AI Wrap

Back on April 17, I wrote this:

Lakisha. I think her star is falling. I don't know what it is, but where others have grown stronger through the weeks, she seems to be faltering somewhat. She was a tad on the boring side this week. I predict that she will be the surprise elimination ­ maybe not this week, but within the next 3-4.

Here it is, three weeks later and she's gone. But I was wrong about something. It wasn't a surprise elimination - certainly not the way Chris Daughtry was last year at this time. Most people had come to the conclusion that Lakisha's days were numbered, and she probably wouldn't win it all, unlike the general expectations of Daughtry.

In fact, if you look at this season overall, there really haven't been any big surprises. I thought that Sabrina left too early, as probably did Stephanie, but neither were going to make it to the top six, so it's rather irrelevant anyway.

I guess if there was anything that could remotely be labeled surprise-worthy, it would be the longevity of Sanjaya Malakar, Chris Richardson and Blake Lewis. Blake's tenure has to be from picking up the supporters of the former two contestants, you know, the little fawning, crying girls who loved Sanjaya, the myopic young teens who watched Chris and saw JT. They are all in Blake's camp now.

See, Blake isn 't much of a vocalist when you come down to it. He has the ability to arrange music and make funny noises with his mouth, but he can't sing. He can't match the voice of Melinda or Jordin, he isn't even as good a vocalist as Lakisha.

But as long as the raging hormones keep the calls coming his way, he'll remain. The big questions now become, who gets Lakisha's supporters, Jordin or Melinda? Or do they just go away, leaving the two little time to build upon the fanbase they already have?

A note about Daughtry: I've listened to selections from his CD.

Home is a decent song; the one AI uses to send the weekly loser home with (I like it far better than You Had a Bad Day from last year). The rest of the CD, however, is rather bland. Chris breaks no musical ground that hasn't already been broken. His sound is formulaic and really uninspired. I know it did well, going platinum, but that really just reflects the lack of defined taste these days.

Based on the first CD, I can't see Chris going far with his music career unless he figures out something that makes him stand out, something that makes him less like, oh say, Nickelback.

Bucky Covington released a new CD recently. I've heard it's doing well. It debuted on the Billboard 200 at #4 and #1 on the Top Country Albums chart. I liked Bucky last year, especially when he was in his element - an element we've seen very little of this year.

Taylor Hicks, however, has not done as well as expected, which just goes to show that being top dog on the show doesn't necessarily translate over to the market.

This is the first year I've watched it every week. I skipped a fair amount last year. The show seems to become rather boring with fewer and fewer people each week and more and more need for filler.