Holy overload

They start in the control room, as Ryan kicks off Idol Gives Back. Oh, jeez. Every time you vote, NewsCorps will donate .10, up to $5 million. Bono is showing up tomorrow; as for tonight, it's Jordin and her five boring sidekicks.

For the third time they run footage of Simon and Ryan in Africa. Some of the clips have been shown before; I guess it's a good thing they're exposing America's largest tv audience to this. Still, the show itself, the raison d'etre, is only gonna pale even more by comparison.

At one point Simon proclaims the conditions intolerable; unbelievable; just round. Oddly enough, the song underneath it all is Cry on Demand, with the refrain I didn't mean to cause any trouble.

Chris Richardson is doing Change the World; he sings it exactly the same way and just as poorly as he's done every other song. Sitting, in a sportcoat and open tie--just horrid. He's got confidence; apparently doesn't know or care that he's flat, finishes on a screech. Randy likes it, first time in a long time it was great; Paula calls it fantastic, likes his journey; Simon says it feels like the competition starts tonight, good vocal, really well. Gosh, the phone lines are gonna be open for four hours, with two numbers for each contestant.

Melinda Doolittle up next, first Ryan is emphatic that we can help change the world; more padding, and some clips of poor places in the U.S. Louisiana with Randy, rural Kentucky, Navajo nation in Arizona, Atlanta....

Doolittle doing There Will Come a Day; in black dress. She's as usual quite good; maybe because I like the song I don't feel as eh as usual listening to her. Big voice comes out, as do her determined gestures. She looks nervous afterwards soaking up the adoration; Randy says it's great as always, Paula says there's no one like you you're magical; Simon is cracking up, says he loved it cause it wasn't a copycat performance, very believable with an incredible second half, a vocal master class.

Blake Lewis is preceded by Ryan thanking corporate sponsors; you know, this show has pretty much lost whatever YouTubish appeal it had once upon a time. It's slick and the definition of corporate--one of the other networks could dent its ratings by putting up something raw and authentic against it. I mean, Blake's doing Imagine for gosh sake; it's like Madison Avenue's idea of counterculture. He's good, though; in funky sportcoat, oddly leaning back in a chair with an arm leaning on the pianoa, a total pose. Good vocal tone, if over sung a bit; I wonder what happened to the slightly weird Blake, who did his own thing--this is pretty standard stuff, no beatbox or anything thrown in. He's lucky he's got a nice voice. Randy is like great choice, kindof blah performance--Blake is staring daggers at him; Paula says nice sensitive, emotional performance; Simon says iconic song is hard to choose, but didn't go anywhere; although important part is you sang it with sincerity.

LaKisha Jones next, but first more clips from Africa. If they really wanna make a difference, they should also suggest websites for people to visit, thing for them to read, run phone numbers of politicians, etc. I mean, why not really make a difference, instead of merely coming across as making a difference. LaKisha, oddly, chooses Fantasia's I Believe--I mean, we've already seen the original sing, what is she trying to gain? In black dress; very dramatic, but song just isn't very good. Her voice is big, but almost hard to listen to for me, such little variation. Randy says not your best, but liked it, hard to follow Fantasia; Paula says you're a powerhouse, spends most of her time praising Fantasia; Simon says Paula was trying to say she preferred Fantasia's version better, doesn't like the shouting. Oh-oh, she's pretty much gone.

Phil Stacey in tux-like outfit, singing The Change. He's a very sincere singer; I think the bug eyes and bald head help with that--he looks like a giant baby, all innocence and no guile. Vocally it's just okay; the song isn't a very good one (it'd be almost impossible to write something about the Oklahoma City bombing that can stand on its own I think); but I don't dislike it or him. Randy is happy that you're back with another strong performance; Paula says you've found your comfort, this was your best; Simon says I really like you, glad you're back with confidence--but maybe stay with the country feel of your voice, you could do very well because people like you.

Jordin Sparks, looking elegant in a brown dress with her big smile. A ConAgra-sponsored film about a food bank; Simon says he had no idea place like this exists in America. Uh, okay.... He really likes everyone, starts hugging people. Simon says 9 million kids don't have enough food every year in America, which seems low to me. Jordin doing You'll Never Walk Alone, so much going on in our country and around the world. Wow, what a great slow, breathy beginning; she totally gets your attention. Very deliberate performance; she's trying something new vocally here, it's pretty captivating. She's the only person who consistently gets the audience applauding during her performance; there's something immensely powerful about listening to her sing, she's by far my favorite of the night. Randy says that's one of the best vocals by any contestant ever on this show in six seasons; Paula says an amazing, haunting song, you're glorious; Simon says you were fantastic, you'd have a hit record with that.

Yup, she's the only reason I'm still watching. Melinda needs to pick up her game. Wow, and a quick peek at DialIdol shows she's out in front on a night with really heavey call volume.

Jordin Sparks
Melinda Doolittle
Blake Lewis
Phil Stacey
Chris Richardson
LaKisha Jones