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American Idol: Top 4 Finalists

Posted May 8th 2007 11:03PM by Liz Finn-Arnold
Filed under: American Idol, Judges, Reviewcaps, Contestants, Performances, Episode Reviews

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LaKisha Jones(S06E36) Ryan tells us that we're down to three girls and one guy, and I suddenly realize that we're really getting close to the end of this year's American Idol competition.

I have to admit that right around Week 20, I thought this day would never come. Yet, after weeks of dragging this thing out, suddenly everything is happening quickly. I mean, heck, I missed one week of recapping and both Chris Richardson and Phil Stacey went home.

"The pressure is on," says Ryan. This is where it gets really exciting (if one of your favorites remains) or really boring (if your favorite has gone home). Either way, the waiting is almost over. In two weeks, we'll have a new American Idol.

But tonight starts pretty rough, with some uninspiring renditions across the board of Barry Gibb's greatest hits.

With only four contestants remaining in the contest, each person gets to sing TWO songs by the legendary Barry Gibb. As we all know, Barry, along with his brothers, formed the Bee Gees and revolutionized 70s dance music. The group had six No. 1 hits in a row. And on his own, Barry has been an extremely successful producer who has worked with many megastars.

I think Barry Gibb is looking pretty good for his age. But he sounds like he has new ill-fitting dentures or something. It's a bit distracting. Still, I love when he breaks into falsetto singing during the various mentoring sessions. You gotta love Barry Gibb Week.

MELINDA (Love You Inside Out) -- Barry is confused by this choice because it's a falsetto song. But ultimately he thinks Melinda pulled it off in rehearsals, besides he "was singing like a lady" when he did it, so it works. Listening to Melinda, I think she would have been an amazing singer during the disco era. Randy says, "another solid performance," but he wasn't jumping up and down. Paula babbles, and finally gets around to saying that Melinda's vocals were great. Simon says "what Paula was attempting to say was that she wasn't that impressed by it." With only four people left, Simon expects "incredible tonight." Then he calls it a "backing vocalist performance" and says she's better than that.

BLAKE (You Should Be Dancing) -- Blake is excited to meet a legend in dance music, and Barry thinks Blake's beatboxing will work in this song. Now that Sanjaya is gone, Blake has become the guy with the changing hair, and today he's got a blond stripe in it. The echo machine is really cranked during the song. Yeah, okay, it's like the 80s and 70s collide and not in a good way. Randy agrees with me. He doesn't think the beatboxing worked. In fact, Randy calls it "really corny." Paula thinks Blake started shaky, his pitch was off, but he showed why he is unique. Simon gives him unique, but thinks it was "absolutely terrible."

LAKISHA (Stayin' Alive) -- Barry shows off his falsetto to LaKisha and tells her that she can do it too. I've got $100 bucks that says LaKisha will ignore his advice completely. And true to form, LaKisha does ignore the latest mentor's advice. See, this is why LaKisha has a reputation for having an "attitude." Randy calls it "weird" and thinks she tried to do too much with it. Paula says the crowd was on their feet, but Simon sarcastically says that's because they were headed for the exits. Paula feels that taking the tempo down brought everyone else down. Simon says, "No kiss tonight, Baby ... we're back to the shouting." He thinks it was "scary in parts." Ouch.

We come back from commercial and Ryan has apparently spit on Jordin. Then Jordin answers a viewer's question about what she's learned so far. Jordin replies that she learned she can "handle a lot more" than she thought. Does anyone else think these questions sound like Miss America pageant questions?

JORDIN (To Love Somebody) -- Barry says a couple of hundred of people have sung this song, but he hasn't heard a greater version than Jordin's. That's some pretty solid praise. First off, I'm just glad Jordin tamed the hair this week. But more importantly, I'm glad she sounds great after last week's horrible rendition of "Living on a Prayer" (which I really would like to erase from my memory). Randy likes the Mariah-Aretha thing she did, and he says she's "winning so far tonight." Paula calls it the "the best vocal tonight." Simon says, "best song choice, best performance so far, we're back in the competition."

Back from commercial, Melinda answers a viewer question. The first tape she ever bought was -- Michael Jackson's "Bad." Umm, these questions are just really, really boring. If they received points for their answers like in the beauty pageants, then maybe that would make them a tad more interesting. Or not.

MELINDA (How Can You Mend a Broken Heart) -- Barry asks why she changed a word during rehearsal, and Melinda says she doesn't want to sing about being a "loser." She comes out wearing a dress for song No. 2. It starts a little boring, but she does build into a really strong ending. Randy says, "much better, great song, great vocal, beautiful ending." Paula calls her a throwback to Stephanie Mills. Then Paula says throwaway technique and "surprise us." Simon does not understand a word Pauls is saying and doubts Melinda does either. However, he thinks the second half of the song put Mindy Doo into the semi-finals. Was there ever any doubt?

BLAKE (This Is Where I Came In) -- Barry is shocked Blake has picked such an obscure song, but he loves that Blake is performing it. He thinks the song has been waiting to become a hit, and maybe Blake will do it. For song No. 2, Blake is dressed in an Argyle sweater or what looks like half a sweater. The song drones on, and I don't know what to say about it, except I don't hear a "hit song" in the making. Randy says it was definitely better than the first one, but advises Blake not to beatbox on every tune. Paula calls him "the contemporary rebel in this competition." I'm not the hippest chick, but Blake's sound seems more 80s than contemporary to me. Simon found the song completely tuneless, and he doesn't think Blake had a good night. I'm with Simon on this one. Sometimes Blake's risks pay off. Tonight, not so much.

Back from another commercial Ryan introduces Judge Judy as Simon's Evil twin. What the heck, is this the biggest celebrity they could plant in the audience this week? I'm guessing they would have had the cast of Drive in the audience this week, if FOX hadn't canceled the show after half-a-freaking episode. And by the way, where the heck is Daniel "Harry Potter" Radcliffe? They promised he'd appear on Idol Gives Back and me and millions of tweens are still waiting for him to show-up.

LaKISHA (Run to Me) -- Barry thinks she's picked a challenging song, but that she'll rise to it. LaKisha is back with cleavage spilling out of a black and emerald green (she really likes that color green) dress. It's a pretty ballad, and she's not shouting it which is nice. Unfortunately, LaKisha croaks out the last note of the song (that's what happens when you shout so much during your first song). Randy says despite the hoarseness, it was "much better than the first joint" she did tonight. Paula tells her not to beat herself up over the last note, she's "still a champ." Simon quickly says "it was better than the first song, still not great." He thinks she is vulnerable tonight along with Blake. Is Kiki at the end of her Idol journey?

JORDIN (Woman in Love) -- OK, it takes some cojones for a 17-year-old girl to take on the legendary Barbra Streisand. Barry thinks that Jordin has a "gift" and is going to be one of the greatest female recording artists. Again, some strong words of praise for Jordin from a freaking Bee Gee. Jordin's second outfit is a bright blue, flowing prom gown. The vocals aren't perfect, but once again I like that she consistently seems to connect with the song she's singing. Randy calls it pitchy all the way through, but he gives props to Barry Gibb and his amazing songs (OK, that's sort of random). Paula calls Jordin "absolutely beautiful," and skillfully(?) avoids actually critiquing her vocals. Simon calls it "old-fashioned" and "very pageanty." I saw a prom dress, he saw a pageant dress. It's the same thing. Simon and I are on the same wavelength.

And we're out of time.

So who will go home? Will our final three come down to the ladies? Or will their votes be split, allowing Blake to hold on another week? Based on tonight's performances, Blake should go home. However, my guess is that he's not done yet, and LaKisha is.

Tomorrow: Live Results Show #11 and Barry Gibb sings!!

For more Idol coverage, check out People.com.

And vote for your favorite finalist in AOL's poll.

Tags: Barry, Barry Gibb, BarryGibb, Blake Lewis, featured, Gibb, Jordin Sparks, LaKisha Jones, LakishaJones, Melinda Doolittle, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

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