I’m going to have to give tonight’s best of show award to Jordin Sparks yet again. I think that her youth is going to play out to her advantage. She has a fantastic voice, as do Melinda Doolittle and Lakisha Jones, but Sparks is a bit more upbeat and I think that will appeal to a broader audience. Honestly, I’m getting a bit bored with Doolittle. Her voice is very consistent and fabulous but she has lost any spark (no pun intended) that she may have had. I found myself yawning during her performance tonight.
Back to Jordin Sparks; Gwen Stefani called her “refreshing” and I absolutely have to agree. Her performance tonight was just that – refreshing. Randy Jackson said “that was a very very risky thing to do…you could literally sing anything, you’d be a great recording artist and that was brilliant.” It was definitely a risky song but I think she pulled it off with spunk, charisma, and a nice vocal performance as well. Paula Abdul always mumbles something about her being young and adorable, no epiphanies from Abdul tonight, not surprising. Simon Cowell agreed that it was a good performance “I think you are probably the most improved contestant we’ve seen in terms of the last few weeks.”
Right now I’m really gunning for Jordin Sparks. I think that vocally she can hold her own in this competition but hands down she wins the American Idol Miss Congeniality award. Her enthusiasm for her performances really shows through and that is what Doolittle is missing.