American Idol 4: Why Melinda Lost

The producers of American Idol have it in for me. That’s the only explanation I can think of for why they are voting off four people per week for the first three weeks. Yikes! But I’m up to the challenge! Just as we have for the past couple years, we will look at why each contestant lost – even in these semi-final rounds. We’ll start with the first person who was sent packing, Melinda.

Melinda was shocked, to say the least. Then again, so were most of the viewing audience, considering the way Ryan Seacrest broke the news (if you were among the upset, you’ll want to take a look at Sting7’s article on the subject). But shocked or not, it’s time to figure out why Melinda lost.

As always, we will look at how Melinda performed in light of What ‘American Idol 4’ Contestants Need to Know, the blueprint for how a contestant should plot his or her trip to the top.

As always, the first and most important rule is to have singing and performing talent. Personally, I must admit that I was more shocked at the way Randy was calling Melinda “one of the best singers in the competition” and even going so far as to comparing her to Kelly Clarkson! There must have been something we didn’t see in earlier rounds (more about that later), but that’s no excuse to give high marks where they weren’t deserved.

My own notes on the performance match with the contributors from We’ll Be the Judge of That!: Gil noted that “she couldn’t hit the high notes.” Bruce talked about her being nervous and singing a droopy ballad. Brian mentioned her “near-inaudible volume in the initial stages.” And Betsy summed up well, “she didn’t even come close to pulling it off.” My thoughts were that she started out practically mumbling the song, and she was still boring even after her voice kicked in a bit.

It all boils down to a failure to abide by the first rule. “You need to be confident when you are up there.” Melinda did not look confident. “You have to impress the viewers – and you only have a few brief moments to do it.” Melinda did not seem to impress anybody.

The second rule talks about song choice, and many of the singers in this first semi-final round had issues. Melinda picked a Celine Dion song, which is a real no-no unless you are absolutely certain you can nail it. Plus, it was, as Bruce had said, a “droopy ballad” on a night filled with droopy ballads. Melinda didn’t look like she was having fun with it, and that translated to fewer votes.

The third rule might seem like it really didn’t come into play yet – being consistent and able to sing different genres. We aren’t to the genre portion of the show yet, and this was only her first performance so there was nothing to be consistent with. However, part of this rule is, “you need to treat every performance on Idol as if it could be your last.” Randy said it several times on the results show – you need to lay it all on the table. Melinda didn’t.

Fourth is to be unique – both when compared to past contestants and current ones. Some people have indicated that Melinda looked too much like she was trying to imitate Kelly Clarkson, which was reflected somewhat in Randy’s comments (though he meant it as a compliment). But beyond that, she needed to do something – whether in singing, dress, hairstyle, something – to make herself stand out from the crowd. For Melinda, it was even more important because she had no previous airtime. She said it herself – others had time to gain fans, she didn’t. She recognized this but apparently didn’t actually do anything about it! If she knew it to be true, she needed to make herself appeal to the voters.

This also leads directly to the fifth rule, being memorable. There were 12 women competing on Tuesday night. Off the top of my head, I can only remember a few of the performances as being stand-out. Melinda’s was not one of them. Once again, she was singing a droopy ballad on a night filled with droopy ballads, which is not a way to stand out.

The sixth rule says not to do karaoke. Melinda didn’t really have that problem, although her attempt to do a Celine song may have come off that way to some.

Seventh is not to argue with the judges. So far, it seems all the contestants are wisely abiding by this one. We’ll see if that continues.

Once again we return to the issue of Melinda not having been on previous episodes when we get to the eighth rule, “You are a package.” Personality plays a large role in this competition, and we saw none from Melinda. She didn’t put any of her personality into her singing – as Mikalah and Nadia did. She didn’t show any personality when the judges and Ryan were talking to her. Once again, she should have known that because she had no previous airtime, she needed to give people a reason to vote for her. She didn’t.

There was no way Melinda could have done anything yet (other than what we’ve already discussed) about the ninth rule, creating a fan base. Without an earlier appearance, she had to rely on this one performance to get people on her side. That didn’t happen.

It’s easy to blame Idol for Melinda not being on earlier episodes, and to an extent it truly isn’t fair. However, there were several contestants in each group who faced a hurdle like this. Some stayed, some went. The difference came down to how they used what time they did have, how they made themselves stand out, and, of course, how they performed when given their big chance. Melinda did not perform her song well and did nothing to stand out. That is why Melinda lost.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of Foxes On Idol, and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

Be sure to sign up for the RealityNewsOnline/FoxesOnIdol e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on both sites! For all of our articles, check out our sections on American Idol, American Juniors, Nashville Star, and Canadian Idol. Also make sure to check out RealityNewsOnline for recaps and articles covering other reality TV shows.

For even more news about reality TV, be sure to check SirLinksALot: American Idol and Reality TV Fever!