American Idol 5: Why Melissa Lost

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I was surprised that Melissa McGhee made it into the finals. I thought she was going home (rather than Ayla) in the last semi-final show. She managed to pull herself through, but couldn’t make it much further. Why couldn’t she ride it out a bit longer? Why did Melissa lose?

The answers, as always, can be found within the pages of What ‘American Idol 5’ Contestants Need to Know. We used it to look at the semi-finalists who didn’t make it to the finals, and we’ll use it all the way up the line to the winner. For now, we’ll use it for the first finalist to be sent packing.

The first rule – and the most important – is to be a good singer and performer. While Melissa made it to the finals, I, for one, have not thought she was all that great. I predicted she wouldn’t make it to the finals and while I understand why Ayla lost rather than Melissa, I disagreed with the viewers’ decision.

But that was in the past. How did she do on the night in question? Depends on who you ask. First of all, she forgot parts of the lyrics – both in rehearsals and then on the show itself! Not a good way to garner votes. As far as her singing, Randy said there were off-key notes while Simon thought it was her best performance of the show (Paula said her usual “nice” things, so there is little point in even discussing it.) Recapper Betsy saw the performance and said “the botched words and the botched notes” meant she didn’t “give the performance she needed to.”

Here at Foxes On Idol, We’ll Be the Judge of That! panel members all agreed that she looked nervous and uncomfortable. Sandy wasn’t impressed, while Tyler and Bruce immediately figured it was time for her to go.

The second rule tells performers to make sure they pick the right songs. This is another area where I have not been impressed by Melissa, but apparently enough people were to get her to the finals. In this case, it didn’t really play a role.

What about the third rule, being consistent? That was another problem. If Simon thought that performance was her best, what does that say about the others? The fact is that Melissa was on the bubble for a reason – she was not consistent and could not create a “Wow!” factor.

Nor was she terribly unique, per the fourth rule. She was just another “background” singer. That’s not to say she didn’t sing lead, but rather than compared to some of the obvious stars this season, she fell into the generic background.

For that reason, she also was not memorable. I don’t know how many times I forgot that Melissa was still around. The only remarkable thing about her was that she managed to scrounge enough votes to make it into the finals. Otherwise, it was usually, “Melissa who?”

The sixth rule, arguing with judges, was not an issue, so let’s skip to the seventh. That one reminds contestants that they are a package. Melissa never really packaged herself. We didn’t see much of her in the early rounds, so that hurt her, but part of the reason could be that she didn’t have much to show us. Look at some of the other contestants who are still around. We know what Kellie’s “package” is (some think it’s fake, but real or not, it’s a package); we know what Chris’ “package’ is; we know what Taylor’s “package” is. That is, we know their personalities and we know about them as people. Since I could barely even remember Melissa’s name, what are the odds we know anything else about her? Zip.

And because she was so forgettable, Melissa never really pulled together a fan base. I’m still not sure how she made it through the semis, but whoever voted for her there didn’t carry it over to the next round. She messed up and people dropped her like a hot potato.

The simple fact is that Melissa was lucky to have made it as far as she did. She came into the finals with a big bull’s eye on her. She was, to many, the weakest singer there. She needed to come in and make everybody say, “Wow!” But as recapper Betsy said, Melissa did not give the performance she needed to. That is why Melissa lost.

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

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