Team Plaid

NJ.com:  Blake Lewis, “You Give Love A Bad Name”: Ha! Ha! Ha! Brilliant! After the scolding he took from the judges in the first few weeks of the finals for all the rearrangements and gratuitous beatboxing, Blake went into a little argyle shell, doing faithful, vaguely sincere renditions of the classics that had little to no sign of his personality or tastes. On this one, he reached deep into his bag of tricks as both a beatboxer and a producer (where his real talents lie), and it worked, from the record needle sound effect at the top to trading beats with the drummer to the pop-locking. And what tied the whole thing together was that he did the choruses almost perfectly straight, proving that if he wanted to do the entire song that way, he could have. Unless this turns out to be another incident like Daughtry’s “I Walk the Line” (where we all thought he was a musical genius until we learned he was doing it note-for-note the way the guys from Live rearranged it), this was certainly the most original “Idol” performance ever, and one of this season’s most entertaining.

Ew.com’s Michael Slezak: But if I had to put money down at this very moment on which singer is most likely to stick around, I’d place my wager on Blake Lewis, whose electrifying retooling of ”You Give Love a Bad Name” has likely surpassed Mindy Doo’s ”My Funny Valentine” as the season’s watercooler performance. Bon Jovi was right that ”16 measures of him not singing on a show that’s supposed to highlight singers” was a risky move (though not as risky as sharing Jordin’s black-and-red hair dye), and Blake’s whooshing opening sound effects (which sounded to me like the Diet Coke I crack open every morning around 7 a.m.) were a wee bit indulgent, but the rest of the performance was exhilarating — breathing life into what I’d written off as a tired ’80s anthem. The ”you give love-lllll-love-love-lll-love a bad, bad name” breakdown had me clapping like baby-seal Paula, and while the judges seemed a little tentative in their praise, this was the performance that — whether or not it secured Blake a spot in the final two — pretty much guaranteed him a record deal.

MTV News: BLAKE LEWIS; Song: “You Give Love a Bad Name”; Verdict: Bold, Brave, Brilliant
I admit I’ve been less-than-consistent when dealing with Blake…I find Blake’s performance to be deliriously entertaining…He immediately rips into the chorus and commands the stage like a pro (can we call him TimberBlake?) Not only are his vocals uncharacteristically spot-on, but he whips out his secret weapon at the perfect moment, engaging in a little call and response with a drum kit. By the end, the audience is in near-hysterics. Abigail Breslin and Simon’s mom are both on their feet…in the “Idol” world, Blake’s the most unique and contemporary artist to ever hit that stage, so let’s pick our battles from this point on, OK, people? Of the remaining top 6, wouldn’t you be most interested in hearing a Blake record (as long as he doesn’t cover 311)? - Good read; click on the link to see the whole thing.

LA Times Behind the Scenes: The favorites among the sign-carrying demographic (mostly the under-ten set) are solidifying — with seemingly 90% now dedicated to either Jordin or Blake. Melinda scores a distant third…To the shock of many, Bon Jovi night turned out to be of the most consistently fun and high quality of the season. All except for poor Jordin delivered some of their best work thus far. - Not very interesting read this week.

US Magazine: Blake Beatboxes Into America’s Heart: Love him or hate him, America - Blake Lewis is definitely in American Idol to win it! With the exception of Jordin (what happened?), most of our final six did justice to the Bon Jovi songbook, which will make it harder to say goodbye to not just one contestant (Chris), but two (Phil). However, such is life on the road to what will be a Jordin and Melinda final two.

When Mr. Bon Jovi advised the performers to make the songs their own, he found a star pupil in Lewis, who took the biggest gamble in Idol history with his heavily-beatboxed deviation from the “You Give Love a Bad Name” norm. Decked out in head-to-toe black with his blonde hair dyed to match, Lewis confidently imitated a record being put on the jukebox and launched into one of the most innovative performances of the show’s six-season run. And – surprise! – even Simon Cowell gave him the green light. “That was absolutely the right thing to do and this is what will keep you in the competition,” he told Lewis.

MJ’s Big Blog: Blake Lewis - “You Give Love a Bad Name”  -  Blake decides to take a risk this week. Jon says, “this is an adventurous arrangement, are you ready to roll the dice on it?”  He also says, “He has to sell his interpretation of a song that a lot of people know, and don’t want messed with.” Ha.  I can’t figure out if Jon is pleased or irked that Blake is messing with his precious tune.  Me?  The original song makes me want to pluck my eyeballs out when I hear it, so I’m all for messing with it.  Blake’s got a new, darker hairstyle this week, and it suits him.  This, without a doubt is my favorite performance of the night.  The performance is more than just a Bon Jovi song with some beatboxing thrown into the middle of it.  Blake weaves his beatboxing seamlessly into the song. When he’s not beatboxing, particularly on the chorus, his voice is strong. The effect is exhilarating. The arrangement is cool.  He dubs up the verse and goes back to the traditional melody for the chorus. Right in the middle of the tune, he goes into an extended bit of beatboxing, then back to the dub and then back to the traditional chorus.  It works.  Blake’s risk pays off.  And, this is why Blake is my favorite contestant right now.  He’s more than a singer, he’s a musician with imagination who isn’t afraid to go out on a limb. I like that. Go Team Plaid.  While the judges blew a collective cow when contestants rearranged Diana Ross back in the Top 12, they positively love the fact that Blake changed up Bon Jovi. Interesting.  More hyperbole from Randy, “The most original version of a song on American Idol ever!”  Simon says, “There will be half the audience who absolutely hated it, and half the audience who love it.”  Yep, that’s why it’s awesome.

People.com: Nice catch!: Ousted contestant Antonella Barba returned to the Idol arena – and proved to be an unusually reserved audience member, staying put in her seat (right behind Simon Cowell’s mother) for most of the show. Still, Blake Lewis managed to catch her eye at the end of the night and blew her a kiss. She promptly returned the favor and he “caught” the airborne smooch and held it close to his chest.

After whipping the crowd into a frenzy by beat-boxing his way through Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name,” Blake blew a kiss to the judges’ table at commercial. He then ran over and surprised Chris Richardson, by putting his hands on Chris’s shoulders and jumping while Chris’s back was turned. The two close friends then gave each other a handshake and bumped shoulders before Blake left the stage so Chris could take his turn in the spotlight.

Yahoo TV :  And the best performance? Well, let me just say that I’ve been shot through the heart, and you’re to blame, Blakey. You give Idol a good name.

Here’s what I’m thinking Silly, pop-n-lockin’ Blake-bot could actually win this thing.

A little behind-the-scenes scoop Insiders tell me that he producers considered Blake very much an underdog at the start of the season, trailing far behind the likes of vocal powerhouses Melinda and Lakisha. But he’s gained momentum and support with each passing week.

And tonight, that beatbox rendition of “You give love a bad name” proved he’s sort of a musical whiz kid–and anything but cookie cutter. So ladies and gentletubers, I do believe we have ourselves a dark horse!

So who do you think? Does Blake stand a chance?

EW Popwatch:  The night, though, belonged to Blake. As if in anticipation of this fact, Blake had the most signs in the audience last night—two-to-one, easy. A sampling: “Blake is the Cake” (atop those hot pink pop-art portraits of Blake); the aforementioned “Blake U Make Me Ache”; “Beatboxers can sing too!” held by Papa Lewis; “Shake It Blake”; “Blake You Make My Heart Beatbox”; “Get on the Blake Train”; and a playing-card portrait of Blake with him as the Ace of Hearts. My favorite non-Blake sign — “I Want To Squeeze Ya LaKisha” — was actually one of six signs created for all of the Idols by a Fox affiliate reporter, so it really doesn’t count.

And if you’re wondering, per Simon’s comment, which half of the audience hated on Blake’s beat-boxing remix of “You Give Love A Bad Name,” well, there wasn’t one. We were all pretty much electrified from the get go, so much so I’ve already started an intra-EW e-mail throwdown over whether it belongs in the pantheon of Greatest Idol Performances Ever. (My vote, clearly: Oh, heck yes!)

I do feel I should point out that I think my fervor was in no small part stoked by the super-mega-ultra Blake fan in the seat next to me, a young man named Dane whose full-bodied enthusiasm for the beat-boxer nearly toppled the risers. I kid — though Dane really was jumping with enough force to bend the floor beneath him (and me) — but only gently, because, you see, Dane is a fan. Of mine. Or, really, of our EW.com Idol coverage. (Yes, that tooting you hear is our own horn.) Dane explained to me that he’s all about Blake because he so clearly isn’t your papa’s Idol contestant. My snark impulse almost had me answering, “Yeah, well, neither was Taylor Hicks,” but, really, Dane has a point. Blake’s bound to be the lead watercolor convo subject for the next week, and he pulled it off by embracing his truest instincts as a musician, instincts never before seen on the Idol stage. And isn’t that what we’ve all been craving from this show, authentic wow moments, pony-hawks notwithstanding?