On 'Idol': How viewers really are reacting to the 11 remaining singers

March 20, 2007
BY DOUG ELFMAN
Chicago Sun-Times

The Most Talented One
Melinda Doolittle, 29, Brentwood, Tenn.
A few weeks ago, Doolittle dialed up an overcooked song no one ever wanted to hear again, "My Funny Valentine." But she sang a sublime arrangement. It was the best performance of the sixth season.
Serious musicians are probably voting for her since she's a professional backup singer and studied music in college. She's humble on camera, too. She's like a cross between Miss American Idol and Miss Congeniality.

The Tall, Smiling Woman Who Sings Kind of Well
Jordin Sparks, 17, Glendale , Ariz.
She sings a step above a good cruise-ship crooner. Some of her song choices have been sappy from the Celine level. (Celine Dion is a sweetheart in person, but her English-language songs? Syrupy.) So. Sparks will probably win.

The Biggest Voice
LaKisha Jones, 27, Fort Meade, Md.
Judge Simon Cowell keeps saying this is a race between Doolittle and Jones. He'd be right if "Idol" voters at home actually voted for the best singers.
Jones has a larger voice than Doolittle, but she never rearranges a song. Impressive as she is, she doesn't personalize melodies. She also never says much. That may appear to voters like she's not excited enough or too certain of victory.

The Local
Gina Glocksen, 22, Naperville
Here's how lame "Idol" is. Glocksen is the rocker of the bunch. She sang Heart's 1987 power ballad "Alone." That doesn't make her a rocker. Singing Peaches' "Tent in Your Pants" would have rocked the house.
She's a pretty good singer. You gotta love the tongue stud. But her odds of winning are low. Then again, Chris Daughtry was the rocker last year. He lost. And now he's got one of the best-selling albums in America. Glocksen could try that route if she loses.

The Guy Who Looks Most MTV-Ready
Chris Richardson, 22, Chesapeake, Va.
Jackson thinks he's better than Jason Mraz, but Richardson sings worse than many pro singers in Chicago. Some of his song choices are contemporary, though. And he's got a good facial structure and hairline. Ergo, he'll get a record deal.

The One Who Gets the Military Vote
Phil Stacey, 29, Jacksonville, Fla.
He's the bald son of a preacher man who got sympathy for singing in Navy bands and auditioning on the day his wife gave birth to their second kid. He's a weak singer.

The Curly Hair Guy
Chris Sligh, 28, Greenville, S.C.
He has the most distinctive hair. He may also be the best male singer left, which makes him the seventh-best singer in the finals.

The One the Judges Hate
Sanjaya Malakar, 17, Federal Way, Wash.
Somehow, Sanjaya has stayed on yet another week. He has a light voice. The judges keep implying they don't know how in the world he's gotten this far. But why were they the ones who put him through to the final 24?
He should have kept his hair straight. (See photo.) The minute he went curly, he started getting voted into the lower ranks.

The One Who Uses a Human Beat Box to Mask His Non-Talent
Blake Lewis, 25, Bothell , Wash.
Blah-ke did an impression of a DJ ripping a record while singing horrible Jamaroquai's horrible "Virtual Insanity." Cowell was the only judge to bust Lewis for being a big "copycat" loser, because Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson were earless.

The One Who Cried Her Way to the Top 11
Haley Scarnato, 24, San Antonio
There was a "Simpsons" where a bad girl told Bart she could get away with anything by weeping. Meet Haley Scarnato. She murdered a song, she forgot lyrics, the judges dumped on her, but she cried and didn't get voted into the bottom three.

The Hot One Who Also Can Sing
Stephanie Edwards, 19, Savannah, Ga.
Edwards is the only one who's completely MTV-ready. She has done a very good job of covering Beyonce and Alicia Keyes. She doesn't rearrange their hits. But at least you can hear her tuneful, contemporary vocalizations.