Raised, lowered - why does it matter? You vote for who you like. If Sanjaya was good enough to make the final 12, then I can't imagine that Melinda's presence meant that a well-qualified younger person was edged out.

Really, though, demographics are always a consideration. FWIW, if we had not been able to hear old lady Melinda (29) to sing, I think it would have been regrettable. The other point I want to make is that, just because someone has sung professionally, that doesn't mean that they have had more training. Paris Bennet - only 16 - was schooled for years by her aunt and other professional singers in her family, but she herself was not a pro. Melinda, although she has worked as a back-up singer, may have had no training at all, for all we know. You get hired based upon your ability to sing; they don't do on-the-job training for singers - especially back-up singers. If you aren't solid already you don't get past the audition. So having sung professionally is not necessarily an advantage.

I thought Melinda and Jordin clearly outshined the other two last night. Blake was atrocious - oy. His "unique" style has been exposed as the only trick in his bag. Without that silly beat-box stuff, he's nothing. Lakisha, IMO, sings like a million other people; pretty good, but certainly not great; there's no music in her voice. Assuming things go as they should, I will have a hard time voting against either Jordin or Melinda when the final vote rolls around.