American Idol Week 3: A Horseplayer's Perspective
 

An outwardly mediocre night on Idol, as far as I was concerned. Only one standout performance among the bunch. The bottom dwellers evened the score a bit, and some of the favorites really came up on the short end of the night. If the scores I gave were any indication of my discontent with the night, it should be clear. All were fairly equal, making elimination guesses a crapshoot at best, but none were memorable, save the finale. All of my scoring, outside of my favorite of the night, fell within a single point between 7-5-6.5.

Very uninspiring. I really just don’t feel like our Idol, or even our Idol top 3 should be in this bunch.

Blake
I like him a little bit less after the stupid “dress-up” intro to his song. Singing 311’s All Mixed Up -- the vocal was not as great as what we’ve seen from this one in the last two weeks. Not challenging in any way at all for him. It was a fun performance, but nothing special as far as originality went here.

Final Score: 7.5 phone-in votes

Sanjaya
Call me bi-polar but after hating him for his “hula dancing” intro, I found that his performance this week was good. Not good in the sense of it actually being any good, but after setting the bar SO low the last two weeks, there was nowhere to go but up. He’s not a mind-blower in any sense. With that said, while it gives me acid reflux to even contemplate, his vocal landed him in the top half of performers tonight (wouldn’t it be ironic if THIS week, the one decent one, sent him home?!)

Final Score: 7.0 phone-in votes

Sundance
The vocal was extremely on and off throughout the entire song. I once again, was more focused on the backup singer on the right than I was on Sundance. The vocal pleased me more than the past two weeks when I ragged this one to pieces, but still not inspiring. Will he make it to the top 12? Of course. Will he deserve it? Nope.

Final Score: 7.0 phone-in votes

Chris R.
I liked the chance to see him sing something different, the sort of song where he couldn’t bounce while singing. His voice certainly failed him a few times throughout, but like Sundance I like him better this week. He's my big question mark. He's capable of being one of the ones, but he hasn't shown it with any consistency, like the rest of the guys. I think he’s moving on as well, for better or worse.

Final Score: 7.0 phone-in votes

Jared
“Eyebrows” came back again without “the move.” I like the move, because it covers his ugly face, if for a fleeting moment. The song choice confused the heck out of me, but the vocal was above average, if not spectacular.

Final Score: 7.0 phone-in votes

Brandon
Lots of fun. Not much substance. Right on par for a very average night

Final Score: 7.0 phone-in votes

Phil
Reaction written in real-time: Awful. Still awful. Stiiiiiiiill awful. Ok, slightly better. Back to awful. On to slightly better. Thank God. Phil’s problem is that he has no lower register (and I hate that Randy used that word because I mentioned it to my friends watching with me, then felt dejected when Randy said it….because then it just looks like I’m copying. When I move to Chicago, I’ll host an Idol Night and AJ can at least vouch for my prowess! :D ). He starts every song the same way: terribly because they start in his lower range….which he doesn’t even have. He’ll get through because he’s a nice, decent-looking (according to everyone but me) guy, but he’s going to have to start delivering entire songs, instead of “second-halfs” in order to have a shot at taking this thing.

Final Score: 6.5 phone-in votes

Chris S.
Personality-wise, he is your Idol. Luckily for him he delivered a slightly below-average performance on a night of very average performances. He was the only vocal standout of the night among the eight male finalists. His performance tonight is the only one who could hold a candle to any of the top five females last week. Still needs more, but the best of the bunch on a very disappointing night.

Final Score: 8.5 phone-in votes

*note to self....find Brian a life*

Props to Blake for covering 311
Props to Sligh for being a fat nerd with sideshow bob hair.

The rest...suck

Your alter ego must have missed last week.

It's not much work really :D Maybe 30 minutes a night.

ps, IDOL IS MY LYFE!

you watch that crap PP???


hugely dissapointed

I thought Chris S was the only one who deserves to move on...the rest were simply below any of the women! Phil doing that song!!! Terribly arrogant in my opinion! Chris R was OK.

how many season has this crap been on???


I can honestly say that I have NEVER seen one entire episode....bores me to tears.

Yeah I voted for Taylor Hicks 583,119 times last year.

I think you're pretty spot on this week Brian. Yeah it was a little more ho-hum. Glad to see that you're feeling it a little for Chris S. I think he is underrated but real solid and might be one of those that you really see growing during the course of the season. I think with more confidence he might really shine.

Otherwise yeah, not a big separation top to bottom, no home runs I guess.

Not being musically inclined myself, but I do know what you mean about the lower register issue with Phil.

So thats my future, Idol night in Chicago hosted by Bri? You know, if you market this correctly with say an Idol/ponies theme, you might bring in some crossover types like Dell, scavs, mera? perhaps.

I ....um...doh....cant......ahh...f*ck it...

that sums up my review rather concisely.

As Randy would say "Blake keeps it real, dog"

kev, you've got to get on the bandwagon. this is important stuff here.

It's interesting, I found nothing to like in Blake's performance, maybe it's just the song choice or maybe it's just me but I thought he was very average.

Well that explains the third worst night of my life perfectly.

Sadly there is no racing on Tuesdays at AP or we'd have post-racing Idol nights. I'm still convinced that there is some way to draw people. Beer is how I get through the bad ones, there's gotta be something there.

not in this lifetime...too many other good "proven" artists out there I can listen to...

I so do not belong on this thread....:D

It wasn't a great performance...not even close. BUT he gets props for singing a song he actually listens to. I find it hard to believe a few of those guys listen to some of the songs they sing. For example, Sanjaya should be singing Wham!, Army of Lovers, Elton John, George Michael, Culture Club, or Queen.

Blake is keeping it real...Isn't that right dawg pound? Yeeeeuh!! Yeeeeuh!

Or Britney Spears.

A hot mess is a hot mess any way you cut it.

the performance and vocals, perhaps they were only somewhat ordinary tonight. I just gave extra points for not going with the same tired song/artist choices. He keeps it a little fresher I think with choices like 311 and Jamiroquai

OH man, my nomination for good true line of the night!

They were all brutal last night....all of them....I think they should make an executive decision and do away with that 6 and 6 crap...in fact, I found it interesting that the judges last night were basically saying that....they felt that only 4 should go on....I just hope that Sanjaya kid goes home.....hell I bet there are some better voices than that on this site....

Perhaps tonight will give us more to talk about.

I didn't realize it would be so little fun when we all agreed that they were bad

At least tonight Somer and AJ can apologize for Antonella and make more excuses for her again after she butchers her third straight song. :D

I watched the 1st and 2nd season religiously, but have not been into it the past few seasons...

I didn't watch last night at all, but happened to catch the previous week and I'm not overly impressed with anyone on this year's show. I'll stick with Deadwood and Grey's Anatomy. ;)

Well Brian, can you honestly say that more than 4 of the guys deserve to go on? If Antonella gets voted off this week, there will be at least two male singers of lesser ability who make it...same with any of the top 8 women. We will see what happens tonight but it is a shame that they don't take the top 12 regardless of sex....this year it would probably have been 9-3 or 10-2 women.

All l I can say Brian is get ready for Antonella in the final 12. All she has to do is not perform horribly. she's got a builtin fan base that will be calling in. She did what she had to do, and that's establish name recognition.

After last nights performances, I say Both Chrises, Blake and Sundance move on. Sorry, Phil. I liked you but ya let me down last night and I do love that song you did, but he sucked.

Blake-Boring but sounded OK.

Sanjaya-his girlie ass needs to go home. Give Farrah Fawcett back her hair on your way out.

Sundance-OK, but not great.

Chris R.-Good, but was better last week.

Jared-better than Sanjaya, but that isn't saying much.

Brandon-ok, but not great. On a positive note, you didn't try and sing Cyndi so that was a great improvement.

Phil-Love that song, but you butchered it Phil. Sorry. I liked you until last night.

Chris S.-Probably the best of last night. I like this guy. Seems to be humbling a bit from his first week of Simon bashing. He is figuring out that he needs to be humble to make it.

All and all the guys DID NOT impress.

I know. That's what's so scary about the whole thing. She could really make it far even though she ranks in the bottom 1/4 of the people left.

We'll see.

Oh, no way, there are MAYBE four guys who deserve to go on. I think the Chrises, Blake, and either Brandon or Sundance should be the ones moving on, at MOST.

The girls are towering above them in every way. Really, they don't have many weaknesses left. Haley and Antonella are the only two left who are undeserving in any way of making the top 12. Gina is still on the bubble, her performance tonight should really determine whether or not she deserves to be there. She hasn't really proven herself entirely yet, but she's got a clear raw talent advantage over those other two girls.

They should just skip the antics and boot those two girls, bring those four guys and let's just go from the top 10. The rest is filler right now.

you don't need the live racing. Its easy, split screen with Idol on one side and Mountaineer on the other. Fun for everyone. Oh yeah, beer is a good idea also.

Jordin
I just love her. Still. That song choice was perfect for her. That’s the kind of song that makes me want to have an entire record of material by Jordin Sparks. I get the feeling that she’s going to be one of the ones to fall by the wayside as far as votes are concerned getting overshadowed every week by the huge voices -- but she better be back next week. She’s spunky and charismatic, and far too talented for only being seventeen years old. Still my personal favorite, even if she's not the best singer in here.

Final Score: 9.0 phone-in votes

Sabrina
Her voice seemed a bit vacant in some of the quieter spots, like something was missing. It may have been emotion, but it just didn’t make me hot. I think she’s one of the better singers left, but she’s not very endearing as far as her personality goes, and will just have to do better to factor in during the round of twelve.

Final Score: 8.0 phone-in votes

Antonella
She was off and on and off and on and off and on and off and on for the first half of her song, but I should just keep that in my notepad and paste it into my review every week. She can’t handle herself consistently. With that said, she (like her vocal bottom dwelling partner in crime, Sanjay) was exponentially better this week than her first two weeks combined and multiplied by fifty. What does that all add up to? Still not good enough.

Final Score: 6.5 phone-in votes

Haley
Simon echoed the sentiment that I noted here last week about how I wouldn’t know her from a Price is Right contestant. She’s not memorable in any way. She’s vocally passable but I still think she’s in the bottom two as far as talent goes in this female bunch. Get the feeling she’s a cut below the best in here.

Final Score: 6.5 phone-in votes

Stephanie
I want to see her loosen up a bit and let go vocally and with her song choice. It’s no secret that she’s one of the most vocally consistent finalists, but I wish she would establish herself outside of the impressions of already famous musicians she’s gone with so far

Final Score: 8.0 phone-in votes

Lakeisha
That’s the little bit of “yo” factor that I missed last week. Obviously she is in the upper echelon in this competition. I think that going into the Final 24, she was the one to beat, but more on that later…..

Final Score: 9.5 phone-in votes

Gina
I love that she went with a song that was very much her style. She was a little bit shouty/whiny/screamy. I thought she was on the cusp coming into this week, and I think her performance separated her from what I consider to be the two very obvious worst singers on the female side. I hope that being third worst is enough to get her past eliminations this week. I really enjoyed myself though, for what it’s worth.

Final Score: 8.0 phone-in votes

Melinda
STRICTLY THE ONE TO BEAT.

Final Score: As many phone-in votes as one can manage to complete before the lines close.

My rankings;

1) Melinda - Classy, beat her to take the title
2) Lakeisha - talented and working well, not ideal post position
3) Jordin - steps up against elders, has shot
4) Stephanie - consistent grinder type, must show more
5) Sabrina - off form last few tries, can rebound
6) Antonella - gorgeous looking filly, steps up in class
7) Haley - in deep, must do more
8) Gina - doesn't have the class for this

LOL! Excellent! I agree that Melinda now sits at the top, she was simply a star tonight! Lakeisha still has the big voice, Jordin is far too talented to ignore, both Stephanie and Sabrina dropped a bit tonight I think. I liked Gina and yes, I liked Antonella. Haley is a sweetheart but I think she's gone. This could be the week that race plays a factor...I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Haley and Sabrina leave!

Juxtapose 6 and 8 and I am in total agreement. I find that I am, while I'm trying to be serious, using horseplaying terms in talking about the competition.

Like Melinda, strictly the one to beat....beat her to cash. :D

I'll throw you a bone even, I'd take 6.) Gina 7.) Antonella 8.) Haley

Any ranking that leaves Antonella out of the bottom two is inherently flawed, especially if it is an overall ranking as yours claims to be AJ.

I could see putting her #6 tonight, but not overall.

It is a three horse race Jordin, Lakisha and Melinda. It's that easy. All the guys suck compared to these girls. And if Antonella makes it through to the top 12 watch out, because the guys will start to drop like flies! What STRAIGHT guy in America will vote for one of those shleps over her! (especially if she is going to wear hooker boots and mini skrts every week!)Goodbye to Haley and Gina and for the guys, who really cares.

wow...I thought I lacked a life...

Yet you keep coming back. Sort of how I got sucked into season one.

You're well on your way Kev. Glad to see it.

No way Arbor Mist boy....hard to watch it when my TV isnt even plugged into the wall:D

I noticed ya back again Kev. Thanks for stopping in.

In another two weeks you'll be a regular player/contributor.

Good God, you remind someone of their ex-wife just once.........

Or he'll heckle us with pics like this...

I enjoy reading you guys acting like women on here talking about the show.

Opps...I mentioned the word women. I should be careful. A sexual comment is sure to follow...and then a thread hijacking....and then....well, never mind. You get the picture.:rolleyes: