So the AI tally and predictions...
It is disco night and the producers have enticed disco queen Donna Summer as a guest judge and outfitted the AI studio a disco ball, so can fun be that far behind?
I thought up front that the ladies would do well with this genre and generally they did. Of course, the most touching moment of the night was when poor Jasmine broke down after the second of her two mediocre performances. But I’m getting ahead of myself…
Each of the four sang two songs, so…
Jasmine Trias is up first… She sings “Everlasting Love.”… Of course, Clay sang this song last year, so she has big shoes to fill. Unfortunately you can just tell that she is going to be overwhelmed by the music. It is kind of sad because she does have a very good and graceful voice, but she needs to be more selective about her song choices. She seems to be competing with the rest of the big voices still in the competition and she is just different. Despite looking the best she has so far, the performance is just weak – one of the weakest she has given so far. She even uses Diana’s “Come on, everybody!” She is ‘pitchy’ and misses the big notes. She is just off. And the judges largely agree.
They reverse the judging order, so… Simon says, “Jasmine, I think you know how vulnerable you are this week…probably the one most likely going out. After that performance, I think you’re definitely going home. It was like a very average karaoke performance. It just was not good enough.”
Donna… “You did have some pitch problems here and there, but I thought it was pretty good.”
Paula says Jasmine she looks great (which means that Paula can’t say anything nice about the performance, so she is grabbing whatever she can!) and she adds, “I’m really looking forward to your second performance.” Ouch!
Randy… “I must really agree with Simon. It wasn’t really good.”
La Toya London … the Bee Gees’ hit “Love You Inside And Out” … Given the above comment about Paula’s comment, I have to say that La Toya looks fantastic. It is a great dress and she is just so attractive. As for the performance, she is a bit off. Frankly, she appears just a bit boring. As much as I love La Toya and as amazing as her voice is, there is a certain coldness about her – you never really feel as if you get to know her. One even gets a taste of that in her post-judging comments when she says that the contestants are just there to have fun and that they are all going to be successful afterwards. (Simon later refutes that – it’s a contest about winners, he says.) It just seems cold and a bit calculating.
Anyway, the judges largely agree about the performance critique.
Simon: “You know, there’s really nothing much we can add about you in this competition. We all know you’re a great singer, and everybody else knows it, too. I think it was a bit boring, almost ‘safe’ performance. My only criticism about you, La Toya, is that we’ve known you for 10 weeks now in this competition, and I know nothing more about you now than I did 10 weeks ago in terms of your personality.”
Donna: “Beautiful…great job.”
Paula: “You continue to shine week after week. I feel like I’m looking at an American Idol.”
Randy: “I do agree that it was nothing special. It felt kind of old, actually.”
Fantasia Barrino … singing the 1979 hit “Knock on Wood”… Fantasia wearing one of her skimpy tops that is not all that attractive, but she kicks it as usual. She goes into the audience and although they seem uncomfortable at times, she is still a consummate pro. The great thing about Fantasia is that, unlike La Toya, you do feel like you get to know her every week.
What do the judges say?
Simon: “This is a winner’s competition… [We are looking for] somebody who is different and what you have is that you are different. That was a great performance.”
Summer: “You’re self-possessed. You know who you are… got a great voice. You’re fabulous.”
Paula: “What’s great about you … is you’ve always known how to pick the right songs … You didn’t knock on that wood. You karate chopped right through it.”
Randy: “As soon as you open your mouth, you can feel the spirit… You’ve got it going on.”
Diana Dedorko… singing 1976’s “This Is It” … Yes, she gets her “Come on, ya’all. Up on your feet” out of the way right at the start… Given the judges comments, I am apparently alone on this one but I thought it was completely the wrong song for her. I felt that she missed some notes. She does great on the big blast notes, but she really loses it at on the best parts of this song, which are the more subtle parts. No doubt, she does have an amazingly powerful voice, but this performance it just doesn’t cut it for me. And I don’t care for the dress either – again.
Apparently I’m alone because the judges seem to like it.
Simon: “I’ve said all along that you are too young for this competition. I’m going to take that back…. Of all the people who have shown more progress over the last five weeks, it is you… I have one piece of advice for you, though. Before you sing your second number, you might want to stay away from Fantasia and La Toya. I think you could break up what everybody’s been predicting was going to be the finals. I really do.
Donna: That showed a lot of heart … I was really impressed.
Paula: “Something’s broken through for you. That was unbelievable. Your voice is outstanding tonight.”
Randy: You worked it out. You did your thing. You are the most improved performer.
On to round two…
Jasmine … singing The Weather Girls’ “It’s Raining Men”… She comes on stage and does a Diana once again. “Come on everyone, I want everyone dancing”… Unfortunately she is off from the beginning. This performance is better than her first, but she just seems overwhelmed. She seems to forget some of the words and she is still flat in some spots. At this point, it sure seems like Jasmine is gone.
What do the judges say after the second song?
Simon: You’d better hope that every phone in Hawaii has five phones, because you’re going to need all the help you can get. You can’t do the Weather Girls.
Donna: I didn’t like the choice of song, but you gave it your best
Paula: You got thrown off because you forgot the lyrics, but you covered it nicely. Hawaii loves you. America loves you. I think they’re going to be will to forgive you for this.
OUCH!
Randy: Not your best performance… Hit a few notes than then miss a few.
And then, the most crushing moment of the night: Jasmine, who had been welling up, completely breaks down once the judges have finished. Will the tears spur votes? I don’t think so, but…
La Toya London… “Don’t Leave Me This Way”… This time we see the casual La Toya with a short skirt and some kind of vest jacket. She is definitely putting more into her second song trying to connect with the audience and it is a much improved performance from her first song.
Simon: The best compliment I can pay you is that was as good as the original.
Donna: Fabulous.
Paula: Stunning.
Randy: You brought it back on that one, dog. Props to you!”
Whatever that means…
Fantasia… “Holding Out For A Hero”… This is a disco song? Yeah, so the song sucks, but Fantasia does what she can with it.
Simon: Actually I didn’t like that because you’re just so much better then that kind of song. She responds, “I’m looking for a good man, Simon” Um, doesn’t she have a boyfriend who is often in the audience? Anyway…
Donna: You could sing the newspaper to me and I would love it.
Paula: I say that you always pick the great song but not that song.
Randy: It doesn’t matter what song you choose, you can really sing.
You can hear Simon say, “Good point, Randy.”
Finally… Diana singing Donna/Barbra’s “No More Tears/Enough is Enough”… Most importantly, Diana wears a decent outfit -- black slacks. And she shows off those powerful pipes. It is a better song and a much better performance.
Simon: Undoubtedly the best song of the night. Where I have to compliment you is how you controlled that song in the middle… I give you total respect tonight.
Donna: It was yours. It was great.
Paula: This was your week.
Randy: You get the honors – the best song of the night. Unbelievable.
So my Rankings…
For the first Song
1. Fantasia
2. La Toya
3. Diana
4. Jasmine
For the second Song
1. Diana
2. La Toya
3. Fantasia
4. Jasmine
Best of the night… Diana’s “No More Tears,” with La Toya’s “Don’t Leave Me This Way” a very close second
Worst of the night… Jasmine’s “Everlasting Love”
Who will be in the bottom two… Jasmine and… Fantasia. Yep!
Who should/will go home… As much as I hate to say it, I think it will be more tears for Jasmine.
Tune in tonight.
CJD out!
It has happened yet again, but this week, it is even more egregious. The AI voters are all wrong. Last night, they didn't boot Scott tubby Savol. Instead they booted my top pick, Nadia. Any top seven that includes Savol and Feteroff but not Nadia seems nothing short of appalling. Appalling, I tell you. 
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