American Idol - April 27

After the airing of the April 27 episode of American Idol, Silver Chips Online's judges expressed their opinions on the night's performances.

Ellie Blalock

Tonight all six of the remaining contestants struggled a bit at the microphone as they faced the up-tempo, Latin-inspired beats of Gloria Estefan. Despite weaker vocal performances than usual, this was a fun night, with each contestant singing along with Estefan's famous back-up band, The Miami Sound Machine. This will, no doubt, be a tough week for voters, who will have to choose based on tonight's lackluster performances. Good luck to them and to each of the talented singers left on the show.

Fantasia Barrino: For once, Fantasia's performance was less than perfect. Although she obviously tried her best and had a blast onstage, her soulful sound did not quite mesh with Estefan's "Get On Your Feet." Fantasia is obviously nervous after her bottom-three finish last week, but I think her fans will pull through and keep her around.

George Huff: Like Fantasia, George deserves an A for effort, but he also had trouble with the new genre, singing "I Live for Loving You." George's dancing and general performance were good, but his voice could not pull through - he was a little pitchy and flat in parts.

La Toya London: La Toya performed "The Rhythm is Gonna Get You" and executed a solid version of the classic. La Toya was the first singer to look
natural with the back-up band, but she did encounter troubles with breath control while dancing on stage.

John Stevens: John Stevens is something, to say the least. He should be proud of where he has come thus far as one of the youngest on the show. However, tonight was pretty rough. John was a little safe in his song choice ("Music of My Heart,") and his vocals were weak. John may have trouble surviving the vote this week.

Jasmine Trias: Like John, Jasmine played it a little safe this week, singing "Here We Are." Jasmine did well in comparison tonight, but I would love to see her really take some risks next week. I know she has the voice to do it, and what she needs now is something to set her apart from the crowd.

Diana DeGarmo: I was very happy with Diana tonight. She picked probably the toughest song out of the six ("Turn the Beat Around.") Not only is it a classic, but the fast pace of the song is difficult for anyone. Diana displayed an excellent stage presence for such a young girl and showed off why she belongs here. This was really Diana's night.

Since no one person really stood out tonight, voters will probably have to fall back on past performances and impressions before they make their choice. I predict that this week's bottom three will be John Stevens, Diana DeGarmo and La Toya London. Diana DeGarmo will probably be voted out tomorrow.

Shewit Woldu

This week's American Idol was spiced up with Gloria Estefan as this week's guest, and the contestants, with the obvious exception exception of John Stevens, all gave a more lively performance this week.

George Huff did his usual dip and childish smile and gave a fairly good performance. He made it further than I ever thought he would have. I think he has a couple of weeks left before he leaves, but he will definitely not win this competition.

Jasmine Trias sang the best I have ever seen her sing. Her voice is beautiful, and she finally proved that to me tonight. She is here to stay - probably until the top three.

What else can you say about Fantasia Barrino besides that she is wonderful, and I really want her to win this competition. She is someone I want to see stacked with awards at the Grammys.

Le Toya London gave an amazing performance. This is not a surprise. She has a lot of charisma but not as much as Fantasia. If she can somehow improve her stage presence so that it is better than Fantasia's, then London will definitely win this competition.

Diana DiGarmo, meanwhile, started off weak and got stronger. I really didn't like her performance much, but the judges were impressed. DiGarmo has an annoying voice that I do not like to hear.

I have said John Stevens would leave before, but this time, if America does not vote him off something is truly wrong. He has no musical talent whatsoever. He gave the same dull performance this week while everyone else made the crowd move their feet. I am ready to say good-bye to John and hello to some real talent.