Well after my last thread in which I told everyone my problem with the final 24, we are now down to the final 11 (or 10 if you are in USA), and here are my thoughts.

Melinda Doolittle - An obvious choice for a possible winner, but my problem with Melinda is she is very one dimensional in the sense that she has an amazing voice, but really no personality other than 'I'm don't realise how good I am'. She strikes me as the American Idol version of Leona, and I just think that she doesn't have a contemporary enough sound, although I am not doubting how amazing her voice is.

Chris Sligh - I really don't like this guy's personality, as I think he is very arrogant. He has a good voice, but he seems stuck in the middle of the boys (I rank him 3rd best out of the 5), and I think he is trying too hard to stand up.

Gina Glocksen - I'm at two minds with Gina in that she may not have the best voice, but I think for the genre she is trying to do, 'pop rock', she performs well. i think she wants it too much, and she is likely to get a huge let down because I don't even think she is in the top 6, let alone winning the competition.

Jordin Sparks - I absolutely love Jordin. Didn't notice her too much early on, or even during the top 24, but she has really raised her game recently, and as well as a having a great voice (like Melinda and Lakisha), she oozes the star quality that I don't think the other two have.

Chris Richardson - Is it just me or should this guy be doing Justin Timberlake on 'Stars in their Eyes'. He has a good voice and is a good singer, but he sounds too much like a poor man's Justin Timberlake. Having said that, I still quite like him.

LaKisha Jones - Again, like Melinda she has an amazing voice, but I just don't 'get' her if you understand what I mean. She has a big voice, but I just don't like the overall package (and I'm not saying it because of what she looks like).

Phil Stacey - I think Phil is lost in the shuffle for the boys. Blake and Chris R are doing well for the men, while Chris Sligh has a unique look, and Sanjaya is Cowell's whipping boy, Phil just seems to be forgotten, and he isn't helping himself either. He keeps changing his style and doesn't really seem to know his genre.

Haley Scarnato - She may be gorgeous and know how to move and work the stage, but she has the second weakest voice out of the girls, although Gina can get away with it considering the songs she chooses. It's a shame for Haley because she has so much competition on the girls side, and is not singing well enough to be on par with the 'divas'.

Stephanie Edwards - Disliked her voice the moment she did a kareoke version of 'Dangerously in Love'. I don't like Beyonce's voice and Stephanie's is similar, and because she knows it, she seems to play off that. Don't get me wrong, Beyonce and Stephanie have good voices, just not ones that appeal to me.

Sanjaya Malaka - Well I guess each series needs a punch bag for Simon. He should have never got through to this stage, as he isn't a brilliant performer and has weak vocals, although I do respect his bravery.

Blake Lewis - My favourite of all the contestants. Blake seems to really want to make everything that he sings contemporary and stylise each song for himself. I know some think the beat box stuff is gimmicky, but to me it's one of those 'if you've got it, use it', sort of things. He doesn't overuse it which is good, and really seems to be the contestant who would have the most longevity in the industry.

So having said that not many stand out during the 24, I now know who each contestant is, and am really enjoying the live shows. As far as I'm concerned though, both sexes have three groups in them. The standouts, the one person trying but just behind the standouts, and the weak singers. Here's how I rank them. (Girls in Bold)

Jordin Sparks
Blake Lewis
Melinda Doolittle
Chris Richardson
LaKisha Jones
Chris Sligh
Stephanie Edwards
Gina Glocksen
Haley Scarnato
Phil Stacey
Sanjaya Malaka

Remember that's my opinion and is based on the overall package, not just the voice. So from that you can see that I would love a Jordin vs Blake final.

Anyway, that's just my opinion so far. Sorry if it was a drag to read and thank you for doing so.

Agree on the Jordin v Blake final...that'd be great

IMO they're the most interesting singers/personalities and probably the most commercial too.

I agree, too.

I would love to see Melinda try something very contemporary. There's no question in my mind that she has the best voice so far in the competition and she's consistently chosen an older-style song each week. I'd love to see her sing something way out of her comfot zone, just to see how well she'd manage it.

I think Haley and Chris R. have done a respectable job, but have pretty much shown us that they are much more limited than the others. I kind of feel that way about Lakisha as well, except that her "limited" is much better than the other two.

Stephanie seems to have more potential than we are seeing. She seems to be playing it too safe on her song choices-- it would have been interesting to see her perform something similar to what Hayley did this week and I think she might have done a better job of it than Haley did.

Next, comes Phil, whom I just don't get. He seems to be all over the place, seems fairly earnest, but ... but... maybe it's just me. I haven't liked his song choices. He doesn't seem relaxed up there. Maybe what I want to see from him is for him to be a bit more laidback.

One of the great things about Blake is that he doesn't feel obligated to beatbox everything. (I'm thinking his first week in the top-24). He doesn't have the greatest voice, but he's so clearly enjoying himself, that I find him growing on me more and more. I think he has a lot of depth.

As for the others (Jordin, Chris S., Gina, Sanjaya), I think that we haven't seen all that they have to offer us yet:

Jordin seems to be the most impressive and could/should easily wind up in at least the top 3.

Chris S. is good, but isn't connecting w/the audience (good grief, I sound like Paula now!)... maybe he's not making eye contact or something.

Gina may have shown us all she can do, but she's got a bit more variety to her than Chris R. & Haley. I like that she's different from the others and love seeing her boyfriend and brother[?] in the audience w/matching red streaks in their hair.

Sanjaya...... well, he IS trying different things. I think he's got potential, but I think that we won't see it develop into anything great over the next few months.

Hell, I agree too! Maybe things are as obvious as they seem sometimes. It's like you see so much potential in so many finalists, but there's something that hasn't come out yet. For now, I pretty much agree with your whole assessment.

Melinda Doolittle - I like her best out of the 'divas' (I don't include Jordin in this group) and I think she has a nice voice and personality, but she doesn't really excite me, and she isn't one of the performers I particularly look forward to hearing each week.

Chris Sligh - I liked him in principle, but the more I see him the more I go off him. I think he'll go in a few weeks.

Gina Glocksen - I used to think there was an underlying arrogance to her, but I'm warming to her. I liked her performance last week, I feel she's a bit different to the other girls.

Jordin Sparks - I like Jordin a lot and want to see her do well. She's sparky (unintentional pun there, sorry folks) and fun and orginal. I hope she does better than Steph and LaKisha.

Chris Richardson - He's sweet and I look forward to seeing him, but with eyes shut he does sound weak. With my eyes open I don't notice this.

LaKisha Jones - Not really my cup of tea, I don't find her in the least bit interesting.

Phil Stacey - Very forgettable, I couldn't name a single song he's done and I only learnt who he was last week.

Haley Scarnato - I'm willing her to do well, but I think she'll be gone within a couple of weeks

Stephanie Edwards - I don't like her. Not entirely sure why. She always looks smug, like she knows she's great, and I'm not convinced she is.

Sanjaya Malaka - Heh heh. He's never going to win and his voice is rather weak, but I enjoy his song choices.

Blake Lewis - My favourite. I don't know what it is, but there's something about him. He has the X factor for me I guess. I like the beatboxing (in moderation), I liked his Keane song, I wasn't sure about last week's performance, but hopefully he'll go far and I'm looking forward to seeing him tonight. (Just as a side point, logic tells me that whilst he's pretty, he's not drop dead gorgeous, but there is something else that's making me slightly obsessed with him. Can anyone explain this phenomenon?)

my fave girl is Jordan...i especially liked her tonight, what an amazing voice but i have to say i just dont get the mellinda thing...i think she is really bland and is definately a 1 trick pony....just my opinion

my fave guy is between Blake and Chris Sligh.....prefer Blakes personality, but find Chris very arrogant but think he has a lovely voice

As for the others, i can take em or leave em :sleep:

Sanjaya ..poor lad

I like Blake now. I wasn't that fond of anyone at first, but having re-watched the season in an attempt to get more into it, I am supporting him. I also think Jordin is good.

I'm gonna play the "hate her/love him" game from Will & Grace

Melinda Doolittle - love her, though she needs to pep up the personality a bit

Chris Sligh - hate him, can't wait to see his face drop when he's cut

Gina Glocksen - love her, but he vocals just don't cut it

Jordin Sparks - love her, but I prefer her rockier edge from the other week

Chris Richardson - love him, though a bit too Justin Timberlite

LaKisha Jones - love her, my favourite female this year

Phil Stacey - hate him

Haley Scarnato - hate her, it's American Idol, not jiggle TV!

Stephanie Edwards - love(d) her

Sanjaya Malaka - love him, he's Love!

Blake Lewis - love him, he's the only contestant whose songs I've downloaded and listen to