Very Insipiring

I'm starting to really like this whole "Idol Gives Back" thing. I think the fact that America's No. 1 television show wants to raise money and awareness in the fight against global poverty is very admirable.

I kind of wish though that they would have kept it as a completely separate affair from the actual competition. You've got to admit that Idol's producers have created an uncomfortable juxtaposition this week: On one hand, we're being asked to focus on an escalating musical battle in which one of six young singers will see his or her dreams of superstardom go the way of the Dunkleman. On the other, we're preparing for tomorrow night's star-studded benefit concert — Kelly Clarkson! U2! Borat? — to raise money for needy kids in the U.S. and Africa. Which means we're likely to see LaKisha or Phil or Chris or Blake go to the guillotine in the middle of the festivities. Way to harsh on all the good vibrations. They could have made it a separate event on another night and keep away from the competition. Or perhaps the "Idol Gives Back" theme will extend to the competition itself, with the show granting immunity to the entire group? Could that be the big shock Ryan referred to at the end of the episode?

So, turning to the good news: the performances all rocked last night. And the judges were right when they said that it finally feels like the real competition has begun, with the shadow of Sanjaya's seven-ponytail fauxhawk no longer looming over the Idol stage. "Songs That Inspire" night showed all of the Idols at the top of their game. One did stand out though. The night belonged to Jordin Sparks. She won top prize in the song-choice category for "You'll Never Walk Alone." She imbued it with such fierce emotional commitment that I can completely understand why the live audience seemed to be overcome with a revival-esque frenzy by the midway point of her performance. I would have to agree with Randy on her superior vocals, especially that last note! In the words of J. Lo, it gave me goose pimples!

However, is it enough to upstage Melinda Doolittle, who hit every single note in her rendition of "There Will Come a Day"? She's finally looking like a viable headliner with her sleek, longer hair and a stylish gray dress that showed off a surprisingly nice figure. The problem with Melinda's rendition, though, was that it lacked the immediacy — and dare I say the gospel fervor — that Faith Hill brought to it during the post-9/11 Tribute to Heroes concert. Granted, it's not an easy task to overcome dreary "issues"-ballad lyrics like "the old are forgotten, children are forsaken," and the band's fussy, horn-heavy arrangement didn't help, either, but Mindy Doo delivered a B when she really needed to get her A+ on.

Still, Jordin and Melinda ought to head into Wednesday's results show with confidence, because if a woman is going to finish season 6 in sixth place, it will not be either one of them but sadly LaKisha Jones. It would be too obvious for me to write the words "You are no Fantasia Barrino" after hearing Kiki tackle the song that sealed the season 3 champion's victory, but that wouldn't make it any less true. So to put it another way, "I Believe" may be a dispiriting piece of treacle, but it's also like Excalibur; Fantasia is the only one who should ever be allowed to handle it, and she's the only one capable of releasing its magic. I'd call out LaKisha's hubris in tackling Fantasia and Carrie Underwood two weeks running, but I don't think her song choices sprang so much from pride as they did from a total lack of musical imagination — and therein lies her problem. There's a difference between being a woman with a big voice and being an actual musical artist, and after 10 weeks of live performances, LaKisha Jones has not yet crossed into the latter category.

Blake Lewis, on the other hand, has already proven his artistry by successfully taking ownership of tracks as varied as "Time of the Season," "Virtual Insanity," and "You Keep Me Hangin' On." I loved how he toned things down withn John Lennon's glorious ballad "Imagine." It was hands-down the best song of the night, and Blake was in tune from beginning to end. Chris Richardson brought an unexpected swagger to Eric Clapton's "Change the World" and was vastly more on key than he'd been over the last two weeks. It was the best we've seen him in a long time.

Meanwhile, Phil Stacey did a decent job on Garth Brooks' song "The Change." However, on a couple of the big notes, I was worried the genial bald guy might suffer a repeat of the voice crack that derailed his "Maria, Maria" during Latin week, but even weirder was the way he put a vaguely lounge-y twist on a country ballad. Take the odd shift in direction, couple it with his frequent-flier status in the bottom three, and stir with the complacency his fans might experience from seeing their man avoid that fate last week, and I think we might be looking at a recipe for Phil's landing in the bottom three again.

Beyond Phil, I don't know who else could be in the bottom 3. I guess we'll find out in tonight's two hour extravaganza.