicking here.

Phil Stacey

Song: The Change

Artist: Garth Brooks

Remember Crazy Alien Phil? (see picture above) Something about him tonight did NOT remind me of an Alien. I'm so confused! Did they put makeup on his chrome dome to make it not stand out as much? The only thing strange about him tonight was a few of those trademark weird faces he makes during his performance (again....see picture above). Even though I'm a country convert, I didn't get around to the entire Garth Brooks collection (I'm only on "Thunder Rolls," "2 Pina Coladas," "Friends in Low Places," and the Chris Gaines experiment). So, I didn't know this one. But Phil did a pretty decent job on it. I agree with Simon that he lost some of the appeal from his Country "TONE" he had last week. The judges seem pretty optimistic he has nothing to worry about this week. I'm going to take their word for it. (famous last words!)

Jordin Sparks

Song: You'll Never Walk Alone

Artist: written by Rodgers & Hammerstein for musical Carousel. Later performed by Frank Sinatra, Patti LaBelle, and Elvis Presley

Why do I not care about who goes home this week? Because I know who isn't going home this week. In fact, this performance may have sealed the deal for Jordin Sparks. She may never have to worry about going home. Yes, I have been supporting Jordin since the beginning of the top 12 performances and I am pretty convinced now that she gave her Idol Winning performance tonight. I may change my mind next week, but she was fantastic! And yes, of course Ryan told us before the break that Jordin was going to give us a showstopping performance. So, we already had it built in our minds that it was fantastic. But come on kids, it was! Yes, it's amazing that she's 17 and singing as well as she is. But it would STILL be amazing for anyone at 28. Melinda, you're no longer the front-runner. Jordin is the one to beat!

Alright. Not a bad week. 2 Great performances, 1 very good performance, 3 OKAY performances. So it's no surprise who my bottom 3 is. I guess I'll just pick one at random to go home!

Bottom 3: Chris Richardson, LaKisha Jones, Blake Lewis Wildcard: Phil Stacey Bonus Wildcard: Melinda Doolittle

Eliminated: Chris Richardson - Sorry Timberfake, you've flirted too many times with the bottom. It's time to pack up your things and ship out.

As always, if anyone is a betting Man/Woman, then I just went ahead and helped you figure out who NOT to go with!

So, now it's time to get amped up for the 2 hour results show tomorrow night. I'm not gonna lie. Kelly and Carrie are going to be there. I'm excited! Has everyone downloaded Kelly's new single "Never Again" on itunes today? Well, what are you waiting for?! Oh yeah...and duh! HARRY POTTER himself is going to be on AMERICAN Idol! You'd think one Brit would be enough on the show! Anyway...don't expect a complete recap of the 2 hours tomorrow night. As always, this blog is mainly for the competition aspect! (and for my gloating over Carrie and Kelly)

On a final note, in the spirit of the celebs on Idol Gives Back tomorrow night, I thought I'd do a little plugging of my own. As we all know, the American Idol songwriting competition is in full effect. While I haven't had time to sit down an pen a tune myself, my uncle has submitted a couple of tunes! If you want to check out what he put together, he has a myspace page out there promoting the tunes. Feel free to check it out and show your support, if you so choose! Good Luck Uncle Joe!

See everyone tomorrow night and enjoy IDOL GIVES BACK! Guess we'll have to wait until then to figure out exactly how Bono is involved!