American Idol

[I wrote this on Wednesday, prior to the results show. I'm posting it anyway-even though I was wrong about all 3 of the bottom 3! Unfortunately, either America likes different singing qualities than me, or they are voting based on their love for the person rather than on if they think they can be a future music star.]

Last Night, American Idol hopefuls sang songs from Stevie Wonder. The behind-the-scenes peak at the candidates gave us a much better look at their personalities than watching their onstage personna. To be honest, most had a difficult time singing Stevie's songs. If America is real, tonight Kevin will be going home. The other two filling out the bottom three should be Kelly Pickler (as much as I love her sweet disposition) and Bucky. Even though Bucky should be in the bottom 3, I must comment that I thought he did his best on the song "Superstition." My favorites from the night were Chris and Paris. Mandisa also did a great job, once she got past the opening verse and landed on the belt-it-out chorus and bridge. Taylor Hicks also did a great job, in spite of his awkward dance moves. My verdict for Season Five is that a soulful singer will steal the show.

On another note I have some possibly exciting news: I have pitched an article featuring Mandisa with TrueTunes.com and my editor, Mike Parker, is thrilled with the idea. One hitch in the plan: I am having a hard time getting contact information for Mandisa, to interview her. Her Web site was temporarily disabled this past week and who knows when the American Idol media group will return my request. Mike is going to see what he can do to find other inroads. If any of you know a way to contact Mandisa, please let me know. Use my "contact the writer" link on this site. Thanks!