Chris Sligh almost quit

American Idol" delivered its biggest shock of the season Wednesday night when Chris Sligh, an early favorite, was voted off.

But perhaps even more shocking: Sligh says he thought about dropping out of the competition that he says is less about making good music than making good reality TV.

Read the entire story by Newsday's Steven Snyder

America should be ashamed

Back to the results...

Chris Sligh is the last to join the bottom three.

Chris Sligh, Haley Scarnato and Phil Stacey.

I have to admit, I have no idea who it could be - I mean, it could really be any one of them for various different reasons. I don't even have a guess.

Ryan sends Phil back - he is safe another week.

I think between Chris and Haley, I'd have to go with Haley - Chris has been a solid singer - he's only had a couple of flubs, while Haley has struggled for weeks now.

After more than 30 million votes, Chris Sligh heads home.

Wow... I'm shocked. Unbelievable to me that a singer with his talent is going home and Sanjaya is safe. Ridiculous.

Akon was robbed

Gwen Stefani takes the stage with Akon to sing her latest single, "The Sweet Escape."
It sounds kind of strange to me - definitely not like the version I hear on the radio. She's doing something strange with her voice - like a throwback to her style on No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom" album. I don't know - and what's Akon doing up there? I mean, is he going to perform at all? It's like he's a glorified backup singer - not cool at all. Anyway, she announces the start of her tour - April 21 - and says that Akon will be going with her as well. I hope she lets him perform during the tour, at least.

What happened to the group song?

I can't decide whether it's funny or stupid or both. Ryan Seacrest comes out sporting a Sanjaya mohawk wig and it gets laughs in the studio, but I'm not sure how funny I think it is. Bu thankfully, it's over pretty quickly.

Tonight's Ford commercial is set to "I Fought the Law" best known as a Bobby Fuller Four song. The western theme is cute but these commercials are not as fun as I remember them being a couple of seasons ago - maybe they're running out of ideas.

No group song tonight - looks like they're getting right down to business. Ryan says he's going to ask the bottom three to head to center of the stage.

He asks Blake Lewis to stand first. He is.... safe
LaKisha Jones is.... safe
Phil Stacey is.... in the bottom three
Melinda Doolittle is.... safe
Chris Richardson is.... safe (complete garbage)
Sanjaya Malakar is.... safe (UNBELIEVABLE)
Haley Scarnato is.... in the bottom three
Jordin Sparks is.... safe

So, Ryan leaves Chris Sligh and Gina Glocksen hanging.

Our picks, love 'em or leave 'em

Your trusty Newsday bloggers are back with who we think will bite the dust. We stand divided in our choices. Should be interesting.

Eileen Fredes (6 for 14)
-Chris Richardson

Jamshid Mousavinezhad (5 for 14)
-Haley

Anne Machalinski (5 for 14)
-Phil

Jonathan McCarthy (3 for 10)
-Chris Sligh

And I'm out. Happy watching.

A salute to Sanjaya

This kid is nuts and I like it. Just watched the clip from last night's 'Idol' again -- when Randy was laughing at the end of Sanjaya's performance of 'Bathwater,' well, I was laughing out loud right with him.

See for yourself:



First off, I don't think his singing is that bad. It's not that good either. But I wasn't cringing or anything.

Now, onto the hair. EVERYONE is talking about that hair. What I have to say to that is -- I salute you AND your pony-hawk, Sanjaya.

Isn't that one of the great things about being 17? I had orange hair, fire-engine red hair, bleached hair, crimped hair... my hairstyles ran the gamut when I was 17, and no one could say anything, because part of youth is "finding yourself." My mom may have asked that I put on a hat when I was out in public with her, but besides that, I was doing my own thing and having a good time with it. Now with my somewhat boring and natural brown hair, sometimes I wish I could go back to those carefree days of youth and do something nuts. Express myself, as Sanjaya is clearly expressing himself for the whole world to see.

Do I think he should win? No. Does he deserve all the hype he's getting? Probably not. But he doesn't deserve all the scorn he's getting either. Sanjaya makes for good TV. And thanks to YouTube, a pick-me-up in the middle of the workday.

Back later with our 'expert' predictions. Not to gloat, but three of us were right on last week...

Chris... don't speak, don't sing - just go home

Jordin Sparks chooses "Hey Baby" by No Doubt. Finally, another No Doubt song, and a great one, at that. I'm a little concerned - the song has such a specific Gwen Stefani vibe - I wonder if she can pull it off.

Gwen says she was shocked when she heard Jordin was singing it. She tells Jordin that she made it sound so much more musical than she thought it was. She says Jordin is cute and refreshing and that she's excited for her.

This is the first week that I don't absolutely adore what Jordin is wearing. the skirt looks like 3 sizes too big and it just doesn't go with the top at all... I'm surprised she doesn't look amazing, like she usually does - even her hair is kind of blah - just in a ponytail.

Not sure about the singing either. Ugh... I'm such a huge Jordin fan - I wish she had chosen another song. Her voice loses so much strength with the lower notes, you almost can't hear what she's saying. And the chorus has almost no melody - it's almost like talking. It's just a terrible choice for her and I'm so disappointed - she could have blown everybody away with just about any other song but this one.

Randy says the song was very risky, but he tells her she can sing anything and that it was brilliant. Huh? I mean, I'm glad he liked it because I think she's awesome, but I just don't see what he thought was so fantastic. Paula has nothing to say, so she tells her how she's hip and young and some other nonsense. Simon says he thinks she is the most improved contestant, but that the problem with the song is that it was a bit copycat-ish.


Why is Chris Richardson closing the show? How could anyone think he's the best of the bunch and the last voice we should hear? At least he's singing No Doubt. He chooses "Don't Speak," probably one of the greatest No Doubt songs, ever. Not sure it's really meant to be sung by a guy, but let's see what he can do with it.

Gwen says that she's seen him on the show before and that she noticed he likes to do this vocal Olympics thing. Not sure what she means, but it doesn't sound like a compliment. She says she doesn't think the song needs it and she hopes he sticks to the melody and maybe bring it in here and there since that's his style.

Yuck. I'm not sure what else there is to say. He's out of tune almost right from the beginning. It's just horrible - absolutely awful.

I just hope Randy can finally see that he's bad. Randy has loved him every week that I've hated him. Maybe, just maybe, tonight, he'll remove the earplugs and really hear how bad Chris is.

But no... he tells him he likes the R&B flavor - that it wasn't his best vocal, but that he really liked his twist on it. Will there be no end to this insanity? Will no one acknowledge that Chris Richardson needs to go home? Paula says it was good. Simon says it was a good choice of song but that he wasn't crazy about the vocal, that it was OK in bits, but that he struggled in the middle and that he needs to pay a lot more attention to his vocals.

I think he needs to go home, so he's my pick for tomorrow. Of course, we all know Sanjaya should go, but I think he's got some life left in him - his fans will keep him hanging on another week, at least, I think.

Indulgent Blake

Melinda Doolittle chooses "Heaven Knows" by Donna Summer. Again, just like LaKisha, I wish Melinda would pick a different sound, a different vibe. We all know she can sing - I would love to see her take a risk - maybe sing a hard rock song, or hey, how about a No Doubt song during Gwen Stefani week?

Gwen says Melinda blew her away - she tells her that she'd wish her good luck, but she doesn't think Melinda needs it that much. Just as an aside, I'm starting to see what other people are talking about when they say she seems insincere. I love Melinda and in the beginning, I especially loved her humility - the fact that she really seemed unaware of how good she is. But it's several weeks into the competition now and she's gotten nothing but rave reviews. She might try to tone down the shock and just accept the praise, because I think it may hurt her if people start thinking she's faking it.

It's especially hard to believe she's so shy when she gets on the stage and is dancing around and full of confidence. I mean, I'm still a Melinda fan, but I'm not sure for how much longer if she doesn't start believing in herself.

As expected, she kills it. It wasn't as fun as it could have been, but really, there was no flaw in her voice. I think that since she sounds so fabulous all the time, she really needs to work harder on her performance - she needs to work the stage, work the audience, because a great voice will only take you so far - she needs to think long-term. Who's going to buy tickets to her show if she can't entertain?

Randy tells her that what he loves about her is that she interprets the song - she pays attention to the lyrics and actually lives the words. Paula tells her she has charisma and that she's joyful. Simon tells her that this wasn't the performance people would look back at and remember, but that vocally she was astounding. And of course, he can't resist telling her that he hates her outfit - so do I... I can't believe I forgot to mention it.


Blake Lewis is singing "Love Song" by The Cure. I had a feeling Blake was the one to pick The Cure. When Ryan mentioned at the beginning of the show that The Cure was in the mix, I immediately thought Blake or Chris Sligh.

Gwen says the melody is so strong and she think he needs to be careful about when he puts in the beatboxing because it can distract from the melody, which is so simple.

Does anyone remember when the semifinals first started and Blake said in an interview that he feels like he was pigeonholed into the beatboxing thing? He said that he wanted America to know that he can sing. And he can sing - that's why I don't understand why he keeps beatboxing in all his performances. If you don't want to be pigeonholed, then stop doing it - that's all I have to say about that.

I don't like the song, so my opinion is going to be colored a bit by that. I was bored to tears - it was just a bad choice of song, for me. I'm sure there are tons of people who love the song, love The Cure, who will thoroughly enjoy his performance, but while I think he sounded great, and finally decided to stop beatboxing, it just wasn't great enough to entertain me.

Randy tells him it wasn't a perfect song choice for him, but that he made the most of it. Paula says she loved it, that he's taking risks and being original. Simon says he's definitely the strongest guy in the competition, but that he's got to be careful because he's in the Chris Daughtry zone where he's doing his own thing. He tells him not to become too indulgent and boring. That's a fantastic point - I think that's what irks me about him. He sings songs he likes, he tries to portray an image of who he wants to be and he's not thinking about what America wants to hear from him, or about what songs America likes. He keeps singing songs that are fairly obscure and it's hard to get into a performance when you're not familiar with the song.

Phil's moving up

Haley Scarnato chooses "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper, one of Gwen Stefani's favorite songs, and one of mine, too. Gwen says she started off great but then went off on some other kind of melody, which she says is so unnecessary for the song. She says if Haley tones it down, people will really like to hear her sing that song.

Well, it looks like Haley has decided to cash in on her "sexiness." She got great responses to her hot pants last week and my guess is the same will happen with her short dress tonight. It's actually a really nice dress and she does look beautiful in it.

She sounds great, too. I'm not sure if I'm crazy about the breathy sound, but it fits the song pretty well, so it's not like it sounded out of place. I really enjoy listening to her, but I'm not sure she has what it takes to win, at least not against the competition she has this season.

Randy says it started out rough and that it was kind of all right - that it had some pitchy moments. He's right about that, but I don't think the pitchy moments were that bad that they needed to be pointed out, even. Paula says she agrees with Gwen - that it required just singing the melody and being vulnerable - she says she thinks Haley should stay more young and contemporary. Simon asks her the question of death - "How do you think you did?" That just means his comments are going be horrible. Haley says she thinks she did well. Simon says he thinks it was sweet but forgettable. He says it was too safe and that's she's going to have to do better than that.


Phil Stacey is up next and he looks like he's got a little color in his face - he's looking healthier. He chooses "Every Breath you Take" by The Police, which is a great song. I'm just not sure he can pull it off. Gwen says she was pleasantly surprised - she says she doesn't think he needs to do anything extra with the melody, that when he sticks to the melody, it sounds really, really good.

OK - while I'm glad he's got more color and not looking quite so ill, I have to say that now he looks a little painted. I don't want to complain too much - he looks much better, just maybe a little too made up. He sounds wonderful, though. The song suits his voice perfectly - he almost sounds a little like Sting - I wonder if the judges will tell him that he sounded too much like a copycat. I hope not, because he did a great job with the song - not one note out of tune.

Randy says he liked it, but he said it in a way like he didn't expect to like it. Kind of an odd way to compliment someone, but hey, it's still a compliment. Paula says it was a good song choice, but she says that he doesn't sing the verses as well as the chorus. I see what she means, but I'm not sure that comment fits with the song - the verses in this song are meant to be kind of soft, I think. Simon says it was very good, that it was a great choice of song. He says he feels like Phil is finally trying to do well in the competition. I'm not sure what he means by that - I think most of Phil's performances have been pretty solid.

There are no more words for Sanjaya

Gina Glocksen is a wreck, as Ryan Seacrest said. She's all emotional meeting Gwen Stefani and tells her that she's an inspiration. Gwen then tells her that she's picked a great song for her voice - "I'll Stand By You" by The Pretenders - and that she's been watching her. That must be pretty cool to have someone you admire and respect know who you are. I think I'd be pretty emotional about it, too.

Gwen says that a song is all about the lyrics and that Gina did a great job at keeping her voice in control. She said it was nice to see Gina just stand there and be emotional.

I love Gina this week - love her outfit, love her hair, love her song, love her voice. I think she has come such a long way from the beginning of this competition - she's just amazing tonight. I hope the judges give her the credit she deserves.

Randy tells her it was one of her best performances ever - and that what she's gotta do is believe in her voice and choose songs wisely. Paula tells her that she's improving each week and that it was the best performance so far. Simon tells her it wasn't one of her best performances - and as the audience starts freaking out, he says, "It was your best performance." He says it was so good, it was not only her best performance, but it was the best one so far tonight.

WAIT!!!!! How did I not notice this before? They're going to commercials and they show Sanjaya and Haley. WHAT DID HE DO TO HIS HAIR???? AGAIN??? It's shameful, really.


OK - I'm glad Sanjaya Malakar is next, because I just have to get this off my chest and I didn't want to have to wait too long to do it. Why is he making a joke out of himself? Does he not realize that America is laughing at him, making jokes about him, basically ridiculing him week after week? I read somewhere that he's been affected by the negative comments and that it makes him nervous to go out and perform. Well, then why, oh why, add fuel to the fire? Leave the hair alone, Sanjaya - you look ridiculous, and frankly, I'm no longer amused by it - I'm saddened that he is resorting to this kind of nonsense to stand out.

Well, at least Sanjaya is singing a No Doubt song - he's singing "Bathwater." And he goes down in flames in front of Gwen Stefani. She says he was nervous and forgot some of the words. How utterly humiliating - you would think that embarrassment would make him rethink the mohawk tonight, but I guess not. Gwen doesn't sound very optimistic for him - she says it's a hard song and that he chose it, so she wishes him luck, but you can tell by the tone of her voice, she fully expects him to bomb.

And he does. I barely recognized the song. I just don't know what to say about him anymore. I adore him, his cute smile and ridiculously thick eyebrows. It's all sweetly endearing. But his voice is only OK and really, he's becoming the train wreck Antonella was. I hope the nightmare ends soon.

Randy is speechless - he feels like Sanjaya can sing, but he just hasn't done it yet. Paula says he can't pull off the look because he's not going out there and letting loose. Simon, as always, puts it best - he starts off by saying, "I presume there was no mirror in your dressing room tonight." Sanjaya actually tries to make a comeback, but it falls short - he says Simon is jealous that he couldn't pull it off - again... taking for granted that he himself was able to, which of course, he didn't. Simon goes on to say that it doesn't matter what they say anymore - that Sanjaya is in his own universe and if people like him, good luck.

Sligh is slippin'

LaKisha Jones is going first tonight and I was kind of hoping she would branch out and try something new - maybe sing a Gwen Stefani song and rock out a bit. But she's becoming a bit too predictable for me. She chooses to sing Donna Summer - she picks "Last Dance." I don't like that she's sticking to the same kind of artists, but at least "Last Dance" has a fast part to it where she can let loose and show the audience something more.

Gwen Stefani says that LaKisha left her all sweaty - that she really blew her away - I'm guessing what she means by sweaty is what most of us mean by goosebumps. She says that LaKisha is very dynamic with her voice and that she should be asking LaKisha for advice because she was amazing.

I like the red streaks in her hair this week, but her dress is not cute. She usually wears such nice dresses, but this week, I just don't think it's flattering, especially with the boots - it's like the boots cut off her height a bit - I don't know - it looks odd to me.

I love LaKisha - I think she's awesome, but I have to be honest and say that tonight was not her best performance - her voice was really shaky on the lower notes. I mean, when she hits the high notes, she blows everybody away, but the beginning of the chorus was not the big bang I was expecting. still, her worst performance is still better than most people's best performance, so it's all relative.

Randy likes her boots - weird. He says he likes that she went for something up-tempo and says it was hot. Paula says she did Donna Summer proud. Simon loves the boots too. Maybe it's just me - I think they look weird with that dress. Simon tells her he loves the big notes at the end and that she's 30 years younger than last week.


Chris Sligh is next and I'm praying that he will sing a more mainstream song - something people can get into.

He's singing "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police. Gwen Stefani says he has a good voice, but he needs to work on the tempo because she says he was definitely off.

Well, it's a good song for him, I think. It's a song I think a good number people know and enjoy and it suits his voice really well. After Gwen Stefani mentioned him being off beat, I can hear it a little bit - I don't think walking around the stage helped him with that either. But it wasn't terribly off - he was just a little ahead of the beat at times. And his voice is so pretty, I'm willing to overlook it.

Randy says it was a good song choice, but he, too, agrees with Gwen. He says that the band was at one tempo and he was at another. Chris admits to being off, but says he did the best he could. Paula agrees that he was off beat, but that vocally, it sounded really good. Simon is brutal - tells him forget pockets, timing, whatever, it was just a mess, that it didn't represent him.

Protesting the politics

I just need to say, first off, that I'm watching tonight under protest. When ABC announced the return of "Dancing With the Stars," they made a point of saying that they would be airing it on Mondays in order to avoid competing with "American Idol." I, for one, was very appreciative - I enjoy both shows and didn't want to have to choose one over the other. Well, now that "Dancing With the Stars" has begun, it seems Fox had to go for the jugular. Instead of having an hour show tonight, they made it one hour and 7 minutes, so that folks would be forced to choose one show over the other, even if for just 7 minutes. Just on principle, I wanted to skip tonight's show, but work won't allow it. So, here I am, tuned in to "Idol," waiting to see what the top 10 can do with Gwen Stefani's music.


OK - I don't like the twist on this week's theme at all. The contestants can not only choose No Doubt songs, but they can choose songs from bands that inspired No Doubt - like The Police, Donna Summer, and even The Cure. It's not even a real theme - it's like they could choose anyone. I don't like it - I was kind of looking forward to listening to Gwen Stefani's music, which should also include her solo work, by the way - not bands that inspired her. Whatever...