Prayer Changes Things

The third Aretha attempt of the night went over best. Pro background singer Melinda Doolittle, 29, came from Tennessee to sing “Since You’ve Been Gone” and the panel loved it. Randy fed her the usual bromides: “All you need is to have confidence and believe in yourself, because you’ve got the natural gift.” Blah, blah, blah. Paula played well with others: “No more background singing, you are a front runner.” Simon liked her, too: “You are an incredible singer, you have a fantastic story, you are a fantastic person, I really hope you do well.” What's that "fantastic story?" Something about praying a lot. Or something.