American Idol Finale: Whose Now Is It?

I was a Melinda Doolittle fan so for me last night was boring. I think if she had been in it with Jordan, it would have been a much more interesting final to watch. I would loved to have seen her on that stage. Melinda demonstrated she can sing any type of song and not miss a note. But I guess if all you are interested in is how "cute" or how "bubbly" or "charismatic" someone is then last night was great.

Jean

Melinda would have beaten either of them. If it had been Melinda v Blake, most of Jordin's votes would have gone to Melinda (just like Blake picked up all of Chris's "cute white boy" support, Melinda would have received all of Jordin's "black soul singer" support.) And in a Melinda v Jordin matchup, the simple fact that Melinda is better at what they both do would have been decisive for her.

The only reason Melinda isn't in the finals is a lack of confidence throughout the season that made it harder for the audience to identify with her. I predict that when this season goes on tour, the opportunity to sing without worrying about winning is going to make her the real star of the tour. Jordin better hope that she wins tonight, because whoever gets second is probably going to have to follow Melinda in the show... and Jordin will need Blake between them to avoid looking like a rank amateur after Melinda does her stuff.

During our breakfast AI talk this morning I think I finally put my finger on the AI question - is it a singing competition???

If it is a pure singing competition - we're talking a room full of voice coaches, musically trained critics, etc.- then, Melinda wins hands down. Her range, flexibility, consistency - right on all the time.

If we're looking for what I think American Idol is, then the contest is about finding a good singer, who can be entertaining, marketable, appeal to the pop radio audience (that's often younger people folks) and is unique. Blake wins hands down. Many radio successes don't have the perfect voice, not even close. Studios can make voices sound great - but an image is necessary.

Jordin in my opinion fits somewhere in the middle. Great, but not top of the line perfect voice. Appeals to a younger audience, but isn't all that entertaining to watch. Would look great on a Tiger Beat cover. Unique? Not really.

Guess we'll see what happens. Truthfully, they need to get rid of the coranation song. It can be a death sentence from the start.

So what do you think? Is this a singing competition? Or is it finding a pop star competition? In my opinion, these are two different games to play.

Lori,

It has never been just a singing competition regardless of what they say. Simon is always looking for the "total package". Good singing is a plus.

So is Jordin the total package? How so more than Blake? Or Melinda? Or Chris D.? Really, it's a total voting competition - unlimited voting possiblities makes it that way.

Sidenotes...
What the heck was Ryan thinking with that "bi_ch" at the beginning of the show??? Is he trying to lose his job or what???? Yes, we know that bi_ch = dog, but the pretense of how he vocalized it??

Melinda Dooloittle's amazing talent, even in her absence from the finals, continues to overshadow both Jordin and Blake. I am sure that many people are eagerly awaiting Melinda's first album and couldn't care less about an album from either Jordin or Blake. Melinda will have a successful career long after both Jordin and Blake are quickly forgotten!

Melinda Doolittle's amazing talent, even in her absence from the finals, continues to overshadow both Jordin and Blake. I am sure that many people are eagerly awaiting Melinda's first album and couldn't care less about an album from either Jordin or Blake. Melinda will have a successful career long after both Jordin and Blake are quickly forgotten!

Hi everyone,
(Comments from over the pond.)

I think that the last poster came very close to the question(quote:is this a singing contest ?)un- quote.
To be honest ,I have been a Melinder Doolittle supporter right from the auditions,I listern to this little lady sing and my skin had goosebumps(that is to say she had my uttmost attention):Not many singers can do that to me.
I am 67 years old and in my lifetime I have listerned to some brilliant singers,some had a voice that moved me,Some made me want to tell my wife how much I loved her ,But very few have made me weep tears of enjoyment.So I want to say thank you MELINDER for the enjoyment that you have given to a very old fan:I wish you well and I know that you will be a very BIG star very soon .Now to Jordin : well what can you say about Jordin she is very young but blessed with great talent,for someone so young,I have granddaughters that are younger than her.Her family must be very proud of her .I hope now that Melinder's out that you all vote for Jordin ,with the right producers she could be a superstar. Allthough I hate to addmit it Simon C is very good at what he does,we in the UK know it.(We this side of the pond have to put up with him) some of you there might have seen a simler programme Called X Factor : thats one of his out puts.
Now lets get down to Blake : Blake to me .And I know3 that I am Going to get a lot of flack(WW 2 Nasty) ask you grandad what it means)Good at what he does But is he a Black man in a white mans body ?: (this is in no way ment to be racial)And I can fully understand that if you find something good that you can relate to then cross the boarders, and feel it and do it well :then do it ,(Witch he does) I would say a limited market.Lots of them out there.manly black ,hip hop,Etc,if he could get R Kelly to wright him something then bay be he could be a star.
But to put it (as we say toe the line) its all about money and rateings.Who will generate most money ?: in conclusion I really hope that La kisha(please forgive me if I have spelt your name wrong)Love you darling I throught you were great,and I know that you will do well (if ther is any justice in the music business)dont ever give up ,follow your dream.
Anton Jon-Dann a reel fan .I would to talk to fans of the show.so I will include my address ant.jondann@virgin.net (love you all anton

"So what do you think? Is this a singing competition? Or is it finding a pop star competition? In my opinion, these are two different games to play."

its a _disposable_ pop star competition, when it should be a competition to find someone with a sustainable music career.

The only previous winner who won't be a mere trivia question in 10 years is Carrie Underwood, and that because she looks like she's going to concentrate on remaining viable in the C&W genre. (Taylor Hicks might be able to find work doing singing anthems for Disney animated films, but that's about it.)

Unlike Blake and Jordin, Melinda has practically unlimited potential -- the fact that she even kicked it during "country and western" week demonstrated that. (one of the big disappointments was that she never got/took the opportunity to sing some straight blues-- I have the feeling she would have been devastating.) And I have the feeling that once she gets a chance to sing in front of large live audiences without the pressure of competition, she's going to remove any question as to who should have won this year.

I keep reading comments about how "unique" Blake is and Jordin is cookie cutter. I don't get it. Blake's sound is somewhat unique, but his image is not. Jordin's image is unique, but her sound is not. Blake unique? I've seen this every time a boy band breaks and each individual goes out on his own.

Hi everyone,
(Comments from over the pond.)

I think that the last poster came very close to the question(quote:is this a singing contest ?)un- quote.
To be honest ,I have been a Melinder Doolittle supporter right from the auditions,I listern to this little lady sing and my skin had goosebumps(that is to say she had my uttmost attention):Not many singers can do that to me.
I am 67 years old and in my lifetime I have listerned to some brilliant singers,some had a voice that moved me,Some made me want to tell my wife how much I loved her ,But very few have made me weep tears of enjoyment.So I want to say thank you MELINDER for the enjoyment that you have given to a very old fan:I wish you well and I know that you will be a very BIG star very soon .Now to Jordin : well what can you say about Jordin she is very young but blessed with great talent,for someone so young,I have granddaughters that are younger than her.Her family must be very proud of her .I hope now that Melinder's out that you all vote for Jordin ,with the right producers she could be a superstar. Allthough I hate to addmit it Simon C is very good at what he does,we in the UK know it.(We this side of the pond have to put up with him) some of you there might have seen a simler programme Called X Factor : thats one of his out puts.
Now lets get down to Blake : Blake to me .And I know3 that I am Going to get a lot of flack(WW 2 Nasty) ask you grandad what it means)Good at what he does But is he a Black man in a white mans body ?: (this is in no way ment to be racial)And I can fully understand that if you find something good that you can relate to then cross the boarder, and feel it and do it well :then do it ,(Witch he does) I would say a limited market.Lots of them out there.manly black ,hip hop,Etc,if he could get R Kelly to wright him something then mabey But to put it (as we say toe the line) its all about money and TV rateings.Who will generate most money ?: in conclusion I really hope that La kisha(please forgive me if I have spelt your name wrong)Love you darling I throught you were great,and I know that you will do well (if ther is any justice in the music business)dont ever give up ,follow your dream.
Anton Jon-Dann a reel fan .I would to talk to fans of the show.so I will include my address to take all the abuse that you will throw at me ant.jondann@virgin.net (love you all you fans who ever you support :anton bye the way the lady who's voice I loved most in my life , was a lady called Selina a beautiful singer who was murdered( very ,very,sad,I was a great fan of hers ,and thought that J Lo did a great job of keeping her memoury alive.Bye all and thank you for lettin me post Anton Jon_ Dann

I didn't like either of them.

I am tired of looking at Jordin's molars ... she has a big powerhouse voice but she never was my favourite - Melinda should have won it.
Blake's beatboxing drives me crazy - I won't buy either of their CD's.

Simple fact is that this is a prom king/queen contest...with a side of talent. Melinda, while INCREDIBLY tallented never appealed to the voters beyond her voice. She often sang dated tracks, sometimes even in a dated manner. By the end of her tenure, she brought a great fresh side to her singing...but it ended up too Dolittle, too late.

I hoped she would win, but honestly she will have much more lucrative opportunities after the summer tour because she DIDNT. Eilliot Yamin, Daughtry...all prime examples of what an fallen star at idol can become....

as for Jordin and Blake...Jordin is far more tallented....Blake may give a better performance, and may definately have creativity leagues beyond Jordin...but at the end of the day, this is a POP contest. Blake strikes me as more the 311/Sublime crowd...which is AWESOME and will help him be a success....but it IS NOT pop...and in the end i feel the votes will follow the pop star...Jordin.

Are we all watching the same show? Blake is talented in fact all 10 finalists are talented.(? Sanjya?) But when it comes to singing Jordin has it. Malinda got voted off end of story. I am tired of hearing how great she is. She obviously is not a favorite......Go Jordin

My wife has always watched Idol and I've watched the past three years. We quit watching Idol after Doolittle was voted off. There is something seriously wrong with a process that allows someone like Blake to stay on and a talent like Doolittle to be voted off. We won't be watching any future Idols and neither will my two daughter's households or my sister-in-law's household etc.... I personally know four households that used to watch Idol that will no longer watch it.

This isn't a singing contest, it is a popularity contest. Good signing doesn't always sell records and sell out stadiums. Genre, performance, and popularity outweigh singing by far when it comes to that.

Melinda was a great singer, but crappy performer singing crappy out dated songs. Not to mention she is near 30 year old. (I am 33 myself).

Blake is not a pop star. He will shine outside of Idol though because he is the most talented MUSICIAN (not singer) in the bunch. If he sticks to Sublime/311 or even Incubus genre/style, he will sell millions of records. The guy is that good at what he does .....but what he does just ins't pop.

Jordin ....17 years old, a voice close to Melinda's and far far better than the vast majority of the pop starlettes who have made millions of dollars in the past (Britney Spears anyone?). Not to mention that she is likeable due to her great personality. Sky is the limit for her and I imagine she will be a far better singer AND performer by the time she is Melinda's age.

Popularity contest .....Jordin wins by landslide.

It's interesting. It was originally POP Idol. And not just about singing. Plus, the CDN Idol starting up is letting people bring instruments to accompanying themselves.

Meanwhile, was I the only one that was sort of slightly unimpressed by Jordin? She was good, but she wasn't perfect as people seem to hark that she is and her version of Fighter paled to the original, while Blake's Maroon 5 wasn't that off from the original (and again, M5's performance last week just showed you don't need a perfect voice to be a multiplatinum selling artist). I think Jordin won but I prefer if Blake did but the finals were completely geared toward Jordin's voice and demographics (what was with that original crappy song anyways? blech. and trust me. I love my schmaltz but that was crap). I think I would have preferred if the finals were Melinda and Blake.

I'm so sick of people complaining about the schmaltzy Idol-anthem. The viewers chose that song, not the producers and not Jordin and yet so many Blake fans refer to how that song favored Jordin. Maybe Blake's fans should have influenced the song selection by voting. Given that LaKisha, Melinda or Jordin would have outsung Blake on that the song, selection would have been skewed by the ladies'fans. Blake's fans would have voted 4 times more often to offset the voter selection.

My dog could rush into a burning building to save a child and that still wouldn't make her Lassie anymore that Blake's ability to sing a Maroon 5 song makes him a great vocalist.

It is a singing contest - that's why the contestants don't use their own instruments.
1. Blake - good performer, but is a niche singer. He will do well in his own corner of the world - very well, but is not an idol.
2. Malinda - best singing voice of all contestants, but does not present herself well. Simon asked her repeatedly to stop with the suprised look. She sang the best of everyone, but didn't present HERSELF very well. Very very good, but not an idol.
3. LaKisha - very talented singer, but lost the heart to finish. She admited it herself after she was voted off. She reached the point a month ago where she no longer wanted to win. It showed in her performances. Even so they were good, but suffered. No heart for the long haul. The entertainment business is grueling. She doesn't have the heart for it - not an idol.
4. Jordan - not the best singer, but exceptionally good, almost the equal of Malinda. Not quite, but close. She's young enough to be Malinda's equal or better by the time she is Malinda's age. And remember; for all Malinda's talent, this is what she has been doing for a living for a long time and that translates into a lot of training. Jordin, on the other hand has no formal training at all. Pretty impressive. On top of that she presents herself well, not perfect, but well. Her presence is star quality (in the rough). And she has the heart to do it. She was not the best at everything, but good enough in everything to finish on top - overall. She is idol quality.

.

AMERICAN IDOL FRAUD (AI is NOT Live)

Jordan cried at the end of her performance of This Is My Now. She did indeed. Now go back and look at the snips of that performance shown at the end of the show.

PRESTO CHANGE-O! NO MORE TEARS.

For those of you who recorded last night's show, replay it watching more closely. At the end of the show there are snips of Jordan's and Blake's performances. The snips are from ADDITIONAL performances of their songs.

Live! MY BUTT.

It's obvious the producers picked witch performances they let the TV audience see.

This WREAKS of vote rigging fraud.

.

@Goober:

I can't adress this with 100% certainty, but I recall (from doing an earlier AmIdol story) that the clips at the end of the show are indeed taken (or often taken) from the run-thoughs the contestants do before the show. IIRC, the reason is mainly time efficiency: it's easier for the producers to have clips in the can rather than cut them together during a live performance.

I can say for certain that there is an actual live performance that goes out over the air, having attended one; and if you surf around, you'll see that other media based in LA (like EW and the LA Times) have reporters attending these live shows every week. We're not involved in a Capricorn-One-like coverup/hoax. The show we see at the theater is the same one that goes out over the air. (Of course, the show is only "live" to the east coast, the rules of space-time being what they are.)

It's very interesting reading the comments.

Jordin should be, and will be, the next American Idol. The star potential is there, the talent, etcetera...

And she has done this while overcoming some major hurdles. Remeber, she was a plus-size teen model. I thought women had to be sexy and rail-thin to have a successful career.

America really has come far in the last 20 years regarding race. Today, a bi-racial 17 year old like Jordin can be on TV and it's not a big deal. Now, rewind to the mid-80's and Vanessa Williams as Miss America. Before the pictures scandal, there was a big uproar amongst the bigots and racists about her dual ethnicity. We, as a countrym have come a long way.

Jordin is a Christian and has sang for anti-abortion rallies. I'm really surprised that the left-wing press hasn't crucified her for that. Wait until after American Idol; they will do their darndest to try.

I'm getting the feeling that some people think the reason it was Jordin and Blake in the final was because of the younger audience. Let's rewind to last year's American Idol. Taylor Hicks? Was that the teen crowd that crowned him American Idol? No, many of them were rooting for Chris, and it wasn't to be.

I'm 42. Why didn't I vote for Melinda? She'd very talented, but it was like listening to Gladys Knight. Fantastic singer, but I wouldn't buy the CD.

I will say this - for all of the complaints about this being the worst season ever, I guarantee that this year's top 3 will sell more CD's and iTunes than any other previous season's Top 3. Jordin, Blake and Melinda are the best and most original Top 3 yet. Congratulations to all three, because the future is very bright for all of them!

As a lover of music opera, jazz, the works
Miss Melinder has a lovely voice and
a sweet smile;

amen to Lori Anton and P lukasiak;

I loved watching her mom and dad especially her mum after she performed.

Special Lady Melinder will go far with her spirit.
PS Jordin is cute too; hope she has the strong roots to have a singing career and come out centered.

This past week Melinda Doolittle finally finished the vocals on her CD! All of that happens quickly then we can expect to see her CD on shelves this Fall! Also, keep your eye out for her first official single that should be hitting airwaves in the coming weeks. Melinda is going to be throwing a lot of music at us in the coming months so get ready!
Come join us to support this amazing singer http://www.mdstreetteam.com and go to the forum to read the topic of Melinda Doolittle what she have to share with us. “