Lesson 11 - Somebody has to go

He never looked the part, but dang, the boy could sing! In the looks department, like Clay Aiken, he has evolved during the competition and become more polished and nearly turned into what America appears to want their Idol to look like. But in the end, it wasn't enough and I'm sad. Elliott was the favorite in my house but, as one person mentioned to me today, it seemed like after Chris left rather unceremoniously last week, that the fight kind of went out of Elliott. You could kind of tell that he was resigned to his fate. I wanted to be sad for him, but when I looked back on his journey I was amazed. This kid who has lost 90% of his hearing in one ear and faced a host of other physical challenges came a long way. He won us over with his voice, but it was that indomitable spirit that made us fall in love with him. Were his CD to come out today, we'd buy it! Elliott, we wish you the best in life! Remember, this is only the beginning. In farewell, we echo Simon..."you've made your mum proud!" j.

Who's Going to the Kodak?

After a long and strange season, I can finally see the finish line. That’s not to say I can see the winner yet, but…I can see the finish line. Before we get to the grand finale at the Kodak Theater, we’ve got to ditch one of the semi-finalists. Elliott, Katharine and Taylor came out last night and tried to prove to us, using their vocal prowess, why they should be included in the final two. I can’t really fault any of the performances although some were better than others. Of course I have my favorite and even managed to get in about 30 votes for him over a two hour stretch…but it was difficult because three out of every four times I dialed I got a busy signal. Is that a good sign? I hope so…then again, I didn’t check out the other two contestants because…well, I’m sure you can figure that one out. You guys know I could ramble on-and-on here, but it’s really the music we are here to discuss and so, let’s get down to it… Elliott Yamin Open Arms Clive Davis, the genius of the music world, picked this Journey tune for Elliott and I’ve got to say, I liked it. Simon though seemed to think Elliott needed to loosen up. Bah Humbug! What You Won’t Do For Love Paula chose this number for Elliott to showcase “funky white boy” soul and he did a pretty good job. Maybe not his best performance…but he’s still my boy (and apparently Paula’s as well). I Believe to My Soul I honestly have never heard this Ray Charles song, but, I thought Elliott knocked it out of the park. It was a little bit different, so it may leave him a bit vulnerable…I hope not! There’s nothing I would like more than to see he and Taylor dueling it out in the finale! Katharine McPhee I Believe I Can Fly Hmmm…well, we know that Katharine is a great singer but when she tries to do these kinds of power ballads she has a tendency to screech a bit, especially on the high notes. Clive Davis may be a genius, but he apparently doesn’t always get it right…this was one of those times! Somewhere Over the Rainbow Oh come on Simon! Give me a break! Once again I have to say, this is not Gay Idol…it’s American Idol. Sure she kicked some ass on this song (and apparently turned at least one gentleman on enough that he voted like a bazillion times for her), but getting on the floor is played out (thanks Fantasia)…it’s tired and frankly, so was this song selection! I’m a little disappointed in you Simon! I Ain’t Got Nothing But the Blues T turned to me last night as she started out on this number and said “she’s goin’ home!” I dunno…she did allright…not as good as the gay song, but all right. If I had my druthers, I’d have Ms. McPhee going home tonight…and after trumping Chris last week, I wouldn’t wonder if his voters don’t punish her for it. We shall see! Taylor Hicks Dancing in the Dark The first Bruce Springsteen song performed by an Idol huh? He did all right ya know…all right…even sounded a bit like the Boss himself. Simon thought it “a bit pale by comparison” and perhaps he’s right. But Taylor showed that he came to win. It didn’t hurt of course that Mr. Davis lobbed an easy one to him! You Are So Beautiful Taylor did Joe Cocker proud!! Randy did an excellent job of picking a great number for him. Perhaps Simon is right in his assessment on Jay Leno the other night that Taylor would win it all…he certainly showed up tonight acting like he could and should! Try a Little Tenderness Oh holy hell…we watched this performance several times! We even managed to ignore a traffic accident outside of our house to watch this one. WOW! He brought out the big guns. I felt rather like Paula, “I’ve been waiting all season” for this performance!! Well, obviously Taylor secured his position in the top two. Did Elliott do well enough to lock down the other? Did Katharine sizzle enough to light up the lines? We shall see tonight in the one hour results show! Stay tuned!! j.