That vibrant Latin passion? Not on this show

The pop music critic’s take on “American Idol”:

OK, Idol wannabes -- it’s Latin night. Your coach is Jennifer Lopez. The congas are out, the color red is everywhere -- and only one of you (Sanjaya, of course) actually dares to sing more than a word or two in Spanish! ¡Que pena!

For three successive weeks, theme nights have revealed the frighteningly limited stylistic range of these most visible interpreters of American music. On Tuesday, they showed zero feel for the Latin stream that flows through American music from jazz to rhythm and blues to country to Beyonce’s latest hit.

Instead of celebrating Latin music’s range, the show stayed predictably narrow. Sanjaya Malakar sang “Besame Mucho,” known in rock circles as a Beatles cover. Almost everyone else stuck with Santana and Gloria Estefan. Yet this accessible stuff proved tough for the bumbling Idols. Even Blake Lewis -- usually so cool -- perspired and wiggled creepily through “I Need to Know,” eviscerating all memory of originator Marc Anthony’s steely panache. Blake earned high praise from the judges; that thump in the background was a bar being lowered, fast.

That the oft-scorned former J.Lo came off as skilled and sweetly real only added to the weirdness of an episode that made one long for the authenticity of “Jenny From the Block.”

ann.powers@latimes.com