American Idol 6, February 28: We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off to Have a Good Time

Melinda sings “My Funny Valentine,” which is not only a great fit for her voice but shows her range after last week. Melinda is showing that she’s gained a lot of confidence since her earlier audition, and it makes her performance that much better. She’s spot on and really connecting with the audience and the camera. Another great one from Melinda!

Randy: There’s a competition here because Melinda came out tonight to win it. She is the one to beat. This may have been better than when they first saw her.

Paula: Paula says she phrased the song beautifully and it was out of this world.

Simon: “That was incredible.” He thinks this was the best vocal in the competition. He likes that Melinda isn’t precocious and doesn’t have an ego. She has great talent and doesn’t seem to know how good she is. He also doesn’t think she’ll change who she is. Melinda is a breath of fresh air.

Ryan says that Melinda nails it, then wonders what the judges will say. She says it was easier this week, making a hilarious face that indicates it definitely wasn’t. Heh. Simon says there are a lot of people who are famous but not talented, and he likes that there’s someone in the competition who’s so talented.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Antonella Barba. First, can we talk about her dress? It looks like a Picasso threw up on her. I think she thinks she’s in Factory Girl. She says she’s nervous. She thinks she’s picked a better song that’s more her than last week’s Aerosmith.

Antonella dedicates her song to her brother Vincenzo. She enjoyed his guitar jam sessions and is inspired by him. They haven’t seen each other a lot since they went to college, and he’s not here tonight, but she loves his support.

So has Antonella taken any of our song suggestions? No. She’s singing Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me.” At least her dedication and song match up well! I will say that Antonella sounds better than last week (not that that would be too difficult), but she’s still way out of her league here. Of course, it doesn’t help that she had to follow Melinda and has Jordin up right after her. Anyway, it’s pleasant enough, but without the photo scandal, Antonella would be completely unmemorable. There’s little energy here; I think she just wants to get this over with so she can go hide for the next 24 hours.

Randy: Antonella is beautiful, but the song was a horrible choice for her and she was off-key. Randy wishes he could sing like Celine, too, but he can’t. And we’ve just learned someone new about Randy!

Paula: Most people can’t sing like Celine. Plus, Antonella was much better than last week.

Simon: Simon says the vocals weren’t there and she was actually worse than last week.

Ryan asks if Antonella thinks she did better this week. She does, and she won’t listen to Simon because he was wrong about Jennifer Hudson. Simon says the audience didn’t vote for Jennifer; he didn’t kick her out. If the audience disagrees with him, Antonella will be here next week.

Ryan jokes that Sanjaya has better hair than all of the girls. Yeah, but they have better voices. Jordin Sparks is up next, and she’s dedicating her song to her younger brother P.J. He’s like her other rock, besides her parents. They have a lot of fun together but he also calms her down and distracts her from things she’s worrying about. Jordin cries and talks about how much she loves him and how glad he’s been there to support her. She hopes he gets his own chance to shine soon.

Apparently Jordin is in the Lakisha school of taking past contestants’ songs. She sings Christina Aguilera’s “Reflection.” She’s a little shaky at the beginning, but then she really gets into it. She puts a lot of passion into the song, and though she doesn’t completely hit every note, it doesn’t really matter. Jordin is great, and I love everything about her, including her cute turquoise dress.

Randy: Randy notes that Jordin made herself cry. She can really sing, and though it was a little pitchy, it was great for a 17-year-old. He’s impressed with her abilities and where she is. Not her best, but still really good.

Paula: There’s something about Jordin that’s infectious. She’s a good human being and is brilliant. She has the ability to come into her own, and Paula knows she’ll be around for a long time.

Simon: Simon agrees with Randy that it wasn’t her best, but compared to other people, it was excellent. He sees that the dedication is getting to her. When people ask him what to do, he’ll tell them to do what Jordin did - sing well.

Ryan says it must be tough to sing after seeing the dedication tapes. She says it is. Also, her dad is here, and Jordin hasn’t seen him for a month. Jordin made both her parents cry, so her dad can’t really comment. Jordin almost flashes seven fingers, then makes sure she’s only holding up six. She then bends down a little so she’s not towering over Ryan. Love!

Back in the red room, Ryan reminds us that there’s another results show tomorrow, with special guest Kellie Pickler. “She’s always, uh, fun, and candid,” he says. Yup! Ryan asks Stephanie Edwards, our next singer, what the girls are like behind the scenes. She claims it’s all fun and not catty. Simon doesn’t buy that. Paula just rolls her eyes and sarcastically says it’s unbelievable that they could all be friends.

Stephanie is going to give her song her all and try to do even better than last week. She’s dedicating her performance to her parents, who pushed her to audition. The night before, her dad recorded her practicing so she could play it back and see how she did. She said she wouldn’t go, but her parents had already made hotel arrangements for her in Memphis. When Stephanie arrived, she changed her attitude and decided to give it her all. And look how it turned out!

If I told you Stephanie was good, would you doubt me? She sings Destiny’s Child’s “Dangerously in Love.” I’m not familiar with the song, but it sounds tough to sing, and Stephanie does well with it. She’s very poised on stage, and even without dancing around, she gives a good performance just with her eye contact and stage presence. I hope to see a lot more of Stephanie, because I feel bad that she didn’t get more exposure earlier in the competition. I think that’s the only thing that could hurt her right now.