American Idol 3, May 11: Meeting In the Ladies Room!

There’s only the final four! We are mere weeks away from the crowning of a new American Idol! Someone’s life is about to change forever. Can you feel it? It’s coming!

There are a couple of rumors out there. One I believe, one I don’t buy. First, rumor has it that George Huff only lost to Jasmine Trias by a mere 200 votes last week! That, I buy. I’ve seen an interview from American Idol producer Ken Warwick that confirms it. Wow! Do you need more proof that your votes counts?

The other is that quietly, Diana DeGarmo has become the front-runner and the Idol single (yes, it’s back) is being tailored to her because the show thinks she has it locked up. Don’t buy that. Diana has come on in the last two weeks, but I hear no one, and I mean no one, who’s all that excited by Diana. She’s talented, and if she wins, she’d be a worthy winner, don’t get me wrong, but the buzz that should come with that kind of development just ain’t there. I don’t believe the Idol single is “tailored” to anyone.

Yes, I know the story is on a pretty well-known website, but don’t believe everything you read. Can’t be anymore plain than that.

On with the show!

Ryan welcomes us and confirms it’s Disco Week! There’s a disco ball and everything. Now it’s official!

Intro the judges! And on to the performances. One item to note – they changed up the judges’ order so this week Simon goes first and Randy goes last.

Jasmine Trias, “Everlasting Love”

Simon - “ I think you know how vulnerable you are… you were probably the next most likely to go… after that you are definitely going to go home… it was a bad choice of song and a weak performance.

Donna - “I thought it was a pretty good performance… there were some pitch problems… I thought you gave a pretty good performance personally.”

Paula - “There was some pitch problems… you found your groove midway through… not my favorite choice of song… I’m looking forward to your next performance.”

Randy - “I don’t think it was that good… you hit the high notes, but that’s it… the rest you sounded unsure of yourself.”

Sting7 - Let’s make it five. Pitch problems. She just had to yell “come on!” in the beginning and her breathing was gone – for the whole song. She was lucky to pull off the high notes, the rest, she was a bit off-key, a bit behind, a lot lyrics and she couldn’t get a full breath to save her life. Poor thing.

LaToya London, “Love You Inside and Out”

Simon - “There’s nothing much we can add anymore as far as singing, we know you are a very good singer… the second half was good, the rest I was kind of bored… my only criticism is we’ve known you for ten-eleven weeks, and I feel like I know nothing more about you then I did 11 weeks ago… disco is one week when you could have tried something different.”

Donna - “I thought you were beautiful, you emoted the song, I understand your choice as a singer… I thought it was very good.”

Paula - “I thought you continue to shine week after week… you were a star before this competition and you’ll be a star after… I think I’m looking at an American Idol.”

Randy - “It’s funny, I don’t agree with the safe thing, there’s nothing safe about learning a song in three days… I’m looking for something special… it felt kind of old.”

Sting7 - Something was missing with me for LaToya tonight. She sang it well, I mean, obviously. Let’s not kill ourselves, she bested Nikki McKibbin on her birthday, but there was a lack of fire here. There were places in this Bee Gees classic that she really could have tugged the heart strings, but chose to try in other places (I think that’s what Donna meant by understanding her “choice as a singer.” A gamble, didn’t work entirely, but not a wasted effort.

During her interview with Ryan, when asked if she feels the pressure building as the weeks count down, LaToya says she doesn’t, she just tries to do the best performance she can, and at this point, they all will have careers after the show anyway. I don’t like that sentiment at all. I’m not the only one… you’ll see.

Fantasia Barrino, “Knock on Wood”

Simon - “Let me just address what LaToya was just saying. This is a winner’s competition. Everybody should want to win… I agree with Donna, we want someone who’s different and you are different and that was a great performance.” (That thud you heard was Simon leaping off LaToya’s bandwagon!)

Donna - “I think you’re different, you’re excited, you’re self-possessed – you know who you are, you have the best smile, the voice goes without saying… you’re fabulous!”

Paula - What is great about you is you always know to pick the right song to give you a great performance… you did a tae-bo kick, you broke through the wood, you didn’t knock on it.”

Randy - “I said it last week, the moment you opened your mouth, I felt the spirit of the song… you got it going on… you can definitely move on!”

Sting7 - That’s my girl! That’s Fantasia, through and through. I was a little afraid of this song because frankly, Amii Stewart oversang it! Fantasia gave it the right amounts of moxie and sass, as only she can, and she sang it like champion. I love this girl!

Diana DeGarmo, “This Is It”

Simon - “I have said all along that you are too young for this competition. I am going to have to take that back. Of all the people, you have shown the most growth. If I can offer one piece of advice: before your next performance, stay away from LaToya and Fantasia because you could break up what everyone is predicting is the final two. (You can count me in there, that’s my final two! Still is, depending on what LaToya does next.)

Donna - “I think you should be very happy with your performance… I was impressed.”

Paula - “Something has happened! You’ve shown more confidence, you’re having fun with your performance, you look fantastic tonight!”

Randy - I remember saying she’s not too young (Simon says he already apologized, shut up, you’re boring). You worked it out, you did your thing, most improved performer, good job!”

Sting7 - Lord, do I hate this song. But, what Paula said about Diana’s confidence was clear to me too. Something has happened. I think Diana has just said, “to hell with it, I’m gonna enjoy myself!” and we get to enjoy her too. She has stopped thinking about being perfect and started being Diana, and we are seeing it.