american idol recap: week 8

rock week finally arrived on american idol, which obviously means one thing...bon jovi? mock it if you will, but think of all the times that you're at a party or a bar and a bon jovi song comes on. everyone sings it. bon jovi songs get the crowd going. so of course, the american idol producers invited members of bon jovi to mentor the contestants. and the results? well, here's a recap:

first up, phil stacey. he continued his streak of luck when the judges showered him with high praise and compliments for the third week in a row. he's no dummy, and since country week, phil's tried to find songs that have a twang. so phil picked "blaze of glory" from young guns. he was actually pretty good and might actually stay in the competition.

next up was the cute and bubbly jordin sparks. last time jordin sang a rock song, she delivered a pretty solid rendition of pat benatar's "heartbreaker". so although it was a male rock song, bon jovi seemed like it might seem a good fit for her. well, bad news bears because the judges were anything but crazy about her performance. i will say that i was actually so worried she might get kicked off (especially since she could've maybe been kicked off last week), that for the first time in it's six seasons did i actually pick up my phone and vote for someone on american idol.

after jordin, we had lakisha. to be honest, she's kinda lost that charm in my eyes. i think she started off too strong at the beginning of the season with "and i am telling you", because since then, nothing that she's sang since has compared to that performance. but with that said, last night she came pretty close. her soulful rendition of "this ain't a love song" helped simon shed that tough exterior.in fact, she charmed the judges so much that simon actually grew a heart for about 10 seconds and asked her for a kiss. on the lips! despite the fact that lakisha planted one on simon, she's back on the good graces of the judges. i had dismissed her and thought it might be time for her to go home, but after last night, i think she redeemed herself and earned another chance.

then we had blake lewis, with a brand new darker 'do. i will admit that the way he used to fit in beat boxing into all of his songs got on my nerves. but then came tony bennett week or some crap and he realized you can't do it with every song. so i think that's when blake started becomign one of my favorites. but last night, he took a great risk by creating a very orignal arrangement to "you give love a bad name". well, it paid off. blake not only gambled big, but he won big in return getting smiles from all three judges. my favorite performance of the night.

next up chris richardson who performed "wanted dead or alive". he started at a disadvantage right away. he mentioned that chris daughtry performed the song last year, which automatically earned him comparisons. it sounded okay, but compared to all the other performers, it sounded too karaoke. i agree with simon that i'm not sure if it's enough to keep him in the competition for another week. my least favorite performance of the night.

lastly was melinda dolittle, who sang a newer bon jovi song. she went with "have a nice day". i'll admit that at the beginning of the competition, her surprised faces and humbling demeanor started getting a little annoying. but she has steadily gained the confidence she needs while maintining her grounded personality. add that with her awesome performances and you have a possible idol winner. had blake not gone out on such a limb, she would've been my favorite performance of the night.

my thoughts on who goes home tonight:

i WANT phil and chris to go home.

i THINK it will actually be chris and jordin.