By Brandon Garcia, Idol Chat Editor
Compared with Sanjaya Malakar’s jaw-droppingly wretched performance of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me Now,” which had much of America wondering whether they should ever watch the show again, Stephanie Edwards‘ tepid take on “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” seemed like Grammy-winning material. So why is she currently on a midnight plane back to Georgia? None of the judges here at Idol Chat predicted her ouster — even though I thought her strained vocals and agonizing performance were the night’s low point, I still thought she’d be safe. What happened? Let’s take a look at what Stephanie had going for and against her:
FOR
- Good style. Stephanie established her place as the fashionista of the season early on, and week after week, she looked amazing.
- Beyoncé sound. With its penchant for frenetic vocal runs, her voice reminded many of the Knowles, and it probably worked in her favor, at least in the beginning.
AGAINST
- Boring song choices. Like Melinda and LaKisha, Stephanie never strayed far from her R&B stylings, and it resulted in at least a couple of really dull AI moments, if not awful ones.
- Melinda and LaKisha. From the start of the Finals, I had a hunch she’d be overshadowed by her soul sisters, LaKisha, Melinda and Sabrina. Sabrina bit the dust early, but still, there can be only be so many divas per season, and Stephanie wasn’t measuring up. I said it since Day One: She was the third Dreamgirl, and dreams don’t come in threes.
CHANCE FOR POST-IDOL STARDOM: Fair. She’s pretty and has a solid voice and a non-existent personality that could be molded into something marketable a là Carrie. Still, there are about 10,000 Stephanies actively looking for a record deal in Los Angeles. Not getting to strut her stuff on the Idol tour doesn’t help her chances.
Catch all of Stephanie’s performance on YouTube:
*Top 24: “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore” SCORE: 7.4
*Top 20: “Dangerously In Love” SCORE: 7.3
*Top 16: “Sweet Thing” SCORE: 5.8
*Top 12: “Love Hangover” SCORE: 5.5
*Top 11: “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me“ SCORE: 4.8
