American Idol: Top 12

Last time on That Time When America Screwed Sabrina Sloan:
Yes, I am still pissed about this. It seems lately that every contestant I like ends up being sent home too soon. John Vito and Jill went home way too early on The Amazing Race. Liliana went home too early on Survivor. Sabrina went home way too early. And then today, Cassandra gets kicked off of Top Model. Ahhh!

This week on Sabrina Sloan Would Not Have Forgotten Her Words:
So the truth is when I believe someone was unfairly screwed over, I often try to give them the "air time" that they lost out on. Which basically means I mention them nonstop. Like when JV and Jill lost, I was sore about it for probably a week. Like every time I thought about it, I would get so worked up.. and it was primarily their fault. With Sabrina, it was completely not her fault at all. In fact, since I never recapped that week, she sang one of my favorite songs. I have been listening to it a lot lately.

So this week was Diana Ross/Motown Week. Yay!!! I always love Motown Week on Idol and Diana Ross is one of my favorite people ever. She's hilarious, she's absolutely divine, she's a legend, and she seems like such a great person. I am so excited she was on this week.

Another truth: I haven't seen the result show yet. I know what happens, though. I just felt like I needed to get back on track and if I don't recap now, I may never get myself back on track. I still want to recap The Apprentice and Top Model. We'll see.

I want to go through the performances. I might not have a Paula moment to mention. Except for when she cried and Simon kept laughing at her. Oh, I also wanted to mention that I was disappointed nobody sang Where Did Our Love Go or Back in My Arms Again. Only because I love those songs. And you know what? Sabrina would have rocked this week. Ugh. Stupid America.

Brandon Rogers- You Can't Hurry Love: So when he totally forgot his words and couldn't even fake it, I started screaming, "OMG you forgot your words! Who forgets their words? You can't do that! Everybody knows the words to this song! Sabrina wouldn't have forgotten her words!" and hitting my laptop screen with the top of a shoe box. True story. So Brandon? You know all those times when Simon hinted that you needed to focus on the competition and stop assuming you're good enough to coast through? Well, you get it now? He pretty much ruined a great song.

Melinda Doolittle- Home: I wish she would have chosen a more fun song, but as Simon said, she made a boring song interesting. When she teared up at the end though, that really got me. Both girls who cried actually seemed extremely sincere. That's not including Paula. In her case, it would just be the crazy speaking. I just totally see where Melinda's coming from. She's never been in the spotlight. She's always been timid and afraid to stand out. And there she is, singing on this huge stage in front of so many people, and they all clapped for her. That's got to be overwhelming.

Chris Sligh- Endless Love: Chris Sligh was much better in the earlier stages. I think he's built himself into a box of someone who's a funny character with surprising vocals. Unfortunately, after all these weeks, we're not surprised every time we hear his voice anymore. We know what he sounds like. He needs to really pick it up and stop worrying about the small things. I feel like he's holding back because he's thinking too much.

Gina Glocksen- Love Child: This is a great song. I don't know how I would say Gina did. She's becoming less of an obnoxious contestant to me and is seeming more like the girl who knew America voted on hotness and tried to conform a little by wearing those nice dresses and singing typical Idol songs. So since last week, I've been seeing her as someone who's learning to be comfortable in her skin, and that's okay with me. She's definitely not my favorite, not my style, but I can respect her performances.

Sanjaya Malakar- Ain't No Mountain High Enough: What a classic, classic song to unfortunately have to be so extremely undersung. I don't hate Sanjaya because I haven't felt he's really ruined the chances of anybody great. AJ probably should not have gone the second week. Oh well. I guess I'm saying none of the guys are that excellent that I would be upset over Sanjaya staying instead of someone better. I think Sanjaya needs to thank his sister. If she wouldn't have tried out, made it to Hollywood, gotten cut in the final round, gotten consoled on film by Sanjaya, he wouldn't be here today. He showed in that one moment how sweet and selfless he is. So I don't mind people like Brandon getting voted off before Sanjaya. Whatever. Sanjaya is the new Kevin "Young Man" Covais.

Haley Scarnato- Missing You: Okay, so I am pissed that Haley is here instead of Sabrina. And I don't think Haley is a tenth of what Sabrina is as a singer. However, when she broke down, I have to admit I felt for her. What we saw was just complete frustration and disappointment, combined with all the stress and lack of sleep.. she was just overwhelmed. This is why I like Simon. I think he knew she needed something positive. And while he didn't say she was a good singer, he gave her hope, and wasn't trying to talk down to her. I hate every time Paula tells the girls they look gorgeous. Like, "At least you look great tonight. You look stunning. However, the vocals weren't there." That's just rude. So I actually thought it was nice to see how real some of these contestants are.

Phil Stacey- I'm Gonna Make You Love Me: I don't really like Phil. He doesn't necessarily annoy me with his personality, but there's just something there that makes me extremely indifferent about him. I didn't think he did a good job.

Lakisha Jones- God Bless the Child: This is a great song to sing. The beginning was a little weird for me. It didn't seem to flow into the rest of the song. But that's such a minute detail. She was great. And I do love that they showed her asking Diana Ross what to wear and how to have the mic set up. It not only shows she's thinking ahead, but I really shows how much she respects the legend herself. It's like she wanted to perform this in a way that Diana Ross found to be proper and acceptable. I don't know. I just saw it as a sign of respect and thought it was great.

Blake Lewis- You Keep Me Hanging On: Also a wonderful song. I didn't like how he executed the performance, but I don't think the arrangement was necessarily horrible. I think he just didn't sing through it enough. He could have performed it better. I do like that he did reggae last week, so I will stay on the bandwagon. He's a pleasant surprise from what I initially expected.

Stephanie Edwards- Love Hangover: I did not notice she forgot her words. I should watch it again and try to find it. As far as forgetting the words go, this week was unacceptable. I don't think any other season has had that many people forget their words during the final rounds, let alone on one night. Brandon's was the worst. Haley's I noticed, but she made a good effort at covering it up. Stephanie's I truly didn't notice. And I actually didn't think she did as bad as they said. I kinda liked it. It's behind us now, though, fortunately. I think I'm being a little protective over some of the others who could be screwed the same way as Sabrina was. Stephanie deserves to stick around. Unfortunately, she might get the Jennifer Hudson treatment from America.

Chris Richardson- The Boss: I'm sorry, I still don't completely get Chris Richardson. To me, he doesn't sing through his songs. He just isn't a typical singer I guess. I think it someone else sang like him, they'd get criticized about not holding their notes or having range. It just confuses me. He's very boy band-like to me. It's just not a style of singing I like, I guess.

Jordin Sparks- If We Hold On Together: She's a great surprise. Actually, after Chris performed, I kept asking myself who was left and I couldn't remember. This is more embarrassing for me than anything, and was just a stupid slip of the mind. It's just funny because Jordin comes out and totally delivers it. It's not like I don't remember who Jordin Sparks is.. I just forgot she was still yet to sing. But anyway, I loved what she did. It was beautiful. And she's very young. It's surprising.

All in all, I was not that disappointed when it came down to it. Brandon forgot the words to You Can't Hurry Love, a classic. Haley didn't do so well, but kinda touched the sentimental, empathetic bone in me. Jordin really impressed me. And everybody else was pretty much what I expected. And Sanjaya will always win the most ridiculous look category until he leaves. Ever since he wore that hat with a ponytail and looked like a sketchy middle-aged man, he's stolen the category. I give Jordin the best performance because she stepped it up big time. I give Brandon the worst performance because who forgets an entire line and just leaves it as a huge silent pause? Best Paula-ism was when she was crying after Melinda's performance. That's not really a Paula-ism, but her comments were all decently sane.

Who should be the bottom two next week: Sanjaya, Haley, and Phil should be the bottom three. Take your pick of who goes home.