(Don't forget to take my poll on Elliott's new teeth and Kellie's new breasts. Click here!)
Analysts will rush to explain why Melinda's bid to be our next American Idol faltered tonight. But the dust needs to settle before we truly understand what went wrong.
Was it her age?
Was it what many called her fake surprise look from earlier in the season?
Was it her neck - or what some uncharitably called her lack of a neck? (Her purported necklessness was never verified by medical professionals. Her haircut in fact may have been to blame for a simple misperception.)
OR ... Was it her polish? Was Melinda too classy for America?
As evidenced by the videotaped homecoming, Melinda was indeed the most poised - and this may have been a liability in an America that demands that we let it all hang out.
Jordin wept throughout her homecoming as if she'd just returned from a POW camp. (The way she clutched her best friend Bailey, you'd think the two were sisters reunited after, say, the fall of the Berlin Wall.) Blake's homecoming was equally showy. His father, clearly an emotional dependent, cried that he'd lost his own parents as a boy; that Blake's success was some consolation for his own hardship.
Melinda was more self-possessed, dignified. She teared up, yes, but she kept it together, thanking her friends from Belmont. They thanked her for all she'd done. (Charity work? We don't know. Melinda's not the type to boast.) We've known for some time that Melinda's close to her mother. She's never mentioned her father. And yet her dad Steve was included (awkwardly) in several shots, Melinda putting the best face on what is likely a very uncomfortable situation. That's what modest, discreet people do.
And for this the American people punished her.
***
Other things I noticed:
Jordin's high school is Sandra Day O'Connor HS. Ironic since O'Connor was the critical swing vote in the Supreme Court's deliberations on abortion over the last 20 years. Now Jordin is in danger of being engulfed by the issue.
As much as I like Elliott Yamin - I endorsed his AI bid last year - I don't like his new teeth. But I don't mind the whole look. Almost a young Bob Dylan. Elliott is personally unassailable, as far as I'm concerned. Pure goodness.
Mo Rocca has appeared on a bunch of shows, including 'The Daily Show,' 'I Love the 80s,'...
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Melinda's Demise: Too Classy For America?
Posted May 17th 2007 12:09AM by Mo Rocca
Filed under: American Idol, Melinda Doolittle, Jordin Sparks, Blake Lewis, Abortion
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Reader Comments ( Page 7 of 9)
91. As far as I am concerned, Melinda had it way all over Blake, She has class, charisma, and a dynamic voice. If Jordan doesn't win, it was all for nothing.
Toni at 6:52PM on May 17th 2007
92. MALINDA WENT HOME BECAUSE SHE'S FUNNY LOOKIN AND
NO ONE WOULD HAVE BOUGHT HER,RECORDS BECAUSE WHEN YOU HEAR HER VOICE YOU CAN'T HELP THINK OF HER FACE WHICH IS NOT NOTHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING,FACE IT SHE'S JUST FUNNY LOOKIN AND HAS NO NECKKKKKKKKK
QUEEN at 7:04PM on May 17th 2007
93. I never liked Melinda and am glad she was voted off. Classy???? PA-lease!!! She looks like Shrek. Think about it...Spaces between the teeth...big nostrils. You need the whole package to be a successful American Idol. Melinda is boring. Go Jordin--you rock girl.
JaniB at 7:11PM on May 17th 2007
94. YOU GUYS ARE ALL WRONG THE CONTESTNATS FROM BIG CITIES ARE THE ONES WHO GET VOTED OUT. IF YOUR FROM A SMALL STATE LIKE I DONT KNOW LETS SAY ARKANSA EVERYONE THERE BECUASE THERE LIKE ONE BIG COMMUNITY AND NO YOU VERY WELL WILL VOTE. BUT IF YOU ARE FROM NEW YORK PEOPLE IN NEW YORK HAVE BETTERTHINGS TO DO THEN VOTE SO YOU LOSE. AND DOOLITTLE WAS FROM NASHVILLE A PRETTY BIG CITY.
ria at 7:18PM on May 17th 2007
95. I don't think all my votes that I texted went through. I did not get confirmations from the 10 votes I gave Melinda but did get the 3 I gave to Jordin. Could there have been a break in the system and not all the votes counted??
Denise Fetterman at 7:27PM on May 17th 2007
96. Karen, I too, heard Ryan's comment on Melinda going home and believe it was no mistake but just another one of American Idol's sadistic tricks. Don't know about the rest of you bloggers but Simon's expression during the show told me he already knew Melinda would be going; I believe that Melinda knew it also, so it was no surprise to me. Melinda should be proud because she is the classiest and best contestant AI will ever see. My vote stops here, with Melinda, this season and all upcoming seasons.
Lin at 7:46PM on May 17th 2007
97. Karen
You are absolutely right, I also heard him say that. I was surprised that something like would happen and no one says anything. I do feel that it was wrong for Melinda to be voted of at the last minute, yes she has a good voice. I will be voting for Blake, because Jordin CAN'T sing. She should have not been in the final three. I tried to vote for Melinda and each time I tried to call, the line ws busy, (sabotaged lines) as usual when it comes to American Idol. Her vocal range is awful. I will not be purchasing her music.
Anita at 7:52PM on May 17th 2007
98. We are voting for vocal range, singing ability, personality and not looks. If it was for looks. Jordin should not be there either. She is not all that attractive. Remember Jordin's Parents are interracial, Father is Black and Mom is white, that's how she got her complexion. I still says that Melinda should be the AMERICAN IDOL. And the American Idol sabotaged her lines so that Melinda's voters were not able to call. NOW HOW ABOUT THAT
ALSO, SOMEONE NEED TO BRING THAT TO RYAN ARROGANT SEACREST ATTENTION ON HOW HE ANNOUNCED THAT MELINDA IS GOING HOME AFTER THAT TERRIBLE BAND SANG LAST ON LAST NIGHT.
Anita at 8:00PM on May 17th 2007
99. I am done done done with Idol. I am sorry it wasted so much of my time. When an obvious excellent voice etc. can be vote off, it is definitely not a singing competition but a forum for a teen ager popularity contest, I'm done. No more idol ever again!!!!!
susan at 8:03PM on May 17th 2007
100. Don't be fooled Jon;Jordin is a professional as well. She has toured as a back-up singer with gospel artist Michael Smith. Funny how that never came out on the show.
Rolland at 8:06PM on May 17th 2007
101. Don't be fooled Jon;Jordin is a professional as well. She has toured as a back-up singer with gospel artist Michael Smith. Funny how that never came out on the show.
Rolland at 8:34PM on May 17th 2007
102. I am done with AI, I will not be watching anymore and will be encouraging all my friends to do the same. This was a singing competiton, it is clear Melinda should have been in the finals. This show is rigged, where is the computer that count these so call "phone calls". I barely got through to vote for Melinda it was so busy. They should disclose how votes are counted and show this process to the people.
jusme101 at 8:42PM on May 17th 2007
103. It is very sad in this country that someone like Melinda would be voted off this American history making event. It should NEVER have been allowed to have more than one vote per phone line. That does not make the vote accurate. That is why we are all so disappointed. If it were accurate, we could understand it better, but it is not. To vote for someone incessantly for 2 hours instead of one person, one vote, allows for a continual, deceptive overall count. I will not watch any longer either. Not until the VOTING system is fair. AI judges should have only endorsed this if it were a FAIR contest. It isn't.
Kiki at 10:03PM on May 17th 2007
104. Seems as though, Simam knew the facts' before America knew. He was distant and not happy at the beginning of the show. I beleived he knew at the very first the results of the finalists. Yes, Malinda had a short neck, like some have short foreheads, some have big ears, bad teath, small lips, etc. Milinda is a very pretty young lady, and polite and poised. She is originally from Oklahoma, graduated from Union School in Tulsa. Eveyone that went to school with Malinda, said that "She has not changed at all". What is wrong with America! She was the best between the no lipped, Blake and the big mouth, Jordan. His dad takes the cake, wanting people to feel sorry for him, as a boy. Jordan's family, mother is white and what is the dad? No much more to say. Should keep my fingers shut..........
Lynne at 9:39PM on May 17th 2007
105. First, I'm disappointed that Melinda was eliminated; Blake should have gotten the boot. American Idol has lost a lot of creditability and this season wasn't anything to write home about either. I will not watch it next year. I personally think the songs that were chosen for Melinda had a lot to do with why she was eliminated and the age factor played a part too. If she would lost to Jordin in the final show I could live with that but losing to Blake, I just can't believe it. American Idol will continue lose viewers if they don't change the voting and maybe the format, otherwise it's just more of the same.
Shane at 9:40PM on May 17th 2007