American Idol Round of 11: A Horseplayer's Perspective

[brianwspencer]

Haley
Sang Tell Him. I was really happy with the song she chose, because she’s been performing in such a way that will guarantee her an early exit if she didn’t step it up. She’s been one of my least favorite performers since the top 24, but she brought it tonight in a real serious way. Easily her best performance so far. To boot: She’s going to secure the “foot fetish” vote this week after that gratuitous heel and toe shot during the post-performance conversation.

Final Score: 8.0 phone-in votes

Chris R.
I realized what it is with him. I hate him. That’s the problem. It’s not that he didn’t deliver a good performance tonight. It’s not that he didn’t hit all of the notes. It’s not that he wasn’t on point during the entire song….it’s just that for me, it’s all irrelevant, because I feel fire each time he talks and each time he sings. I tried to be objective about his performance, so I will use a deduction to arrive at my final score.

Score: 8.5 phone in votes
I-hate-you-more-than-my-job Deduction: -1.0 phone-in votes
Final Score: 7.5 phone-in votes

Stephanie
It all didn’t make a whole lot of sense for me. It seemed very timid vocally at most points throughout the song. After last week, this was a big letdown for me. She’s much better than this performance shows, and I hope she gets another chance after a pretty disappointing display this week.

Final Score: 6.5 phone-in votes

Blake
Vocally, I haven’t loved his last two weeks. I think he reached a little bit on a few of the higher notes. On the other hand, I loved what he did with the song. Blake has a lot going for him, because even if he comes with weeks where the vocals are lacking a bit, he’s still going to skate by on his originality and on his looks. He also gets the benefit of an entertaining aired interaction with Ryan after his performance.

Final Score: 8.0 phone-in votes

Lakisha
I thought he look was great for the song she was going to sing. Like Stephanie, I think that he relatively subpar performance was more a product of this week's theme than it was a product of actual talent or ability. If she wins the competition, she'd never have to sing a song like this again, so I don't put too much stock in tonight's performance. Her previous performances should be more than enough to get callers to forgive her for this week and bring her back next week.

Final Score: 7.5 phone-in votes

Phil
The whole thing was a little weird for me. I don't mind people trying to have fun, but the performance was all a bit campy and feminine. I don't see what the point is in trying to sing a tough old song like that and then swaying your hips while singing it or prancing around with the mic stand instead of taking control of like a real ****ing rocker. It was all a whole lot of Daughtry wannabe crap, and I didn't care for it one bit. I'm with Simon here, that this one was totally unbelievable in every way.

Score: 6.5 phone-in votes
Guys should never wear black jeans again deduction: -0.5 phone-in votes
Final Score: 6.0 phone-in votes

Jordin
The strange thing is that here we have this heartbreaking, miserable song. On the other hand we have a seventeen year old girl. Somehow, somehow, somehow, she made that song so incredibly believable it was just amazing. I was speechless after this performance -- only the second time this season that I've just been totally blown away (the other being Melinda's Funny Valentine). Performance of the night, without question. She threw her hat into the ring a few weeks ago, and dare I say, moved herself up into second place after that mind-blowing performance.

Final Score: 10.0 phone-in votes

Sanjaya
So there's this girl in the audience who has been insanely crying all night. During his entire performance, they keep cutting back to her and her sobbing braceface. I don't know what to make of her. She also freaked out for Chris Richardson, so she might just be that girl who is in love with every male Idol contestant. So in addition to being utterly sick of seeing her ugly face, Sanjaya managed to sing. It was his best performance to date, though I'm not sure even I can qualify exactly what that means. He's still a huge cut below everyone, and after tonight, he's there all alone as Haley has distanced herself from the very bottom dwelling performers. I guess it's good enough for a decent score. It would be awesome if they sent him home after his best performance.

Final Score: 6.5 phone-in votes

Gina
The Good? That was the perfect song choice for her. The Bad? Everything else. My love affair with Gina from last week has cooled significantly. The problem is that I like her so much, I like her style, but her performances don't really overwhelm me. Well, tonight I was overwhelmed...but most by how overwhelming awful the whole thing was. The thing that pained me most in discussing it afterwards was that I am finding it hard to justify rating her higher than Sanjaya, and that's really saying something. I really believe that this was the worst performance of the night, but just on principle, I can't rank her that way because I can't appear to endorse Sanjaya in any week. Therefore....

Score: 6.5 phone-in votes
The hey, it could be worse; you could be Sanjaya bonus: +0.01 phone-in votes
Final Score: 6.51 phone-in vote

Chris S.
I laughed out loud during this performance. First off, let me say that I thought it was good. It wasn't the best, but it was good. But the way he sang the first chorus was almost operatic, and it reminded me of the skit on SNL where Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer are the couple who travel around and play songs but butcher them every time by singing them in really high, strange tones that disconnect from the original song. Just something about the way he was singing drove me crazy during the first chorus, and I found it impossible to take him seriously. With that said, it was okay, but no more than okay.

Final Score: 7.5 phone-in votes

Melinda
It was out of her comfort zone, she said. She still reaffirmed the thinking of anyone who thinks she is strictly the one to beat in this competition so far. She can take any kind of song and make it sound huge and make it sound amazing. I don't think it matched Jordin's performance, but it was damn close.

Final Score: 9.5 phone-in votes