American Idol - Three Final Contestants

Last night, the contestants sang songs picked by the judges, the producers and then finally by themselves. We saw the contestants being celebrated by their home towns where they were informed of the choices made for them by the judges.

Simon and Randy picked good songs for their contestants - Wishing on a Star for Jordan and I Believe In You and Me for Melinda - but Paula failed Blake when she picked Roxanne for him. Jordan did a decent job performing Wishing On A Star and the judges liked it. Melinda closed the segment with I Believe In You and Me and performed it flawlessly much to the admiration of the judges. But poor Blake was stuck in the middle with Roxanne. Unless your Sting or Eddie Murphy in the opening of 48 hours, you're not really going to have much success performing that song without sounding like a copycat - which was the sentiment expressed by Simon. Paula of course loved it and Randy seemed please but unenthusiastic with the choice.

Then it was the producers turns to pick songs for the final three. For Jordin they chose Hard for the Money. It was pretty lacklustre. Watching her, I got the feeling she wasn't thrilled with the choice that was made for her. She went through the motions of performing the song while not actually connecting to it. The producers saved Blake by choosing a Maroon 5 song - This Love -which perfectly suited his voice. And for Melinda they chose the oddly titled Nut Bush City Limits. I guess it was meant to bring out her inner Tina Turner and she did a great job performing it but it really was a kind of sucky song.

Then the contestants got to pick their own song. Jordin picked I Who Have Nothing which she had some success performing earlier in the season. She did do a nice job. But not as good as Blake and Melinda. Blake performed something called When I Get You Alone and it was really entertaining. Melinda reprised her version of I Am Woman and again it was perfect.

I'm pretty sure Melinda will be one of the two moving on to the finale. And I would be disappointed if Blake didn't make it, but it could go either way between Jordin and Blake.

Blake should be rewarded for his creativity and originality. I'd love to see him move on. But then again Jordin just has raw talent that if nurtured properly could help her become an enormous star. They both deserve to move on. But between the two of them, I prefer Blake.