Gwen Stefani's in the house!

When I was living in Texas, my dear friend Eilene Carver took me and a very pregnant Samantha Dennington to the No Doubt concert. It was pouring the rain and it was an outdoor concert. Lots of people decided to stay home and we by-passed our lawn seats for the shelter and enjoyed a FABULOUS concert. Up until that point, I wasn't sure how I felt about Gwen Stefani. "Don't Speak" was one of my least favorite songs because it got completely worn out. After the concert, however, I was a fan. Gwen was immaculate. She sang great (spot-on), commanded the stage and entertained us.

So, obviously I was thrilled to learn that Gwen was coaching the Idols this week! Yay!

And now, here I sit on my bed... in my QUIET house... with my nifty new laptop watching American Idol. Don't disappoint!

Lakisha - "Last Dance" (Donna Summer) I gotta tell you, even though I like her performance last week, I was getting really bored with both Lakisha and Melinda. They are both great, but falling into a one-dimentional trap. She sang really well this week, though, and THANK GOODNESS she did an upbeat song. I just wish her eyes showed some emotion. What is up with that??? Bottom line, though, I am just tired of the oldie R&B schtick from her. I wanted something contemporary and hip. Ahhh, I remember when I was in 3rd grade, Donna Summer did a TV special. We taped it on our new, very expensive BETA (if I remember correctly) VCR. I watched that thing over and over. Good times.

Chris S - blah, they're gonna start with a viewer question. Wait! Chris somehow found his sense of humor! I have missed that! "knitting, crocheting, playing the bongos in my boxer shorts" Ha. Keep that up, buddy. "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" (The Police - have I died and gone to heaven?????) Ha! Gwen just outted Chris for having no sense of rhythm. My goodness - "He was definitely off" she said. Well, the woman speaks the truth. Honestly, this is one of my all-time favorite songs by one of my all-time favorite bands. Chris, do NOT screw this up. Ok, I'm gonna un-pause and listen... he's starting out a little rough. He looks highly uncomfortable and is a little wobbly with the pitch. The band sounds good. Whoa, the echo is out of control. He is definitely having trouble with the tempo. I don't mean to be so hard on him... but if you're gonna sing Sting, you better be ON IT. Shoot... Blake should've done this song. Go, Paula. She's dancing as usual. Paula and Randy hit the nail on the head about him not being "in the pocket."

[side note - Paula's hair looks the best it's looked all season]

Gina - I probably would've cried, too, Gina. "I'll Stand By You" (The Pretenders) Ok, dang, Gina is kicking some major boo-tay. I don't even like this song and she's making me like it. She actually reminds me a little of a young Chrissy Hynde. This song was PERFECTLY in her key - yay! She's been singing songs too low for her. My goodness, her voice sounds amazing up high like this. Well, CRUD. She pretty much botched the last line - went all out of tune and stuff... but I give her major kudos for the rest of the song. IF she keeps this up, she could stay a little longer. Just sing, Gina. You can sing!

[oh no! They just showed a teaser - no pun intended - of Sanjaya's hair. The look on Ryan's face was priceless!!! Why do I get this sick feeling that he's going to sing "Just a Girl" from No Doubt???]

Sanjaya - SERIOUSLY???????????? "Bathwater" (No Doubt) Oh goodess, I love Gwen more than ever. "He chose the song. Good luck." He is just silly. He got so busy shaking his silly hair that he FORGOT his words. Ok, so there were a few moments where his voice didn't sound THAT BAD... but he absolutely should NOT be allowed to sing a Gwen song. Sorry. Ok, i have to run it back and watch/listen to it again. (You were right, Jackie) I'm in shock. He's so brazen. I can just see him be-bopping around town in a convertable with his friends singing this song at the top of his lungs, thinking he's got it going on. Huh uh, think again, Sanjaya. But sadly, he'll get some psycho votes from tonight.

Haley - NOOOOOO! True Colors is one of my favorite songs - I'm actually working on a cover of it with my nifty new laptop - and Haley is going to BUTCHER it??? Please, no! Ah, once again, Gwen wins my heart "Her alternate melody is just so unnecessary" Alright, let me un-pause it and dare to listen... Easy on the show choir hands there, Haley. The first few seconds of the song were actually not bad. Then... it just gets too Musak-y. You know, Muzak - elevator music? Yikes, the ending is bad. I don't love it. She irks me. Ok, so she has some fans. Ha ha, Paula gives the ultimate slap "But, you're a pretty girl." Ugh - Haley may be the nicest person in the world, but she reminds me of those sorority girls that got on my ever last nerve in college.

[oooh! They just showed a peek of Phil and he has on a hat tonight! Yay! I may be able to watch him while I listen!]

Phil - "Every Breath You Take" (The Police - again! I love tonight!) Yay, Phil! I really really love his voice. I would probably buy his cd, because that's how much I love his tone. Ewww, when he hit the high note at the end of the bridge (which he hit very nicely), one of the backup singers was really off. But... nice! Shut it, Paula... what do you know about singing anyway? Awww, Phil's wife is so cute.

Melinda - "Heaven Knows" (Donna Summer) I am probably the only person in the universe that is not really looking forward to Melinda's performance tonight. I'm just so bored with her and Lakisha. But, here she goes - let me take a listen. Oh! An upbeat song! Thank goodness. Cute hair! Bad outfit - you were right again, Jackie. Ok, she is acting more like someone in her 20's tonight. Finally. Ah, well, maybe 30's. The girl can do no wrong when it comes to singing. She's awesome. Lovin her hair -she's making me want to go get my air cut and flipped! [Uhhhh, Paula? Are you going to just repeat everything Randy says tonight? I just had a thought that Randy probably leans over to Paula before the end of every song and tells her what to say so she doesn't sound like a spaceball... too bad it doesn't work!] Hmmm, awkward moment. Ryan just called Melinda out for always looking so surprised when she gets compliments. She didn't bite. She's playing dumb. Now, she is awkwardly hugging herself. Weird.

Blake - "Lovesong" (The Cure, or 311) Oh, how do I love this song? So, so much! I was an avid lover of The Cure waaay back when... and then 311 redid this song on the 50 First Dates Soundtrack (maybe before then, who knows?) I'm glad Blake is doing this song. Hopefully there will be no opportunity for moonwalking. Oooh, I love what he's doing with this song. Dang, I feel like I'm at a concert. He's NOT oversinging it. I like this guy! I really like his voice. It's fresh, ya know? [Randy.. what??? Not jumping up and down? Boo. Paula, how did I know that you were gonna love Blake? Simon and Randy, this performance was NOT boring. It was MUSICAL!!!!! MUSICAL!!!!! Learn what that is!!!!]

Jordin - "Hey Baby" (No Doubt) Hmmm, I don't know. I am not lovin this. Besides her crazy outfit not looking good, she just doesn't sound that good. BAD outfit. Ok, so towards the end, she started doing some funky stuff with the song that I actually liked. But, it started out iffy. She was out of tune in places. I agree with Paula that she needs to stick with these fun, young songs. This is a hard song to sing on the verses. She sounded a little winded at times. But, she had fun. She's cute. [I went back and listened again and it was actually better than I originally thought.]

Chris R - oh, I'm so hoping that Chris steps it up a notch this week, because I like him and when he was in the bottom 2, I didn't like it. "Don't Speak" (No Doubt) Ok, I'm liking this... except for the little bobble where he was out of tune. There is a good vibe to his version that makes me actually like the song. There were a few moments where he seemed unsure of what he wanted to do with his runs and ad libs... but he ended up pulling it off. It wasn't the showstopper I was expecting for the last song of the night, but it wasn't bad. [Once again, Paula... HUH? Ok, so she likes him...]

I actually REALLY enjoyed the show tonight! Gwen and I must have the same taste in music. I'm sorry no one picked Hella Good - my fave No Doubt song. Other than that, I like it.

[I just had a weird thought again. Think about the song choices for tonight. With the exception of MELINDA and LAKISHA, every contestant chose a hip song from the 90's and beyond. The 2 R&B girls picked Donna Summer songs. Is Gwen REALLY a Donna Summer fan? Orrrrrrr, did they stick that in there to give those 2 girls something comfy to sing? Hmmmm, makes one wonder. I need to go back and watch the beginning and see if they say anything about Gwen really liking Donna Summer. Hey, I wouldn't blame her. Like I said, I was a major fan in the 3rd grade and she really impacted my musical tastes. ]

Anyway, here are my rankings:

1) Gina
2) Phil
3) Blake
4 & 5) Melinda & Jordin (I couldn't decide. Melinda probably edged Jordin out, but I give J points for keeping it hip and modern.)
6) Chris R
7) Lakisha (boring and forgettable)
8) Chris S
9) Sanjaya (that's right)
10) Haley (blah)

Who should go home: about 5 weeks too late, but both Haley and Sanjaya! Who will probably go home? Haley (I was right 2 weeks in a row on this... but I have a feeling there will be a surprise this week. Like Chris Sligh. I don't know why. I just do.)