To pin Melinda's loss on the show being rigged or the producers weighting it for Jordin is...well, not the simplest explanation. I invoke Occam's Razor, which states that the simplest explanation is usually the best. And the simplest explanation for Melinda's defeat? Lakisha fans. Now, I would think a lot of Lakisha fans would be on the Melinda bandwagon after her loss, but my wife and I were Lakisha fans, and the minute she was gone, we jumped on Jordin's bandwagon, not Lakisha's. I would speculate that many of Lakisha's fans did the same. Translation? Jordin's safe.

As for Blake beating out Melinda, I think it's safe to say Blake's been safe since Phil and Chris left. He's the last guy standing, which only counts for something when you consider how unique he is. There are not a lot of people who can sing the way he does AND beatbox as well as he does. The beatboxing thing isn't a ticket to the top, but it's a gimmick to hook fans. It does him no good if he's not already a good singer, but it does tons of good if he is.

Either that or the American public was finally fed up with Melinda's deer-in-the-headlights expressions after her performances.

Well, that's certainly something I hadn't considered. I suppose because I've considered Melinda the best vocalist from the beginning of the show with Lakisha a close second. When it comes down to it, it's all a matter of personal preference.

I'm not surprised, either. Melinda is a great singer but she doesn't evoke "Pop Idol" to me, which is really what this show is about. Both Blake and Jordin embody that ideal more than Melinda. I see Melinda with an adult contemporary music career, like a Nora Jones or Natalie Cole, while both Blake and Jordin appeal much more to the youth market.

Don't worry about Melinda. I think she's got a great chance of going the route of other good singers who didn't make it to the end, like Tamyra Grey and Jennifer Hudson. It's not the end for her by any means.

I suppose that's very true, it is a 'Pop Idol' show and sadly, it's not always the folks with the great vocals who win. I'm really not worried about Melinda's career...she's probably already received recording contract offers. I like your idea of an adult contemporary career like Nora Jones or Natalie Cole.

LAST EDITED ON 05-17-07 AT 05:15 PM (EST)

Out of 6 seasons, I think the best pure vocalist has only won twice: Kelly and Carrie. So, this shouldn't be that big of a surprise to anyone.
Blake has been the best entertainer/artist all season. It is possible he is the best entertainer/artist that AI has ever seen. His singing is very good, even if not as good as Melinda's, but he brings more to the table.
If I was voting only on Tuesday night, I would have ranked them- Blake, Jordin, Melinda.
Even though everyone, following the judges' lead, pimped Melinda on Tuesday night, I did not think she did as well as Blake or Jordin. Everyone pimped Melinda about her rendition of "I Believe in You and Me," but I disagree completely. For once, she showed to me that she doesn't have great vocal range on the upper register. Her lower register is great, "money" as Paula put it, but she sang that entire song on a lower key then it was meant to be and did not hit the higher notes of the song at all. Actually, I put it with Jordin's "She Works Hard for the Money" (horrible song choice for a 17 year old diva) as the worst performances of the night.
Melinda's second go-round of "I am a Woman," was as ineffective to me as the first time around. That is an assertive but still feminent and sexy song. She again had too much assertiveness and not enough sexiness. The whole point of the song is "I am a strong, capable woman but I'm sexy too." Well, she sold the first part but not the second.
Her middle song was very good, her best of the night, but the song was sang entirely in the lower register, which is Melinda's strength.
I would put Melinda's performances above Jordin's, EXCEPT for Jordin's second rendition of "I have Nothing." I'm sorry. I know a lot of people tried saying the 2nd time wasn't as good as the first, but I am not buying it. That was incredible. Like Fantasia rode that one song to the end and Kat had "Somewhere over the Rainbow," that song alone puts Jordin in the Finals.

Points well taken. However, this is where it becomes subjective. In my opinion, while Jordin has amazing talent, her voice is still immature. She lacks the range and maturity of Melinda. I suppose as one of the older demographics, Melinda's voice and style appeals to me while Jordin's, doesn't. And to be perfectly truthful, apologies to Blake's fans, but I find his voice downright annoying.

Hi all..I liked this season, I wonder in the end if the voting viewers were put off by Melinda already having/had a career as a backround singer as opposed to others that are just off the street. I liked her but as stated before she would appeal more to the older crowd where Jordin and Blake to a younger audience.
Just thought I would toss that question out..In any event she has a career in singing no matter what as does Jordin and Blake. Its just the title of AI thats at stake.
Seeya
Vicky

You should check out one of the posts on the AI Judges forum. Jordin has quite an impressive resume. She may only be 17, but from her resume, she has a very long list of accomplishments in the entertainment industry and should in fact, be the best prepared contestant of the bunch, including Melinda.

At first I and many other folks were stunned, but in retrospect, I'm not surprised either, given the nature and format of AI. There are good comments here and a couple other threads about why she got the fewest votes, but I won't delve into it further as it's already past history. Having said that, I think Melinda will have the most successful career of this season's group.

And it wouldn't surprise me either if Blake won. Too many folks don't want to see Jordin crowned, however much they might like or dislike Blake.

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