Melinda Doolittle? Your journey ends here tonight.

Interesting final three performance last night. Each contestant sang three songs, and there was nary a clunker in the bunch. Everyone's a talented singer at this point, but each one of these people seems particularly poised. I especially have to give it up to Blake Lewis, who has grown on me over the weeks and gave some great performances last night. In fact, he might be throwing a wrench in the works of the presumed Melinda-Jordin finale. But more on that in a second.

First, back to Jordin. Last night -- and next week -- will have decidedly less tension than a lot of previous Idol culminations. Because Jordin is winning this competition. Throw your retirement fund in the back seat of your car, drive the whole thing to Vegas, and double your money. It's happening. That said, last night was an off night for her. For starters, she had some weird songs. Simon's pick for her -- "Wishing on a Star" by Rose Royce -- was good. But then her other songs -- "She Works Hard For the Money" and "I Who Have Nothing," an absolute funeral dirge of a song that I have no idea why she insists on singing -- were not so good. But on the bright side, she got a star on the walkway of her local shopping mall, oh my gosh! I have ALWAYS wanted, like, some kind of mall recognition. And oh my gosh, it was right in front of the escalator! Right in between the Baby Gap and the Things Remembered! That is prime real estate.

But here's the real downside to Jordin's night: That pink dress she was wearing for part of the evening. Last week, you may remember that I was vacillating on whether I found Jordin attractive. Well, in that dress, she was not. Now I admit it -- I'm no fashionista. Which is all the more reason to wonder why someone (or a group of someones) whose presumably sole source of income is to make a group of young people look stylish could march Jordin out in that pink grocery bag of a discount-rack Easter dress. It appeared to be cinched just below the breasts, for minimum cleavage and maximum burlap-sack effect. And the frizzy hair doesn't help anything either. The stylists should be accentuating Jordin's pretty face and Amazonian figure, not concealing it. I couldn't find a full photo of it, but if you saw it, you know what I'm talking about. Just an awful, awful piece of clothing. But maybe they can get five bucks for it from a high school student somewhere in North Dakota, who may not have a date for the prom, but dammit, she's gonna go anyway. For ten minutes. Body issues be damned.


This doesn't even begin to paint the picture.

Melinda was good, too, but her best quality -- consistency -- is maybe her worst at this point as well. Which is why I predict that Melinda gets the boot tonight, with Blake losing to a hopefully better-dressed Jordin in the final. Not only because people might take her for granted, but because Blake has come on in these later rounds, and now has a growing and dedicated army of fans, especially girls. People who are voting for Blake are voting for Blake. But the people who vote for Melinda are probably in the same (or at least a more similar) pool as those voting for Jordin. So I could see people with short attention spans -- and do you think any of those people watch American Idol? -- getting bored with Melinda and hitching their wagons to the clear favorite.

And at this point, Blake is becoming more interesting. When he's on, his beat-boxing is actually really tight. (Sir Mix-A-Lot crowned him "The New King of Sea-Town" last night. I wouldn't go that far -- or anywhere near that far -- but still.) And that sweet rendition of "How Deep is Your Love" that he did with Chris Sligh and (I think) Phil Stacey in the Hollywood round was still, for me, the musical highlight of the season.

But over and beyond that, Blake is the real underdog here. Not only because he is the least talented on paper, but because he's the only one who either hasn't already made it in music (like Melinda) or was born with a silver spoon in her mouth (like Jordin, who is the daughter of
former NFL player Phillippi Sparks). I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm rooting for Blake -- I'm really not rooting for anyone -- but him advancing at this point would be the most interesting story. For whatever that's worth.

It will be interesting to see how it all pans out tonight. It will be the final vote that is even remotely suspenseful, before Jordin claims her pink bubble gum throne next Wednesday night.

Hyperlinks:
- A Melinda-Jordin Final? Not So Fast, Sings Blake [Washington Post]
- If I was 12 or retarded, I totally would have voted for Lakisha [No One Appreciates Me]
- Glendale teen advances to next round on 'Idol' [AZ Central]

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