Shake 'n' Blake

Wow. The guys did an excellent job on Idol on Tuesday, especially my man Blake.

The originality and creativity in his performance blew me away. His interpretation of "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi was unlike anything I'd ever heard, and I loved every second of it. From start to finish, I cheered him on and was thoroughly entertained.

Now, I know he's gonna get a bad rap because he mentioned on the results show last night that he uses a computer program to aid him in his remixes. I already read one editor who said she was disappointed. I'm not, though, because I trust that he uses the program just to help him piece everything together. The creative mixing of the original song is all him. I highly doubt the program does that for him.

I've always been a Blake fan. I'm also a fan of Jordin's, but I think I'm beginning to hope that Blake wins it all. Whatever the outcome, I predict it'll be between these two in the finals. Even though Melinda has the perfect voice and can outsing any of the others on any given day, she doesn't have the "total package". I believe Blake and Jordin do. They can sing, they're different, they're young and modern, they've got the "look", and they connect with their audience. (Speaking of Melinda, Stephen said it best the other day. He mentioned that technically she's the best, but not creatively. I then went further and compared it to judging ice skating. She'd get a perfect "10" in the technical aspect, but not in the artistic. Her vocals are consistently flawless, but she doesn't communicate with her audience. She doesn't evoke emotion the way Jordin does, for example. I mean, last week Jordin blew everyone away with her performance of "You'll Never Walk Alone". I'd never even heard that song before, but still she managed to make me cry and get goosebumps. She started out a bit shaky, but by the time she finished, I felt like she took my heart, stomped on it, and broke it into a million pieces! Honest to God, she took my breath away for a split second. Melinda (and LaKisha, for that matter) doesn't do that, at least not for me. Week after week she's the same. She sounds amazing time and time again. So much so that it's gotten boring.

I can't close this post without giving Chris some love, too. Just as I've always been a Blake fan, I've always had a soft spot for Chris as well. Based on the voting track record, I knew Chris would be voted off last night, and I was right. If it were up to me, he'd have finished third (after Blake and Jordin). Unfortunately he placed behind Melinda and LaKisha, making him #6 of Season 6. I thought he did a fabulous job with his rendition of "Wanted Dead or Alive". I looked forward to his performances week after week and I always felt that he did a great job. One of my favorites of his is when he sang "Geek in the Pink" very early on in the show. He's constantly compared to Justin Timberlake (which is funny, 'cause when we first heard him sing, I told Stephen that he sounded a lot like JT), but I don't think it's quite fair. He's got his own style and I'm sure he'll be successful on his own. (I hear people say he looks like JT, but I don't think so. I think he sounds sort of like him, but I bet he's getting sick of hearing the comparisons!)

Season 6 has really turned out to be a great one. Last year was pretty bad; the only one we truly rooted for was Chris Daughtry, and he placed fourth. This year, the final six are ALL very talented, and they're all likeable. No one's arrogant or annoying; they all seem to be nice kids who have become good friends throughout this process. It's hard to see them go each week, but I know they'll all be fine. They'll all be offered record contracts and will be heard from again, in the not-so-distant future.