# American Idol down to three **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887 "2006-05-15T19:53:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/81 "2006-05-17T21:09:50Z")
Man, I gotta tell you, I was never completely sold on Taylor, but I gotta give him credit. He knows what the vast majority of AI viewers actualy want, i.e. _entertainment_. And it works. It’s silly, crazy, spazzy, goofy, and loopy, and **it gets the votes**. You know what, maybe that’s why they insist on having so much bland geezer music every season. It’s a challenge. “Here’s something incredibly lifeless and played to death. Can you get on stage and make it fun?” I think that’s an important lesson. Nobody cares about your principles or dignity or style. This is a competition. Your objective is to put on a show, fire up the crowd, listen to the judges’ asinine drivel gracefully, answer Seacrest’s ridiculous questions, and _get votes_. You want to do it your way and never compromise, fine. Just don’t expect to be back next week. Anywise…this is just a guess (repeat: THIS IS JUST A GUESS), but I have a feeling that Katharine is going this week. I just don’t see a pure vocalist like her beating out both Taylor and Elliot. If Chris were still around, it may be a different story, but from here, it looks like the guys have her just beaten out. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/82 "2006-05-17T23:48:51Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Don’t get me wrong, I like Elliot and he was better than most of the others as well, but I don’t get that he gets a pass for being wooden, uncomfortable, and off the damn tempo while she gets blasted for “eye fucking the camera” and “smiling through a sad song”, and “trills and vibrato and crap”. It’s simple for me. I think Elliott has a pleasant voice and demeanor. I think Katharine has a shrill voice and demeanor. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/83 "2006-05-18T02:05:16Z")
I wasn’t the only one not watching until the last five minutes. I don’t know what to say except that Ryan couldn’t have dragged out the announcement of the loser any longer if he lapsed into a coma. So it’s Kat and Taylor in the finale. I for one welcome our new spazzy, gray-haired idol. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/84 "2006-05-18T02:09:23Z")
Darn you, AI, for making me tear up for Elliott and MamaYamin (yeah, I’ll confess it), then sending him home. Especially when he tells the drugstore lady that he’s still the same guy? Awwww… If I didn’t hear from a million different sources that he actually is that much of a nice guy in real life, I would be able to write it off as typical AI manipulation, but… ---
**Author:** ![Vision\_of\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Vision\_of\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vision_of_Love)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/85 "2006-05-18T02:12:44Z")
Not really shocked, but very disappointed nonetheless. It’s so fun watching Elliott every week that it’s sad knowing he won’t be at the centre of the festivities next week. ☹ Did you see Katharine grin after finding out she was safe, then her expression changed awkwardly when she saw Taylor’s face? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/86 "2006-05-18T02:18:01Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Simon is about the most artistically corrupt guy What the heck does that mean? The man’s a businessman, not an artist. ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Windchill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Walter\_Windchill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walter_Windchill)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/87 "2006-05-18T02:19:36Z")
Um, Dio… the whole thing was done much quicker than usual (when they actually announced it). They didn’t even tell one person s/he was safe first. I though the Mom Yamin stuff was pretty touching too. Elliott is such a mensch! I hope he puts out a CD of Stevie Wonder covers. I’d buy it. ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Windchill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Walter\_Windchill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walter_Windchill)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/88 "2006-05-18T02:21:25Z")
I have no problem with Katharine looking relieved she’s not going home. It IS a competition. Better an honest smile than the kind of stage tears we’re used to seeing. I think Tay was on the level though. Him and El seem to be buds. One week when Elliott and someone else (forget who) were in the bottom two, Taylor had to reign in a whoop when he learned Elliott was safe. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/89 "2006-05-18T02:32:57Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > There have been two songs performed on the show with that title. Taylor did Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble” several weeks ago (That’s the one where the chorus goes “Sa-aaa-aaa-aaved…by a wo-maaaan”). **Dio** is correct. That’s one of Taylor’s favorite singers. ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Windchill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Walter\_Windchill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walter_Windchill)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/90 "2006-05-18T02:56:56Z")
Me so confused! Anyway, I guess I’m pulling for Taylor. But Kat can totally call me if she’s ever in Nashville. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/91 "2006-05-18T05:17:26Z")
:::tears::: I’m sad; there’s no denying that I’m sad. But not heartbroken. Elliott should be okay. I’m confident that he’ll make an album when he’s released from his 19E contract, and I’ll be first in line for it. Besides, now someone’s broken the All-Southern Final 2 pattern. If it wasn’t for that, it might get to where no one who’s **not** from the south would bother auditioning. And I wasn’t surprised to see him tear up. Boss said “He’s crying because he knows he’s going home.” I said, “Yeah, but last year it was Bo who cried, and he didn’t go home.” :sad: I still regret that he won’t be in the final 2, but they gave him the best sendoff I’ve seen a third-place finisher get. Another thing that was somewhat sad was how few people showed up for Kat’s homecoming. Taylor’s and Elliott’s were great big fire code violations, but in LA? Ha! You’ll notice she didn’t get to meet Arnold. (I wonder, though, if she might have gotten more hometown support if she were Latina.) Anyway, it just goes to show that her votes are more “pure”: i.e., based on merit, not geographic loyalty. And it’s the second year in a row that Birmingham has done this! Last year for Bo, now Taylor! Man, the reception he got, it was like in India, when people go nuts over Bollywood stars or cricket players. He has **got** to win this. I’m sick to death of hearing how the runner-up is better off and yadda yadda. I want the title to go to the **best**. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/92 "2006-05-18T12:14:51Z")
Damn damn damn. Goodbye, Elliott. I hate having to care so much about next week’s show. I’m either going to be delighted or hugely pissed off. Then I’ll go through favorite-show-withdrawal. How did I let my idiot box develop this power over me? And yet…I’ll be right there next year when American Idol starts again. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/93 "2006-05-18T12:23:25Z")
I guess “Could you be looking at your next American Idol?” is the kiss of death. It would be kind of cool if Ryan didn’t know the results ahead of time and didn’t do the manipulative stuff. It was so great to see those guys go home to huge crowds; I almost felt bad for Kat that no one was lining the streets for her. > [@Zakalwe](#): > > On many of those songs, if she doesn’t “tart it up”, everyone blasts her for a karaoke performance or for “not making it her own”. It’s kind of no win, isn’t it? Yeah, I agree with you that the judges can be inconsistent. To tell Kat she should just sing the melody, while at other times calling people out for having just sung the melody and not changed it up is a little frustrating. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/94 "2006-05-18T12:47:52Z")
I’m not surprised, but I’m disappointed nonetheless. You weren’t the only one who teared up, **LilyoftheValley**. This morning I find myself wondering whether it’s even worth watching the finale. Both singers are fine, but I don’t really want either to win. We’ll see when next Tuesday rolls around. If I don’t watch, it will be the first AI finale I haven’t watched since the start. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/95 "2006-05-18T12:55:25Z")
First Chris, now Elliot… My two picks are gone and I really don’t care who wins now. I’ll buy both Chris’ and Elliot’s albums when they’re available. I won’t buy Kat’s and I have enough Michael Mcdonald music already, so I don’t need Taylor’s. ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/96 "2006-05-18T15:09:15Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > Elliot is going home tonight. He was good through all three songs but he never had a moment. His last song just fell flat. I’m not sure what it was about it, but it lacked. Simon said what it was: he was stiff. The song choices weren’t great, but his downfall was that he was clearly the least-comfortable performer of the top three. He’s gotten millions of times better over the season, going from the goofy-looking sweaty elf to a bonafide hottie who has got some good moves to go with that velvet voice. But whereas Taylor and Kat (and Chris, Paris, and a few others) already knew how to command a stage and put on a show, Elliott has never done that. He’s always come off best when he sits and sings his heart out. When the song demanded that he move, it always seemed a bit awkward. On Tuesday, it was the third song that nailed the coffin. He came out, planted two hands on the mike stand, and didn’t move. That sandwiched between some of Taylor and Kat’s best performances, he didn’t stand a chance. He was this little spot on stage for all three songs while the other guys worked their asses off to win the room. I will miss Elliott and I hope the very best for him, but if (when) Taylor wins this thing, he truly deserves it. ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/97 "2006-05-18T15:27:28Z")
I was heartbroken last night. I’d like to say that Elliott will go far without Idol now, but I can’t tell you that I’ve seen hide nor hair from any 3rd place contestant in the show’s history. I think I may have seen Kimberly Locke on something. I don’t actually remember any other seasons’ #3. Either way, I will be supporting Taylor Hicks in the finale and will vote until I fall asleep to make sure Smiley McSpoiledRotten goes home crying. Maybe I can dig up a 2400bps modem from the back of my closet to make the process a bit easier. Hm. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/98 "2006-05-18T15:35:21Z")
My husband will not believe this thing is not rigged. He says he knew Kat would stay because of “demographics”. I couldn’t make him see that if he is right, it was pretty stupid to send Chris home last week when they had two other white boys to choose from and he was the hottest and most marketable. I now point to \*\*jali \*\* and **yellowval** ’s posts to prove my point! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/99 "2006-05-18T15:49:35Z")
Not to mention how this thread has shrunk in the last couple of weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887/100 "2006-05-18T15:56:32Z")
> [@vaderspal](#): > > He was this little spot on stage for all three songs while the other guys worked their asses off to win the room. I take issue with that assessment, in that it portrays that just because Elliott stood still for song #3 that he wasn’t working his ass off to win. In fact, I think Elliott worked harder throughout his tenure than any other contestant on this show, from _any_ season. Watching him on Tuesday’s show, you could see how he actually learned something from, for example, Barry Manilow and Rod Stewart, whereas Taylor and Katharine are still singing exactly the same way they did from the beginning, as if they feel they have nothing to learn and think they’re already good enough. Besides which, Taylor just stood still with 2 hands planted firmly on the mic during his 2nd song, and I don’t see you criticizing _him_ for making that performing choice, yet it was supposedly the death knell for Elliott. Out of 50 million votes, a mere 100,000 separated Elliott from Katharine, who sang _her_ second song sitting (_again_) on her ass on the floor. Taylor and Katharine are both good, but they’ve also both had some seriously bad performances where their voices sucked majorly. Elliott, on the other hand, has been consistently good to great every single week, even if his song choices were a bit more obscure for the AI audience. I like Taylor and Katharine just fine, and have thrown votes their way after various performances throughout the season. But in my not so humble opinion, the person who worked the hardest and most “deserved” to win, lost by probably the narrowest margin in AI history last night. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-down-to-three/356887.md?page=6)