Hello everyone -

First off, I for one am very happy with this season's final four. I think the correct two were voted out last week, and we have a very good final four (even considering my distaste for Jordin...).

Every season for the past few, i've had the following theory:

The winner of American Idol (most of the time) is someone unique, different, and someone who stands out from the crowd. Someone who is not 'the flavor of the day' in terms of what is considered 'pop music' currently.

Look at Ruben/Clay, Fantasia, and especially Taylor Hicks. Kelly was Idol #1, so I disregard her, and for season 4 Carrie was at least country, although Bo fit the above theory better.

At the time of the Top 24, my prediction (without digging back in the posts) was a final four of Chris Sligh, Sanjaya, Melinda and Lakisha. Again, i'm testing my memory.

I figured the the unique factor fit either Chris or Sanjaya to win it all.

This past weekend I was thinking this through, and realized a flaw in my initial assessment. I had totally thrown Blake to the side and disregarded him. This was a huge mistake on my part.

Blake fits my annual theory perfectly. He fits it better than Sanjaya, and even better than Sligh. How did i miss this???

If he keeps up the pace with what he did this past week, he could definately take it all, even over Melinda. This past week was the absolute best time to bring back his own style and the beatboxing.

Lets look at the final 4:

(1) Jordin. You know my feelings, I just don't get the love. She has the voice, but as Glow has said, where is the passion? Could be final two, though.

(2) Lakisha. Amazing voice when she can control it. Amazing performances when she picks the right song. Song selection is her primary weakness, along with convincing interpretations i feel.

(3) Melinda. I simply LOVE Melinda. She is amazing, but frankly she doesn't need Idol. She should have had a recording contract by now without Idol. I'm not saying she SHOULDN'T win, I've though she should all season. She blows away the competition. She lives and breathes the songs she sings. She gives me, and many others, chills. Blake's toughest competition.

(4) Blake. Blake is THE unique contestant this season. He stands out. Period. What he has over Melinda is that Blake (like Taylor, like Bo) has his own style. What Melinda can do in interpretation, Blake can do with the entire performance. There has been nobody like Blake on Idol. If he gets to the final two, I think he could take it all. This makes his next two week's very critical. I think he has to go for it 100% and be Blake 100%.

geekboy

I love puppies! S. Cowell

• RE: Revisiting my Annual 'Pick-the-winner' theory,bzooti, 01:08 AM, 05-07-07
• RE: Revisiting my Annual 'Pick-the-winner' theory,KoalaChick, 01:34 AM, 05-07-07
• RE: Revisiting my Annual 'Pick-the-winner' theory,zazzy, 11:26 AM, 05-07-07
  • RE: Revisiting my Annual 'Pick-the-winner' theory,geekboy, 11:54 AM, 05-07-07
• RE: Revisiting my Annual 'Pick-the-winner' theory,Glow, 12:57 PM, 05-07-07
  • RE: Revisiting my Annual 'Pick-the-winner' theory,Magnolia_Rocker, 01:13 PM, 05-07-07
  • RE: Revisiting my Annual 'Pick-the-winner' theory,zazzy, 02:38 PM, 05-07-07

ok let's be frank.

i've had too much chardonnay this evening to even try to be match your intellectual eschewings.

but I like this thread. a lot.

with the exception of chris sligh, who I swear had the natural talent and artistic sentimemts to have bumped out Jordon, I think we have the right top 4.

(although shoot. underneath it all, I think I do believe Sanjaya could have shoved out LaKisha if he'd tried just a little bit harder.)

sigh. did I just say my ideal final 4 would be Blake, Melinda, Samjaya and Chris S? I didn't admit that to myself until just now. praise the lord and pass the bottle.

GB. I'm glad you started this.

I have to say, I liked Phil from the audition stage forward, but he's gone and no longer a part of the equation. People just couldn't get over his odd looks.

I've been on the Melinda train, also from the get-go. Anyone who consistantly gives me goose bumps gets my vote.

But I get what you're saying about Blake. I jumped on his bandwagon with Time of the Season...what a knockout performance that was! He has a unique tone to his voice that is really quite pleasant to listen to. What he did with You Give Love was amazing! I'd love to see a Blake/Melinda final two, because I wouldn't care who won at that point. They are both winners.

Buh-bye Kiki and Jordin.

Geekboy! You do have a way of picking one of the top or the top person in a season and when you and I were out of synch this year I was a bit worried! ;)

Going all the way back to Blake's audition--Simon sneered at him; Randy and Paula liked him (shades of Taylor's audition from the previous year). Yet I noticed he had a voice like Sting and sang a Seal song. I liked him from the beginning.

In the same city the judges heaped praise on Jordin--
saying she was a natural, everything was perfect and predicting she would do very well. They had her pegged from before the audition (from Idol Juniors, perhaps?) and have been pimping her since. That's why I started to track the producers' interview statements and next year I will start that even earlier. I liked both Jordin and Blake at that time--but I do not like having someone shoved down my throat and that's what I feel about Jordin. She is only 17 you know, lol.

Melinda is terrific and I agree with your comments on Lakisha and her song selection--but overall Lakisha has not delivered the way Melinda and Blake have.

When Blake sang "Somewhere Only We Know" I was gone--and rooting for him to win. This week is cruical imo, because they may be engineering a Jordin win and if they think he is a threat to that they may try to edge him out this week. What is working in his favor is the diva vote splitting. If he had not been on the show this year I was probably going to stop watching.

If Blake gets the boot then I am all for Melinda. But I think they have already mapped out Jordin's trajectory post idol, the sales they can wring from her and they will work very hard to help her win--complete with an "Over the Rainbow" type song in the pimp spot in the F3. And the judges' script will be along the lines of how much she has grown throughout the competition, she is so young to be so good, etc.. And this is her best performance, ehhhver....and that means the best one of any idol ehhhh-ver.

Time to check out the Jordin fan boards and see if there are enough people out there to buy her album in large numbers...or if just maybe, maybe, the producers have decided to give Blake a chance.

Who gets the pimp spot this week? (Even when I got my hair cut the stylist asked how many times did Melinda get to sing last?)

Hi Zazzy -

Yeah, we were out of sync, and i think my mistake in Blake was a musical taste mistake. I've never been a fan of beatboxing. I don't like Timberlake doing it, or anyone else. Granted, Blake has grown on me, and each week i see him doing better (ignoring 'Imagine', that is...)

He has a style, it not a one-trick-pony thing w/ the beatboxing.

Anyway, i think i'm back on track. I understsand what you are saying w/ Jordin and the pimping. one thing to remember. Last season they were HEAVILY pimping Kat, and it did get her to the final two, but they couldn't 'out-pimp' the Taylor fans. I think if Blake gets on a roll and continues what he did last week, he could be unstoppable. The producer and judge pimping only can go so far.

geekboy

I love puppies! S. Cowell

I guess Sligh was our big surprise this year. I always knew Blake would still be in this but I thought Sligh would be there much longer than he was.

I for one am very unhappy with this year's final four. Of course, I've been finding the whole season (for the most part) lackluster. It's pretty clear that TPTB want this to be the year of the diva. For me, that's not very fun. Blake is undeniably the most talented musician left but this is a singing competition and I think that's what most people focus on (understandably). Hopefully the Cake fans will keep him in this. I'd love to see him at least get a record deal and I don't think he'll have any problem there. I have no idea who will win. None.

Ditto what Glowie said. I'll add to the end that I really don't care either.

Snidget Mommyfied me!

Well, maybe they, the producers are getting the diva out of the way so next year we will have more diversity of talent. More rocker, more country, more entertaining. And I already feel sorry for next year's diva contestant that makes the top twelve or ten! It won't be their year whatsoever.