Real Kato Blog: American Idol, Week 10

It's "Idol Gives Back" night, so we get a bunch of "inspirational" songs.

Chris R: 6/10.
He sings "Change the World" by Eric Clapton. It's a little pitchy at the start, and it's an oddly nervous performance. His facial expressions and mannerisms for this song are exactly the same as they've been in every other performance. I don't think he captured the song terribly well. Randy says he's in it to win it, and it was great. Paula says it was fantastic and a great song choice. Simon says it was a good vocal, with soul, and a sexy performance. Wow, the judges must have been watching a completely different performance than I was.

Melinda: 9/10.
She sings "There Will Come a Day" by Faith Hill. As usual, she knows exactly how to express what she's singing; she has exactly what I find lacking in Chris. It's not my favorite song in the world, but the vocals are strong and it's another great performance. Randy says every performance from her is great. Paula says there's no one like her; she's "magical". Simon says he loved that it wasn't a copycat performance, and it was a vocal master class.

Blake: 7/10.
He sings "Imagine" by John Lennon. Ambitious. It's not really a singer's song, and it's so well known that it's hard to make it good. But he's doing a decent job; he's on key and it's a nice subdued performance. I think a different song would have served him better. Randy says it was a good choice of song but just an "all right" performance. Paula says it's the first sensitive, emotional performance we've seen from him, and she enjoyed it. Simon says it was tricky because it one of THE big songs, and there will always be comparisons... he sang it with sincerity, but the performance didn't really go anywhere.

Lakisha: 6/10.
She sings "I Believe" by Fantasia. Guh. It's pitchy at the start and the phrasing is weird, with breaths in the middle of words. She's putting a lot of energy into it, but it starting to get shouty and over-the-top, just like in her other performances. At this point, I'm looking for something more. Randy says it was a great song choice; there were pitch problems and it wasn't her best performance, but he liked it. Paula says she's a powerhouse vocalist, but it's hard to compete against Fantasia's version. Simon says an emotional performance, but he has an issue with the shouting. (He has more to say but he's drowned out by boos.)

Phil: 9/10.
He sings "The Change" by Garth Brooks. Huh, where did this performance come from? It's nuanced and emotional, and I actually kinda like it. The vocals are good; he hits every note cleanly, and he seems to really be into the performance. Randy says it's a very nice vocal on a very great song. Paula says it was fantastic; his best performance. Simon says it was a good choice of song and a confident performance, and if he can connect his country sound from last week with the performance qualities of this week, he might do very well.

Jordin: 9/10.
She sings "You'll Never Walk Alone". Yeech, I really dislike this song. But Jordin is somehow making it sound pretty good. She misses a couple notes when she's walking, but it's hardly noticeable. It's a powerful performance, and she gives us a really big note at the end. Nice. Randy says it was one of the best performances by any contestant in six seasons. Paula says she picked an amazing song and she did a lovely job. Simon thought she was fantastic, and she could have a hit record with the song even though it's about sixty years old.

Standings: (Weighted running average)
Safe:
Jordin 8.5
Melinda 8.3
Phil 8.3
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At risk:
Blake 7.0
Lakisha 6.3
Chris R 5.5

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