JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum American Idol and the wet t-shirt girl

Okay.. week one is over. They got rid of Brandon, which is fine with me. He's the biggest under-performer and choke artist ever. This guy had the talent to be a contender, but he was so freaked out after the early auditions that as the pressure mounted, he collapsed more and more. He just couldn't take it. It appears he really does fit in better as a back up.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Melinda proves that she really is a front woman. Her looks have to be the only reason she's not already a star. But that is going to change. I chose her after the first auditions to win the entire thing and I still feel that will happen. There ARE a few contenders, but I really doubt she's going to tank and everyone else already has at least once.

Here's my ranking of the remaining contestants after Week 1 of the finals.

1. Melinda: She's just in a class by herself. It's not just her vocal power, it's her amazing presentation and interpretation of the songs. She can do finesse just as well as power. Very solid leader. She took a terrible song and rose above it into the top notch again.

2. Blake: Frankly, he sucked in week one. But his dancing was hip and his voice was spot on. It was just a horrid arrangement and the dancing just felt weird in context with the song. This guy is the most overall talented in the competition (he sings great, beat boxes great, dances great and he's charismatic and has a great sense of style. He's clearly a star regardless of whether he wins and doesn't need AI like Melinda and Lakisha do. Speaking of which...

3. Lakisha: I think she's got a little negative edge in her voice that sounds sort strained... she's in key.. but listen closely.. it's either a lack of polish or something that is there.. her interpretation of God Bless the Child was nice.. but it wasn't the show stopped that song should have been. It was the perfect opportunity for her to have her "moment" but she missed it. Melinda would have knocked that song out of the park.

4. Jordan: Let's face it.. she's got issues with her vocals in every performance. She also shows moments of brilliance and gigantic upside potential. I think she will fair much better when they sing non-R&B stuff (Country, Rock etc) than the 2 Divas above might (though Melinda is so Pro that I may be wrong). She's diverse. She's got a glowing charisma. And she's friggin 17. I'd sign her now if I was a label.

5. Chris Sligh: He really sucked this week. His heinously bad Coldplay arrangement was embarrassing. He sings 2nd best in the males but he's clearly got an attitude like he's embarrassed to be on the show and is desperate to seem "cool." Look Chris.. you're on American Idol.. the "Cool" ship has permanently sailed. Your street cred in the Indie Rock scene is over. Deal with it. Get your [naughty word removed] together and get yourself back into the Top 5 solidly. Otherwise Gina and Chris R. will take your place.

6. Gina: She's a pleasant surprise. Every year they have a Rocker Girl on the show. She's got limits and she screams a lot instead of sings.. but she's likable and I think she'll battle Chris Sligh for 5th place if she doesn't melt down.

7. Chris R.: This guy can't sign. Period. But he's playing the "I am the closest thing to looking like Justin Timberlake on the show so vote for me" card and it's working. I'd rank him lower, but the folks below him suck so badly that I can't.

8. Stephanie: She sort of exudes a bitch personality. Her segments are always about her her her. Notice that? I did. She also seems disliked by the judges. She's a generic R&B wannabe and with the top two girls blowing her away in that field, she's just waiting for her week to come to be knocked off.. and no one will care when it happens.

9. Phil: He annoys me. Though he does sort of remind me of Jody Whitesides if he shaved his head and took some speed. (Sorry Jody.. his giant eyes just remind me of you..). He can't sing in his lower register... he occassionally hits the big notes but he's a total geek and his stock is falling.

10. Haley: She's the worst girl and frankly the least talented finalist. The fact that she is still on the show while the far more talented girl was vote off in the round of 12 2 weeks ago is sick. Her little crying game clearly got her a lot of votes. But she's terrible. Terrible. terrible.

11. Sanjaya: He gives me the creeps. He's got all the "eeww" factor of Michael Jackson's worst characteristics with none of his talent. Please folks.. stop voting for this guy.


That's just my opinion.. I could be right.

Brian