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Preface: Please note the lack of the use of the word “awesome” in this recap. Heh. Thank you. On with the show.

Read Sarah’s recap, after the jump!

So, I’ll take this straight to the concert. I’m just going to give basic impressions of each contestant from their performances in the show, because there’s no way I can do it song by song. Let me preface this by saying that, obviously, my favorite throughout the season was Blake. My other favorites (who were on the tour) were Melinda and Chris Sligh. So, I was expecting that they would all live up to expectations. I also liked Phil and Gina a lot, but kind of came into the “fandom” later in the game for each of them. I was really (and I mean really) hard on Chris Richardson all season long. There were a couple performances I liked and I thought he seemed like a nice guy, but mostly I just didn’t really like his performance style or his voice at all. The others, I was pretty much “meh” on. The tour changed a lot of these feelings for me on several of the contestants. The biggest turnaround I had was with Chris Richardson.

Basically, I thought that Chris R sounded very very good live. The “nasally is a form of singing” comment will always stick in my mind when I hear him, but in this show, the “nasally” is close to non-existent. The only time I really heard it was on his duet with Jordin, singing Rascal Flatts’ “What Hurts the Most.” And let’s face it. The lead singer of Rascal Flatts’ is the king of “nasally,” so what else can you expect? Overall, I was very impressed with him. His medley with Blake was the highlight of the night for me. I am now a Chris Richardson fan. So, this is me publicly saying that I was wrong about Chris. Now, I know I said last night I’m now a “Cake” fan, but that might have been a bit premature. Still not quite there yet. Blake and Chris separately? Definitely.

Speaking of Cake: Blake. Wow. The beatboxing last night was… wait for it… incredible (heh, tricked ya didn’t I?). There was a lot of it, yes, but in appropriate places, and he showed remarkable skill. His mini-set was not perfect (the technical glitches with the looping pedals on “She Will Be Loved” were sad, especially after he’d spent a few minutes doing a little tutorial on how it works.), but “You Give Love a Bad Name” more than made up for any of that. Incredible. He changes it up a little each time he does it, and that impresses me every time I see it. And considering that “Time of the Season” was the performance that solidified my Blake “fangirly” status, I would be remiss not to mention that I got just a *little* fangirly during that number. I wish Blake had more of a presence in the second half of the show beyond the first 15 minutes, and I was highly upset that his duet with Melinda was cut.

Let’s see. Chris Sligh is a freaking amazing guitarist. He played guitar (or bass) on just about every song he had a part in, and really showed remarkable skill. He also got to show a bit of the humor we all know and love with his comedy act with Phil and Sanjaya. “Typical” was one of his best numbers on the show, and a perfect choice for his solo. It really showcased who he’ll be as an artist, I think. He also sounded very strong on “Crazy.” His parts in the show were very impressive but not nearly long enough - I just wish he’d had more songs. I really am looking forward to following his career. He really should have gone so much further on the show.

I love Gina Glocksen. This girl tore it up on “Lady Marmalade,” singing Christina Aguilera’s part. She can just flat out sang. Her duets with both Chris Sligh and Phil were two of the best duets of the night. I was wondering how the one with Sligh would turn out, since that song is so recent, but they sounded great together and really pulled it off. And she finally got to sing Pink’s “Who Knew,” which she seemed to be very excited about, and definitely more than did the song justice. She can sing just about any genre, and I was reminded yet again that she went home way too early.

I hopped on the Phil train a little later in the game than some people, but by top 10 week, I was really starting to like him. There really is absolutely no denying that he has a fabulous voice. And nothing showcased that better than “America the Beautiful”. I had goosebumps. “Blaze of Glory” was the perfect choice for his solo… it was one of his strongest performances on the show and translates really well live. And he RAPS on “Let’s Get it Started”! And he is GOOD! I was shocked! I’m not kidding! That sold me forever. He should have more songs, or parts in songs, in the show than he does, but he makes the most of his time on stage, for sure.

Sorry to be lazy and group them together, but Sanjaya and Haley are really the two in the top 10 who got ragged on the worst by the judges and media, so truthfully, I wasn’t too interested in them going into the show. But, they were really pretty good! Haley sounded very good in her solo and definitely held her own in the group numbers, and Sanjaya was just plain fun to watch, and quite funny in his little comedy act with Phil and Sligh.

Melinda. Wow. I just love her, and after she sang last night, I was just astounded, wondering how the heck she didn’t win. I was not bored by her at all last night. She tore it up with her solo, and really shined during the medley with Lakisha at the beginning of the concert. She really connects with her live audience. Again, I was so disappointed that “Killing Me Softly” was cut from the set. I love that song and I want a Melinda/Blake duet! I really felt robbed that we didn’t get more Melinda….

And that we didn’t get more Lakisha. Her solo performance of “I Will Always Love You” was the performance of the night, hands down. I was sitting at the very beginning of the song, but I had goosebumps. The second she hit the key change in the middle of the song, I was on my feet. It was incredible. From all I could see, she got the only standing O of the night from the crowd. She was very strong on the girls’ numbers, and really tore it up during “Lady Marmalade”.  She is definitely a powerhouse singer.

Jordin sounded great, but her mike was really loud (quite funny, after all the technical glitches throughout the night). Truthfully, I skipped part of her set to hit the bathroom. Six songs in a row is a little tough for me from her. She did sound very good on the Jewel song, and I was glad to hear her sing “Heartbreaker” again. I also really liked her duet with Melinda. She looked beautiful and was very perky and sweet all night. She will represent the Idol franchise well, I think.

The opening number was great, and a great way to open the show, but I do have to say that the encore left a lot to be desired. I get that they each had to learn a lot of songs for this though… but still, it was kinda boring to just reprise a part of a song they’d already done. Oh well. That’s my only real gripe, I guess. Overall, it was a fantastic show, and I’d totally recommend it to anyone who enjoyed season 6.