Three's Company on American Idol
Jordin, Blake and Melinda proved themselves a worthy Top Three this week on American Idol. Performing three songs apiece (a judge's pick, a producers' pick and a personal pick), they each showed their range and who they could be as recording artists. 'Twill be a showdown of a finale next week.

Following is the It's Destiny! panel's take on the AI6 Top 3: Three's Company.

Jordin Sparks "Wishing On A Star"
Tammy: I'm not familiar with this song. After hearing it, I'm not especially saddened by that. Simon may blame the arrangement for the overall meh-ness of it, but I doubt it was all that stellar a song choice to begin with. The overall result was very bland and very forgettable.
Score: 7.8
Liza: You're not familiar with it, and Jordin wasn't either, even though she was all "YAY!" when the Mayor gave her the song. Oh brother! The original song is more melancholy, and this sped-up arrangement was the cheese and lost the emotion of the song. Jordin's breathiness was out in force again.
Score: 8.0
Destiny: I thought this was a song everyone knows. Clearly, that's not the case, as Tammy, Jordin and everyone I viewed the show with never heard it. While it would never be my pick, I thought she did a good job with it. Not the best thing we've seen from her, but it was good.
Score: 8.5

Blake Lewis "Roxanne"
Tammy: Blake's voice sounds like Sting most of the time anyways, so I can see why this would be an obvious song choice. He didn't look especially comfortable performing it, however, with the one hand clutched to the mic stand and the strange slide-to-the-knees movement at the end. Not to mention a few wonky notes. Perhaps he just had to work out his jitters, because he steadily improved as the night progressed.
Score: 8.2
Liza: I'm shocked you didn't like the slide to the knees move! That move pretty much saved the performance for me and almost made me forget the "wonky notes". The outfit, though ... button-down shirt sticking out from the bottom of that argyle vest? Yeah, okay.
Score: 8.5
Destiny: I thought the way he moved around the stage with the mic stand in one hand was cool. He looked like a pro up there doing this song. He sounded fantastic to boot. I adore the tone of his voice, and he always delivers.
Score: 9.0

Melinda Doolittle "I Believe In You And Me"
Tammy: This song was supposed to be a challenge to Melinda's range. And a challenge it was. She was struggling with those notes in her upper register, which explains why throughout the season she's chosen songs which smartly avoid anything like that that could have exposed her weakness. Melinda's performance makes me appreciate Jennifer Hudson's Idol version all the more. It was just all right for me, dawg.
Score: 8.5
Liza: Jennifer Hudson's version was kind of scary, dawg. I thought Melinda did really well on this really difficult song. "Randy Johnson" (HA!) gave her a tough song to sing. Yes, she did struggle a bit and had one or two vocal flaws (her first vocal flaws of the season, might I add), but there were moments of pure gorgeousness in her vocals. I thought she struck the right emotions in the song and hit the big notes without going into histrionics (or making scary bug eyes).
Score: 9.0
Destiny: I agree with Tammy that this song choice revealed weaknesses in Melinda's voice. There were very shaky moments throughout the song. I also didn't like her arrangement- it was kind of hard to listen to. Her worst vocal performance of the season.
Score: 7.5

Jordin Sparks "She Works Hard For The Money"
Tammy: Good grief. What did Jordin do to those Idol producers to deserve being saddled with this wreck of a song? Jordin is a talented girl, but she isn't good enough to lift this song beyond the gold lame micromini that it ultimately is. Jordin looked like she hadn't a clue what to do with the song, and floundered about the stage, and delivered none of the grit necessary to sell the song.
Score: 7.9
Liza: So much for The Chosen One theory. She got screwed on the song choices! Jordin has struggled all year with the up-tempo songs. Her vocals were right on, but her stage presence was very, very lacking. She has yet to look natural up there on a fast song.
Score: 8.0
Destiny: I thought this was a good song choice for Jordin, and she sounded great doing it. The downfall of the performance were her shoes. She could barely walk in them, and it inhibited her ability to really have fun and sell the song.
Score: 8.9

Blake Lewis "This Love"
Tammy: This performance is a huge improvement from what Blake showed us in round one. If Blake appears to be having fun onstage, it seems to make all the difference in the world. Sounding eerily like Adam Levine, Blake delivered one of his best Idol performances. I agree with Randy, Blake should definitely go for this kind of sound with his first album. I'd buy it!
Score: 9.3
Liza: In contrast to Jordin, Blake won the lottery with the two songs given to him. Although I didn't think his voice sounded on with the backup singers, I thought he delivered a good stage performance, and he did just enough beat-boxing to thrill his fans and, most importantly, not turn off potential voters.
Score: 8.5
Destiny: I concur that this was a great song choice for Blake, and he performed it like a champ. Liza's 8.5 score is crazy for such a professional-sounding and entertaining performance. I'm with Tammy, I'd buy the record today! This performance displayed why Blake deserves to be in the finale: he's fresh and exciting, he knows how to command the stage whilst putting his own spin on things, and his voice is so so pleasing to the ears.
Score: 9.6

Melinda Doolittle "Nutbush City Limits"
Tammy: The Tina Turner thing definitely works for Melinda. It's as if performing a Tina song suddenly allows her to let loose and show a bit more personality that you wouldn't normally see from Melinda. I can think of better Tina songs that the producers could have chosen, but it was a strong performance nonetheless.
Score: 8.9
Liza: The song was really repetitive, but Melinda threw DOWN with that stage performance and got a little ugly, as Fantasia would say. That was Tina-worthy. And surprise, surprise - the stylists actually put Melinda in some colors! Color me shocked!
Score: 9.3
Destiny: What was this song? I've never heard it in my life. While the whole attitude of the song was enough to make this a good performance for Melinda, she would have benefited from a more familiar tune. That being said, she looked fantastic during this song. Her hair was greatness, and her outfit brought the youthful vibe of which she is always in need.
Score: 9.0

Jordin Sparks "I Who Have Nothing"
Tammy: Every artist has that one song that they can perform really well, and for Jordin it is this one. She manages to lose herself in the song and really draw the listener in. Well done! She did herself no favors with the bizarre Rolls Royce backtalk to Simon, however. She managed to confuse nearly everyone with her analogy. Know when to shut it, dear.
Score: 9.5
Liza: You're telling me! She may have lost some voters with the backtalking. And what kills me is that it isn't even necessary! She's already the favorite, and she had just delivered a terrific vocal performance. The performance would have spoken for itself. Instead of being totally wowed with her vocal, I instead left being annoyed at her sense of entitlement. Blah. Plus, I think she sang it better the last time. Her timing seemed a little bit off on her "I love you" lines.
Score: 9.0
Destiny: I saw Jordin trying to reign in her comments to Simon, but she just couldn't do it. I understand her temptation, as Simon once again annoyingly contradicted himself. He gave her low marks for doing a song that was years older than her, while he himself chose a thirty-year-old song for her to do earlier in the evening ("Wishing On A Star" by Rose Royce). The backtalk aside, which is never a good thing on Idol, Jordin's performance was fabulous. I thought it was better than her first version of this song, with that killer key change during that run. Wow. This showed off all the color and power of Jordin's voice and her ability to craft a performance out of a song. Beautiful.
Score: 9.5

Blake Lewis "When I Get You Alone"
Tammy: Blake chose a new song tonight, which I will be eternally grateful for, because I think it's utterly ridiculous to sing something everyone has already heard when you can show another side of yourself with a new performance. Blake must have sweet-talked Robin Thicke when he put in a recent Idol appearance, somehow managing to get permission to sing the song. For me, it was another winner, fresh and current, and bursting with energy.
Score: 9.5
Liza: GREAT choice and bonus points to Blake for keeping it modern all night (and for doing three new songs). I think this was my favorite Blake performance all year! He really brought it tonight.
Score: 9.25
Destiny: I, too, give Blake extra points for choosing a new song for his personal choice. He takes risks at every turn, and that is a major part of what makes an artist great. As Tammy and Liza said, the song choice was fresh, current and modern. I loved his physical and vocal take on the song. Contrary to the judges' attempts to paint him as a weak vocalist, Blake's voice is pure, strong and beautiful. Add to that his incredible stage presence, musicality and interpretation skills, and we have undoubtedly one of the best contestants to grace the American Idol stage. Exciting from the first second of his audition, Blake has been something to look forward to every week of this season. I look forward to his finale night next Tuesday, and I can't wait to hear him on the radio, buy his cd, and see him in concert. Bravo.
Score: 9.6

Melinda Doolittle "I'm A Woman"
Tammy: Another fun Melinda performance, with some cute interaction with her backup singers. As good as the first time we heard it.
Score: 9.3
Liza: Wow. That was like a music video! I loved that! She used staging, her wardrobe and the backup singers to cultivate one heck of a performance - the type of performance that harkens me back to Kelly Clarkson's "Stuff Like That There". Terrific, and kudos to Melinda for totally changing it up from the first time she did it (even if it did sound like she forgot the second line and just mumbled it).
Score: 9.5
Destiny: Good for Melinda for crafting such an entertaining stage performance of this song. It was fun from top to bottom, and she looked great from head to toe. I adored her shout out to the backup singers by bringing them center stage. It not only was a wink to them, it also was a message to Simon who told her she turned in backup singer's performance last week. She proved him wrong and proved that she can indeed be the star of a stage.
Score: 9.4

Who Should Be Eliminated:
Tammy: Jordin
Liza: Jordin
Destiny: Jordin

Who Will Be Eliminated:
Tammy: Blake
Liza: Going out on a limb, but I'm going to say based on song choices, 2/3 of which were not her fault, Jordin
Destiny: Jordin

Guest Panelist Contest!
This season we've kicked things up a notch by welcoming a different guest panelist to our reviews each week. We want you to decide which guest panelist should come back and cover the finale with us next week. Simply visit our homepage, and vote in the poll. The guest panelist who receives the most votes will be revealed during next week's finale review.

Visit the Idol Talk Archives to see all of our existing Idol coverage.
Visit our homepage for the latest features, updates, and polls.

We asked you, "Whose CD Will You Buy?"
49%% Melinda, 36% Blake, 11% Jordin, 4% LaKisha

The Future of Entertainment.
It’s Here. It’s Fun. It’s Destiny!
"Contact Us" to let us know you were here and what you think!

American Idol logo courtesy Fox.