It’s time for the fight for a place in the finale. I think I predicted this top three sometime ago.

Blake Lewis, Jordin Sparks, and Melinda Doolittle are going to battle it out tonight.

Jordin is up first and Simon Cowell has picked her first song for the night. Simon picked “Wishing on a Star” by Rose Royce. Jordin looks very cute with her fluffy hair and short dress. This was a fantastic song choice by Simon and Jordin delivered a wonderful performance of it. There were none of her normal pitch shifts when she goes into her upper register. Simon didn’t care for the jazzy arrangement.

Blake is up next with Paula’s song choice. She chose “Roxanne” by The Police. I love love love The Police. As you all know I have been a big fan of Blake’s all along. I notice a bit of a pitch problem, but overall the performance was good. I really love the way he handles himself on the stage. He’s got that charismatic quality that makes it hard to look away from him.

Melinda had Randy for a judge this week. “I Believe in You and Me” by Whitney Houston is the song she’s got to tackle. Melinda needs to win this competition if for no other reason than for being the most consistently great singer. She’s really not had a single bad performance. This is not my favorite song for her. But as usual, she handled it with her usual professionalism and technical excellence. Simon thought it was her best performance of the past four weeks.

The producers chose “She Works Hard for the Money” by Donna Summer for Jordin. Another good choice for Jordin. Though I think it would have been a touch better if they had raised the key a half step so the lower part of the verse wouldn’t be so soft and wavery. There was a bit of a pitch issue on the very end of the song. Simon’s not loving the arrangements tonight.

The producers chose “This Love” by Maroon 5 for Blake. I’ve wanted him to sing a Maroon 5 song all season. Blake has reminded me a bit of Adam Levine all along. This is a PERFECT choice for him. Brilliant performance from Blake. I loved the beat box in the middle. Randy says that this is exactly the type of music he needs to put on his album. I couldn’t agree more. Simon said, “That was good.” He liked it better than the first song.

The producers chose “Nutbush City Limits” by Ike and Tina Turner for Melinda. This is an interesting choice. I know Melinda can pull off Tina Turner, but it’s not the best Turner song. Melinda is channeling her inner Tina carrying the mic stand around the stage. She has really broken out of her shell over the past few weeks. It was of course a good performance for her. She is the consummate performer.

Jordin is back for her final number, she has chosen “I Who Have Nothing.” She knocked this song out of the park the first time she performed it. It was the first song she did that made me think she had a chance to make it to the finals. She is really in it to win tonight. She brought her A game and this performance made both UMB and I goosebumps. It’s such a great song, and she sounded good. Simon didn’t love the fact that she chose such an old song.

Blake‘s final performance of the night is Robin Thicke’s “When I Get You Alone.” I don’t know the song, cause you might have picked up on the fact that I don’t care much for Robin. This song is stealing heavily from A Fifth of Beethoven, the 70′s disco remake of the Beethoven classic. That being said, this is a HOT song. Blake is owning the stage tonight. He shows more originality and contemporary vibe than any of the other performers. Simon really liked it. He complimented him on his ability to take a risk and have fun with the performances.

Melinda‘s final shot tonight is “I’m A Woman.” This was one of my favorite performances from her earlier this season. She’s got that sassy attitude down perfect, and bringing out the back ground vocalists to perform with her was hot. Simon loved the strip tease. Simon said there needs to be a reward for delivering consistently good performances week after week and it should go to Melinda.

Wow. It’s easy for *me* to put Melinda into the finals. There is no question she deserves it. She is everything that the American Idol should be. However, I’m a little worried about her tonight.

In my perfect world, tomorrow night we will see Jordin going home. She hasn’t been nearly as stellar and exciting as the other two have been. Though, she must get respect for her performances tonight.

I think it’s going to come down to demographics with this vote. There are three very different types of performers to choose from…

Blake is the contemporary pop/rock/funk choice. He’s got the Maroon 5, Jason Mraz, 311, and boy band vote going for him.

Jordin has the Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, Fergie vote.

Melinda has the soul and hot adult contemporary vote.

I think everyone will agree that it’s not such a bad thing to get voted off as third place. Everyone on this stage is going to put an album out. They have careers past the tour already lined up for them. It’s going to happen.

All I can tell you is who *I* voted for… Melinda and Blake. I’ll buy Jordin’s album when it comes out, but I don’t think she deserves to win.

Who do you think is going to win?