Mutual Adoration.

Once again, this week completely exceeded my expectations. Who'd've expected Rock Night to be the most entertaining night of American Idol this season? Hell, it even triumphed over Country Week, which was my favorite up until now. Bon Jovi made an incredible mentor too, so kudos to them for giving everyone (save one) the ability to rock out.


Now, the votes that rolled over for last week really should've been preserved for last week only. It would've been massively more accurate had each week stuck to its own votes. It was unfortunate, because two people that were really good tonight were sent packing, when they should've had the chance to move on to next week. But I digress. Here are the performances:

01. Phil Stacey: "Young Guns (Blaze Of Glory)" - B
02. Jordin Sparks: "Living On A Prayer" - F
03. LaKisha Jones: "LoveSong" - A
04. Blake Lewis: "Bad Name (Shot Through The Heart)" - A
05. Chris Richardson: "Wanted: Dead Or Alive" - A-
06. Melinda Doolittle: "Have A Nice Day" - B+


After a tumultuous previous two weeks, LaKisha struck back with a golden performance. Her rendition was soulful, yet never compromised the original song. And the diva herself was much more personable than usual. She has been smiling more and loosening up lately, and it's great to see. I think ever since Sanjaya left, she's felt content with the remaining contestants, because she was surrounded by actual talent. And after her performance, Simon said "LaKisha, I could kiss you right now," to which she responded with a "Well, come on!" hand gesture. And so they did. It was awesome. And that saved her, without a doubt.


But lest we not forget about the marvelous Blake, who returned to his beatboxing roots with magnificent effect. It was easily the most stunning performance of the night, and perhaps one of the most unique the show has ever witnessed. He was also sporting a darker look, which coincided perfectly with the moods of the songs and the night in general. Also aces was Chris, who outdid Daughtry's version last year with ease. The best part was how you could almost completely forget that he is a nasally singer by nature and appreciate the commendable job he did. Kudos to Cake tonight, for they were on FIRE!


I have to admit, I WAS worried about Melinda, and have been lately. I feel like the shift in frontrunner status, albeit unfairly, to Jordin has made people feel complacent about Melinda and therefore, vote less passionately. And so I was nervous as to whether or not she could pull this off tonight...but she did. She was wonderful. She can literally do anything. Somehow, someway, it worked and she "rocked on" (she even did the hand gesture, which was adorably hilarious). It wasn't my favorite of hers or of the night, but she was still amazing. Phil was terrific as well. I can see him being a rock star, too. He opened the show with a superb and electrifying performance that, even if it was simple and faithful, was still a commendable effort.


The only real suckage tonight was Jordin, who was completely out of her element and gave the biggest bomb since the time of Sanjaya. The lights were distracting, her hair looked as if a Brillo Pad were devouring her melon of a head, and the vocals were screechy and horrifying. Thankfully, Simon abhorred it as well, reminding devotees that she lacks versatility. Sadly though, this awful performance, which may have given her the boot earlier in the competition, suffered the fate of others being average and the fucking rollover votes. Ryan split them into two groups of three, the perfect way to oust them, with one victim in each. Thankfully, Melinda was declared safe to much more applause than last time. That left LaKisha and Phil standing together, at which point Phil was inevitably booted. Even VFTW couldn't keep him on. But he had a great run and I am thrilled he made it this far, because he's grown on me (while Jordin has grown on my nerves). After she was also safe, it was down to Blis (the other way to say Cake). Let met tell you know--it was adorable. They hugged each other, but not the man-pat-on-the-back, no-hip-contact hug. They hugged. Then, at the end of the show, they were brought out to the stage, where Ryan inquired about their well-publicized friendship. They both replied "We're best friends" and received unanimous "Awwwww"s from the audience. Chris said "And I'd go home for him." Cue more "Aw"s. Blake concurred, then turned to the camera and said "Why do you gotta do this, America? Huh? Why must you do this?" Yet more "Aws". But then Blake said "But it's okay, we're going on tour together this summer." Then, Chris leaned in and they hugged once more. Massive "Aws". And when the results were announced, it was...naturally...Chris, who was leaving AI. There were cheers of sorrow and joy, for they know Blis will remain a powerful force and they were proud both made it as far as they have. And for that matter, so was I. Then, they embraced once more, and there were faint, tearful clips of "I love you, man," as Chris sang his swan song. It was an emotional night for all. But at least we know that Cake will forever live on in Blis.