LaKisha Speaks...

In her conference call with reporters, LaKisha admitted that if she had it to do over again, she would have done two big ballads on Barry Gibb night, but she told “Entertainment Weekly” that she had actually been preparing for her exit for a couple of weeks…

“You know, a couple of weeks ago in the competition, I felt like, you know, I just can’t win. And I got tired—and it’s so overwhelming and I was just preparing myself to go…Yeah, I felt like my time was coming…

Interestingly, the song that kept her in the competition another week, “This Ain’t a Love Song,” was not her first choice for Bon Jovi week. She did not say what her first choice was, but it was apparently not a ballad because Jon Bon Jovi told her he was so glad she changed it to a ballad…

As to why she didn’t live up to the potential of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” LaKisha said it was the different genres that were her downfall. “Everybody wanted that ‘And I Am Telling You’ moment every week, but when you’re singing different genres every week, those styles don’t necessarily have that ‘big song.’ I went out there every week and gave it my all”…

You may have heard Kiki say during her goodbye speech that “everyone has a story.” When reporters asked her about that she said, “Everyone has a story and no one knows mine like I do.” When reporters pushed for when we would hear that story, she said, “maybe in a movie.” I bet Lifetime’s investigating now…

But what reporters really wanted to know about was that kiss with Simon. “He is a good kisser and I would do it again. His lips were really soft and thin”…

Phil Speaks: Will he miss the tour?

So if I needed another reason not to fork over the $48.50 for the Idols Live, I may have just found it…

During his interview with the media today, Phil said that he might miss the tour. "My primary responsibility is to the U.S. Navy. The possibility exists that they will need me for a mission." But Phil says it looks “promising” for him to be there...

Phil is a Musician Third Class stationed with the Navy Band in Jacksonville, Florida. He said he plans to fulfill his commitment (which is until October 2008) but said that could change “depending on the circumstances that come my way.” Apparently, there are some security concerns with the Navy that may affect his position as a Naval singer, which takes him to high schools around the country…

So how did Phil find his groove in the last two weeks? Less pressure. “I think once I got to the bottom three, and the bottom two, at one point or another I just said, 'Ah, forget it! It's all gravy now, I should have gone home weeks ago!'”…

Phil told reporters that next week will be Bee Gees week and he was planning to do “Islands In the Stream.” But Phil said he’s kind of glad he won’t be around. “Here's the deal: Next week, what's gonna be funny is that all four of those jokers are going to shine. It's going to be a great week for them. That's one of the reasons I'm semi-glad I got cut this week. I would have hated to have gone out on a night when all of the judges were like, 'Man, I just wasn't feeling that.'”

Phil also gave his take on the competition from here on out: “At this point, here's the deal: Melinda may be the best singer that's ever been on “American Idol.” LaKisha may be the most passionate singer ever. Jordin may have the strongest upper range of anybody. And Blake is the most original artist. So, being a fan of the show — and I'm not participating anymore, so I can say this unbiased — I think it's the best top four in the history of “American Idol.” I try to predict who gets voted off each week, and I'm never, ever, ever right, but I couldn't possibly predict who'll go next week”…

Chris Speaks...

So as best friends, Blake and Chris stood there awaiting their fate, what were they talking about? Chris told reporters today that they were singing a song that they wrote and Chris was telling Blake to sit down because Chris knew he was the one going.

How did he know? "I looked around and saw the band getting ready. The guy who plays the 12 string guitar was setting up and I was the only one who performed with a 12 string guitar."

They really need to find a better way to hide this stuff…

Chris said he and Phil were already expecting their departures after Simon’s comments Tuesday. “We knew who he would try to dwindle out of the competition, and who he would try to keep in the competition. I would always go out there preparing for the worst but hoping for the best.”

Chris also set the record straight about his personal life, which has started to hit the tabloids (He’s been linked with Lauren Conrad.). "You know what, I just got out of a 3 ½ year relationship back home. All the other rumors and stuff are just rumors. Those people are just my friends. They are acquaintances. I'm single but still respect the fact that I just got out of a relationship with my girlfriend”…

Sanjaya Speaks...

So what did the most controversial “Idol” contestant ever have to say about his elimination?

What happened to him this week? “Honestly, I’m not a country singer. I think that really took a toll on me, and I didn’t have enough really strong performances to have people forgive me for that.”

What about Simon? “From the beginning, I think that Simon saw potential in me, and when I didn’t fill that potential, he was kind of disappointed…He’s very opinionated, but I learned more from him than from anyone else while I was on the show.”

Sanjaya said it still hasn’t hit him how much of an impact the show has. He said he’s considering getting a bodyguard.

About Ashley, aka crying girl, he said he thought it seemed “unnatural” that he could have that effect on someone. On “The Tonight Show,” he joked that he thought she was going to dehydrate from all the crying.

Sanjaya received his GED after his sophomore year, so he viewed “Idol” as his junior and senior year of high school. He hopes to get into Berklee School of Music.

And for the record, Sanjaya means “spiritual psychic”…

Haley Speaks...

When reporters talked to Haley Scarnato after her elimination, the first topic on their mind was, of course, her legs.

So why the short shorts? Haley said that Simon was saying that she was very cabaret for a while, so she thought she’d go more “trendy and young.” She told “People,” “I never really changed my look since Hollywood week. I showed my midriff and stuff. I want to stay true to who I am.”

Haley told “Entertainment Weekly,” “I really hope that wasn’t the vibe that I was giving everybody, that I was always wearing short outfits. That’s not how I want to be remembered.”

Sorry, Haley, but there’s no way that’s not going to happen…

Haley shared with “Entertainment Weekly” that she used makeup on her legs that covered her cellulite. Also, she confirmed to reporters that she wore Katharine McPhee’s hair extensions from last season, but don’t worry, they washed them.

Haley now goes back to planning her wedding which she moved to January from its original November date because of the tour.

She planned to sing “When God Fearing Women Get the Blues” on next week’s show and she joked she would have made a different clothing choice. “If I was going to be here next week. I was going to wear a choir robe! I was going to be fully clothed.”

Gina Speaks...

Before I share with you Gina Glocksen’s final thoughts, let me just say that after watching her elimination again on YouTube yesterday, it was truly one of the most emotional I have ever seen on the show.

Yes, Alaina Alexander shed a lot of tears, but we didn’t really care about her. Gina didn’t deserve to go just yet…

About her exit song, “Smile,” Gina told reporters, “That song is definitely going to be a very special song for me for the rest of my life now.” Gina told “Entertainment Weekly” she “knew the minute they said it was Tony Bennett week that I would sing ‘Smile’ because it’s from ‘My Girl 2’ and I loved that movie.”

Gina said that when it came down to her and Haley, she “had no idea” what was going to happen, but there was no question in her mind which group was the bottom three. “Right before Ryan went to commercial break, Haley, Phil and I looked at each other and started laughing. Like, do we really need to wait until after commercial to know which group is bottom three? We just knew.”

Gina also detailed the “Idol” week for reporters: “We pick our song on Thursday, rehearse them for three days, meet with our mentor on Saturday, do the Ford shoot on Sunday, rehearse on Monday, show on Tuesday, show on Wednesday, pick songs on Thursday, and it’s just a continuous circle.”

Maybe Gina’s most shocking comment to reporters is that she sees Simon Cowell as a
“parental type” on the show. “He’ll say that I had a bad performance just to make me stronger because he did like me and he does see something special in me. He just wanted to push me to that next level.”

Next week, Gina planned to sing Gloria Estefan’s “Everlasting Love” (All together now: UGH!). The theme week she was most looking forward to was Bon Jovi/rock week, because she wanted to sing “Livin’ On a Prayer.”

And her dream to sing her favorite song, Pink’s “Who Knew,” was dashed by Pink who doesn’t clear her songs.

Interestingly, I didn’t read one comment in any of the Gina stories about Sanjaya. I’ve got to believe that someone asked her, so maybe she refused to comment. There are rumors going on that the other finalists are pretty frustrated over the whole thing…

Chris Speaks...

Well, it should be no surprise to anyone that Chris Sligh had plenty to say about his elimination—which he says he actually knew was coming…

Chris had originally chosen “Give a Little Bit,” while Phil was going to do “Every Little Thing,” but when Phil changed, Chris changed too fearing that his original choice was just too safe. However, he struggled with the song and Ricky Minor even gave him a metronome to help him work on the beat. But he says when Tuesday came around, it just “wasn’t clicking with the band so when [he] performed it, it was like [he] wasn’t sure,” he told “Entertainment Weekly.” But Chris says he really didn’t think it was that off (I have to agree, by the way.).

So why the “my bad”? Remember Chris’ comment to Simon about the Teletubbies? That’s why. “Idol” made Chris take down his blog when he made the top 24 (as they did with all the contestants), but the comments people left him were still going to his e-mail account and people were very angry about what he said. So he “really bit [his] tongue for the past few weeks.”

After getting blasted by the judges, Chris was so confident he was going home he packed his bags on Wednesday morning and made sure to thank the hair stylist and clothing stylist for everything they’d done. He says they told him he wasn’t going home and he responded with “Yes, I am.” And he made that bet with Phil that he was going home, so he did get $50 out of the deal…

Why so confident? In Chris’ words: “Haley has had two or three weeks where she’s been on the rise because of her hot pants. With her rising and because of my last few weeks, I knew I was falling…”

Speaking of those last few weeks, Chris admits that “glasses off was a bad choice,” but he says he likes the fact that he took chances with his songs.

And in case you’re wondering, yes, the contestants hear the questions from Ryan beforehand. Chris says he was a little surprised that his knitting and crocheting comment came off so sarcastic to some people because he was just “being silly.”

So what are his thoughts on Sanjaya? He says he is “a good kid” and that he’s getting a “bum rap. If you listen to his recordings on the ‘American Idol’ website his voice sounds good. When I was 17 years old I had no idea how to sing on stage either.” Chris says he did a double take when he first saw the Mohawk, but says it “takes cojones” to do a hairstyle like that. Chris refused to follow the hair stylist’s suggestion to flat iron his hair because he “would lose all rock credibility.”

Chris also shares that he and Phil were roommates and “really close,” and that he and Blake are “very, very tight.” And he tells “EW” that some of the older contestants had to learn to talk around Sanjaya and Jordin because “Blake and Chris definitely enjoy their cuss words,” but he says Jordin is “incredibly mature for her age.”

And even though Chris said he was “bringing chubby back,” he may not bring it back to the finale (Did you notice how much thinner he looked on Wednesday’s show?). Chris has already lost 34 pounds—with some treadmill motivational yelling from Chris Richardson—and he hopes to “show up to the finale looking completely different.”

If you’re already having Chris withdrawal, you can check out the new CD from his band, Half Past Forever called “Take a Chance on Something Beautiful.” It’s ironic that Chris stumbles after his band releases their CD, just as (in season four) Constantine stumbled right after his band released theirs. Hmmm…

Stephanie Says Goodbye...

Some people were pretty surprised about Stephanie’s departure last night, but she wasn’t one of them…

“I felt I was going home because of my performance and what the judges had to say,” she told reporters today. “I felt what they said was going to sway America’s vote.”

Stephanie said that if a contestant has diehard fans, the judges can’t sway them; but she didn’t have enough fans like that. She said that as she was performing, she was actually thinking that it was “a great song and the judges are going to love it. I had no idea the judges were going to hate it and America was not going to vote enough.”

She hasn’t watched the show back to see her performance, but she said what she’s heard in the background while doing interviews “sounded good to me.”

As further proof that she just doesn’t get it, she shared the three songs she was considering for next week’s pop music theme: “True Colors,” “Nothing Compares 2 U” and “MacArthur Park.” Does the term upbeat not exist in her vocabulary?

And do we really need to hear the “cake in the rain” song?...

Stephanie did sing for the audience after the show Wednesday, but she said it wasn’t very good since she was crying…

As for her reaction to Sanjaya-gate, Stephanie agreed it was unfair to show Ashley so much, “but that’s just how it works”…

Much more interesting was information Stephanie shared about the Idols’ down time. She said she, Sanjaya and Jordin hung out most of the time while the others were out drinking (She’s only 19.). She said that while they were out she “slept a lot because they all went out late.” If she wasn’t sleeping, she was practicing. “It worked to my advantage because LaKisha and Gina were my roommates so I had the advantage of being able to practice a lot”…

Brandon Rogers: His hips don't lie, they just make him forget...

A lot of people wouldn't be happy after being voted off America's #1 show, but Brandon Rogers is. That's probably because he had already made peace with going home.

"I completely 100 percent expected it the second they told me I was in the bottom three," he told "Entertainment Weekly." Brandon even admitted what we already knew--that he never lived up to the hype. "A lot of people were waiting for me to live up to my first audition and when you never return to that top form, it's a disappointment to some people." Brandon also admitted that he was choosing songs he enjoyed and not ones that would show off his voice.

So why did he forget the words? Nerves? The pressure? Nope, his hips. Brandon said that after he did his little hip shimmy that the audience went wild and he started thinking about that and forgetting about his singing. "I enjoyed the moment a little too much."

Next week, Brandon planned to sing "Whiter Shade of Pale" which he says is the "first great song I chose." I'm afraid I'd have to agree...

By the way, one writer who was at Wednesday's show said that if Brandon had given that performance (the one we didn't see) on Tuesday, Sanjaya would absolutely have went home. The same writer said Blake and Chris R. were the most upset at Brandon's departure, as Blake even turned away at one point to compose himself...

Sabrina, Jared, Sundance and Antonella Speak

Poor Jared, Sabrina and Sundance. Not only were they voted of “Idol,” but they were unfortunate enough to be voted off the same week as Antonella.

As I told you last week, the booted contestants do a conference call with the media on Friday. But it wasn’t until today that I finally found comments from anyone other than Antonella—and only on one website.

So, please allow me to make it two…

Sabrina Sloan (whose look of shock was certainly a classic) said she’s headed for a spa to just process everything and then figure out what’s next. All of the judges offered her words of encouragement and told her that unfortunately at this point it’s less about singing than it is about popularity. Haley, who did make it through, was Sabrina’s roommate (You know they plan this stuff out!)…

Jared Cotter is still trying to process his shock at being eliminated, but he says he saw it on the card when Ryan called him to the stage. He also said he doesn’t understand what Paula meant by the fact that he needed more “coloring,” saying that he doesn’t think Paula always understands what Paula means. I understood what she meant, Jared. You’re boring…

For Sundance Head, the day was a double whammy. After the show, he went to see the “Idol” psychiatrist (Who knew?) and found out that his second cousin had died in a house fire. Sundance also said that he had the most number of votes of all the guys in the two weeks before (I’ll take his word for that.), so he thinks that maybe America thought he was safe and didn’t vote for him. Next week, he planned to do “Reflections,” which I think might have been cool…

And finally, Antonella, who has dominated the headlines for the past two weeks, said she wants to be remembered as a singer and not for the photos (Fat chance of that, honey.). The reporters, however, weren’t playing along and the “Idol” PR Rep jumped in to stop the questions when Antonella was pressed about which pictures were actually of her. The rep later said that Antonella was about to break down. As for future plans, she’s going to stay in Los Angeles for a few weeks to field offers. And as for “Playboy,” she said no, but then told “EW” that she wanted to look at all offers—including men’s magazines.

I guess that means we haven’t seen the last of Antonella. Great…