popular thinking

I've had to catch up on my Idol watching these past couple of weeks, but thanks to my DVR, it's all been there waiting for me (and not in a Richard Marx way, thank you very much, Mr. Phil Stacey). Anyhow. That's not the point. The point is, most people in the mainstream media are paying way too much attention to Sanjaya Malakar and wondering aloud if he'll ruin the show along with the folks from Vote for the Worst. EW even has a chat with VFTW's creator online. Hello?! Have you looked at the VFTW site ever before this season? They "won" last season by getting Taylor Hicks selected as last year's Idol, even though Chris Daughtry and even Katharine McPhee or Elliott Yamin deserved it more. And did the world end? Not quite. Did Idol's producers change the voting procedure? Not one bit. Although the vote results still and always have been kept a privately private secret...which is my No. 1 pet peeve (on a long list of peeves) about the show that I and everyone else continues to watch. That, and, well, we want to see who's going to win.

So who will become the next American Idol?

My thoughts...I've ranked them here, although any of these first four singers has what it takes.
1. Melinda Doolittle: Undeniably the best singer of the bunch. She knocks every song out of the proverbial park. If only she'd stop with the looks of shock at every compliment. This woman has backed up superstars and knows she should be one, too. Maybe someone told her that if she looked surprised at her success, it'd keep the votes coming.
2. Blake Lewis: Undeniably the most creative of the bunch. Overcame (or has made solid use of) his beat-boxing auditions to show he'll make any song sound current. Pretty much the best guy in the final 8. Could sneak past Doolittle if she fails to keep fans power-dialing for her.
3. Jordin Sparks: Undeniably the most energetic and happiest to be in the running, which makes sense since, at 17, she's also the youngest contestant left (along with Sanjaya). Unlike past teens, she hasn't shirked from the spotlight and actually seems to get better each week. If Doolittle weren't so good, Sparks would be the one getting all the kudos.
4. Chris Richardson: This guy acts like he is doing his homework. In the early weeks, he cribbed from the Yamin playbook. Now he's also showing he can do anything Lewis can do in turning old classics into new hip tunes. All of which means he could go much farther if he keeps this up.

Close, but no No. 1 single
5. LaKisha Jones: Very good in her zone, anything powerful and R&B. But you don't get the sense that she's got a lot of tricks up her sleeves, so to speak. One of these themed weeks is bound to trip her up before the finale. Think of her as this year's Mandisa.
6. Sanjaya Malakar: Yeah, I wrote it. Sanjaya will stick around for a couple of weeks, perhaps, but he ain't going to be around at the end, and if he is, well, you get what you vote for, right? The kid is 17 and acts it. He did have a good initial audition with a sweet singing voice. But he's lapping all of this attention up. The hair. The antics. Did you see him welcome Simon to his universe this week? Well, you couldn't hear him because Seacrest kept yapping over him. But the thing is, he's entertaining to watch, for better or worse. If only his sister had made the final 12! Then we'd really have a national conversation.

Ain't gonna happen
7 (tie). Haley Scarnato: She looked hot and sang well in her initial audition, then became forgettable, then tried to adopt the McPheever fan-base with revealing outfits and flirty-girl performances. It's kept her in the game this long. But not much longer.
7 (tie). Phil Stacey: Hits the big notes. Needs a stylist. Not much more to say, really. Which is why he's on his way out. Unless he outlasts Scarnato. Hence the tie.

Labels: American Idol, TV