American Idol *~* TOP 4 *~* & KickOFF

Last Night on American Idol each contestant got to perform twice under the direction of Barry Gibb. Here is the breakdown of the night...

Melinda Doolittle

PERF #1 - "Love You Inside Out" - Randy said that it was another good, solid performance but it didn't have him jumping up and down; Paula said that she is hard to critique because she hits the vocals right on and through it all she is always consistent; and Simon said that it wasn't impressive, was more of a backing vocalist, and was not a star performance.

PERF #2 - "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" - Randy said that her second song was much better, she had a great vocal, great song choice, beautiful ending, and is still AI's resident pro; Paula said that she has beautiful vocals and is a brilliant technician; and Simon said that the second half of the song has put her into the semi-finals.

Blake Lewis

PERF #1 - "You Should Be Dancing" - Randy said that tonight the beepboxing didn't work for him and it made the song sound really corny; Paula said that it started shaky, was not the best, but he shows true musicianship; and Simon said that it was unique but terrible.

PERF #2 - "This is Where I Came In" - Randy said that it was better than his first, he doesn't need to beepbox on each song, and the perf. still didn't have him jumping up and down; Paula said that if he can beepbox, then he can use it, he is the contemporary rebel, and she enjoyed listening to him sing that song; and Simon said that it was tuneless, bizarre choice of song, and was not a good night for him.

LaKisha Jones

PERF #1 - "Staying Alive" - Randy said that it didn't work because she put too much in it instead of sticking to the melody; Paula said that she had slowed down the tempo and so had slowed down the upbeat mood that the song had originally had; and Simon said that there would be no kiss, she was shouting, out of her comfort zone, and was not great.

PERF #2 - "Run To Me" - Randy said that it was much better than her first even though she ended horse; Paula said that she is still a champ; and Simon said that it was better than the first but still wasn't great, leaving her and Blake very vulnerable.

Jordin Sparks

PERF #1 - "To Love Somebody" - Best one of the night by far!!! Randy said that she was the best vocals so far that night, her perf. was very nice and controlled, and she is in it to win it; Paula said that her vocals were definitely the best of the night so far; and Simon said that she had the best song choice, best vocal, and the competition was back on!

PERF #2 - "Woman In Love" - Randy said that it was not her best, was pitchy, but was a hard song to sing; Paula said that it wasn't...but she loves her anyway; and Simon said that he loved the song but it was old-fashioned from her dress to the arrangement.

It was not a good night for our contenstants overall. The only realy good performance was Jordin's first one! Other than that, it was a pretty rotten night for everyone. I hope next week is better!

KickOFF

LaKisha Jones left us tonight! Sad to see her go but not surprising. She lost my interest pretty quickly when her singing seemed to get worse after having that amazing performance during the 24 semi-finalists week - the one where Simon said that everyone should just pack their bags and go home now because she was gonna win it all! Too bad.

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