How Did the Top 10 Perform on American Idol Season 6?

Well, will this be the week? Or, will the faux hawk keep Sanjaya in the competition for another week?

This week, Gwen Stefani helped the 10 remaining contestants on Season 6 of American Idol along. She provided the list of songs they could choose from. Of course this included songs from No Doubt, as well as songs, groups and singers that inspired her.

So, what did they sing and how did the do?

American Idol Season 6 – Top 10 Performance Rankings:

1. Melinda Doolittle – The fabulous Melinda gave us yet another outstanding performance. She looks like she is becoming more comfortable as being the lead singer she should be, as opposed to the backup singer she used to be. She performs seventh on the night and sings, “Heaven Knows” by Donna Summer. Randy said it was “da bomb.” Paula said, “I love when people tell stories when they sing” and she does a great job connecting with the songs she sings. Simon thought it was “vocally outstanding” and it was.
2. Gina Glocksen – She was the third to hit the stage and sang “I’ll Stand By You” from The Pretenders. It is really great. You can understand the words and everything. Randy and Paula both thought it was one of her best performances so far. Simon took issue with that and said it wasn’t one of her best, but was “her best performance.” I thought she really showed something last night. This was definitely her best singing performance so far.
3. LaKisha Jones – Was the first to go and sang Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” and gave another great performance. Randy said she was a “true fly diva” and that her performance was “hot.” Paula thought she did Donna Summer proud and Simon said that she was back to being “the LaKisha that I love.” Still leaves a little bit to be desired after bursting out of the gate with an outstanding take charge performance in the first week of the competition where the public could vote.
4. Blake Lewis – No beat boxing, just straight ahead vocals tonight, as he occupied the eighth spot in the singing order. He sang “Love Song” by The Cure and sounded really good. He really needed to showcase his voice again, so people don’t forget he can sing as well as perform. Randy wasn’t really that high on it, but thought he “made the most of it.” Paula said she “loved what you did with the song” and that he might be the “dark horse” in the competition. Simon thinks he is the “strongest guy in the competition.” With Chris Sligh falling off each week, I would have to agree.
5. Jordin Sparks – She was next to last to perform. Randy thinks she “can literally sing anything” and Simon thinks she is the “most improved” over the “last few weeks.” She can sing, but she did seem at times to be just going through the motions of the song, which was No Doubt’s “Hey Baby.” I think the thing with her is that she doesn’t connect emotionally with the material, whatever it is, each week. Yet, she can really sing. This was the perfect type of song for someone her age to connect with and it did seem at times “a bit copycat-ish,” as Simon pointed out.
6. Phil Stacey – He sang sixth and this was definitely his best so far. It started of sounding like he was just trying to mimic Sting, but when he hit the chorus, it wasn’t quite “magic” like Paula said, but it was really good. He sang “Every Breath You Take” by The Police. Randy thought it was a “really solid performance.” Simon thought it was “very good” and a “great choice of song.”
7. Chris Richardson – He went last and took on No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak” and did pretty well. It was kind of a boring performance for me, but vocally it was good. Randy thought it “was good.” Paula just kept repeating “your good” over and over. Simon thought it was a” much better choice of song,” but that he “struggled in the middle.”
8. Chris Sligh – Came out second and tried to sing “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” by The Police. He too sounded like he was trying to impersonate Sting at the beginning of the song, but Sting would have been able to sing in rhythm with the song, as Chris did not. Randy thought it was a “good song choice,” but he was “way ahead of the rhythm” through the whole song. Paula thought that “vocally it was nice,” while Simon thought “it was a mess” and “all over the place.” It was definitely not his best.
9. Haley Scarnato – Was the fifth to take the stage and looked great, but once again that was about it. She was too quiet with the song and you couldn’t tell what she was even singing most of the time, which was “True Colors” by Cindi Lauper. Randy thinks it “started out rough” and ended up being “just ah-ight.” Paula comments on how she looks, which means she didn’t have anything good to say about the singing. Simon thought it was “sweet, but forgettable.”
10. Sanjaya Malakar – Each week makes me more and more sure that he is just fulfilling a bet, which he lost. This week, the faux hawk hairdo. It is so time for him to go. The local FOX affiliate’s news promos throughout the show up here in Seattle, from which Sanjaya is from, kept plugging a story coming up on the news where they interviewed his hometown stylist. This is the dumbest thing I have heard from our local news in a while. He went fourth and attempted to sing No Doubt’s “Bathwater,” which has a line that goes: “I know I’m diving into my own destruction.” All I could think at that point while watching was, damn, I sure hope so.

Will it be his destruction or will someone else have taken the plunge this week? Once again, if it were up to me, Sanjaya and his hair would have been gone already. Seeing how he made the Top 10 though, he will get to butcher songs all summer on the American Idol Season 6 Tour.

Anyway, this week the bottom two could be comprised of any of the bottom four from above. That would mean Sanjaya, Haley, Chris R. and Chris S. Chris R. was in the bottom two last week and I don’t think this week was enough to push him much higher. So, I will say that he gets the boot this week and Sanjaya makes it for at least another week, although his time is definitely running short.

Who do you think should go? Who do you think will go? Leave your thought in the comments.