American Idol 6: Why LaKisha Lost

If you had told viewers of American Idol about ten weeks ago that LaKisha would “only” make it to the final four, most would have disagreed, suggesting that she’d be in the finals. But as the weeks went by, the idea of LaKisha leaving earlier than that didn’t sound surprising at all. Indeed, by now it was pretty much expected. What happened along the way? Why did LaKisha lose?

LaKisha’s path through American Idol is a perfect case study for the use of What ‘American Idol 6’ Contestants Need to Know. Let’s look through it and we will be able to clearly answer all of our questions.

The key first rule is of course to have singing and performing talent. I don’t think there is anybody who doubts LaKisha in this regard. She showed early on, and then again and again throughout the competition, that she can be an extremely good singer. She did have a rough night this week, but I honestly think that she could have been the best of the night and it really wouldn’t have mattered.

That is largely because of the second and third rules. The second talks about choosing songs. Frankly, LaKisha did not do a great job of this throughout the competition. In particular, for two weeks running, she sang songs that had been recorded by previous American Idol winners – “Jesus Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood and then Fantasia’s “I Believe” the very next week! It simply was not smart at all. She didn’t suffer the consequences immediately, I believe, because of the “Idol Gives Back” week off from anybody getting booted. But it was only a matter of time.

The third rule, of course, discusses consistency. While some of the on-site judges used the word “consistent” as a criticism of Melinda this week, they’re simply wrong. Being consistently good is, of course, a good thing!

LaKisha, however, has not been consistently good. Sometimes, she’s been great – such as last week when Simon was so happy he kissed her. Other times, not so much. That’s why Melinda has never been in danger while LaKisha has. That’s why many weeks ago it seemed like LaKisha was destined for the final two with Melinda, but in recent weeks nobody has been surprised at predictions she’d be leaving us soon.

Another problem for LaKisha arrived in the fourth rule, which tells contestants to be unique. While I don’t think she was trying to imitate previous Idols, she didn’t do herself any favors by singing their songs, as mentioned above.

But the main area where she had a problem here was in terms of this portion of the rule: “You need to differentiate yourself from your fellow competitors… We have seen numerous times that contestants who are similar enough to others on their show will compete for the same fan bases.” This is a key point for LaKisha, who tended to sing in a style similar to Melinda, especially early on. Even a number of weeks ago, I knew vote splitting would ensure they were not the final two, but things got worse for LaKisha as the show went on.

Melinda showed that she could sing in a variety of genres and, as mentioned, has been consistent. LaKisha had problems in those areas. So while the votes were split early on, the scales tilted more and more towards Melinda as time went by. Then, as Jordin rose higher, that made it even more difficult for LaKisha to stand out and be unique.

LaKisha’s singing early on did ensure that she was memorable enough to follow the fifth rule and stick around. For several weeks, it was “Melinda and LaKisha” in one breath. Both were seen as great singers who would go far in the competition.

But we never really knew as much about LaKisha’s back story as we did Melinda’s. Yes, we knew she is a single mom of a young child, but… that’s about it. Melinda, on the other hand, was known far and wide as the backup singer who moved to the front of the stage for Idol. It may seem that I’m talking about Melinda so much in the article about LaKisha, but since the two were competing for the same votes since the beginning, it is appropriate to mention these things.

The sixth rule talks about how Idol contestants are a package. Again, comparing LaKisha to the other top four contestants, it seems we know the least about her overall, and that includes her personality. I don’t feel she really let it shine through as much as the others – except when she was nervous and didn’t have confidence in herself. Several times I looked at her and thought, “She thinks she’s going home.” If she didn’t have confidence in her abilities, it’s hard to get viewers to have that confidence and churn out the votes.

The seventh rule, which says not to argue with the judges, was not a problem here, so we’ll jump right to the eighth. That rule talks about the importance of creating a fan base. As we’ve already discussed, LaKisha did grab a number of fans early on with her exceptional performances. But she was fighting for those fans with at least Melinda, and probably Jordin too as the weeks went on. Jordin got better and better. Melinda was consistent and showed she could take on any genre. LaKisha, however, was inconsistent and not able to hold herself to the high standard she had set early on.

It’s difficult enough to hold onto – and grow – a fan base. But lack of consistency is a sure way to make them a bit iffy in their support, especially when other singers are doing well.

It’s also important to mention the one contestant whose name hasn’t come up yet here: Blake. He was in the bottom two with LaKisha, and he also had some iffy performances this week. But as I said in my prediction article, “Even aside from being the last man standing, Blake is a completely different type of singer and performer than the other three and thus appeals to a completely different audience. The camaraderie shown between him and Chris last week will certainly encourage Chris’ fans to vote for Blake as well.” So while LaKisha’s fan base was fragmenting, Blake’s was consolidating and expanding, making LaKisha even more vulnerable.

LaKisha showed early on that she can be an excellent singer. But on American Idol, contestants have to be excellent time and time again. This isn’t Star Search, where one great song could put you over the top. LaKisha was unable to consistently kick it into gear, which led to other problems. By the time it came to the final four, LaKisha was the obvious choice to leave even before a single note had escaped through a contestant’s lips. Maybe a truly awesome performance could have saved her, but I’m not even sure that would have been the case.

LaKisha’s lack of consistency and poor song choices meant her fan base would not grow, and indeed was likely fragmenting in favor of those who were consistent or improving – namely Melinda and Jordin. That is why LaKisha lost.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent articles on Foxes On Idol and RealityNewsOnline:

David Bloomberg is the Editor of Foxes On Idol, and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com. Thanks to Sandy, Betsy, and Jenn for their thoughts and suggestions!

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!