Bon Jovi week

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I enjoy the master class sessions and seeing the artist coaching the idol hopefuls. You get to see a side that you don’t see on stage or in music videos. I’ve never been a huge fan of Bon Jovi, but I grew up with their music (and their big hair) and had many memories pop into my thoughts.

Jon told the idols that they needed to “wrap their arms around the lyrics ’cause they all told stories to a lot of people”. I loved that statement. And, I guess I have enough memories around a couple of these songs for that statement to resonate true with me.

After a “bye” week in eliminations, the Idol hopefuls were singing for keeps tonight to make sure they weren’t part of this week’s double-elimination.

Phil
“Blaze of Glory”
Strong vocals for Phil. His confidence was soaring (must feel good to sing in front of an audience with a mic instead of a mirror with a comb ). He’s really singing to win this week. Decent outfit. Nice guy. Pretty wife. Still don’t see him as The Idol. Kind of like Elliot Yamin – I liked his singing, but couldn’t see him as the final contestant.

Jordin
“Living on a Prayer”
Nice guitarist bookends, but they couldn’t distract me from Jordin’s rough notes. I was really pulling for her, but she and the “3 needy children” were right – this was just a tough week for her. Maybe a big-hair, power ballad would have suited her voice better.

Lakisha
“This Ain’t a Love Song”
Better control with her vocals this week. Still felt a little robotic and disconnected at first, but one of her performances I’ve liked this season. Poor Simon always gets cut off, and he was trying to say something positive. Never thought he’d tell a contestant “Nice Lips” as part of his critique…

Blake
“You Give Love a Bad Name”
It was good to see the unique Blake personality that we all love! Especially after last week’s bland performance. The boy can rock out. Ingenious performance. I’m glad he did a total remix rather than a little beat-boxing for effect. He needed the total transformation to make his version work. Extra points to Simon for appreciating a complete remake of a song.

Chris
“Wanted Dead or Alive”
Okay performance; I was getting tired of the repetitious chorus at the end. My inner-teenager actually likes Chris (not the nasally Chris, but the Geek in the Pink Chris) and I’m afraid this performance wasn’t strong enough to compete this week.

Melinda
“Have a Nice Day”
Reminded me of Tina Turner with her rocking vocals, her confidence, her attitude and her strut across the stage. (I typed that before Randy mentioned Tina.) She certainly knows how to sell her performance.

Hey look, it’s even GW and Laura getting in on the American Idol action.

In last week’s poll, Lakisha (6 votes) and Chris R. (5 votes) were in the “bottom 2″. What are your thoughts this week?

By TVJunkie Jenn