American Idol 5: Eight Female Finalists

March 7, 2005

Published on March 7, 2006 By Jamie Burnside In Entertainment

We're down to the final eight. Crunch time! Only one more round of eliminations before the show moves on to the Kodak theater. This last week will really be hard-fought.

From week-to-week, season-to-season, I often find myself agreeing with the judges' comments on the various contestants. Tonight however, I have a few contentions with them. That said: enjoy what may be my most contraversial recap ever. (I HAVE to check that spelling once I get a chance!)

The performances:

1. Paris Bennett sang Gloria Estefan's "...Conga" song. The good news was that Paris looked beautiful. Really nice hair and clothing. The bad news was that Paris' song was all wrong. She lost the essence of the song.

The shocking thing was that the judges gave her a total pass on her mediocre performance. They wouldn't criticize her in the least. I wonder whether that may lead to some sort of backlash, as it was obvious that the judges were protecting her tonight. Grade: D

2. Lisa Tucker sang "XXX". Wow. Lisa was pretty again. She has the look and the singing ability to make it as a pop star regardless of what happens on Idol. Tonight's song wasn't fantastic, but I'd suppose that it was good enough to get her votes. Grade: B-

3. Melissa McGhee sang Heart's "What About Love". Melissa sang this song almost exactly as it should be sung. I thought that her voice sounded fantastic. (Simon really went after the performance. I think he's crazy!) Grade: A

I think that at this point in the contest, my personal favorites have officially changed to Melissa and Ayla. Melissa for her unique singing voice and personality, and Ayla for her growth and adaptability.

4. Kinnik Sky sang "XXX". Kinnik didn't "light a fire" tonight (and tonight was probably her last chance). I seriously doubt that we'll see her next week. That's too bad in a way, because she seems like a really lovable young lady. Grade: C-

5. Katharine McPhee sang Aretha's "Think". Going in, if there would be a song that I would choose for Katherine not to sing, I may have chosen this one. Saying that: I think that she pulled it off reasonably well. Katharine has her fans, so she'll be safe for a while regardless. Grade: B-

After her "water cooler talk inducing" maternity outfit from last week's show, Katharine certainly went the other way. Her more conventional outfit looked really nice on her, which is what she needed. I know that she knew that everyone would be watching to see what she would wear tonight.

6. Ayla Brown sang Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten". The band sounded really good for this song, and Ayla's voice fit in well. I saved tonight's Idol on my DVR, just to listen to this one performance for a second time.

This week, Ayla showed a bit more movement and emotion. She reminds me of Clay Aiken inasmuch as if the judges tell her to change something, she'll have changed (and perfected said change) within a week. I'd imagine that says a lot for the discipline that she had gained from sports. Grade: A-

7. Mandisa sang Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman". Mandisa was good enough to pull off this song. Grade: A-

The one thing which may hurt Mandisa tonight were her clothes. I think that her jeans were distracting. Mandisa should avoid jeans at all costs. She seems to look a lot better in dresses or in billowy slacks.

8. Kellie Pickler made love to the camera whilst singing "I'm the only one". (I think that's a Melissa Etheridge song...) Kellie sang the song serious, and it worked for her. Grade: B+

In previous weeks, I have compared Kellie favorably to Dolly Parton. After tonight's performance, I came up with another possible comparison: Pia Zadora.

Simon's end comments relating to Kellie were very daring, insightful, and (in my opinion) correct. Simon mentioned that he preferred Kellie to last year's winner, Carrie. I tend to agree with Simon. Kellie oozes with charisma, while Carrie seems to get by on other things.

Tonight's top performers: 1) Melissa 2) Mandisa 3) Ayla

Rough night: 1) Paris 2) Kinnik

Comments

Jamie Burnside

on Mar 08, 2006

Ayla's song inspired me to watch the Natasha Bedingfield videos on VH1.com. You can see them here.

I really like her voice and her songs. Hers will be the next album that I buy.

Natasha's look really is reminiscent of Carly Simon, isn't it?

Nancy

on Mar 08, 2006

Hi jamie - Another fantastic recap! Rob and I found ourselves disagreeing with Simon for the first time last night. I think the girl who sang the Heart song was AWESOME! I totally agree with you that she sang it as it should be sung.

I also agree with your comments about Paris. She really did lose the essence of the song. It's a party song and the voice should be almost like a percussion instrument. She didn't do it justice. I think we should have all learned from the show when they did all Gloria Estefan songs that they are really hard to sing and if you are not the queen of latin music (Gloria herself) you should not be singing her songs.

I have to disagree with you about Ayla's performance, though. I was not blown away. Katherine McPhee was really great, though!

Do you think it's going to be a problem that there's a McGhee and a McPhee. What an odd coincidence.

Jamie Burnside

on Mar 08, 2006

Nancy wrote:

I also agree with your comments about Paris. She really did lose the essence of the song. It's a party song and the voice should be almost like a percussion instrument.

Amazing! That's exactly what my wife said.

JillUser

on Mar 08, 2006

I have to disagree with you about Ayla's performance, though. I was not blown away. Katherine McPhee was really great, though!

I agree here. Kinnik is my least favorite and I would be shocked if she doesn't go. I was pleasantly surprised by Melissa. She hasn't been one of my favs but she really rocked it out this time. I think Paris will be a finalist but agree that the song was totally wrong.

Dadomo

on Mar 08, 2006

Carrie has a better voice than Kellie, but none of Kellie's personality. That's why Kellie is more likeable, and ultimately, more marketable. Katharine has a very beautiful face with a great voice to go along with it--very marketable as well. Ayla is a surprisingly decent singer in a model's body. Lisa is also attractive with an amazing voice, especially considering her age, and should do well no matter the outcome of the competition. Paris is very talented, but seems to have an offputting smugness that may emerge more fully as the competition progresses. Mandisa is a talented vocalist, but her voice is overpowering at times, and she's more marketable to 40-something music fans than to teenagers. Kinnik never seems to sing on key and her voice has a strange quality about it. Melissa is a very good karaoke singer.

AndyT

on Mar 08, 2006

Hi all,

It's always really interesting reading the comments on here especially after what the judges said after Ayla performance. How much of a singing contest is American Idol? Most of us just listen to the whole package, technically singing great isn't always the winning factor. Charisma and likeability also gets mentioned a lot but how much do they matter? There's also what people already expects from a song and how someone sings it.

I thought Katharine's performance was effortless and fantastic (way better than Diana Degarmo). Mandisa performance was also great but I wonder if the diva factor might hurt her in the end. I agree with you Jamie that Melissa McGhee voice was great for the song, but I also think she didn't sing it that well - she does sound like she was shouting sometimes. I have a slight pickle with Kellie. She is like last years' Constantine. She gets by on Charisma even though she isn't that good a singer - great on stage, but bad for an album. This does mean her charisma has an averse affect on me is that I hate her.

There are definitely some very strong contenders within the girls' group this year so it seems its very difficult to pick the top 6 after Kinnik is gone.
My favorite currently is Katharine and Ayla.

KellyW0498

on Mar 08, 2006

I think it is a consensus that Kinnik is not going to be around long.

It is funny as in odd to see the commentary on Ayla. I don't know, yet. I thought last nights song was forced. It didn't seem natural for her to perform. I don't know she needs to get some zippity doo...or gosh anything, something.

Kellie...Hmm..like the above commenter, it could go either way. She might start annoying America to death. Right now I like her though.

Paris ruined that song last night.

Katherine's song was good, not great but good.

I liked Melissa's song last night.

I liked Mandissa.

Lisa Tucker will be around for awhile but will not win.

I don't have a favorite of the girls yet.

Anyway, that is my 2cents.
Great recap as always.

InBloom

on Mar 09, 2006

I disagreed with Simon when he said Melissa did horrible; on the contrary, I like her voice...but it seems like Simon put her down to insure a spot for Ayla, who although I think has shown improvement, does not have the better voice.

Mandissa had the best performance...with Kellie in a not too close second.

Like I said on the other blog...Paris, Lisa, Kellie, Mandissa, and Katherine are in for sure...other spot is a bit up in the air for me.

Dynosoar

on Mar 09, 2006

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