Real Kato Blog: American Idol, Week 4

It's Diana Ross night. The top twelve perform, and it's a train wreck.

Brandon: 4/10.
He sings "Can't Hurry Love". It's pitchy, his voice cracks, he forgets the words, wow. He seems alternately lounge-y and shouty. It's not challenging and yet he's still screwing it up. Randy says he seems like a background singer, and that it was boring except for the last two notes. Paula says we don't need to tell you what you did wrong. (Yeah, that's what you're there for, Paula.) Simon says it was a complete letdown, it was a predictable performance, he had no star quality (like a "background singer for a background singer").

Melinda: 7/10.
She sings "Home" from "The Wiz". She seems nervous, but she's on-key. It's a little show-tuney, as we might expect from this song. It's not very engaging. Yeah, she can sing, but yawn. Randy says it's not his favorite song. Paula cries because Melinda cries. Simon says she made a boring song sound good, and that she sounds like a young Gladys Knight.

Chris S: 7/10.
He sings "Endless Love", but tries it a little modernized and uptempo. He's really at a disadvantage with this week's theme, I think. He actually sounds pretty good, though; I like his version better than the sappy original. He's on-key, pretty strong, and I give him props for trying something new. But it's not all that great in the end. Randy says it was a weird thing to do to that song, and that it was a mess. Paula says he doesn't have to try ultra-hard to be ultra-hip. (What about all those times you tell people to "make songs their own"?) Simon says he murdered the arrangement, and turned a beautiful song into a drone.

Gina: 7/10.
She sings "Love Child". The song suits her. She's a little pitchy. If I were her, I would have asked for a more modern instrumental background. As it is, the song lacks energy, lacks grrl power. Randy says it's not his favorite: it's pitchy, with no excitement. Paula says the song is exciting but she's better than how she performed it. Simon says it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't fantastic; the song suits her, but it was a forgettable middle-of-the-pack performance.

Sanjaya: 2/10.
He sings "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." He's weak, pitchy in the low register, and... wow, it just gets weaker and worse by the second. He's turned into Greg Brady singing this song. Randy is laughing, it's so bad: he says it's almost unlistenable... thank God for the background singers. Randy says he'd definitely win Hair Idol, though. Paula says he was on pitch, but he has to "grab it". Simon says if you hear a wail, that's Diana Ross listening to the song. (Everyone thought he said "whale".)

Haley: 4/10.
She sings "Missing You". It's pitchy and she has no volume. It's got no power, no passion. She forgets the words twice, and when she tries to sing big, it sounds screechy. It's a disaster and she knows it. Randy says it was a valiant effort, but she sounded nervous and pitchy. Paula says forgetting the words is never good (duh), and the pitch was "aaauuugghhh". Simon said it wasn't that bad; that she had real presence despite the fact that nerves got the better of her. He says it was memorable.

Phil: 6/10.
He sings "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me". He's so freakin' cheesy. It's not terrible, but not great. It's pretty dull. Not the train wreck that last week was, but still not real good. Randy says the performance was boring but the vocals were hot. Paula says the vocals were good, but he needs to be more uptempo. Simon says the tempo was right and the song choice was good, but the big notes were shouting and that it was a middle-of-the-road performance.

Lakisha: 10/10.
She sings "God Bless the Child". Finally we get someone who starts strong. She's just in a different league than everyone else; she's confident, brilliant, and soulful, and she doesn't pick a cliché song. A performance like this is a difference-maker. Randy says it was a perfect song choice and that it was unbelievable and sensational. Paula says her heart comes through when she sings. Simon says either you've got it or you don't, and she's got it. He says the quality difference between her and Melinda versus the rest of the pack is huge; and that he was impressed by the control she has over her performance.

Blake: 5/10.
He sings a moderned-up version of "Keep Me Hangin' On". Or I should say, he changed the tempo and instrumental to be modern, but he's not really doing much to the lead vocal part. It's a little pitchy and nasal, and kinda cheesy. This is not what we like from him. Randy says he doesn't have to "Blake-ize" every song; he's got a good voice, so he should just let the classics be the classics. Paula says he could have a hit with that song again. Simon says he didn't get it at all; it's just not that kind of song.

Stephanie: 7/10.
She sings "Love Hangover". It starts pretty strong, and she's pretty confident. But just like a lot of her performances, it's bland. I just get bored to tears listening to her. Randy says it was a good song choice, but what happened to the uptempo part? Paula says the vocals were good, but she should strive to be better. Simon says she sang an intro; she teased us with the good part of the song but didn't deliver.

Chris R: 5/10.
He sings "The Boss". It's sounds nasal, and he looks and sounds geeky, like an old 1960s lounge singer. His voice isn't big enough on a song like this; he's coming out sounding squeaky. Randy says it's not his favorite; he overdid it a bit, and it was just half-good, half-bad. Paula says he nailed the blend of old and contemporary. Simon says without his charm and personality, if you listened to the vocals in isolation, it would be dreadful.

Jordin: 9/10.
She sings "If We Hold On Together". This is nice. She's got a really good tone. It's kinda Broadway, but people will love this. She's on-key and strong. Randy says that at age 17, she's very impressive, and that she just turned this from a two-girl race to a three-girl race. Paula says she has a natural gift. Simon says it was a little gooey, but the vocals were very good.

Standings: (Weighted running average)
Safe:
Lakisha: 9.5
Jordin: 8.2
Melinda: 8.0
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Hanging in there:
Stephanie: 7.8
Gina: 7.5
Chris S: 7.5
Blake: 6.7
Chris R: 6.2
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At risk:
Brandon: 5.2
Phil: 5.0
Haley: 4.3
Sanjaya: 3.7

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