RANDY
Randy raved that Chris' hip-and-now take on Duke Ellington's ''Don't Get Around Much Anymore'' was one of his best performances ever.
Kimberley: Yeah, I think if that was his best, then his other [performances] were pretty bad. I was not feeling it like [Randy] was feeling it. Duke Ellington doesn't need to be hip. Don't get me wrong, Chris is GOR-geous. He's a cutie-patootie. But when he performed, the song was kind of flat for me. You've got to embrace the time period.
Ace: I would have to agree with Randy, with the [silhouetted] lighting and the dance moves. But I thought that everybody made [their song] really contemporary, and they've been doing so throughout the previous weeks. They're definitely all helping each other out, you can tell.
Anthony: That's the thing with Chris; he takes things and makes them his own. When I was on the show, I didn't have my own sound, so I was just a karaoke singer. I admire kids who say, ''Let me define myself [vocally].'' I think Chris has had that mindset, and it's helped him a lot.
Amy: I do think it was one of his best. Chris looks cool and hip, but it wasn't this "Wow, that was so cool, that was so hip!''
While Randy claimed he could no longer comment on Sanjaya's vocals, he did call the contestant ''a great entertainer.''
Kimberley: He is not an entertainer! What makes him entertaining? The fact that he's still on this show? Don't encourage that. When [Randy] said, ''I can't comment on the vocals anymore,'' I was like, ''Good.'' Someone's told him to not even comment on [Sanjaya] and not give him any time. But don't give him any credit for being an entertainer! That's kind of like slapping Tony Bennett in the face!
Ace: I think he means [Sanjaya's improved in his] comfort level, as far as his presence on stage. He danced with Paula, he walked through the entire stage, and still was comfortable. Which is hard to do; that's the first thing you have to conquer when you start performing.
Anthony: Man, I don't know what to say. I agree with Randy; I can't comment anymore. At this point you have to sit and watch how far he'll go.
Amy: [Laughs] It's actually kind of bad, what's happening there. If you're looking from the outside in, you can see that there's not a lot of respect for Sanjaya as an artist. He is making some magic — in Sanjaya's universe. The fact that nobody else is feeling [it] is probably a red flag.
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