Bon Jovi Invades Idol
The six American Idol finalists hit the stage this week singing the songs of Jon Bon Jovi. Getting to work with the superstar himself certainly paid off, as several of the contestants turned in stellar performances.

Following is the It's Destiny! panel's take on the AI6 Top 6: Bon Jovi.

Our guest panelist this week is 17-year-old Stephanie from Long Island, NY.

Phil Stacey "Blaze of Glory"
Stephanie: I didn't catch all of Phil's performance, so I don't feel fair giving a score out of ten. Basing my judging solely off the recap, I thought it was a strong--vocal. He looks like he's trying too hard to be rock, and there are a lot of big notes, but I guess that's what Phil does best. Him going first, though, is pretty much the seal of death.
Score: --
Tammy: Wow! This was the absolute perfect song for Phil! He sounded amazing, and worked the catwalk better than any other contestant I've ever seen on Idol. How great was it to hear the audience spontaneously burst into applause as he launched into the chorus. Good grief, somewhere along the line, I've become a Phil fan. Shhh. Don't tell anyone.
Score: 9.8
Liza: I won't tell if you won't tell. I've become a Phil fan too! I thought that was awesome. He sang the crap out of that song. When he picks the right songs, he's easily the best male singer of the competition.
Score: 9.5
Destiny: Welcome to the fan club, girls! Glad to have you on board. FINALLY! I am so glad to see Phil get the praise he deserves. His voice is strong and beautiful, and his personality is so warm. Loved the way he rocked this song with such conviction both vocally and performance-wise. I agree with Tammy that this was the best use of the Idol catwalk ever. It made sense, and it felt like we were watching a concert performance, not a competition performance, the way Phil commanded stage and interacted with the audience. Great job!
Score: 9.7

Jordin Sparks "Livin' On A Prayer"
Stephanie: First off, I love love this song. Jordin looks great tonight! I love the streaks in her hair. The beginning was pretty rough, lots of off notes there. I think the band drowned her out for most of the song. I also think she could've moved around more, but she did bring a great energy to it! The middle is good-ish. Definitely not the best we've seen from her. She seems out of breath. I actually thought the ending was great and the on-site judges were a little mean. She wasn't terrible, but overall it was one of her worst and the worst of the night. I still love her though, and she should definitely make the finale.
Score: 6.5
Tammy: Oh my. What a mess. The hair was outta control, with the prerequisite colorful streaks that signify that she's 'rock' this week. The singing? Very, very pitchy. She was very unconvincing wearing this persona, and it was a bit uncomfortable to watch.
Score: 6.5
Liza: Ooof. When she hit that key change, my ears started bleeding. It was that bad. And the low notes in the verses were quite bad as well. Jordin's mistake tonight was in thinking she could pull off being a stereotypical rocker chick. As LaKisha and Melinda proved later on, you don't have to "act" rock to sing a rock song.
Score: 5.5
Destiny: I don't know exactly what went wrong here. Jordin has the vocal chops to pull off a big rock song (we've seen her do it before), and she has a soaring personality that surely could have produced the vibe she clearly was going for. I applaud her effort, but her result was anything but positive. Yikes. She should count her lucky stars that she has last week's massive vote tally to add to this week's votes. And how old must Jon Bon Jovi have felt when Jordin said that her mom grew up on Bon Jovi? HEEE!
Score: 6.5

LaKisha Jones "This Ain't A Love Song"
Stephanie: Wow, great song choice from LaKisha. This is the first time in quite awhile that she's been really great. I felt like once again the band was drowning her out though. I actually disagree with Randy, I thought the middle was off. But she's showing personality, which is a relief, because I was starting to think she didn't have any. The ending was really good. I agree with the judges when they said the old LaKisha is back--I started off loving her, then hating her, and I loved that! She's back!
Score: 8.7
Tammy: When LaKisha began the song, I wasn't convinced, though she did start to try and channel some of the 'And I Am Telling You' passion that had initially made her the one to beat. By the end, it was better, but it was still...just okay. I'm just not feelin' her.
Score: 8.0
Liza: I haven't been feelin' LaKisha for a long time ... until now. LaKisha is back! That was her best in a long, long time. She brought the passion and the strong vocals, and she was finally smart about her song choice and did not sing something that is a signature song of a singer, like she has the past two weeks.
Score: 9.6
Destiny: I'm somewhere between Tammy and Liza on this one. I thought this was a really good performance for LaKisha, but considering the dullness she's turned in the majority of this competition, it wouldn't have taken much spark to make her look like she was on fire. Good job on the song, but overall it still wasn't something I need to listen to or watch again. With all of the remaining six contestants being good, LaKisha would be my first choice for elimination this week if the decision were mine to make.
Score: 8.5

Blake Lewis "You Give Love A Bad Name"
Stephanie: Oh my. Blake looks amazing with black hair. Whew...anyway, wow, can you say original?! That was one of the most unique and special things I've seen on this show. I loved every second. He brings something new to Idol, and the best part was, when he sung, it was way better than my expectations! He's proven he can sing and be original. He has it all. Some people may hate it--I can see why--but I LOVED it and I love him. One of the best performances of the season, if not the best, for me.
Score: 9.8
Tammy: Finally! Finally Blake breaks out of the bland mold and goes back to his beat boxin' roots. He looked so much more comfortable onstage tonight, and really seemed to be having fun, which sometimes can make all the difference in the world. The dark hair and the black buckled jacket completed the package. It will definitely divide the masses, though.
Score: 9.9
Liza: Yes, he has divided this panel, at least. I hated it. I will undoubtedly give him credit for originality and for staying true to himself, but this is rock night and a singing competition. This isn't America's Got Talent. The moments that he actually sang were good, albeit incredibly repetitive.
Score: 6.7
Destiny: Come on, Liza! You sound like stuffy old Len Goodman from Dancing With The Stars. We all know that American Idol is not about finding a mere vocalist, but it's about finding a star. So free your mind to embrace the gloriousness that was this performance. Blake just sealed the deal that he is indeed a bona fide star. And even if we were looking for great singing alone, the singing on this song was great, otherwise the arrangement would never have worked. I love Blake's artistry and that he is so multi-faceted and that he takes risks. He is fresh and exciting. This performance was well-crafted and professional. It is one of the best ever in Idol history, and he's certainly one of the best artists ever to grace the Idol stage. Bravo!
Score: 9.9

Chris Richardson "Wanted Dead Or Alive"
Stephanie: When I heard he was singing "Wanted Dead Or Alive" I went "Uh oh..." I love Chris, but I don't think this was a good song choice for him. Then again, I think he would have difficulty with any Bon Jovi song. The first line was actually really good. He kept adding in a lot of unnecessary runs though. There were some shaky notes, but overall I think he made the song work for him. It was also a little nasally. The ending was great. My complaint though, is that the arrangement didn't go anywhere. Overall, not one of the best we've seen from Chris. I just hope it's enough to keep him safe.
Score: 7.5
Tammy: This poor fellow unfortunately had to follow Blake, and who wouldn't pale in comparison after that? Chris did better than I thought he would, however, using a harder edged side of his voice that I wouldn't have expected from him. But something tells me it wasn't enough to save him from being kicked off the Idol island.
Score: 8.4
Liza: His voice is so not suited for this song, or for this genre, for that matter. He was okay, I suppose, but there was nothing memorable about it, good or bad, and that's probably a million times worse than being awful. I think Chris has punched his ticket out of here.
Score: 6.5
Destiny: Chris sounded good on this song, and he performed it well. His voice is so appealing- he surely could have major success as a recording artist. Unfortunately, with such a strong group of finalists left in the game, Chris' previous visits to the bottom two make it seem pretty sure that he will be one of the two going home this week.
Score: 9.0

Melinda Doolittle "Have A Nice Day"
Stephanie: Aw, Melinda is adorable. "Rock on?" She looks amazing tonight, I love her hair like that. I really don't have much to say--she was great. I was surprised because I thought she'd have trouble this week and she made the song totally believable. She's just an amazing singer. The background singers though...can you say annoying? I don't have anything bad to say for Melinda, except it wasn't her best performance, but even Melinda's worst is better than some people's best.
Score: 9.0
Tammy: Having taken on what I consider to be one of Bon Jovi's worst songs, Melinda pulled off a miracle tonight and made the song more than listenable. She brought her strut and showed some attitude. This woman is an incredible performer! It wasn't her best, but it was a fine performance to cap off a surprisingly good night of Idol songs.
Score: 9.2
Liza: Tina Turner in the house! I'm not a fan of this song either, but Melinda really did something to it and put on a show on the stage, rocking out with the guitarists. Jordin really could have taken some pointers from Melinda tonight.
Score: 9.0
Destiny: Melinda turned in a nice performance of this song. Her vocals were strong, too, as usual. It wasn't anything to write home about, but she did what she could do.
Score: 8.5

Who Should Be Eliminated:
Stephanie: Phil, LaKisha
Tammy: Jordin, LaKisha
Liza: Jordin, Chris
Destiny: LaKisha, Melinda

Who Will Be Eliminated:
Stephanie: Phil, LaKisha or Chris
Tammy: Chris, LaKisha
Liza: Chris, LaKisha or Phil (noooooo!)
Destiny: Chris, Phil (glad to see your protestation of this, Liza!!! I agree!!!)

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We asked you, "Who Will Win American Idol?"
29% Jordin, 26% Blake, 20% Melinda,
15% Phil, 6% Chris, 4% LaKisha

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