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

Hi Folks,

Predictably, the final four are exactly what everyone knew they would be from before Week 1. When the masses vote they often usually get it right. There's a dynamic that has been studied that shows this to be true. People will err a certain percentage range on either side of the right answer.. but when you average them together, those to the left and right of the answer cancel each other out and zero in on the right one. Sure, there's always exceptions, but that's often due more to misinformation (like political outcomes, fixed voting systems, incomplete facts etc...) than actual mistaken answers by the masses. To date, all the right AI's have won. The only questionable finish was the Clay/Rueben finale, but they were neck and neck and frankly, neither of them has made a serious musical impact. Sometimes when you have 2 weak candidates to vote for, it's a crapshoot and you lose either way. (Sound familiar anyone in the US?).

The Remaining 4:

1. Melinda: It's clear she's simply the best and most professional singer they've ever had on the show. It doesn't make her the best candidate to win however. She's so good that she almost becomes boring. Sort of like the same team winning the superbowl 12 years in a row (assuming she keeps up her undefeated streak on the show). That might make her ripe to be picked off by

2. Jordin Sparks: Jordin had a weak week. (Say that over and over.. ). She's had other ups and downs, but she's the most charming contestant AI's ever had. And that is dangerous to the most polished contestant AI's ever had just above her. Everyone has agreed that for her age she's just ridiculously good. Sure, there's been other young singers as good or better (Christina A. for example), but not many and certainly never one on AI. This trial by fire she's had for the last several months has really sped up her progress. She was an early performer in American Idol's Juniors (in case anyone didn't know) so like Christina A., she's been in serious development for many years, and it's not all natural. But it doesn't take away her charm and raw talent. I expected her to be better in the rock night because I thought she might translate better than Melinda, but instead, Melinda found a way to nail it (and she always does) and Jordin was a fish out of water. It's sad because I hoped her career would head off more in a Kelly Clarkson direction than another tired old R&B singer. And that's the danger of Melinda too. I hope they make her a Tina Turner style artist rather than an R&B singer. Jordin's a star regardless of what happens. Melinda would benefit greatly by winning.

3. Blake: He's back. He was smart not to use the beat boxing all season. He's coasted (and frankly last week he was the WORST performer.. it was terrible..) but now he's bringing out the big guns at just the right time. You gotta know when to peak and I think we're going to see his best performances in the next 2 weeks. If we REALLY is over the top good and Jordin slips, he may sneak in when the girls split the votes. (I suspect Jordin is getting the most votes right now by the way.. I have these ranked by where the deserve, not by votes).

4. Lakisha: Not surprising that she is still around, but now she must go. She's got really good control of a voice that isn't half as good as she makes it sound. Seriously.. listen to all her performances.. she has a definite limi and gets right up to it without losing it but can't push past it. Last night was a cop out Blues performance just like she copped out earlier in the year with a donna summer song. All in all, she'll be forgotten in the dustbins of AI history after the season is over. But I hope she can have a career none the less. She seems like a nice hard working woman.

So that's my feedback on the final four. Again, no surprises. But it should be a fun last few weeks. Too bad I will miss the last 2 on the road! Argh!

Brian