American Idol 6: Why Blake Lost

Blake didn’t start off being viewed as the best male contestant on American Idol 6. But along the way, he progressed while other regressed. He stuck around while others were sent packing. And then, once Melinda was eliminated last week, it looked like he actually had a chance to win this thing! Alas, ‘twas not to be. So what happened? Why did Blake lose?

All season long we’ve been asking this question about the various contestants. And we’ve been answering it each week by going back to What ‘American Idol 6’ Contestants Need to Know to map out how we got to where we were. That trend continues right up to the end, so let’s see what we can determine.

The first and always most important rule is to have singing and performing talent. Note the “and” there. It’s not just singing. This becomes key when we talk about Blake because, frankly, he was not the best singer. He was not even the second-best or third-best singer. But he was, bar none, the best performer. He made that clear throughout the competition, and if there was any doubt, it was erased by his finale results show beatboxing performance.

Blake’s performances got him to the finale. He showed viewers something more than just a person standing there and singing (though certainly just standing there and singing can be powerful too, as Kelly Clarkson showed while singing “Never Again”). He gave us a show.

But at the same time, we do have to address Blake’s singing. It was good. Generally not great, but good. And his ability to add in various vocal tricks certainly helped. However, we do have to remember that American Idol is, at its heart, a singing competition. As such, many of those watching really do vote for the best singer. After watching Tuesday night’s performances, there could be little doubt who the best singer was of the final two. It ended up being like Simon said – Blake gave the best performance, but Jordin was the better singer.

Still, Blake might have been able to overcome at least part of the singing issue with better song choice. Unfortunately, he really only had one song with which he could have done it.

Blake’s reprise of “You Give Love a Bad Name” was certainly the right one to do. No problem there. And Blake could not do anything about being forced to sing “This Is My Now.” Maybe he could have Blaked it up a bit, I don’t know. But I just don’t think there was enough decent material for him to work with there.

That left his second song. I said at the time, and still believe, that it was a poor choice. Maybe he wanted to show his softer, mellower side in comparison to his first song. But he was already being forced to sing a sappy ballad, so why did he foist another slow song on himself? I don’t know if it would have made a difference in the end, but Blake did have an opportunity to give another strong, energetic performance – and he chose to go in a different direction.

The third rule tells contestants to be consistent and able to sing in different genres. Blake was generally good at following this one, though not perfect by any means. Indeed, Blake had another view of things. Rather than sing solidly throughout, he took chances. Sometimes those risks paid off. Sometimes not. But when they did, they really did, and outweighed the issue of consistency.

Indeed, Blake the risk-taker lasted longer than Melinda the most-consistent. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned here. While it is certainly important to be consistently good, there is something to be said for going out on that limb from time to time.

Also, Blake seemed to know he had to dial it back the following week if he was criticized for going too far. That was another way to show consistency and remind viewers that he was still a good singer and deserved to stick around.

Blake certainly did well by the fourth rule, being unique. He was different from everybody who has ever appeared on American Idol, both past and present. And he set this up early, when he reggae-rapped in the semi-final round, something that had never been done before. As the rule says, “try to set yourself apart from your competition.” Blake did it with ease.