Apr 27 2004
AI3: Episode 12- Time To Conga
Gloria Estefan is here. She’s ready to bring some Latin flavor to this show that has lacked flavor definitely in the last couple weeks. Before we get to the love list, obviously we have to discuss Jenny Hud, better known to you all as Jennifer Hudson. Jennifer Hudson lost in the biggest upset since Tamyra Gray said goodbye in season one. To say the voting has been horrible is the biggest understatement of the year. Elton John, who guided the Idol finalists in singing his tunes a few weeks ago thinks the voting is racist.
They (the three African American females) have great voices. The fact that they’re constantly in the bottom three—and I don’t want to set myself up here—but I find it incredibly racist.
That quote came from John, via Yahoo News and is quite surprising considering that it’s the first quote condemning race as the reason that Jennifer is gone, but more directly, the reason young John Stevens has stayed. My two cents is that it’s simply a popularity contest. If Ryan Seacrest (out!) wanted us to vote for the worst, I don’t think it would be as bad. But, it’s vote for your favorite. That will always get a skewed output because then it’s not only talent that’s involved but personality, looks, and everything else that goes with it. And that’s why Fox keeps the voting the way it is. But don’t worry about Jennifer, she’ll do fine. She sings too well not to find some sort of record deal.
If you have any thoughts on the voting process, let me know. Send me an e-mail with your thoughts and maybe I’ll put some responses in next week’s post. This will also give me an idea on who is skipping out on my posts! Just kidding. On to the show, but first, the love list.
Here’s the seventh edition of the Love List.
- LaToya London- LaToya slightly inched up to the top after last week
- Fantasia Barrino- Fantasia or LaToya, you take your pick
- George Huff- Not the best week for George, but he’s still a top three dude
- Jasmine Trias- There’s a dropoff after the big three
- Diana DeGarmo- She probably has a good shot to do well tonight
- John Stevens- Oh boy, not this again
The Homesick
- Leah LaBelle
- Matthew Rogers
- Amy Adams
- Camille Velasco
- Jon Peter Lewis
- Jennifer Hudson
And a here we go. It’s Gloria Estefan time. Fantasia Barrino is first with Get On Your Feet. It’s not something that you’d expect her to sing, but she’s trying. She puts a lot of energy into the performance. She’s a pro. Put her out of her environment and she still tries to make it work, though it wasn’t a great vocal performance. Randall says the performance was great, but the vocals weren’t great. Gloria says Fantasia hasn’t sung a bad note in the whole competition. Paula says she looks great, in about two paragraphs worth of words. Simon says she sounded like Donald Duck on helium. The wife whom I found last week, is now missing in action again. Let’s just forget about her. She’s not showing up for work! I’ll have a new fifth judge next week. I’ll give you a clue. His last name is Jackson.
Georgie Huff is next with I Live For Loving You and it’s not his night, even though he did do a Michael Jackson spin. His voice has way too much base in it to sing this song. But like Fantasia, he’s trying. He’s having fun with the performance, but the vocals are even worse than Fantasia’s. Randall gives him his props and says he worked it out. Gloria loves his personality. Paula loves it. Simon says it was amatuerish. I have a feeling he’s going to say that alot tonight.
It’s LaToya London time. And she’s doing Rhythm Is Gonna Get You. This will definitely test her. She tries to put on a performance with more dancing than we’ve ever seen her do. She’s not the entertainer Fantasia is, but her vocal performance is slightly better. She does something I’ve never seen on Idol. She nearly drops the microphone to do a 15 second dance before she starts singing again. Randall says she looks really comfortable around a band, but wasn’t wowed. He still liked it though. Gloria says she knew LaToya was going to be where she is now. Paula says she wanted more of the song. Simon says it was an ok performance but it worked because it showed her versatility. Definitely the best so far.
Next is John Stevens, and I’m a little scared to hear what is coming out of his mouth. He’s singing Music Of My Heart which Gloria originally did with N’Sync. I’m not sure if he’s been on key yet. It’s bad. Probably the worst performance of the year. He even misses the chorus because he tried to hit a note that looked to hurt his throat. I feel a little bad for Baby Dean. He’s terribly outclassed this late in the competition and it shows. Randall says he loves the shoes but the vocals were horrendous. Gloria says that John made his grandma proud, who he sang the song too. Paula says he gave a valiant effort because he did his best. Simon says John has taken every bullet thrown at him like a man and he shouldn’t feel guilty but he and Latin music go together like chocolate ice cream and an onion. They were easy on him. At least William Hung is fun.
Jasmine Trias is next. She’s singing Here We Are which could be interesting. A ballad is much easier to sing than the songs that George, Fantasia, and LaToya sang, but it’s also sort of taking the easy way out. She started out a little rough, but she’s starting to pick it up. You take a Gloria Estefan for granted, but then when you listen to an amatuer singer try to sing her, you just wish for Gloria’s voice. Jasmine really screws up the song at the end and is actually out of rhythm. Randall says it was a good song choice, but she fell a little short. Gloria thought it was beautiful. Paula says she’s a fan of Jasmine’s voice. Can you really be a fan of a voice? Simon says it was pleasant, but nothing more. Elevator music.
Diana DeGarmo is last and I have a feeling she’s going to do very well. She’s going for the gusto as she chooses Turn The Beat Around which is a tough song, but if she hits it, she’s going to knock it out of the park. She does a very nice job keeping up with the rhythm. I don’t know if she knocked it out of the park, but I think she one hopped the wall. Possibly the best of the night. Randall says she has mad talent and it was very good. Gloria says she turned the beat around and upside down. Paula says she had another great week. Simon says the performance was a seven and the dress was a zero. I’ll agree with the dress. It was bad, but it’s more her body type. But hey, she’s 16, she can start watching her figure when she gets older. But if she wins Idol, it will be much quicker.
The night was pretty bad from a performance standpoint, but I didn’t see any of these girls (or guys) as the next Selena. Diana was definitely the best, but LaToya was fairly close. We all know who was the worst. And just to update you, I tried voting for Diana and LaToya and both were busy. I hope that’s a good sign. Seacrest, ou…., wait a minute, The Facts of Life Reunion Show is on? Blair still pretty. Natalie still ugly. That’s all you need to know. And Mrs. Garrett was the greatest.

