American Foursome

This season of American Idol has been relatively short on memorable performances. There have only been four performances that stand out to me, and those are the ones listed below. It just so happens that my favourite four were performed by the final four (Jordin Sparks, Lakisha Jones, Blake Lewis, and Melinda Doolittle), which just goes to show that they deserve to be as far as they are in this competition:



While he may not be the best vocalist on the show, Blake Lewis usually breathes a breath of fresh air into the singing competition using his beatboxing and arrangments. He spent most of the season crooning more soft-alt ballads, so this rework was just what he needed in order to stand out from the other contestants. Even if Bon Jovi didn't care for it, it brought the audiences to their feet as they screamed for more. All infatuations aside, this is hands down my favourite performance the entire season.

Track: You Give Love A Bad Name *I've gone with the live version. While the studio version was great, too, it paled in comparison. The other three tracks here are the studio versions.

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Melinda Doolittle is consistently amazing. Her voice is perfect and you really feel like whatever song she is singing is her own (with the exception of last night). During the charity week, she belted out a song that was originally performed by Faith Hill, and she successfully made it her own. I now can't imagine anyone else singing this song.

Track: There Will Come A Day

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As I stated in my previous post, Jordin Sparks is gifted. Where she failed to evoke any connection to the songs she performed last night, she succeeded during country week thanks to the coaching provided by Martina McBride. This was the point in the competition where I actually started to like Jordin. However, she's been fumbling ever since. She'll easily make it into the final three, but she will have to pull it together next week if she has any hopes of making it to the finale (and not just as a guest). And if you haven't heard (cause they certainly don't remind us enough during the show), but she's all of 17 years old.

Track: Broken Wing

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LaKisha "Kiki" Jones started off on a high note when she performed And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going early on, but it was all downhill after that. During Bon Jovi week, she finally pulled it together and delivered an amazing performance that managed to keep her on for one more week...believe me, I know most of those votes she received were not for her horrendous version of Believe. She owns this song, though. It's hard to believe she hasn't had any vocal training at all (or so she says). Enjoy Kiki's return to form:

Track: This Ain't A Love Song

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