Idol Commentary News

Blake Lewis seems like a really nice guy. And we have no doubt he'll succeed in the music business.

But viewers and critics around the country are in agreement, after last night's three performances, regarding who should be crowned American Idol: Jordin Sparks. Here's what many had to say after the show last night:

Simon Cowell (to Jordin): You just wiped the floor with Blake.

USA Today: Jordin Sparks can handle a saccharine ballad with ease, and even threw in a little extra artificial sweetener by sobbing a bit to finish it up — but not before she had soared through the chorus and hit a crowd-pleasing glory note toward the end.

TV Guide: Jordin's slated for the big win. That's my story and I'm sticking with it! Jordin is my pick. After all, it is a singing competition.

People magazine (regarding the final song:) [Jordin] just stood there, opened her mouth and out came beautiful music colored with emotion. She somehow infused the song with radiance and strength.

One final time this season, let's hear from TV Guide's American Idol experts:

TVGuide.com: What's going through the finalists' heads right now?
Rosanna Tavarez: "I hope I win, I hope I win.... " [Laughs] "I hope I don't forget words during the finals."

TVGuide.com: Is it likely that at some point they'll freak out?
Rosanna: Of course they're going to. They're going to go to the Kodak Theatre and it's down to the two of them, so for sure they're nervous.

TVGuide.com: Our TVGuide.com poll had 68 percent of people "very shocked" to see Melinda Doolittle go, and 16 percent "somewhat shocked." In which camp did you fall?
Rosanna: Somewhat shocked. I know that Blake's got a lot of the chick vote, the girls who think he's cute and is "the next Justin Timberlake." Jordin also has a lot of the young crowd. Melinda's appeal is definite, but I'm not sure if she appeals to a lot of younger people in the audience.

TVGuide.com: Have you heard anything about the original song that will be part of each finalist's set this week?
Rosanna: The one from the songwriting challenge? It's supposed to be very inspiring — like every year.

TVGuide.com: Will it have some title like, "If Dreams Were Made of Candy-colored Wings"?
Rosanna: If it were called that, I would have to.... [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Do you think Blake Lewis has any chance to pull an upset and win this thing?
Rosanna: Oh, he definitely has a chance. This is the second season where I feel I have no clue who's going to win.

TVGuide.com: I was looking at the past five finals. We had Kelly and Justin, of course, then Ruben versus Clay, Fantasia versus Diana, Carrie against Bo, and then Taylor versus Kat. Of the six seasons to date, which do you think was the hardest to call?
Rosanna: I think the hardest was Ruben and Clay, because Clay was insanely popular — and still is. People weren't sure which way that was going to go.

TVGuide.com: Complete this sentence: "If Blake loses, it will be because... "
Rosanna: "He beatboxed in every song — even the ballad." [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: And "If Jordin loses, it will be because... "
Rosanna: Oh, lord... I don't know. Because Blake beatboxed? [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Who do you think has the most to gain from winning?
Rosanna: Blake. Definitely. I feel like Jordin is already a winner.

TVGuide.com: That her inevitable album is already presold, but Blake's needs that extra shot in the arm?
Rosanna: Yeah, it could use a little boost.

Thanks again to TV Guide's American Idol experts for providing the following insight. Let's get right to it...

TVGuide.com: Did you see this weekend's Saturday Night Live? They did a bit with Bill Hader as Ryan, forever toying with the singers' emotions, and Maya Rudolph portraying Melinda as having no visible neck.
Rosanna Tavarez: [Gasps] That's so horrible!
Kimberly Caldwell: Oh, no! I'm sure that hurt her feelings.

TVGuide.com: When I spoke to LaKisha Jones last week, she said she definitely felt the burden being the front-runner, that everyone was expecting her to serve up some "I Am Telling You"-type showstopper every time, regardless of the genre.
Kimberly: I totally agree. She came out so strong, and everybody thought that that was how she would be every week, that she's the girl to beat, but you can't be perfect every single week. She lost a bit of her spark and her charisma, and others passed her up in the competition.
Rosanna: It's hard when people expect excellence from you. But at the same time, it's one thing if you have a bad week. If you continue to have bad weeks, people can't reconcile the difference.

TVGuide.com: I can't understand why the judges are now harping on Blake Lewis for "always" beatboxing, when he in fact went most of the competition without doing it at all.
Kimberly: Exactly. I thought that it was really smart of him to not overdo it in the beginning, and to not overdo it throughout the competition. He's been singing, and technically his voice is not up to par with Melinda, but at the same time Melinda can't beatbox.
Rosanna: Maybe his thinking was, "If I make it far enough, I'll use it as like one of my weapons," but... one song after another of [emulates beatboxing] is a little of an assault to the ears. It's interesting, but only for the occasional song, not consecutively.

TVGuide.com: Why do you think "Bee Gees week" was so tricky for the singers?
Rosanna: Because Bee Gees songs are made for the Bee Gees to sing. Really. They write their songs for their voices, for Barry Gibb's falsetto. So everyone, if they're going to sing it in full voice, which is the better option, they have to lower the key, and now the song doesn't sound the way it used to. It gets lost in translation.

TVGuide.com: How much harder is it during this leg to have to do two or more songs? Is it, like, ridiculously harder?
Rosanna: I think it is ridiculously harder.
Kimberly: Yeah, for sure. For the one song, you've got the CD player on and you've got that song pumping into your brain in between commercial shoots and photo shoots and doing press. But now you have two, so your head is scattered, and you might give a little more love to one song than another.... It's stressful. It's just so much pressure, because the show is so big.

TVGuide.com: Is Jordin Sparks freakishly tall, or is Ryan Seacrest... just not freakishly tall?
Kimberly: I think there's a little bit of both going on there.
Rosanna: I think Jordin is starting to discover the world of six-inch heels. [Laughs] Just kidding!
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For quite some time this season it appeared as if American Idol had a serious problem on their hands.

While Sanjaya was a part of that problem he certainly wasn’t the whole package. Rather it was the general lack of interesting contestants and distinctive voices that threatened to take the drama out of the competition. Early on there was the belief that it was a two way race between Melinda Doolittle and LaKisha Jones for the title.

When LaKisha began to falter and strung together a few less than impressive performances, it seemed like the right thing for American Idol to do was just crown Melinda and call it a season. But as is often the case in life, when somebody stumbles there’s usually somebody waiting to fill the void - and in LaKisha’s place stepped Jordin Sparks.

Now things have gotten interesting. Perhaps Melinda peaked too early and won’t be able to withstand the growing number of voters that have rallied behind the 17-year-old Sparks. One thing is for certain: Simon, Paula and Randy won’t stop talking about the Jordin.

After Sparks sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” on Tuesday night’s show, Randy called it one of the best vocals the show has ever heard, on any season. Paula threw her normal compliments in about how fantastic Sparks is and added her ritualistic fare of generalized superlatives that highlight nothing specific about a performer. Simon then noted that Jordin could take the 60-year-old song and turn it into a hit record.

While the praise and accolades are fresh for Sparks, the judges are running thin on new things to say about Melinda.

Of course, she has consistently been the best performer on Idol - but when a judge tells you that he has run out of good things to say it kind of hurts your appeal. Melinda truly did a great job with “There Will Come a Day” and Randy told her that she had arrived. Not sure what he meant being that Melinda had been the only one to show up for the past six weeks.

The other four performers are really just in it now. The only thing to determine is the order in which they go home. LaKisha has found herself in a bit of a free fall as of late and covering a song from a former Idol champ might not be the best way to stop the drop. She sang “I Believe” from Fantasia Barrino and just didn’t present it in the same manner.

As for the guys, they’re interchangeable. One week one is hot, the next week their in serious trouble. Blake Lewis opted to sing “Imagine” and delivered a flat performance. The power behind that song was that John Lennon actually believed what he was singing and lived accordingly, hearing it from a kid just doesn’t carry the weight that Lennon projected.

Chris Richardson took on Eric Clapton’s “Change the World” and did a fairly good job, but everybody knows he is more than capable of coming out in a week and bombing, so it’s almost like you don’t want to give him too much credit. All the judges enjoyed the performance, but don’t expect Chris to be in the top three.

Phil Stacey is now realizing that he should have entered Country Idol rather than American Idol.

While it seems acceptable for the ladies to cross over from country to pop, it doesn’t happen often with the guys. The list of women from Faith Hill to Shania Twain to Carrie Underwood proves the women can do it. Not exactly sure who Phil could follow. Kid Rock? Bon Jovi? Phil did get a positive response form the judges, but he is just in the wrong competition.

After finding herself in the bottom two last week, LaKisha could be in big trouble. Who would have imagined twelve weeks ago that of the top five contestants, three would be guys?

American Idol is giving back tonight. But, first, TV Guide's experts are breaking down the ramifications of last week's results show ....

TVGuide.com: Do you feel a sense of relief now that Sanjaya is gone?
Kimberly Caldwell: I feel a sense of relief for him. I think that now the competition can really be taken seriously. But I think that Sanjaya is going to be greatly successful after this, no matter what.
Rosanna Tavarez: Relief?! No! I actually felt for Sanjaya when the little one got booted. He was a contestant who made the most of his experience on Idol and got a lot of attention for his idiosyncrasies (specifically the hair ones). Though I was tough on the guy (like a lot of the more critical viewers), in the end I felt the kid was just doing his best.

TVGuide.com: Were you shocked that he left this week?
Kimberly: I had heard that it was going to be a shocker, so seeing how he hadn't even been in the bottom three lately, I was kind of expecting it.
Rosanna: I wasn't really shocked since he didn't give his best performance. It was, however, a rough week for a lot of the contestants, so judging by previous weeks, I had already resigned myself to not knowing what to expect.

TVGuide.com: Do you think that the show will do better or worse without him?
Kimberly: I think the show is definitely going to be more credible with Sanjaya no longer in the competition.
Rosanna: Great question... um... have no clue. It'll be interesting to see what happens now that we don't have an Idol media saturated with talk of pony-hawks and peach-fuzz facial hair.

TVGuide.com: What the heck happened with the bottom three? How could LaKisha Jones and Blake Lewis have been there?
Kimberly: With Blake, I'm guessing that everybody just figured that he was safe, as always, and didn't pick up their phones to vote. And I think that LaKisha had a rough [performance] this week and was kind of out of her comfort zone so, with only a few left, somebody's got to be in the bottom three.
Rosanna: No kidding! Then again... why did Tamyra Gray get sent home earlier than she should have? And so goes the competition on Idol.

TVGuide.com: What was your opinion on Melinda Doolittle sitting on the stage and not picking a side?
Kimberly: You go, girl! It's the same thing I would have done.
Rosanna: I knew it was coming.... I would have done the same. It's the only sane thing to do.

TVGuide.com: How do you think the contestants did with country week overall?
Kimberly: I think everybody, every year, has a hard time conforming to country week, but I think everybody pulled it off.
Rosanna: Overall they did fine, considering they're not country singers. "Yay, Phil!" by the way... the twang suits him. He should twang in every song, even if it's "Hollaback Girl." Hmmm, that would make a great country song, I think.

TVGuide.com: Did anyone really surprise you this week?
Kimberly: Personally, I thought that even though the judges bashed him, Chris Richardson did a pretty good job right up until he said that "nasally" was a form of singing.
Rosanna: Phil.

TVGuide.com: This seemed like a good week for Phil Stacey. Were you shocked that he wasn't in the bottom three? Do you think he has a chance to win?
Kimberly: I think everybody who's left has a shot at taking it home because it's a pretty equal game at this point. Who knew Phil was a rockin' country boy?
Rosanna: Do you think he has a chance to win? My last two responses answer how I feel about your last two questions. But as for [that] one, hmm....

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Before the final seven battle it out on American Idol tonight, let's hear from TV Guide's experts once more ...

TVGuide.com: First, a moment of silence for my Haley Scarnato....
Rosanna Tavarez: Are you kidding?

TVGuide.com: Well, c'mon, she was fun to watch....
Rosanna: No, she was fantastic! But a moment of silence is a little much. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate Latino-music week? I found it a bit disappointing, considering the promise.
Rosanna: I just wish there were more Spanish songs, for which I commend our little Sanjaya. I was glad to see that he did a bilingual version of "Besame Mucho." But all in all, I thought they did well; the judges were just very harsh this week, especially Simon.
Kimberly: I really enjoyed it! I heart J.Lo! I thought everybody spiced it up. I loved Jordin Sparks, but the judges didn't give her rave reviews. I was confused because I thought her vocals were rockin'. And personally I really enjoyed seeing LaKisha letting loose and shaking her groove thang. Sanjaya really stepped up and proved he deserved to be there, so good for him! I give this week a 7.5 or 8!

TVGuide.com: I guess one factor was that the songs a few of them chose weren't really singer's songs....
Rosanna: Both of the Miami Sound Machine songs are extremely percussive in terms of how they're sung. The focus is more about the rhythm and syncopation, and not singing all diva or wailing.

TVGuide.com: That said, who most wowed you out of the gang?
Rosanna: I really liked Blake Lewis and I liked Chris.
Kimberly: Jordin is always on her A-game, and Blake was, as usual, very entertaining! Love those saucy moves!

TVGuide.com: And who aside from Haley do you think suffered the biggest setback?
Rosanna: Phil Stacey. I feel like he's a really good singer. If you didn't watch him perform and just listened to him, I thought his vocal performance was great. You could argue that he's just thinking too much while he's singing, but vocally he did a fantastic job.
Kimberly: Phil took a hard hit this week, but I think it was the wrong song for him. He's naturally talented and you can't take that away from him! Also, I'm not getting how Chris R. is in the bottom three all the time. He's such a sexy little thang and that boy can sing. I guess somebody's gotta be standing there!

TVGuide.com: Simon made headlines a few days ago by saying that this year's crop is by no means the best Idol has ever had. In your opinion, what have been the strongest and weakest seasons of Idol?
Kimberly: Well, obviously my favorite was Season 2 because those are my people! I was so lucky to be put in a group with real artists. There hasn't ever really been that weak of a season because the show became and stayed No. 1.
Rosanna: I haven't seen all the seasons, so I can't answer the question accurately. But I've spoken to other people and they've also said that this season is not exciting them as much as other seasons.

TVGuide.com: I just don't see the finals coming down to two sensational and Idol-worthy singers. I think it will be two very different types, and people will just choose which type they like better.
Rosanna: I don't think that it's because they're not Idol-worthy - there are three very, very strong vocalists [in the mix]. The issue is that this year lacks variety. There's not a distinctly country person, there's not a rock person.... They're all pop in different guises.

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Let's hear from TV Guide's American Idol experts for the week ...

TVGuide.com: What was your favorite performance from last week?
Kimberly Caldwell: I really liked Chris Richardson. I thought he was fresh, and he's really been bringing his A game.
Rosanna Tavarez: Blake Lewis. I think he was very sexy, and he's the only person I could foresee making an interesting album.

TVGuide.com: Chris Sligh has revealed that after his edgy "Endless Love" arrangement was panned, he spoke to Idol's producers about quitting the show, because he'd decided it wasn't the right competition for an indie/alternative rocker like himself. Have we ever heard of anything like that before?
Kimberly: Of course, Mario Vazquez quit for some unknown reason, but is successful now. I think Chris S. was probably feeling overwhelmed. The judges had been really complimentary to him so far and he got really bashed and wasn't used to criticism. I think if he continued to get praised he would have never had that idea [of dropping out].

Rosanna: It's interesting, Idol has been around for six seasons. Wouldn't you think that Chris would know [what it's like] by now?

TVGuide.com: Sligh also said that he changed his mind on songs — he was originally going to do "Give a Little Bit," but wanted to challenge himself more — the preceding Friday afternoon. Just how "late" in the game is that?
Rosanna: It is pretty late. Four days to put your imprint on a song is not a lot of time.
Kimberly: You don't have a lot of time to rehearse to begin with, so changing after that long is not a good idea. You choose your song the week before you sing it so you have to pick the one that's right for you.

TVGuide.com: I opined in TVGuide.com's American Idol blog last week that LaKisha Jones may now be facing an uphill battle, that she didn't get the memo Melinda Doolittle obviously did — you need to get out there and have fun once in a while and not always sing each song so darn earnestly. Agree or disagree?
Rosanna: I agree. We get it — she's a soul-singing diva. But she definitely needs to liven things up a bit. We want to see different facets of your personality and your performance capability when you're on stage. Yes, she's amazing with ballads. Now it's time for her to pick up the tempo.
Kimberly: I think neither Melinda nor LaKisha have anything to worry about for a while. It's hard to go out there and really enjoy yourself when everybody's judging you and you know what's at stake.

TVGuide.com: Who do you think has the best momentum going into this week?
Kimberly: I think Chris [R.] and Blake are totally kicking butt and bringing something unique and new to the show that everybody really seems to be loving.
Rosanna: Jordin Sparks. She's young, she's fun, she's not pretentious.... I'm going to be looking out for her.

TVGuide.com: Conversely, who's skating on their thinnest ice to date?
Kimberly: Sanjaya may be what everyone thinks, but that boy doesn't seem like he's going anywhere!
Rosanna: Maybe Haley Scarnato....

TVGuide.com: Based on your own musical proclivities, if you could preorder one of the finalists' CDs right now, who gets your $15?
Kimberly: I love Jordin Sparks' voice. I could listen to her for hours.
Rosanna: I don't think "based on my musical proclivities" is a good premise for me to give you an answer. [Laughs] I mean, I was in a pop group but I don't really listen to Top 40. I might download a song of Blake Lewis' for 99 cents on iTunes, but I don't know about a whole record.

TVGuide.com: Both of you were jazzed to see the luminous Gwen Stefani last week. Did you score any face time with her?
Kimberly: I didn't get to meet Gwen! Ahhhhhh!
Rosanna: I got a one-on-one interview with Gwen, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I've got to say, she's fantastic, she's a sweet woman, just fabulous. I had my dream come true!

Media mogul Howard Stern says he is backing the website votefortheworst.com in a genuine attempt to break the American Idol regime.

For the last two weeks, Stern has been promoting the site that encourages people to support the worst performer on American Idol. Website voters have selected Sanjaya Malakar as their candidate and turned him into one of the most talked-about Idol contestants ever.

"We're corrupting the entire thing," Stern said on his Sirius Satellite Radio show, the day after Malakar was voted in as one of the top nine finalists. "All of us are routing American Idol. It's so great. The number-one show in television and it's getting ruined."

Stern said he hopes promoting Malakar will destroy the competition and turn the show into a joke.

Meanwhile, Joss Stone turned down the chance to be a guest judge on the show - but is taking the opportunity to mock it.

The British singer admits she was a big fan of the first season of Idol, but the show no longer appeals to her.

"I think if you keep going with it, it's gonna get more and more cheesy... and that's a shame for the artists, because they just want any break."

Stone also questions the credentials of the show's judges.

"There's some great people there, like Randy Jackson... He has every right to judge them. But the rest of them... why are you judging these people?"

What do you think, fans? Agree with these comments at all?

What do TV Guide's American Idol experts have to say this week? Let's find out ...

TVGuide.com: Did you happen to catch this weekend's Saturday Night Live? They had "Sanjaya Malakar" interrupt Weekend Update singing "You Really Got Me," then cut to a crying girl in the audience, and then a crying Fred Armisen, and then a crying Dan Aykroyd.
Rosanna Tavarez: [Laughs] Oh, my god... brilliant!

TVGuide.com: Was it me, or was last week the most enjoyable performance show of the season to date? The '60s pop theme really suited a lot of people.
Kimberly Caldwell: Yes! Everybody who seemed to be having trouble stepping up really rose to the occasion, and the contestants who have consistently given stellar performances wowed us once again.
Rosanna: Everyone just really embraced it. I feel that had to do with the guest artists, Peter Noone and Lulu. They were very inspiring and full of energy, and I think that influences what the contestants do with the songs. And then the songs are from the '60s and pop-py.... I loved it.

TVGuide.com: What was the biggest mistake made by Stephanie Edwards?
Kimberly: I think it was song selection, song selection, song selection. Her voice is obviously amazing, but I really enjoyed Stephanie when she did more upbeat numbers.
Rosanna: What I noticed from the beginning was that her voice sounded "tired." I think that's why she wasn't as good as she could have been. I don't think it was song choice, it was that she had a lot less control and power, so it sounded warbly in places. I think her voice was shot.

TVGuide.com: I was wondering about that. The finalists who aren't trained backup singers or who don't sing this frequently, are their voices subject to wear-and-tear at this point, several weeks in?
Rosanna: Yes, you do build stamina when you sing more often. At the same time, professional singers lose their voice more than people realize. Christina Aguilera has had to cancel shows, Bono has had laryngitis several times on tour.... It is very common to exhaust yourself when you're singing that much. And in real life, you don 't always sing every song live! [Laughs] Eden's Crush [Rosanna's Pop Stars group] was never able to do this and we had to sing everything live. But the bigger you are the more you have these vocals in the stadium, so it sounds like you're singing live....

TVGuide.com: How is it that Chris Richardson landed in the bottom two? I'd say that was a bigger shock than Stephanie being there.
Kimberly: This happens every year. Someone delivers a killer performance and their fans presume that they're safe for that week and don't burn up the phone lines voting. I bet he'll be safe this week.
Rosanna: Chris has a style obviously reminiscent of Justin Timberlake and he did really well last week, but he lacks a little bit of charisma. Other than his singing and his performance, what can we say about Chris as a person? That he smirks a lot? I think there's a "politician" side to American Idol where they all find their niche and then they campaign with that. Chris needs to finds his "Fro Patrol," something like that.

TVGuide.com: Who would you give the award to for "Most Improved of Last Week"?
Rosanna: Haley Scarnato (pictured above right). Thank goodness, too. Haley seemed like she was finally having some fun, she looked her age.... Before, she was always wearing these formal outfits and singing some off-Broadway-style tune. This week she was cute, she should wear shorts all the time, that girl has a pair of gams on her and was working it. Not to perpetuate sexualizing yourself, but she looked cute. Just enough flesh. Those shorts were really doing her some service — as Simon noticed.
Kimberly: I don't know about "improved," but who was I most impressed with? Blake Lewis, without a doubt. He's gone this far without overdoing the beatboxing and just giving us a little taste or his original style, but now that we know that he's a great vocalist, we get to see all of the perks that are Blake — dancing, beatboxing, stage presence... His just being different than anyone else who's ever been on Idol.

TVGuide.com: I don't care what Simon said about Jordin Sparks, her performance gave me chills, she sang her song that well.
Rosanna: He said he wanted to jump off a bridge, but the song is somber. She did a a great job because she embodied it. Jordin is one of the stronger contestants for sure. I get chills every time I watch her.
Kimberly: I really agree with Paula Abdul on this one — 17 or 75, she's amazing for any age. I know I'm not supposed to say I have favorites, but... oops, I just did.

TVGuide.com: Any predictions for the week ahead? Will Gwen Stefani coach the kids in yodeling?
Kimberly: I sure hope not! But she's my fave! Can't wait to see her!
Rosanna: I'm actually going to talk to the producers and have them plant me in the audience so that I can be like ["crying girl"] Ashley Ferl, watching Gwen Stefani. Because I love her. I love her. And I love The Sound of Music, so when that song of hers comes on, I'm like, "Wind it up!" I'm constantly singing "Wind It Up."

Thanks again to TV Guide for the following review/preview of American Idol. Let's read this week's entry ...

TVGuide.com: In last week's chat, Rosanna predicted that Chris Sligh would face an obstacle with the Diana Ross theme, and sure enough....
Rosanna Tavarez: Mm-hmmm! [With false bravado] I'm telling you, I'm an expert!
Kimberly Caldwell: I think he faced an obstacle, but I definitely don't think he was the worst by any means. The reason he got into the competition and the reason he got into the top 12 is because he is so unique. But for him to just take a song and just sing it and do a weird arrangement, and with the whole wardrobe and losing the glasses... I think people were disappointed because they hadn't seen such a different side of Chris.

TVGuide.com: If rendering "Endless Love" unrecognizable wasn't the worst affront to Ms. Ross, what was?
Rosanna: Oh, lord... I'm not going to answer that. I'm trying to be nicer this week!
Kimberly: I will say that while everybody thinks that Sanjaya Malakar should go home, at the same time I feel like everybody is being harsh on him. He actually upped his game and gave one of his best performances.

TVGuide.com: Kimberly, you spoke to Sanjaya at the top-12 party. Is he feeling beat up on?
Kimberly: No, he's fine, actually. I thought that he was going to be upset or in tears or whatever, and he was totally fine. Maybe he doesn't equal up to everybody else, but that's not his fault. America's the one that put him in the top 12, and now America's mad.

TVGuide.com: The judges will say on the one hand, "Own your own spin on the song," but then last week they'll say, "Dawg, let the classics be the classics." How are the singers supposed to reconcile such conflicting advice?
Rosanna: I was thinking precisely the same thing, because they also say things like, "Challenge yourself" and "Do a big song," and then if you do Mariah or Whitney and you don't do it as well, they'll make sure we all know. I say just go for it. Chris Sligh stumbled, but at least he attempted to do something original. I almost prefer that he took the risk.
Kimberly: It's a really difficult call. If you really do believe in putting in a different arrangement, if you really think it will show who you are, then I say go for it. A lot of times Chris Daughtry changed up the classics, and they wound up being amazing. But at the same time, if you do it wrong you're ruining the song instead of giving it your own life.

TVGuide.com: The judges came down kind of hard on your boy Chris Richardson, Kimberly. What did you think of his performance?
Kimberly: At this point I don't think that anybody's safe, so I think he needs to really, really, really start showing off his vocal ability more. I think he's better than what he has shown.

TVGuide.com: This week, the theme is the 1960s' British pop invasion, with Lulu and Peter Noone mentoring the singers. Who might have the biggest trouble with that? Is this the week LaKisha and Melinda stumble?
Kimberly: If by British pop you mean Spice Girls, then I guess everybody's screwed! [Laughs] I think that LaKisha Jones may run into her first obstacle. Do I think that she will blow it? Hell, no. She's going to be amazing, but it will be a challenge for her.
Rosanna: I'll tell you why those two won't stumble: There's this incredible singer named Amy Winehouse, and she has a completely soulful voice in that same category, and all of her music is of that genre — '60s Motown, and '60s pop kind of borrowed from Motown. I don't think they're going to stumble at all.

TVGuide.com: Brandon Rogers explained that he forgot the words because he was simply having "too good a time" out there. How easy is it to forget the words like he or Haley did?
Kimberly: It's really easy. But how you handle it is what really matters. It isn't about, "Oh, my god, I forgot a couple of the words," it's about how you recover and if the audience can't tell you forgot the words. I remember Clay Aiken forgot the words during my season [of Idol], and that was during the top four or five.

It's not like, "You're a bad singer and can't be the next American Idol," it's just that Haley and Brandon, both of their faces just went blank. You could tell they were hunting for the words. Do a crazy dance or start doing runs, but don't let the audience know that you forgot.

TVGuide.com: Any other predictions about this week? Do you think we will we lose another guy before we stop chipping away at the girls?
Kimberly: I do. I think there might be another guy to go first. Do I think it will be Sanjaya? Probably not. But yeah, probably one of the guys is going to go.
Rosanna: If Haley doesn't wow us this week, it may be her [leaving]. She forgot more words than Brandon did!