I have to admit that I’ve watched American Idol since the very first season. And this is my least favorite season thus far. Tonight there are 10 finalists left and Gwen Stefani is their “coach”. Besides the finalists having to choose from No Doubt songs they can also pick from other artists responsible for “inspiring” Gwen Stefani which is probably a good thing. I think a LOT of the contestants would have trouble with No Doubt/Gwen Stefani songs.

LaKisha Jones is up first and not surprisingly has chosen a Donna Summer song - Last Dance. I love the styling this week. They must have gotten rid of the hideous stylist from last year. Her dress is young and looks great on her and the boots are fabulous. The vocal is excellent as always. My only hesitation with LaKisha is that she usually either doesn’t show much emotion or she comes off with an attitude - a haughtiness. That won’t get her votes. She got into the song more and it was nice to see her smile a little at the end when she was done. She did well tonight - great vocals and likeable personality.

Chris Sligh is singing one of my favorite Police songs - Every Little Thing She Does is Magic (God, why are their song titles so long!). I’ve got to admit, I’m nervous. I don’t see this as a good pick for him. The vocal was okay but it seemed like he was concentrating so hard on not getting off tempo that it distracted him. He never really got into it and I don’t think the audience did either.

Gina Glocksen is a crying mess already. Pull it together girl. Seems that Gwen Stefani is a big inspiration for her. Gina’s singing The Pretenders I’ll Stand By You. This is a really great song for Gina. Just edgy enough to fit the personality she’s chosen, a chance to showcase her huge voice and she nailed it. The audience seemed to love it too and in a competition like this that’s 3/4 of the battle. Loved her outfit too. She’s remembering to keep the whole image going.

Sanjaya Malakar is a train wreck. And people seem to love him. The faux hawk is just distracting, I don’t know the song at all and yes, I definitely agree, Sanjaya is of his own Universe. I think it’s just as Simon said - it doesn’t matter what anyone says about him he seems to have a very strong following. And he’s working that - don’t think he isn’t. If the people want crazy, then he’s giving them crazy. Anything to stick around. You know people vote for him just to see what wacky shit he’s going to pull next time. Why else would they?

Hailey Scarnato is singing Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors and she’s butchering it. She’s changed up the arrangement for a song that’s classic and it DOES NOT work. Ugh - I don’t know why she’s still around unless the Christian right has their own website urging people to vote for her. Because her vocals were crap and she has really no personality to speak of - nothing to make her stand out - BORING. Aww, she brought her own hecklers, how sweet.

Phil Stacey is singing another one of my favorites by the Police - Every Breath You Take. It started off a little weak but when he hit the chorus it was really great. I hate the runs at the end though - they suck (not vocally, but stylistically if that’s a word). It was really a good song choice for him though. Oh and Phil - I hate the hat.

Melinda Doolittle is my favorite in this competition. She not only has an amazing voice but she has a great personality to back it up. The whole package. She chose Heaven Knows by Donna Summer and it is once again a solid vocal performance. It’s not my favorite, nor is the giant scarf she’s wearing as a shirt, but she will definitely be in this until the end.

Blake Lewis is singing Love Song by The Cure. Seems to be right in his comfort zone. I can’t believe he’s going to throw in some beat boxing with this song - I don’t even see how it fits. Oh thank god he didn’t. I love Blake’s originality and how he keeps it fresh each week, I just thought this song was boring. I kinda liked the reggae feel to it though.

Jordin Sparks is actually singing a No Doubt song. I wondered if anyone was going to seeing as how Gwen Stefani is the celebrity guest and all. Call me crazy. Hey Baby is a great song but I’m not sure it really worked for her. It’s a tough song because - to steal one of the judges words - it’s so stylized that there’s no way to make it unique, it already is. She’s cute and it’s nice to see her doing something young and hip. She definitely had fun with it. And I’ve got to say I can’t believe this girl is 17. That in and of itself is amazing.

Chris Richardson is singing a No Doubt song too. The thing is I can’t help but compare it to the original and I don’t like Chris’ version. It comes off as weak. Gwen Stefani sings Don’t Speak with a lot of power so it’s hard to stand up to her. He has this “Boy Band” quality about him that’s hard to shake. And it makes it hard to see him as a stand alone artist.

With this competition and the illogical way people have been voting it’s tough to make any predications. But I think it will be Chris Sligh and Hailey in the bottom two. As much as I’d like to see Sanjaya go, since he’s become such a joke, I don’t think it will happen yet. They’ll get sick of him soon enough.

So what about you? Do you watch AI? What were your thoughts about last night’s show?