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Tonight's show was really good. After last night's sub-par episode, they might as well send all the men home. There were a number of really good performances by the women's group. At this (early) point, it would be hard to imagine that the winner won't eventually be one of tonight's better singers.
The Performances
1. Stephanie Edwards- sang "___??___" (There were a lot of songs on tonight's show with titles of which I am unsure.) She had a pretty dress, looked nice, and sang her song really well. Already the first lady on tonight's show blew all of the men away. Her performance was definitely good enough to survive being placed in the dangerous number one spot. GRADE: B+
2. Amy Krebs- sang "Don't Patronize Me." Amy has a nice, "girl next door" appeal. I really wish that Amy had sung something more interesting tonight. Boring. GRADE: C-
3. Leslie Hunt- sang "You make me feel (like a natural woman.)" After some strange publicity head shots, Leslie ended up looking quite nice while on stage today. She has nice eyes when she's singing. The judges really seemed to dislike her performance. I thought it was okay. GRADE: C+
4. Sabrina Sloan- sang "(I've never loved a man) The Way I Love You." Sabrina seems to be the second "one to watch" from tonight's show (Stephanie being the first). Sabrina was cool when she was singing, and the lighting and background music complimented her nicely. GRADE: B+
5. Antonella Barba- sang "I don't want to miss a thing." Every season there is one or two really pretty young ladies whom I root for, but never ends up making it very far. If tonight's performance is any indication, Antonella won't be on TV for much longer; but I have a hunch that she may stick it out another week or two. Tonight's song just didn't work. GRADE: C-
6. Jordin Sparks- sang "Give me one reason." Wow! Is this girl really seventeen? A good song and a nice vignette undoubtedly helped Jordin acquire a few fans. GRADE: B
7. Nicole Tranquillo- sang "____??____". This was a very unique Idol performance with a really stylized song. It seemed like Nicole was playing a character as she performed this one. It ended up lacking something. GRADE: C
8. Haley Scarnato- sang a Celine Dion song. Haley was missing some "bigness" in her voice during the chorus, but in general it was okay. GRADE: C+
9. Melinda Doolittle-sang an Aretha song. (My lack of R&B and soul music is beginning to show, isn't it?) Great vignette, nice song, HUGE voice, fantastic! Melinda is "one to watch" number three. GRADE: A (Best singing in years.)
10. Alaina Alexander- sang the Pretenders' "Brass in pocket". First the good news: Alaina has tremendous on-screen charisma. Off TV, I'd bet that all eyes are on this girl wherever she is. She has a real superstar look to her. The bad news was that her song didn't turn out so well. GRADE: C-
11. Gina Glockson- sang "All By Myself". Gina had a cool shirt, and the light hit her hair quite nicely. Gina has a sort of Monica Lewinsky-like appeal to her (that's a good thing). Nice, controlled effort by Gina tonight. It looks like Gina will have 2-3 fantastic performances in her before it is all over. GRADE: B+
12. Lakisha Jones- "You're going to love me." FANTASTIC! "One to watch" number four. GRADE: A
In spite of this flawless performance, I am worried about Lakisha's chances of "winning it all." She seems to be the type of singer who will perform very, very well throughout the series. Her problems may crop up once there gets to be fewer and fewer contestants. If Lakisha doesn't learn to show a bit more self-confidence, voters may end up choosing someone else once "crunch time" comes. I think that voters want to vote for someone who believes in herself. Someone needs to inject Lakisha with some self-esteem as soon as possible.
How it all shook out:
Tonight's top-three:
1) Melinda 2) Lakisha 3) Sabrina
Tonight's bottom three:
1) Antonella 2) Alaina 3) Amy
Who do I guess will be sent home?
Amy and Leslie