The Idol Concert: Part One

So after all of the talk of how this year’s group was not as talented, the concert finally began (after Blake took off his security guard costume, which included a mullet wig)…

And there was nothing to prove that talk wrong as all of the Idols came out to perform “Let’s Get It Started.” I appreciate what they were trying to do with the song, it just didn’t work—especially Phil rapping…

But things got better as the grand dames of the group took over as Melinda and LaKisha gave us “Baby Love” and “Stop! In the Name of Love.” They sounded really good together and their dresses made it seem like we really were watching the Supremes…

Melinda and LaKisha were then joined by Chris Richardson for “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” Chris got a nice welcome from the crowd and he didn’t do too bad of a job, although the girls sang him under the table…

Then it was Sanjaya’s turn to try and hold his own with Melinda on “Proud Mary.” And surprisingly, he sounded pretty good…

But there was nothing he could have done to compare to the next performance—Phil doing “Blaze of Glory.” It was nothing short of incredible and made me wish I had voted for him a lot more times than I did. I’m still hearing it in my head almost 24 hours later…

But the euphoria from Phil’s performance didn’t last long as Gina and Chris S. came out to do a duet on “Tnks Fr Th Mmrs.” It was the worst performance of the night, which was especially sad for Chris since it was really his only song. It was just too low for both of them and a little strange of a choice compared to the others…

The downturn continued as Haley strutted out (and I do mean strutted) on stage for her solo number, “When God-Fearin’ Women Get the Blues.” It wasn’t half-bad, but Haley clearly knows where her strengths lie as she concentrated much more on playing to the crowd that she did her song…

And then, it was Sanjaya time, as he emerged from beneath the stage to the opening strains of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Sanjaya was definitely the most animated performer of the group, but unfortunately, his singing didn’t always match. After a musical introduction of “Thriller” and “Bad,” Sanjaya performed his solo number, “The Way You Make Me Feel.” And yes, he did moonwalk and slide across the stage and do a couple dance moves that made at least one mother cover her daughter’s eyes (It was Michael Jackson after all.)...

But that mother (or us) hadn’t seen anything yet. The next number opened with LaKisha draped across a white couch in a cabaret-style outfit. She would later be joined by Gina and Haley as they did “Lady Marmalade.” Now, maybe I’m just a big prude, but I thought this song was COMPLETELY inappropriate. The outfits weren’t that skimpy and the dance moves not all that suggestive, but I just don’t think a song about hookers is appropriate for a family concert. Feel free to disagree. However, one thing I don’t think you can disagree with is that Haley could barely handle the song. Gina, who’s looking much better than she did on the show, fared much better…

Then it was time for the lamest moment of the show as Phil, Sanjaya and Chris S. emerged to sing “I Want It That Way.” However, the song was actually just their opportunity to mock boy bands (which never scores well with me) and to plug the “So You Think You Can Dance” tour. Plus, Chris S. attempted a lame joke about the “Lady Marmalade” performance by suggesting the song was referring to orange marmalade. You could have heard a pin drop in the arena. And Phil’s proclamation of “How hot was that?” didn’t really help…

We got back to the actual performances with Jordin and Chris R. playing guitars and singing “What Hurts the Most.” No big surprise that Chris handled it well since Rascal Flatts is right in his range, but it was a little bit of a surprise that he and Jordin sounded so well together. And Jordin’s guitar skills were pretty good too…

Then, Jordin brought out her “best friend” Melinda for a duet of “This Will Be.” Not surprisingly, the duo sounded great together and have wonderful chemistry…

Then, finally, it was the moment many (including me) had paid to see—Blake doing his solo performances. He entered from atop the stage to do “Time of the Season.” Then he brought out some of his gizmos to record his own backbeat for “She Will Be Loved.” The beat was good, but it was obvious the tour had taken its toll on Blake’s voice as his vocals were pretty much shot. Then he did some freestyle beatboxing to the delight of the crowd, followed by “You Give Love a Bad Name,” which got a huge crowd reaction. Say what you will about Blake, but he is an original and it was nice that he was allowed to show that during the concert. He was joined by all of the Idols for the end of the song and to introduce the intermission…

The rest of the concert, including Jordin’s songs…after the break…