Melinda Doolittle described American Idol's 12 sixth-season finalists as "one big, happy family," and she had the honor of serving as its matriarch.
"I'm kind of the momma of the bunch because I'm the oldest, so I call them all my babies," said Doolittle during a conference call with reporters on Thursday. "I felt like I kind of hung out with them. Jordin [Sparks], being the youngest, is my baby girl, definitely. But I mean we all hang out, Blake [Lewis], everybody. Blake is kind of the class clown, so he might have been one of the funniest ones."
While she was consistently praised by Idol's judges for being the most consistent performer during the sixth season, Doolittle's Idol journey stopped just short of the finale -- something she says had an idea was going to happen -- when she became the tenth finalist eliminated. However she has nothing but good things to say about Sparks and Lewis -- one of whom will soon be crowned Idol's sixth season champ.(Read More)