AI Top 7

And we’re back. Here are this week’s tidbits:
Even Hillary’s getting in on the Sanjaya debate. How diplomatic of her.
For the record, Entertainment Weekly’s poll has Melinda at the very top and Blake very close behind her, followed not too far behind by Jordin. LaKisha is far behind the top 3, and Sanjaya is falling as well. Phil’s at the bottom.

Tonight is Country Night with Martina McBride (I almost wrote Cowboy night because I’m convinced someone is going to attempt “Cowboy Take Me Away”). Who’s afraid? Who’s very afraid?

Ryan’s somber introduction struck as me as lame. But then I remembered that Chris is from Virginia, so I take it back.

McBride assures us that country music is just songs. And she hopes the night of singing will turn Simon’s opinion of the genre.

Phil is singing “Where the Blacktop Ends” by Keith Urban. I think it bodes very badly for Phil that he’s singing first. I wonder if the contestants know how vulnerable they are when they sing early. We just want him to cover his bald head. I find this performance uninspiring and uninspired (but I guess I’m the only one). His few soulful licks were the highlight, but I’m not sure how or where he could have done more of that. I do agree that Phil could have a career in this genre, but I don’t know how much further he will go on the show.

Jordin is up next with “Broken Wings,” by Martina McBride. Brave girl. And Martina was impressed—how exciting! Her face is just so lovely when she sings. Someone give this girl a recording contract. That’s all I have to say. Simon thinks she could win, and I definitely would not be surprised.

Sanjaya’s witty! He wants Simon to sing “Shiny Happy People,” so we can see his true personality. This week, he’s singing “Something to Talk About,” and Martina urges him to sing in his more confident, aggressive tone. I’m scared. I must say about Sanjaya; he has sung better. He doesn’t suck as much as he is currently sucking. Or something. But this is pretty bad—messy, all over the place, self-conscious. Maybe he just does better when he’s sedentary. I love that they’re calling him out on how he thrives from adversity. I think it’s true. He is milking his 15 minutes of fame, and he won’t burn out quickly. The conspiracy theorist within me thinks that Simon and Ryan’s spat will only foster more votes for Sanjaya. And that it was planned. Oy.

LaKisha is singing “Jesus Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood, and Martina praised her ability to relate to the lyrics. I remained unimpressed. It was screechy and sharp, to my ears. And Simon warns that her song choices are most important now because she was initially the front-runner.

Chris is next with “Mayberry” by Rascal Flatts. I really liked the middle of the song, before the chorus. But he seemed to lose his way at the chorus and it ended up being really weak. He’s been in the bottom three a couple times now, so he may be more vulnerable than he realizes. This was not his best moment. But he’s certainly got the votes from the sympathizers of VA, doesn't he? I’m such a cynic.

Melinda is next. She has so much hair this week! And she looks so sporty in her tube top. She’s singing “Trouble is a Woman” by Julie Reeves, and Martina was entranced. Aren’t we all? (The fiddler is certainly getting lots of screen time this week.) I loved this performance! Sassy, quick, fun. I think she should make it a goal to sing songs from this decade for the rest of the show. She looks so genuine when she takes a compliment with an affect besides “who me?”

I read that Blake breaks his curfew and the punishment is that they make him sing last. He must have stayed out past 10 this week. He’s singing “When the Stars Go Blue” by Tim McGraw. Martina wants him to relax and praises his interesting style. I think Blake is getting more and more confident each week. It seems like he’s really paying attention and improving. Or maybe it’s all calculated and strategized, that he’ll show different layers of his vocal talents each week. He keeps surprising me with his range.

Favorite of the Night: before the recap, I said Melinda but on second listen, Jordin’s up there too.
On the Way Out: first guess is Phil strictly because he sang first, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was LaKisha or Chris.