Culturally Preconditioned

I didn’t watch the episodes leading up to the Top 12, so it was a good surprise to see who made it onto the Top 12 last week. My only surprise was seeing Jared go, but honestly, the guys do not make a single difference this season. Can’t say I’m surprised to see Brandon go last week. His performance really was week and I never saw him going far in the competition. Well, on to this week’s show : British Invasion. Can I just say that LULU is one of the best guests the show has ever seen? I love her. She gave really good advise to the contestants and she can actually really sing it.

Haley Scarnato - Tell Him (The Exciters/Billie Davis)

I told you she’s like McPhee-lite. Well tonight her ‘outfit’ certainly drives that fact home. It wasn’t painful to hear (and watch) but it might be her best performance to date (that’s not really saying much). But I loved Simon’s “you naughty little thing” comment. 5 out of 10.

Chris Richardson - Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying (Gerry & the Pacemakers)

For the first time, I could actually hear him sing. It was a rather pleasant performance, but the whiny, nasally quality is still there. What’s going on? Both Haley and Chris are giving us decent performances so far! 6 out of 10.

Stephanie Edwards - Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying (Gerry & the Pacemakers)

I can’t seem to get Fantasia out of my head when I see her on stage, so I might sound biased. I didn’t like the way she dragged her words. I wish Lulu had given her the same advice that she gave to Haley. It could’ve been so much better. 5 out of 10.

Blake Lewis - Time of the Season (The Zombies)

I want to dislike him, but I just can;t. His so-called ‘vocals’ have not improved at all. The beatboxing was, again, a very nice touch but I’ve almost grown completely out of it. It would work great in a talent competition, but to quote Simon ‘this is a singing competition’. Yeah right. More like a popularity contest. That said, I’ll be very surprised if he doesn’t end up in the Final Four. 5 out of 10.

LaKisha Jones - Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)

I’m not reallly a huge fan of LaKisha. I just can’t quite put my finger on what’s bothering me about her. I honestly don’t think I would like her at all, if she didn’t sing And I’m Telling You in the first round 3 weeks ago. However, I do think the song tonight was a perfect song choice for her. 8 out of 10. Oh, can I just say that one could drown in all that cleavage?

Phil Stacey - Tobacco Road (The Nashville Teens)

I don’t like Phil. He kinda looks like an alien. But truthfully, out of all the guys left in the competition, I feel that he’s the strongest, vocal-wise. But tonight’s performance? That was just bad, dude. At least it looked like he had a lot of fun, before getting the boot tomorrow. 4 out of 10.

Jordin Sparks - I (Who Have Nothing) (Shirley Bassey/Tom Jones)

Love her hair tonight. How can this girl NOT have a boyfriend already? And her performance? OMG. I totally loved it. Definitely one of the best performance this season. She needs to be in the finale, y’all. 9 out of 10.

Sanvagina Malakar - You Really Got Me (The Kinks)

This guy/girl/it/creature bothers me mucho. So much. Okay, so I absolutely loved his Signed, Sealed, Delivered during the auditions, but I did not like a single Idol performance from him/her/it so far. They are all just icky. Given the choice between watching his performance and the performance from the current batch of the Akademi Fantasia/Akademi Menangis/Akademi Drama/Akademi Haus/Akademi Lemau, well.. I would have to choose Death. 0 out of 10.

Gina Glockson - Paint It, Black (The Rolling Stones)

She sounded bland and flat for most of the song, which is a shame. I’m kinda disappointed because I actually like Gina. I don’t know. She might be in trouble tomorrow. 4 out of 10.

Chris Sligh - She’s Not There (The Zombies)

I love his personality, but that’s just not enough. For one thing, I think he should burn in the fiery depths of hell for turning a classic last week, into a Coldplay sounding FILTH. It was just slightly better this week (only because he didn’t wreck the song), but it’s never good when the audience can hear you gasping for air. 5 out of 10.

Melinda Doolittle - As Long As He Needs Me (Shirley Bassey)

BAD hair choice cause it kinda accentuates her nostrils. It’s a mean thing to say but it’s true. Looks don’t really matter to me though (as evidenced from my love for the bastard child of a leprechaun and a monkey from last season - Elliot). Anyway, ZOMG her performance blew all others out of the water (well, maybe except for Jordin). I absolutely love Melinda. Love her. But this photochop below really did make me laugh out loud. A lot. 9 out of 10.

And yes, I am still very much pissed about not being able to send in an audition for The Amazing Race Asia 2. Seriously? Biggest disappointment in my life. Biggest. And to a certain someone who says “takde rezeki” for us to be on this show, well there’s a huge difference between “tak ada rezeki” and “tolak rezeki”. You have no idea how much this means to me. No fucking clue (not that I’m surprised).