From the Archives: Season 6 Bon Jovi Week

Not much to comment on here, except that this is probably the week that got Blake Lewis into the finals. I wasn't blown away by his performance as much as some others, but because it got a lot of play it is this week's You Tube feature. It was also the first post where I settled into the final format for these posts.

From May 1, 2007:

Well, this out to be interesting. Who among this group can sing a Bon Jovi song without sounding like, well, me singing a Bon Jovi song? (though I once could do a mean Axl Rose impression after a few drinks) This is not exactly challenging material, except perhaps to singers who can’t sing rock songs, which ironically includes all 6 remaining contestants. The opening shows former Idol contestant Gina Glocksen in the audience. This year’s designated rocker I’m sure is wishing she was competing tonight. Betcha Chris Daughtry is sitting at home thinking the same thing. Well, maybe not, but rest assured I will be very tempted to refer back to Mr. Daughtry as I go through this recap.

So how will the soul sisters, boy banders, and Squidward handle big hair rock and roll? Let’s flick on the lighters and find out.

Jon Bon Jovi is this week’s mentor, preaching sincerity and feeling. Somehow it sounded more authentic this time than it did when J-Lo said it. Also, unlike J-Lo and Gwen Stefani Bon Jovi is shown giving actual technical advice to each of the contestants, yes even Melinda. Some actual mentoring from a mentor for once.

Phil: “Blaze of Glory”
I thought he would have chosen the country song that Bon Jovi did last year with Sugarland given his success with the C&W the last two weeks, but it still does have something of a country theme. Phil says he’s been singing this song for 15 years. We’ll see if practice pays off. Crowd gets off early, mistaking his shouting for passionate singing. The passion was definitely there, though vocally he’s been better. It is possible to combine passion and strong singing, just ask Chris Daughtry (I didn't mention him last week, so I feel compelled to mention him multiple times this week). Paula thinks this is the “Best opening we've had all season long.” I've heard that alcohol can cause short term memory loss, but never believed it until now. Did I mention I once could do a mean Axl Rose impression after a few drinks?

Jordin: “Livin' On a Prayer”
Jordin says “my mom grew up on Bon Jovi.” God I feel real old now. There goes my vote. To be honest, I’m not too crazy about the song choice. Like Phil, it was more shouting than singing. She was way out of her comfort zone and it showed. She even invited the criticism from the judges, something Simon was happy to oblige her with and Paula couldn't bring herself to do. No surprises there. Was there a Bon Jovi ballad that she could have done instead? I’m sure they've done at least one that would have been much better for her than this song was. Far and away her worst performance of the finals.

LaKesha: “This Ain't a Love Song”
OK, here’s bubble girl who learned about Bon Jovi from seeing him on Oprah. This girl really needs to turn off the TV and get out of the house more. This is the song that Jordin should have done. Finally, for the first time since the first week of voting she bursts out the big voice and the big attitude. She finally picked a song that accentuated the strengths of her voice and was not done by a former Idol winner, and she just blew both Phil and Jordin away. It was so good that Simon actually kissed her for it, on the lips no less. I don’t know if this is enough to save her from elimination, though. She’d be in much better shape had she chosen songs like this more often.

Blake: “You Give Love a Bad Name”



Beat box boy is taking a chance trying to tweak, make that completely overhaul, a well known song. Jon’s not too sure about it. He breaks out the beat boxing and even adds some sound effects for good measure. Not exactly my cup of tea, but it was pretty good for what it was. Let’s face it, there’s no way he could have done that song straight with that wimpy voice of his, so perhaps it’s not a big of a risk as it’s being portrayed. I think it was actually pretty smart of him, and he did sing it in tune, so yeah, he earned a few points.

Chris: “Wanted Dead or Alive”
Even Ryan has picked up on the Justin Timberlake imitation known as Chris Richardson. Chris grimaced when he said it. Well, the truth hurts sometimes, but then again that’s what’s gotten him this far. This is the song that Chris Daughtry blew everyone away with last year (that’s 4). Unlike Beat Box Blake, Chris tries to sing it straight with his boy band voice. The good thing is that we actually heard some grit for once. The bad thing is that it paled in comparison to both Bon Jovi and Chris Daughtry (5). Simon was correct, he did the best that he could with that song but it may not be enough to save him from elimination.

Melinda: “Have a Nice Day”
Well this ought to be interesting. Can the soul sister sing a rock song? I think Melinda may be the only contestant who was actually alive when Bon Jovi had their first hit. This has nothing to do with Melinda herself but after Jordin's comment I had to say it. Damn that was pretty good for someone who’s never done a rock song before. Good voice, lots of attitude. While Jordin struggled with a song outside of her range Melinda once again rose to the challenge. While it was not her best, this performance is why I think she should win this competition. She took a song in a genre she’s never done before and made it work for her.

Final Score: 5 Chris Daughtry references, 2 digs at J-Lo (the gift that keeps on giving), 1 Paula Abdul alcohol reference (ditto).

Your 3 Stars of the Night: LaKesha, Melinda, and Blake. Nice to see LaKesha back on this list, and for the first time since the start of the finals Jordin is not.

Looking Back: Nice touch by the Idol producers to not kick anybody off on charity night. I thought it was a little disingenuous, though, to tease that Jordin was going to be voted off in an attempt to keep people watching until the end. I would have thought the cause would have been enough to keep people watching without have to resort to blatant manipulation. Poor Jordin was an emotional wreck after that.

The Fearless Prediction: This one is going to be really hard to get right since the results of this week and last are going to be combined, and with 70 million votes last week who knows what will happen. This week, just like last, there were three good performances and three bad ones. This time the bad ones were Phil, Jordin, and Chris. Last week it was Blake, LaKesha, and Chris. Since Chris is the only one who shows up on both lists I predict Chris will be one of the two singers eliminated. Jordin did too good a job last week to leave now, and Blake still has the girls screaming for him, so that leaves Phil and LaKesha. This is a real toss-up for me, but since I predicted LaKesha would be voted off last week and I've twice been burned predicting Phil’s departure, I’ll stick with LaKesha as my second choice for elimination, though I thought she sang well enough tonight to stay in the competition.