Snowman on American Idol 6 (Latin Night)
Longtime readers of my Xanga and forum know I'm a big American Idol fan! Here's my thoughts on this week's episode (Latin week).
1. Melinda Doolittle -- "Sway" (Dean Martin, Michael Buble, J-Lo)
I liked this restrained performance. It was icy hot, sort of like Sade. As usual, Melinda's singing was confident and flawless. I thought the song suited her well. Simon's comments that "someone as good as you need to come out ever week and put on a 'wow' factor performance are baffling. I would think that's something a lesser light on the show would need to do. Also, when his criticism that the song was very "loungish and cabaret" may have had more to do with the song than Melinda's performance. It was interesting that she recognizes that she's not "sexy." 8/10
2. LaKisha -- "Conga" (Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine)
I thought this performance was just OK. Quite frankly, I didn't think LaKisha (or the AI band) had the type of energy Gloria and MSM bring to the song so it fell somewhat flat. I was glad to see LaKisha get away from Whitney Houston big ballad type songs, but I think it's clear when she steps out of her comfort zone, there's a lot of room for improvement. Also, I didn't really dig the revealing dress given her weight. For once, Paula seemed sober, disagreed with Randy AND hit the nail on the head when she called her on being very "safe." Can't disagree with Simon that the dancing wasn't very good. This type of performance makes you appreciate Gloria Estefan more. 6/10
3. Chris Richardson -- "Smooth" (Santana with Rob Thomas)
Chris' performance was not objectionable, but nor was it especially impressive. I liked him better here than some weeks, but for the most part I am very surprised he made it this far in the competition. Paula's over-enthusiasm was just silly. Chris is vulnerable to go home this week. 5/10
4. Hailey Scarnado -- "Turn the Beat Around" (Vicki Sue Robinson & Gloria Estefan)
This is another song that is "owned" by Gloria Estefan. Her cover from the mid-90's blew away the original. And much like LaKisha's "Congo", given the kids' lack of experience with Latin music and the listless band (relative to Miami Sound Machine) this song is very hard to pull off. Plus, to make it worse, "Turn the Beat Around" is a tricky song to sing. Even J-Lo recognized this in the introduction segment. Nonetheless, against all odds, Hailey tackles it, but with predictable results. Hailey does her best and to her credit she looks hot in her short shorts and does appear to be having a good time. She even tossed in a few good dramatic little dance moves and ventured out into the audience. However, her vocals truly are nothing special. Hailey doesn't sing poorly, she just doesn't sing especially well. There's nothing there to really impress. If she were a recording artist, she would need mighty good material and/or very sexy videos to move records. Week after week Randy hates the girl and for two weeks running, Paula refused to give her any meaningful feedback whatsoever, telling her only "she had fun." For me, the best thing about Hailey has been her transformation into a total tart and I look forward to seeing what type of revealing outfit she will wear. Simon must do the same as he acknowledged her "tactic" of wearing as few clothes as possible as very smart. Hailey's bravery and the eye candy effect here boosts her score up! 7/10
5. Phil Stacey -- "My Maria" (Santana)
For the first time this season, I enjoyed Phil's performance here! I'm not sure he injected the passion into the song J-Lo was trying to get out of him, but it was still pretty good. It's ashame his voice did crack at the end. I might be getting use to this guy's odd alien appearance. There's a good chance Phil will go home tonight, but it's not because his performance was bad this week. 7/10
6. Jordan Sparks -- "The Rhythm is Gonna Get You" (Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine)
OK, this this point, the "Latin" show is turning into the "Gloria Estefan" show. We can predict what will happen. Sure enough, Jordan falls flat on her face. Normally I like Jordan but the "Rhythm did not get me here." Randy's over the top enthusiasm was absurd. I get the feeling Jordan is getting a little bit too comfortable and coasting. I'm surprised to say this, but I think she's vulnerable to go home tonight. Note to future AI contestants. It's probably a very good idea to stay away from trying to cover fast tempo Gloria Estefan songs. They are more difficult to pull off than it seems! 6/10
7. Blake -- "I Need to Know" (Mark Anthony)
Blake does it again! Week after week Blake takes the stage and somehow rises above singers who are technically better than him. His performance of "I Need to Know" was muy suave! And the judges are noticing. All three of them commented on his intelligent song choice and Simon (correctly) pegged Blake as "best of the night." You heard it here first. Blake very well may upset Doolittle and win this whole thing. And regardless of whether that happens, he will be a bigger star. 10/10
8. Sanjaya -- "Besame Mucho" (Emilio Tuero, Luis Miguel, Julio Inglesias, Elvis Presley and many others)
I don't know what to think of Sanjaya at this point. Is he even serious about this competition or is he a goofball? Is he a genius or a clown? The judges seem confused also. Randy called him one of the "smartest" contestants ever and declared his "Besame Mucho" as "really, really, good". Paula fumbled around for words, noting he was "smooth", "on pitch" and admitted the performance was "very very nice." Even Simon reluctantly said "it wasn't horrible." There's no doubt in my mind that Sanjaya has benefited from the "Vote For the Worst" and Howard Stern campaigns. I also suspect his picks up a lot of votes from Indian people and young girls who think he is cute. However, he may have sensed that people grow tired of novelties and it was "do or die" if he was ever going to get serious about the competition. Maybe all the earlier antics were a grand scheme to get our attention. He has succeeded in becoming a household name. As for his actual performance. I have to admit, Sanjaya sounded pretty good to my ears. I've always thought he had a pleasant voice and "Besame Mucho" was well suited for him. He also gets some credit for singing in SPANISH! Way to go Sanjaya! 7/10
A few other quick thoughts.
J-Lo's singing talent is marginal. Her music success is mainly due to her cross-over appeal from movies. However, she was someone all the kids knew and they were thrilled to be working with her, so was not a bad choice as mentor of the week. As a representative of Latin music ... pleaseeeeeeeee.
I was glad to see Paula didn't appear stoned, drunk or both last night!
Overall, I didn't feel the kids had a good grasp on the passion and energy of Latin music. I wasn't getting the feeling any of them had much exposure to it. The only one that may be Latin in the group is Jordan Sparks and even she seemed lost last night. Nonetheless, I enjoy it when the show takes the kids out of their comfort zone and forces them to sing in new genres. It's always fun to see who rises to the occasion and who stumbles!
1. Melinda Doolittle -- "Sway" (Dean Martin, Michael Buble, J-Lo)
I liked this restrained performance. It was icy hot, sort of like Sade. As usual, Melinda's singing was confident and flawless. I thought the song suited her well. Simon's comments that "someone as good as you need to come out ever week and put on a 'wow' factor performance are baffling. I would think that's something a lesser light on the show would need to do. Also, when his criticism that the song was very "loungish and cabaret" may have had more to do with the song than Melinda's performance. It was interesting that she recognizes that she's not "sexy." 8/10
2. LaKisha -- "Conga" (Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine)
I thought this performance was just OK. Quite frankly, I didn't think LaKisha (or the AI band) had the type of energy Gloria and MSM bring to the song so it fell somewhat flat. I was glad to see LaKisha get away from Whitney Houston big ballad type songs, but I think it's clear when she steps out of her comfort zone, there's a lot of room for improvement. Also, I didn't really dig the revealing dress given her weight. For once, Paula seemed sober, disagreed with Randy AND hit the nail on the head when she called her on being very "safe." Can't disagree with Simon that the dancing wasn't very good. This type of performance makes you appreciate Gloria Estefan more. 6/10
3. Chris Richardson -- "Smooth" (Santana with Rob Thomas)
Chris' performance was not objectionable, but nor was it especially impressive. I liked him better here than some weeks, but for the most part I am very surprised he made it this far in the competition. Paula's over-enthusiasm was just silly. Chris is vulnerable to go home this week. 5/10
4. Hailey Scarnado -- "Turn the Beat Around" (Vicki Sue Robinson & Gloria Estefan)
This is another song that is "owned" by Gloria Estefan. Her cover from the mid-90's blew away the original. And much like LaKisha's "Congo", given the kids' lack of experience with Latin music and the listless band (relative to Miami Sound Machine) this song is very hard to pull off. Plus, to make it worse, "Turn the Beat Around" is a tricky song to sing. Even J-Lo recognized this in the introduction segment. Nonetheless, against all odds, Hailey tackles it, but with predictable results. Hailey does her best and to her credit she looks hot in her short shorts and does appear to be having a good time. She even tossed in a few good dramatic little dance moves and ventured out into the audience. However, her vocals truly are nothing special. Hailey doesn't sing poorly, she just doesn't sing especially well. There's nothing there to really impress. If she were a recording artist, she would need mighty good material and/or very sexy videos to move records. Week after week Randy hates the girl and for two weeks running, Paula refused to give her any meaningful feedback whatsoever, telling her only "she had fun." For me, the best thing about Hailey has been her transformation into a total tart and I look forward to seeing what type of revealing outfit she will wear. Simon must do the same as he acknowledged her "tactic" of wearing as few clothes as possible as very smart. Hailey's bravery and the eye candy effect here boosts her score up! 7/10
5. Phil Stacey -- "My Maria" (Santana)
For the first time this season, I enjoyed Phil's performance here! I'm not sure he injected the passion into the song J-Lo was trying to get out of him, but it was still pretty good. It's ashame his voice did crack at the end. I might be getting use to this guy's odd alien appearance. There's a good chance Phil will go home tonight, but it's not because his performance was bad this week. 7/10
6. Jordan Sparks -- "The Rhythm is Gonna Get You" (Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine)
OK, this this point, the "Latin" show is turning into the "Gloria Estefan" show. We can predict what will happen. Sure enough, Jordan falls flat on her face. Normally I like Jordan but the "Rhythm did not get me here." Randy's over the top enthusiasm was absurd. I get the feeling Jordan is getting a little bit too comfortable and coasting. I'm surprised to say this, but I think she's vulnerable to go home tonight. Note to future AI contestants. It's probably a very good idea to stay away from trying to cover fast tempo Gloria Estefan songs. They are more difficult to pull off than it seems! 6/10
7. Blake -- "I Need to Know" (Mark Anthony)
Blake does it again! Week after week Blake takes the stage and somehow rises above singers who are technically better than him. His performance of "I Need to Know" was muy suave! And the judges are noticing. All three of them commented on his intelligent song choice and Simon (correctly) pegged Blake as "best of the night." You heard it here first. Blake very well may upset Doolittle and win this whole thing. And regardless of whether that happens, he will be a bigger star. 10/10
8. Sanjaya -- "Besame Mucho" (Emilio Tuero, Luis Miguel, Julio Inglesias, Elvis Presley and many others)
I don't know what to think of Sanjaya at this point. Is he even serious about this competition or is he a goofball? Is he a genius or a clown? The judges seem confused also. Randy called him one of the "smartest" contestants ever and declared his "Besame Mucho" as "really, really, good". Paula fumbled around for words, noting he was "smooth", "on pitch" and admitted the performance was "very very nice." Even Simon reluctantly said "it wasn't horrible." There's no doubt in my mind that Sanjaya has benefited from the "Vote For the Worst" and Howard Stern campaigns. I also suspect his picks up a lot of votes from Indian people and young girls who think he is cute. However, he may have sensed that people grow tired of novelties and it was "do or die" if he was ever going to get serious about the competition. Maybe all the earlier antics were a grand scheme to get our attention. He has succeeded in becoming a household name. As for his actual performance. I have to admit, Sanjaya sounded pretty good to my ears. I've always thought he had a pleasant voice and "Besame Mucho" was well suited for him. He also gets some credit for singing in SPANISH! Way to go Sanjaya! 7/10
A few other quick thoughts.
J-Lo's singing talent is marginal. Her music success is mainly due to her cross-over appeal from movies. However, she was someone all the kids knew and they were thrilled to be working with her, so was not a bad choice as mentor of the week. As a representative of Latin music ... pleaseeeeeeeee.
I was glad to see Paula didn't appear stoned, drunk or both last night!
Overall, I didn't feel the kids had a good grasp on the passion and energy of Latin music. I wasn't getting the feeling any of them had much exposure to it. The only one that may be Latin in the group is Jordan Sparks and even she seemed lost last night. Nonetheless, I enjoy it when the show takes the kids out of their comfort zone and forces them to sing in new genres. It's always fun to see who rises to the occasion and who stumbles!
I posted some of my thoughts about earlier AI 6 episodes on this discussion thread on my forum. Yes, the forum has conversations that don't relate to adult entertainment! 
It's Raining Asian Porno Hotties!
April is known for showers. But on the SRR discussion forum, it is absolutely raining Asian Porno Hotties!
So far this month three new APHs have joined the board already. The first is Ayla Skye, who is the first ever APH from England to participate. Also, the popular internet model Sanny Aung has registered. Sanny started off doing mostly softer stills, but is inching more and more toward hot harder content. And last but not least, raincoater porn legend Kimi Ji is now participating on the forum. Kimi stopped shooting movies in 1999 after an auto accident, but logged about 100 scenes in a career that spanned more than a decade.
Stop by the APH forum and say hello to them today!
Kimi Ji
Sanny Aung (l) and Ayla Sky (r)
-- Snowman
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