American Idol 3, May 18: What’s Your Pleasure?

Ryan welcomes us! He tells us there was outrage that LaToya was eliminated, “but that’s what you wanted! Or, maybe you figured, she’ll be alright and didn’t vote!” Lesson learned!

Intro the judges! And tonight’s extremely special guest judge, Clive Davis! There is a Clive package, but hell, we all know who he is! This will be like singing in front of the boss! Holy nerves!

Ryan asks Clive why he took American Idol under his wing, if you will. It is a rambling answer, but he basically says he saw Idol as a way to rejuvenate pop music. Seems like it’s working.

Fantasia tells us they will be doing three songs tonight, Contestant’s Choice, Judges’ Choice, and Clive’s Choice. Diana says they decided the singing order via rock-paper-scissors. It’s a wonder we don’t elect presidents that way!

On with the singing!

Jasmine Trias, “Saving All My Love For You”

Randy - “My problem with the song is that when you pick a stylized singer like Whitney Houston, you’re always going to pale in comparison… you were sharp on all the high notes… you’re good but you’re not quite there yet.”

Paula - “It’s tough, when you pick a song like this, you’re going to have to be at least as good Whitney… you’re almost there, but not yet.”

Clive - “That’s a tough song to sing… but I tell you, there was a little sharpness, but I think you did real well… you came through really well.”

Simon - “Rather like a dinner with Paula Abdul: sweet, but forgettable.

Sting7 - The Whitney Houston trap. Jasmine is about three years away from pulling this off the way she intended to. Not a bad performance, but it was a bit karaoke. Jasmine has a nice voice with some surprising power. Doing up Whitney was not the plan, though.

Fantasia Barrino, “Chain of Fools”

Randy - “I don’t care about how things are, I don’t care about 1-2-3, as far as I’m concerned, you’re a winner!”

Paula - “This competition is about being unique… tapping into the hearts of millions of people… you came to win, you pick the right songs, congratulations.”

Clive - “You took on our national treasure, the Queen of Soul, with your own spirit, your own stamp, with your uniqueness, you pulled it off! Congratulations.”

Simon - “You demonstrate what we’re looking for, it’s the difference between copying someone badly or originality. To me, you demonstrated what you’re all about, and hopefully, what we found in the competition, which is someone original.”

Sting7 - It feels like Fantasia is going to outclass the girls tonight. You can see it in her eyes, it’s like a hunger. SHE knows that there is only week left to get to the dance, SHE knows that most important performances of her life are right now. Clive Davis, who has about a jillion record companies, is just a few feet away. She let it go, she just ripped open her chest and said take it! Take it all! Excellent.

Diana DeGarmo, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”

Randy - “Just keeping it real, that was not your best performance… I think that song was little bit bigger than you.”

Paula - “I thought you did a great job Diana… sounded great.”

Clive - “It was agreeable, it was credible, it was infectious, it was good cabaret. Not unique.”

Simon - “I agree with Clive… don’t get carried away, Diana, you know you’re doing well in this competition, but don’t worry so much about the audience at this stage of the competition, because you shouted that song. You didn’t sing it, you shouted it. You’re going to have to do an awfully lot better with your next two songs.”

Sting7 - I think Diana is fully capable of nailing this song, but I think SHE knows what tonight is all about, herself. But she’s sixteen and I think the nerves got to her. For the first time all season, her masterful breathing technique suffered. Not horrible by any shake, but beneath her.