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[BOLD {MY THREE SONGS}] ''Blake is still working with his people,'' Orland says. He and Jordin each will be ''singing their single from the songwriting contest and then singing a favorite song of theirs, and then a brand-new one they've never done''

Frank Micelotta

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: After that show, I honestly had no idea who would go home. Were you surprised it was Melinda?
MICHAEL ORLAND: I have so many showbiz friends who are so distraught. But the bottom line is there are more teenage girls who vote 200 times than there are adults who vote twice. Melinda is such an amazing singer and she's going to have a huge career. Even watching her since then, she's been great all week. She got voted off and she had to go right into rehearsal for the finale. She didn't even have time to grieve. She's such a pro, in every aspect of the word.

So what is this week like for you?
I still work with Jordin and Blake is still working with his people. They're singing their single from the songwriting contest and then singing a favorite song of theirs, and then a brand-new one they've never done. They're each doing three songs tomorrow night. We just keep protecting them from oversinging. There's a girls' medley, a boys' medley for Wednesday, but we're keeping Blake and Jordin's stuff to a complete minimum. They need to be ''on'' on Tuesday night. On top of everything, Jordin is trying to bank some hours of school because this week is going to be crazy.

Can't she just cut school this week?
I asked her teacher if I could write a note to get her out of it.

Can you give us any hints about the song from this season that Jordin is choosing to sing?
She's going back and forth between two songs still. I told her she could have a couple of days to make her mind up. Even though we tell them not to, we take the judges' comments into consideration. She's thinking about that now. Both songs are completely different from the single she's going to sing and the song she picked herself. They're both great songs. There are way worse dilemmas to have.

So how is the single? Better than ''Do I Make You Proud?''
I love it. It's really pretty. Jordin loves it. I haven't talked to Blake to see how he feels. It's a really uplifting and positive song. I think it's going to be great.

Are you also working on Wednesday night finale songs?
I did a couple of the medleys and I'm working with some of the guests coming in. I'm nowhere near done.

Is the finale going to be as good as last year's? Will there be a Prince moment?
Not that I know of right now, but I don't know everything going on. I know there's a lot of top-secret stuff, but even if it's just what I know about, believe me, it's going to be great.