American Idol 5/2

Cafe Society
81

Dang, how did I miss that? Oh well… on to tonight’s impressions.

I love that there’s nobody left in the competition who I actively want to lose. Therefore, I don’t feel responsibility for voting for everyone I like, and stick to who I really think did the best. And those are…

  1. Taylor: excellent song choices and performances, especially “Something.” Showcased everything he does well. He’s a pro, and it shows. Tonight was the first time I felt that not only could he win, but he should and I hope he will.

  2. Paris: both very good performances. She’s the one I would consider voting for to “save” her. She shouldn’t go home this week. I really liked the Mary J. Blige song.

  3. Katharine: She was off-key a lot the first song, but I thought did a great job on the second one. I wasn’t paying attention to the lyrics, though, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she were (as usual) failing to “act” the song appropriately. Vocally, though, she did a fine job.

  4. Chris: A close race with Kat for 3rd place. I thought his vocal on “Renegade” was OK, but his performace was a bit uneven. I’ve already forgotten the second song. He’s very good, but lately I’ve been underwhelmed by his performances.

  5. Elliott: Emotionally, he’s my favorite and I’d love it - love it - if he won. But I’m pretty much certain he’s going home tomorrow. He just wasn’t as good as everyone else tonight, either vocally or performance-wise. I’ll miss him, but I think his time is up. :frowning:

82

It’s this evil chart, Top Pop Catalog Albums. The Beatles 1 singles collection is on there. And has been for the last 280 weeks.

Other hip choices in the top 10 would’ve been AC/DC, Johnny Cash, and Pink Floyd.

“Catalog albums are 2-year-old titles that have fallen below No. 100 on The Billboard 200 or reissues of older albums”

83

Yeah, Papa T. said, “If she dressed like that all the time, she’d win hands down.” I didn’t get the sexiness of it, but I guess she was jiggling pretty good. She knows how to keep the Drooling Old Guy audience happy; I don’t know your demographic, DtC, so that was not referring to you. Unless it applies, of course.

I really enjoyed Elliott tonight; his voice is just so mellow now that he’s not a bundle of nerves, he’s really enjoyable. I also enjoyed Taylor because he’s such a pro. Paris can sing anything, but I really suspect she’ll be going home because she just don’t have the big fan base of most of the others – and to be honest, this show really isn’t where her career is headed in any case. Kat clearly couldn’t hear herself on the second song, judging by her intonation, but did a lot better on the second song; I don’t know the original so can’t comment on her inappropriate smiling. And Chris crawled right back into his comfy box tonight. He’s gotta watch out for the instrument, though; maybe he should go back to David Foster or Andrea Bocelli for some voice lessons. Because he should be able to sing all day without a problem if he’s using his voice right. Which he totally isn’t.

84

Well, gosh. It was an odd evening. I think they all had one stellar performance and then one so-so performance. So I have no idea who I’d vote for.

Elliott - I enjoyed “Nights on Broadway” but didn’t really think he did so great on the Buble number.

Paris - I thought she did great on “Kiss” though I don’t particularly care for the song. The Mary Blige number was just okay.

Katharine - She absolutely tanked on “Against All Odds” but did great on the “Woo Hoo” song (which I’ve never heard of, and have no idea what it is titled.) It was cute and funky.

Chris - Liked “Renegade” but thought the second number was boring and predictable.

Taylor - “Play the Funky Music” was boring and predictable for him, too. Really enjoyed “Something,” which is my favorite Beatles song. I agreed with Simon that it was nice to hear him actually sing because I’ve underestimated his talent with all his schtick.

Didn’t vote. I think it may be Katharine’s turn to go. She’s beautiful and has a great voice, but her personality is MIA.

85

I went into the kitchen during Kat’s second song and all I could hear was “WooHoo” over and over again. Now my kitchen and living room aren’t that far apart so I wondered “why can’t I hear more words?” so I walked back to the living room and then I heard “unintelligible muttering WOOHOO unintelligible muttering” and I decided that that song and performance really sucked. But I was reminded of The Sims who call sex “woohoo” so I at least got a snerk out of it.
I had to go grocery shopping tonight after work so I missed the first songs by all but Taylor and I liked him singing “Play That Funky Music, White Boy”. But I thought “Something” was not up to par. I liked Chris and Paris’s second songs, and Elliots was just okay for me.

I have no predictions on who will go or who will stay. I think this is the first season where I have ever seen a top 5 so well matched.

86

[nitpick]
The title of the song is “On Broadway.”
[/nitpick]

87

At times like this, I wish AI was like a pageant, where people who don’t win can still get subsidiary titles. I’d like to see Taylor get some kind of recognition for PTFM, regardless of how high he places this season. For a while now, people have been griping that there hasn’t been any showstopper, like Fantasia doing “Summertime” or Bo doing “In a Dream”. Well, we finally saw one. Taylor, I salute you.

I hope it’s not a bad omen for Elliott that last year, Scott performed “On Broadway” at this point in the competition, and was voted off that week.

Paris did well on her second song, but as for the first one…So many of the contestants don’t realize that many songs are not singers’ songs, and that was one of them.

Has Simon ever made such a concerted effort to mess with a contestant’s mind as he’s doing with Kat?

Chris got the pimp lighting again. Sigh. I don’t hate him; I don’t even have a problem with his winning (though I hope to see either Taylor or Elliott in the final 2 opposite him). But do they have to make it so. freaking. obvious?

88

Elliott: 1st song - decent job, rather workmanlike; 2nd song - boring.

Paris: 1st song - rather good I thought, had a little pizzazz; 2nd song - all right.

Chris: 1st song - good, but not as earth-shakingly get-down-on-your-knees-and-praise-the-Lord-that-you-were-blessed-and-privileged-to-hear-it wonderful as the judges were [del]saying[/del] gushing; 2nd song - so-so.

Kat: 1st song - boring; 2nd song - my favorite of the night. Several different voice timbres, none of which seemed out of place. Had some pizzazz, had some pathos.

Taylor: 1st song - not bad, fun; 2nd song - not bad, sweet. Guy would be great to hear in a bar or nightclub. Not the type of performer who should be played on the radio or seen at a big concert hall.

89

I’m probably most in agreement with this post. Nothing was really horrible; some stuff was just so-so and not too interesting but certainly not unbearable.
I don’t mind watching Taylor, though. If he made a DVD collection of music videos, I’d watch them for the fun he brings to the performance.

90

Elliot - good, but nothing great.
Paris - very good, both songs.
Kat - first song truly horrible, but second was quite good.
Chris - first very good, second was not.
Taylor - first not so good, second was the best he has sung all year.

None of the performances gave me goosebumps, there were just good.

For the first time in all these years I really have no clear idea of who will win, nor do I really have a favorite.

My guess is Elliot is probably gone tomorrow.
Paris is very good, but she doesn’t need this show anymore.
Kat has also reached her peak, so if Elliot doesn’t go, she should hail a taxi home.
Chris - I have liked him from day one, but of late, he seems to be taking himself a tad too serious and I am getting a little tired of the same rock and roll every time, no matter how good he is.
Taylor seems to be missing half a lung…he just doesn’t have the power in his voice and should thank the sound technicians for getting this far. He seems like a nice enough guy, but I doubt he will be the winner.

91

Count me in as another one who can’t understand all the Taylor hatred. Frankly, he’s about the only thing on this season that’s even remotely approximated entertainment. (What you think I’d listen to Unchained Melody and Bohemian Rhapsody for any stinkin’ reason in the universe other than discussing it on a message board??)

He’s having fun and giving the audience a show. For that, I can take a little wedding drunkenness.

Oh-kay…don’t really have much of an opinion of the performances, so this week I’ll be like the judges. By which I mean talk about whatever I damn want.

Elliot Yamin
Everything about him is pointing to “bar tour” or “cabaret act”. My question is, what the hell is wrong with that? What, you HAVE to be on the radio and sell two million albums or you’re a dismal failure? Puh-leeze. I know he’ll never be a star, but seriously, dumping on him week after week is a bit much.

Paris Bennett
Am I the only one who thinks she should’ve had the guts to leave “girl” unchanged? For crying out loud, it’s two-thousand-effin’-six, our world is the most cosmopolitan and multicultured it’s been in history…if there’s someone out there who can’t stomach the idea of two women just having some kind of relationship, I say screw 'em. See, this…THIS is why I have no use for stupid vanilla mainstream culture. (Oh, and besides that, you really want to be associated with “The artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince?”)

Chris Daughtry
I think I mentioned this way back. I’ll say it again: There really, really (even more than tiered eliminations and/or better handling of the judges) needs to be different categories for different types of music. How do you compare a great rock singer to a great jazz singer? A soloist to someone with backup vocalists? Hey, if Ultimate Fighting Championship could inaugurate different classes, so can AI. Anyway, Chris has shown enough versatility to me that I don’t think the “all he can do is rock” label is valid anymore.

Katharine McPhee
All I got to say is that I hope she never, ever is asked to do the national anthem. I think the backlash is going to rival what Roseanne Barr got. She needs to understand that indiscriminate voice modulating isn’t sexy, it makes her sound like she just stepped on a waxed floor.

Taylor Hicks
He’s going to become a star. I just know it. I don’t care where he places in this stupid contest. All the elements are in place: Fanbase, pretty good talent, willing to work hard and put on a show…and a massive wave of critics caring way, way more than they should. He’ll have his CD, he’ll hit the TV circuit, he’ll have millions of screaming fans, he’ll be in the news week after week after week, and there’s not a damn thing anyone can do to stop it. It’s Paris Hilton all over again.

BTW, yes, I noticed all the pimping for Chris. My opinion: Heh heh, cute, they actually think they have any kind of influence over the voters. Seriously, in terms of pure, hopeless desperation, this dwarfs Walter Mondale. :slight_smile:

92

Elliot Yamin
I hope you were serious when you sang “I Want to Go Home”, because it’s time to pack.

Paris Bennett
I didn’t like Kiss, but the second song sounded good. However…what in Og’s name was she thinking when she got dressed? An ill-fitting camoflage jacket, a red belt with a butterfly clasp, and baggy silver capris. Any one of those elements alone is bad enough, put 'em all together and it’s a sin. My eyes still hurt.

Chris Daughtry
I liked the Styx song, but it seemed as if he couldn’t catch up to the music. The song was rocking and he was plodding right along behind it. Then, of course, the judges loved it. Now, I’ve never liked Chris, but even I had to admit he did a great job on that second song. Then, of course, the judges hated it.

Katharine McPhee
No one wants to hear “Against All Odds”, no matter who sings it. Very bad. I had never heard the second song and I didn’t care for it either. There’s really nothing Kat can do for me at this point; I have decided to hate her.

Taylor Hicks
When he started on “Play That Funky Music”, my household squealed and laughed and cheered. Everyone started really paying attention to the show for the first time since it started. When he sang “Something”, I started wondering what it would be like to kiss him.

93

Man, I loved Kat singing “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.” That might have been my favorite performance of the season. She goes right off my blah-list for choosing a KT Tunstall song in the first place.

94

“Against All Odds” was out and overplayed when I was in high school so I have an irrational dislike of it, and “Almost Paradise” too. So I couldn’t be unbiased on that but still thought she wasn’t very good.

You know how sometimes you hear a song for awhile and it’s overplayed so you get tired of it, and sometimes you just hate it out of the box? “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” is the latter for me–grating, pretentious, urgh. So Kat struck out as far as I’m concerned.

As Simon said, pick great songs!!

And Taylor missed the lyric again during “Something”. When you do a song everyone knows by heart, get the words exactly right.

95

So I missed the first 45 minutes last night. I had to go out for dinner for my sister’s birthday (stupid sisters). My husband was supposed to tape it, but he couldn’t find a tape, even though I told him to go ahead and tape over the wedding video. :wink: Thanks for being my eyes and ears everyone!

96

Okay, maybe I’m the only one who caught it…

When Chris started on “Renegade” Mr. Kitty looked at me and said “I wonder how he’s going to handle that high note.”

Then he mutilated the note, and after getting out of “cringe” mode, I replied “Apparently very, very, very badly.”

Granted, it’s a tough note to hit, and considering how raw his voice sounded on the second song, he was obviously not in peak performance, but…

Why wasn’t he torn to shreds over that? Did everyone else miss it? It was so clear to me that I was amazed Simon didn’t pounce on it.

97

[QUOTE=rockle]
[li]Chris = I need to have his babies. I don’t recognize the song but I thought it was a helluva performance. If that is a Styx song, then I need to go back and give them another listen, because that song rocked.[/li][/QUOTE]

If you go back and listen to Styx’s version, you will realize any rock you heard was all Chris.

DialIdol.com has been very accurate, so my guess is that

Paris

is will be going home…

98

Dial Idol rankings for those who are interested:

[spoiler]

  1. Taylor
  2. Chris
  3. Elliot
  4. Katherine
  5. Paris

Katherine and Paris are within the margin of error. So are Chris and Elliot. Taylor is way, way ahead of everybody.[/spoiler]

99

I’ve never believed for a moment that Taylor could win, and I still don’t…or do I? Damn this eternal-springing hope!

100

Ah, the pre-nap vacation margarita. Is there anything better in the world? :slight_smile: