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May 3, 2007 - Chris Richardson and Phil Stacey out of Idol |
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It wasn't exactly in a "Blaze of Glory," but Phil Stacey did
go out, and it turns out Chris Richardson wasn't "Wanted
Dead or Alive" on American Idol anymore.
A day after belting out those respective tunes on Tuesday's
Bon Jovi-themed performance show, those two gentlemen were
the victims of a double |
elimination that was decided by more than 135
million votes, including the 70-plus million
received last week before the Idol Gives Back
charity special, during which no one was sent home.
The ousting of Stacey and Richardson leaves four
aspiring pop stars in the mix, including the
competition's sole remaining male, a newly
dark-haired Blake Lewis, who gambled and won last
night with his beatbox-heavy interpretation of "You
Give Love a Bad Name." |
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Stacey's take on "Blaze of Glory" was neither blazing nor
glorious, however, with Simon Cowell presciently saying that
he didn't think the 29-year-old Floridian had done enough
with the song to make it through to the next round, calling
it just "okay."
Randy Jackson called it Stacey's "best performance ever,"
but the smooth-headed singer's slow-going early rounds had
finally caught up with him.
Similarly, Richardson, despite his Timberlake-ish style and
the fact that he's been steadily improving throughout the
season, had never really distinguished himself the way Lewis
did, not to mention the three lady finalists, who have been
favorites all along.
While his redo of "Wanted Dead or Alive" (already thoroughly
manhandled by Chris Daughtry last year) won praise from
Jackson and Paula Abdul, Cowell doubted whether it was "good
enough to stay another week."
"Thank you to everybody for keeping me in this long," the
23-year-old Virginia native said. (Of course, what he really
meant was, "Damn you, Simon!")
But now things can really get interesting, considering the
hardy souls left on stage have all been deemed good enough
to win by at least one judge at one time or another.
Abdul called Melinda Doolittle "a rock star" after the
former backup singer's performance of "Have a Nice Day," and
Cowell once again said she was in a different league from
her fellow contestants.
LaKisha Jones redeemed herself after a few iffy weeks,
earning a smooch on the lips from Simon after tearing into
"This Ain't a Love Song." Indeed, the ballad was more like a
mating call to Cowell, who planted one on her after
expressing his relief that she seems to be back on track.
"You really gave everyone a little sumpin sumpin," Abdul
said, before Jones actually did give Cowell a little sumpin
sumpin.
Jordin Sparks, however, did not do it for the judges last
night, but she is alive, well and doing more than "Livin' on
a Prayer" in this competition.
Lewis, meanwhile, reworked "You Give Love a Bad Name" and
did himself a good turn, reclaiming his spot as the
individualist this season and giving Simon's mother a reason
to rock out, as pointed out by Paula.
On the professional side, R&B artist Robin Thicke (son of
Growing Pains' Alan) sang "Lost Without U" and this week's
celebrity mentor, Jon Bon Jovi, crooned the new ballad "(You
Want to) Make a Memory" off his upcoming album Lost Highway,
due out June 19.
The New Jersey rocker and his namesake band have also been
tapped to be the first to take the stage at his home state's
newest arena, a 19,500-seat behemoth called The Rock, where
Bon Jovi will play a few shows starting Oct. 26.
Next week, Barry Gibb will be on hand to inject a little
Saturday night fever into the Idol proceedings. "Sounds like
a great adventure and I am really looking forward to it,"
the former Bee Gee wrote on his Website. |
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