I have to say that the ladies definately showed the guys how to be an American Idol. I think nearly all the performances last night were better than the guys'. The best was Melinda Doolittle with LaKisha Jones. Melinda's "I'm a Woman" proved what Randy said, that she could go into the studio tomorrow and make a hit record. Hell, I'd buy it! Melinda has forced the remaining women of season 6 to raise their games, either by abandoning her jazz-R&B turf for new and exciting genres (Gina Glocksen and Jordin Sparks!) or digging deeper into their song lyrics to try and match your emotional range. Who knows, maybe this year's deplorable male contestants will manage to hit a note or two once they start sharing a stage with her next week. And Simon was right: Last week she was a purring kitten; this week she was a ferocious, growling tiger — and that's the kind of musical versatility a true Idol should possess.
Of course, Melinda wasn't the only woman in the competition with surprises in her arsenal. For weeks now, we've been told Gina Glocksen is this season's rocker grrrl, last week's red prom gown and tepid Heart cover notwithstanding. But tonight, she actually made a play for the title with an energetic, if flawed, rendition of Evanescence's "Call Me When You're Sober." Certainly, Gina will need to work on her nagging pitch problems to have any hope of cracking the top 10 — and making this summer's Idol tour — but her decision to choose a song tonight that would've sent Celine Dion trembling into the arms of her Cirque du Soleil compatriots was strategically brilliant.
The same can be said for Jordin Sparks' cover of Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker," a performance that was more tuneful than Gina's but also slightly less convincing — perhaps because it's hard to heed a warning of "don't mess around with me" from an unnaturally cheery 17-year-old. That criticism aside, however, Jordin absolutely nailed the song's soaring final note, while also using her brief interview to put an exclamation point on an "I'm ingratiatingly adorable" persona.
Sabrina Sloan and Stephanie Edwards, meanwhile, ought to be taking notes from Jordin on how to use their behind-the-scenes clips to maximize voter enthusiasm. Granted, neither woman received much airtime prior to the semifinals, but after three weeks' worth of performances, I'm still having a hard time getting a read on their personalities — which they could miss out on a spot in this year's top 12. Sabrina might be at the greatest risk, considering her choice of En Vogue's "Don't Let Go (Love)," a gorgeous midtempo track that, unfortunately, happens to give the backing vocalists way too much room to shine in the course of a 90-second performance. It'd be a damn shame if America lets go of Sabrina this early because she has a great voice.
Stephanie, meanwhile, had a rougher go of it on Rufus and Chaka Khan's "Sweet Thing," particularly those two wince-inducing attempts to draw out the word "crazy"' toward the end of her number. On the positive side, though, I really dig Stephanie's phrasing and the way she seems to truly feel every word of every song she sings. Simon was right that she has "100 percent done enough"' to make the final 12. I'm just hoping his comment didn't make viewers feel she was so secure that they didn't need to pick up the phone and give her a few votes.
I'm not worried Sabrina or Stephanie will get cut in favor of poor Haley Scarnato, not after she offered an aggressively awful vocal over an aggressively awful arrangement of an aggressively awful song called "If My Heart Had Wings." She is the weakest link on the women's side. The only thing more blush-worthy than Haley's performance was Randy's critique that there was "no, like, yo" in it. Ten points for Paula's observation that "I'm sure that's a difficult critique to hear: no yo in it." Who knew that Abdul chick had it in her? If anyone thinks Simon was overly cruel with his remark that he couldn't remember Haley's name, it's true. I didn't remember her either.
On the other hand, he (and probably everyone else in America) knows Antonella Barba's name — and I was genuinely happy that her rendition of Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On" was in tune for roughly half of its minute-and-a-half duration. I am a true Antonella fan, but I'll be honest, she should go home. I don't think she should stay in the place of any of the other ladies, with the exception of Haley of course. Simon could not have expressed it any better when he commended Antonella for holding up under the pressure of the national debate over her racy Internet photos, but then he added that she'd really gone as far as she could go, considering the depth of talent on the women's side this year.
And speaking of looking (and sounding) gorgeous tonight, how about that LaKisha (who also cracked me up when she demanded a hug from Ryan Seacrest by saying, "Lay it on me")? Her lush, restrained performance of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing" almost made me forget that the song desperately needs a splashy retirement ceremony since it's been sung practically every season. The fact that I loved her and her performance is that she performed it the best out of all the past seasons.
So who will go and who will stay? Who will be in the Top 12? And what is the surprise? Find out tonight.
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