Idol Chit-Chat
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Sunday, September 16, 2007

The Idol Concert: Part Two

After the intermission, it was time to get patriotic as Phil Stacey, in his Navy uniform, did “America the Beautiful” backed by the girls (minus Jordin). It was another phenomenal performance. In fact, when Phil left the stage leaving only the girls, the song fell apart as it dissolved into some kind of weird hip-hop sounding thing…

Gina introduced the next act, a band formed by the guys from the group. Phil said they picked songs that people could sing along to, which made “Crazy” a little bit of a strange choice (although we tried really hard). They also did “Hey Jude,” which the crowd responded to a lot better. However that one was pretty much ruined by Sanjaya’s screaming at the end. Sanjaya spent most of the night walking the line between cute and ridiculous and that one definitely crossed it the wrong way…

Then it was time for Gina’s solo song—even though we’d seen her tons already—Pink’s “Who Knew” (which Phil had earlier called the greatest pop song ever written). She did a decent job (The Gina fan behind me certainly liked it.), but she’s no Pink. And I think it’s a shame that she didn’t do her showstopper, “I’ll Stand By You” (I presume she couldn’t because of Carrie recording it.); but Gina clearly enjoyed the song since Pink didn’t clear it for her to do on the show…

Chris R. returned to perform “Ain’t No Sunshine,” which he finished with the help of Blake. Then the two engaged in a beatboxing duel, which Chris jokingly won (Chris does have skills, but he’s no Blake.)…

Then it was time for LaKisha’s solo and it was a showstopper as she tore up “I Will Always Love You” and received a standing ovation. It’s a shame that she couldn’t have performed this one on the show…

Then, Chris R. got his solo spot as he did Maroon 5’s “This Love.” And no, it was not as good as Blake…

Phil returned to perform “It’s Your Love” with Gina (who got A LOT of stage time) and they blended well together; but Phil sang her under the table.

Then Chris S. returned with Haley, Chris R. and Sanjaya to do “Life Is a Highway.” Again, Haley struggled with the song, but she looked good while singing it…

Finally, Melinda got her solo with “You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman).” It was, of course, outstanding. Then, she was joined by LaKisha, Gina and Haley for “Ain’t No Other Man.”

Then, the American Idol, Jordin, finally emerged from under the stage, looking gorgeous in fuschia. But she sounded more gorgeous than she looked as she gave the performance of the night with “(I Who Have) Nothing.” Jordin gave it all of the emotion it deserved as you could see the tears in her eyes on the big screen and I had chills when she was done…

Then Jordin did “Heartbreaker,” “Broken Wing,” which she dedicated to her great-grandmother, and “You Were Meant for Me” with her guitar. Jordin ended her set with her worst performance song from the show, “Livin’ On a Prayer” and she struggled with it a little last night. The rest of the Idols joined her on it to “close” the show, but of course, they weren’t done yet…

The encore began with Jordin doing “This Is My Now” and it sounded just as stupid last night as it did when she first sang it. I guess she’s obligated to sing the winner’s single on the tour, but I would’ve much rather heard her new single, “Tattoo”…

Then each Idol came out to give a short reprise of their solo songs: Phil with “Blaze of Glory,” Haley with “God-Fearin’,” Sanjaya with “The Way You Make Me Feel,” Blake with “You Give Love a Bad Name,” Gina with “Who Knew,” LaKisha with “I Will Always Love You,” Chris R. with “This Love,” Melinda with “You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman),” and finally Jordin with “This Is My Now.” Chris S. did not get a reprise since he didn’t have a solo, but he did come out for the goodbye with the rest of the Idols, who emerged from a door in the floor of the stage (It was pretty cool.)…

My final thoughts on the show…after the break…