For some reason, I see Diana excelling tonight. Manilow is just the sort of stuff for her — all belting all the time. No need for subtle nuance tonight.
I’m not ashamed to admit (okay, maybe a little) that I’m a Barry Manilow fan and am really looking forward to tonight. On second thought, a lot of songs may be ruined for me after this show. If ANYONE ruins “Weekend in New England” for me, I’ll be pissed. I still can’t listen to “Call Me” without thinking of Goatgirl Rasmussen from last season. ::shudder::
In a sick way, I wish JPL was still in it, just to hear him sing something like “Cobacabana”. That would be ripe for the comedy picking, folks!
Nutty Bunny, I’m a big fan too! I’m dying to see the show tonight, although I think everyone’s going to slaughter the songs. (Weekend in NE is my favorite too.)
I recently learned in another thread that Barry is gay. I don’t know why that shocks me but it does. (Yet it has that ring of truth…)
I saw an interview with him recently in which he implied that he would never say anything mean to the contestants, so as a guest judge, I expect he’ll be no better than Paula.
I’m guessing that Huff does “Can’t Smile Without You” and smiles like an idiot for the whole song.
John S. might do well tonight too. I predict he does a finger snapping rendition of “Copacabana.”
I predict Jennifer belts out “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” and gets kudos from the judges.
Hopefully no one will sing “I Write the Songs” but I wouldn’t mind hearing a Macy-fied version of “Mandy” by Fantasia.
Stan Laurel. Ouch.
I think the evening definitely went to the ladies tonight! It was actually quite a good show, IMO, although I thought some of the fashion choices were odd.
I do have a question though. Where are all those people staying? You’ve got the contestants, and their familes, and sometimes the screen caption says friends as well. Don’t these people have jobs back home? It seemed like one show said that the contestants themselves stay in a big house. How does that work since some of the contestants are under-age?
This is the first year I’ve watched this show, and that’s been bugging me for awhile.
Diana – see Randy’s comment
George – It was weak. I’m pretty sure that he missed every other note. It was a real mess.
Jennifer - It was good but a little over the top.
Jasmine – she did a fine job. I think she tried to do a little too much with it. This seems to be where I disagree with the judges. Overall, pretty much the same response as Jennifer but her voice isn’t quite as strong (but still respectable).
LaToya – didn’t over sing it. It had a nice pace, built up to a climax well, she hit all of the notes, and Simon finally said what I’ve wanted to hear.
John – it was okay, I’d like to see a little more power and he was off in spots. The guys are incredibly out gunned in this American Idol.
Fantasia – Nice try, I’ll give her that. Her voice was drowned out at times and it was a touch fast. (see how I tried to be objective even though it wasn’t my style?)
Bottom Three – this is tough because there’s about three tiers for me and there’s only two in the bottom one.
-John
-George (my opinion of his voice has gone down a touch over the last week)
My third who is a tier above the other two.
Jasmine
I think that John Stevens sucked, and I haven’t even watched the show yet.
I was passing by the TV in the den where the family is watching this show. I caught about 30 seconds of the performer doing “It’s a Miracle”.
Do they know there was a helium leak in the studio?
Please, please, for the love of God and all that is pure and holy, John Stevens must be stopped!!
Urrg…Barry Manilow…but, a MUCH better night than I thought it would be. Heh.
-
Diana–Meh. Did nothing for me. I mean, god knows she sang it well, but as Quentin Tarrantino said last week, “So what?” It was a great performance and her best indeed, but once again, I cannot be compelled to vote for her. However, she ought not to be eliminated. Not this week.
-
George Huff–A decent performance. However, he’s done better in the past. Course, he could be singing “I’m a super dooper pooper” and I’d still love him. Overall good.
-
Jennifer-- Just wow…wow…this was her most controlled performance and has proven that she can be subtle without sounding breathy or weak(a common flaw with K. Lo and George). I was enthralled. And the belting, oh balls…just amazing. Flawless.
-
Jasmine–Well, decent and pretty good. But, compared to what has gone before, weak. She even made me cringe on some parts. Oh well.
-
Latoya–Great as always, but while I AM a fan of her’s, she’s starting to bore me. Great singing, but her voice just isn’t all that rich and doesn’t make me want to keep listening.
-
John–Eh…started out good, but overall weak. I agree with the judges. He’s just not among the best voices in the competition. So, if he’s not eliminated this week, he’s sure to go next week. He did look cute in the end though. SQUEEEEEE!!
-
Fantasia—She’s one of my favorite performers and while certainly energetic, I honestly don’t think this was among her best performances. The “come on” stuff irritated me and the “yeayeayeays” are starting to get on my nerves. She’s not going anywhere though. Heh.
Bottom Three:
Diana
Jasmine
John
I’d give anything for Jasmine to be eliminated, but it will probably be John that finally gets the boot.
Ok, middle chick from “The Swan” - you’re skin is supposed to move when you talk and blink. Thank goodness I wasn’t eating.
Diana: I thought she sucked. She made my ears and my head hurt.
George: I really, really like him, I think because he’s different from the three divas. A good performance.
Jennifer: The first half sucked and then she started belting it out. Some of it was very good and some of it just sounded like yelling to me.
Jasmine: Boring.
LaToya: See Jennifer, above. LaToya, however, doesn’t make scary faces. I prefer her to both Jennifer and Fantasia.
John: I actually thought this was one of his better performances. Nonetheless, he’s totally out of his league.
Fantasia: Bleh. I didn’t think this was a great performance for her. I hear her screech in every damn song.
All in all, I thought this was better than Elton John night but they all seemed to have problems with the arrangements.
My bottom three:
Jon Benet
Jasmine
John–it’s time.
It won’t surprise me to see George in the bottom three, however.
Much less sucky than I feared it might be, but I’m still a wee bit disappointed Teen Martin didn’t regale us with a swinging Copacabana. 
Diana~ Yes, finally, I actually felt like she wasn’t a precocious mouseketeer!! Very well done, great song, not too different from the original arrangement to sound weird, awesome.
Jennifer~ I so wish they’d let her hair curl again, dammit. She looked great, though, you can so tell the real stylists are now on board. Excellent voice, divaed out a bit but I still dig her way more than the hated Fantasia, and am starting to fear she might overtake the wonderful LaToya by sheer presence, this girl’s a serious contender! <–crazy eyes
George~ Meh. I don’t think he benefitted from his ‘personalized’ arranging very much.
Jasmine~ Hated the outfit, the patented Huff squat should not be done in that style of skirt, oh my! Sweet voice but just not consistent enough, I wish the age limit of 18 was in place, she’s one who’d probably knock our collective socks off with a few more years experience.
LaToya~ Love this girl, fabulous control, incredible power, unbelievable range, perhaps she couldn’t fit all that and a personality in that tiny little body?! I’ve been rooting for her since day one, she’s the classiest by far and the most polished performer, but I was kinda bored by it tonight.
John~ Ahhh, dear sweet crooner boy, at least he didn’t suck. Far better with this than I thought he’d do, a bit rushed but that might have been the arranging because he sounded on tempo thruout…he’s not going to win, nor should he, but I’m glad he’s been able to redeem himself a bit before going home. Another that would have blown us away with a few more years living on him, and I think he’s shown the most growth this season yay him for that. My 10 yo neice Mandy was apparently awwwwed right outta her skull, blushed thru the entire performance.
Bitc…Fantasia~ Ugh, why do the judges insist on sucking up to her so much?! “Excuse me, Jon Peter, but this is American Idol not Comedy Idol, you’re supposed to be a POP singer, so you suck!” “Ohhhh, Fantasia, you’re gospel, how divine!” And bringing out the baby? Then calling her a miracle?! Egads!
RachelChristine The contestants do stay in a big ol’ mansion, with the younger kids bringing a parent chaperone along with them, but that only applies to the 16 yo’s from what I understand, the 17 yo’s are on their own. I doubt they’re even in the dang house enough to matter much, they’re whored out so much and making ‘commercials’ and rehearsing…I remember one of last years contestants saying they averaged 3 hours sleep a night for the entire show.
I too wonder how all those family members get to be there, does the show pay for them to be flown in? Even if you could swing the time off, how the heck can most people afford it?
Diana: competent but mechanical as always. She also dropped a few notes which she usually doesn’t do. At least she didn’t say “C’mon.”
George: Simon was right, he made a mess of it. I think he was trying to get way too fancy and just lost the melody. I’m sure he’ll be safe but he was in the bottom three tonight.
Jennifer: I still think she rocks. I don’t care if people think she oversings. Aretha oversings too. I love a big voice. Call me a sap.
Jasmine: I hated what she did with the chorus. She ruined the hook with a really lame phrasing of her own. Bottom three.
LaToya: Very good. I can’t think of a single criticism but she didn’t give me goosebumps or anything.
John: Started off well but the kid just doesn’t have any real chops or power yet. He may be gone after this. One thing I’ll say about him is that he always respects the melody. He seems like a decent kid too and he’s probably be going to fending off chicks with a bat when he gets back home. Oh…and “Stan Laurel,” LOL. I don’t even think the poor kid knew who Simon was talking about.
Fantasia: A very Fantasia performance. High energy, confident, distinctive. I’d say she has a good bet to get to the final two and maybe even win. Prsonally, i’d rather listen to Jennifer, though.
I predict that John will go.
Barry Manilow is as useless as Paula as a judge.
Nah, you’re no sap, Dio.
Jennifer has the most powerful voice AI has ever fielded, bar none. Hers is a WOMAN’S voice–a diva’s voice. When I hear Jennifer singing, I hear a lot of Aretha, and a little of Tina Turner and Sarah Vaughn, too. There’s no question she could benefit from some voice lessons from a world-class pro, but she has the essentials to be really big. Now she needs to learn how to modulate her voice.
Looking at these contestants, I ask myself: “Who will still be around in five years?” The answer I come up with is Jennifer. LaToya is fine, but I don’t see the potential for being a true star, nor is she particularly memorable. George would have excelled about 30 years ago. Fantasia should consider becoming a jazz singer.
You guys already nailed it - the bottom three were definitely Jasmine, Diana and John. Jasmine is a nice girl, but she should’ve kept the hair flower instead of dressing like a chicken. When she started her George squat, I thought she was going to lay an egg. John’s more a novelty at this point, he should be the one to get the axe.
On the other hand, Jennifer’s really blossoming, maybe it’s a good thing she nearly got booted since she’s apparently decided she’s got nothing to lose & might as well go for broke. I’d love to hear her do that Jennifer Holliday song from Dreamgirls (?You’re Gonna Love Me?).
Not Fantasia’s night - and what was with the daughter onstage? At 19 all that proves is that she’s had unprotected sex in her teens, so what. I hope she goes on to have a wonderful career, I really respect her artistry, but I don’t care that she’s already a mom.
LaToya ought to go sing duets with Wayne Brady, they’d look so cute together & he deserves more success than he’s getting, what with his show being cancelled and all.
[hijack] He was funny as hell on Chappelle, though. “Is Wayne Brady gonna have to choke a bitch?”
I laughed my ass off. [/hijack]
I’m not even a Stevens fan and I thought that was a totally unnecessary bitchisism. Although…
Not to be pedophilic, but did anybody notice that John’s package was a bit noticeable in the long scan (not that the scan needed to be very long)?
I’m glad to see that so many of you don’t put George in the bottom 3. It gives me hope that he’ll be safe, 'cause man did he bring the total suckage tonight. Not only did he manage to miss almost every single note in that song, but he completely missed the song’s meaning and emotion. Fer crying out loud, the singer is dreading the return of his lover because he’s realized that he no longer loves her, but longs to, because it’s absolutely breaking his heart that he doesn’t. George smiled and squatted and belted a very sad and mournful song. And he did so badly. Holy crap on a stick that sucked.
I was all ready to shockingly give John some kudos tonight… and then he hit the chorus. And for the love of all that’s holy, please, if you do stay, John, don’t ever, ever, EVER reach your hand out to me and gaze longingly into the camera. You’re 16 years old. That’s just creepy. <shudder>
I’m with Simon – thank goodness Jasmine finally got rid of that ridiculous flower in her hair. But why, oh why was she wearing a Kleenex on stage?!!
And Jesus & Noel Roman, Fantasia, this is not Shrieky Gospel Idol! STOP it. Stop it NOW. ::covers ears in horror::
I dunno, maybe I’m just getting curmudgeonly, but I didn’t think any of the performances tonight were all that. It’s was just a’ight.
The actual bottom 3: George, Jasmine & John, with John going home.
I predict the bottom 3 will turn out to be: Diana, Jasmine & John. I’m clueless who’ll really go, but I suspect it will be Diana.