Tidal Idol Wave

So it was Diana Ross week on Idol this week.

Problem #1 - Diana does not translate well for boys. So the boys were in trouble before the show ever started, and then of course this year the boys have less talent than the girls from the get-go, so my prediction is that this week, the bottom three will all be in the male camp. Speaking of male camp, can you say Sanjaya Malakar? With his Sarah Jessica Parker hairdo, and his hoop earrings, gurrrrrrl was a lot prettier than Boy George...but...

Problem #2 - New stage + more audience = more nerves than usual. It was a night of forgotten lyrics and forgotten melodies.

Brandon was horrible. Gina Glocksen's performance of Love Child was good, but she's not a top-three contender. Maybe top six. Chris Sligh was trying to make an impression by losing his glasses and giving the song Endless Love a Coldplay-kind of makeover that just did not work. I give him credit for trying to put an original spin on it, but the pitch was all over the map and just didn't work. He is a top six contender.

Sanjaya's super-lame rendition of Ain't No Mountain High Enough was hard to watch. The song was way too big for him. If he isn't voted off this week, then there is no justice. He should never have made it into the top twelve.

Melinda Doolittle was her usual flawless self, and her version of "Home" even topped my favorite version of that song, which wasn't sung by Miss Ross, but by Stephanie Mills. Standing ovation from the audience. She is my choice for the winner. She'll at least be in the top three.

"Sad" can describe Hayley's dress and her butchering of Missing You. She was pitchy. She forgot the words. Even the audience knew she was bad. The applause was very light, and for good reason. Simon tried to cheer her up telling her that she had "moments" of star appeal but, in total, the performance was awful.

Phil Stacey's I'm Gonna Make You Love Me failed to make me love him. He couldn't follow the melody line cleanly enough to make this song terrific. The audience cheered in spots, but it didn't move me. He's had better performances.

LaKisha Jones was predictably powerful. She's trying very hard to make us forget that Melinda and Stephanie exist. She pulled a new vocal style out of her hat tonight, and it did not fail to impress. She got a standing ovation from the audience. She's great, but she knows she's great, and that makes her just a tad less attractive to me...but she's one of the top three, regardless.

Like Chris, Blake Lewis tried to change You Keep Me Hanging On, but he fell behind the music and his voice was too weak to make a good performance. And his falsetto was just bad. Sorry, I prefer Kylie. If he doesn't shape up, he's going to be gone within three weeks.

Stephanie's Love Hangover needed an injection of energy. It was lifeless and disappointing, and even she forgot her words. Probably her worst performance since she hit the Idol stage. Her outfit was all wrong for the song, too, and I am surprised no one mentioned it.

I have to wonder why Chris Richardson chose The Boss, which wasn't one of Diana's mega-hits, and it certainly wasn't his. It was kind of like a bad Dan Hartman rendition. His pitch was often flat, he ran out of breath on his runs, and it wasn't a song for a guy.

Jordin Sparks went up a notch in my book tonight. She made a step toward improvement with If We Hold On Together. It was fairly good. The judges liked it a lot more than I did. It was more powerful than prior numbers she has done, but not top three material as the judges alluded to.

At this point, my guess for top six: Melinda; LaKisha; Stephanie; Chris Sligh; Gina; Phil.

Who gets voted off this week? If America has any sense, Sanjaya. But Brandon or Chris Richardson should also be ready to step down.