So it’s Bon Jovi night on American Idol. Please tell me why this is? Bon Jovi? I mean…that’s so retro. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about the 80’s, but still…

Let’s see how it went… (if you blinked you would have missed Antonella Barba and Gina Glocksen in the audience)

Idol Gives Back update – $70 million raised through votes and sponsors. That’s pretty awesome I must say…I must also say that Ryan looks nice in black with the top button undone on his shirt. But moving on…

Bon Jovi montage kicks us off…we’re subjected to hair that we hoped to never see again, but when you sell 120 million albums, I guess we can re-live a bit. Jon Bon Jovi does look pretty good with short hair, does he not? Although, I forgot how big his nose is and how much he looks a bit…monkey-esque. A little bit of mentorship with the kids, and we’re off to the competition.

Phil Stacey – “Blaze of Glory” – During the intro, Phil sounded pretty great, and he’s redeeming himself over the last few weeks. But why oh why did Phil have to start his song out in the audience? I really dislike it when they do that. The audience is just fake smiling at him because they are on camera and have to. But I must admit, once again, that he was pretty good. Randy loved it, Paula loved it, Simon of course did not and thinks Phil is on his way out.

Jordin Sparks – “Livin’ On A Prayer” – Love her hair, hope she wins. Who knew that tommy used to work on the docks, and so did Jordin’s hair stylist. I do like the poofyness and the red streaks. I’m not so sure it’s the song I would have picked for her though. It was completely out of her comfort octave and she was weak on some of the low notes. I did, however, like the guitarists on stage with her. Randy caught the roughness and Jordin knew it was rough too. Simon thought her look was out of the Aaddaammss Family – but Jordin thanked him for his feedback.

LaKisha Jones – “This Ain’t a Love Song” – Viewer Question: “What kind of training have you had before the show?”. Answer: “No training, just a church girl…” I am sad to say that I’m ready for her to go. I love her voice, and I know that she’s trying to make a better life for her daughter (which she already has), but she’s not doing it for me any more. Every time she finishes singing, she looks like she did not enjoy herself at all, and that bothers me. She doesn’t know about Bon Jovi, so this is all new to her. Did she bring it? Speaking just for myself I think she did. I’ve never heard this song before, but I liked it. However, I have a feeling Simon will tell her she was yelling again. All of the judges loved it, and Simon gave her a kiss on the lips after the performance – he loved it. Now I’m shocked.

Blake Lewis – “You Give Love a Bad Name” – Uh…why did he die his hair for this performance? It doesn’t help. In the preview video, Blake warned us that he was going to put his own rendition on the song…what was it? Well…I’m not really sure. I hated the hair, hated the beat boxing at the beginning and all throughout. I hated how slow it was. Even Jon was worried that Blake not singing for 16 bars was going to be a challenge on a singing competition. Actually, the look doesn’t bother me any more – I have decided I like the hair. What bothered me was the beat boxing that completely wasted the song – the techno remix?? What did the judges think? Randy gave him the award for the most original rendition and he loved it. Paula was completely wet over it. Simon also really liked it. What the hell are they thinking??

Chris Richardson – “Wanted Dead or Alive” – Hot, of course…but let’s start with the Viewer Question: “What do you tell yourself before you walk out on the stage…” Answer: “Just have fun, make it like it’s the last…just have fun…” This might be prophetic…since I predicted that last week would be his last. Jon wanted him to find the “blue note”, or the emotion, of the song. Did he do it? Oh I think so. While I don’t really care for the original song, I think Chris did pretty well. His voice is not really designed for rock music, but hey, neither was Jordin’s. Randy liked it, Paula liked it, Simon wasn’t sure it was enough to stay on the show.

Melinda Doolittle – “Have a Nice Day” – This is the one I was waiting for, because rock is so not her genre. Jon: “Honey take it to church” Melinda: “Ok, I like church”. I love her. Love her, love her, love her. Holy Moses this girl can rock it. Who knew that such a demure personality could kick it up like this? Me, that’s who. She was absolutely fantastic. Randy liked it, Paula loved it, Simon also liked it and compared her to a young Tina Turner.

Tough choice to go home tomorrow, but I have a feeling it will be Chris and LaKisha or Chris and Phil (unless he’s kicked up the military vote).

Ok, final note – I may never watch AI again. What the HELL was Bush doing in that video clip at the end of the show. I was disgusted and offended. Shame on you AI. Shame.