Big Leather Couch

Last evening, the five remaining Idol hopefuls got to give us two songs each.

The evening began quickly. From the get-go, this show was about the contestants and not about the judges and Seacrest…that was a G-O-O-D thing.

The first song was from the year of their birth:

ELLIOTT – George Benson’s “On Broadway” – Elliott finally moved around on the stage…loosened up and seemed comfortable and that is a great thing for his fans and not such a great thing for the other contestants. This guy is smooth as silk when he sings. A wonderful voice. His rendition of this classic was an excellent start to the night.

PARIS – Prince’s “Kiss” – She can work the stage, work the room and work the crowd while still belting it out. I enjoyed her take on this Prince song. Not being a huge Prince fan, I was not sure of her choice. I need to keep reminding myself that she is only 17 and has so much to grow.

CHRIS – Styx’s “Renegade” – Well the wallet-chain is back…He took this song and twisted it to suit his style of rage and hard rock. Not bad. I am still not totally impressed with his style and don’t think I will be running to buy his CDs or concert tickets...but that is me.

KATHARINE – Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds” – Not my favorite Phil Collins song and Katharine did absolutely nothing to change that. She started off very rough and never left that zone. The first few stanzas were so breathy, I was concerned she was going to hyperventilate and hit the floor. I get this feeling she is reading (or McMommy or McDaddy are reading to her) all the hype from the last week and a half. Until last night I was not getting all the comments about the ego…but then last night she kept giving a look that said to me “You like me and you know what YOU SHOULD!” Katharine... I ‘took a look’ and on this song I did not like what I saw.

TAYLOR – Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music” – Rumors were he was just going to give his fans a concert this week. Well he certainly started off that way with this little one-hit wonder ditty. Working the stage and the crowd…showing his hip-shaking dance move…belting out the song and having a good old time. OK, this is not the toughest song to sing…but as David Foster and Rod Stewart both said it is as much about the charisma and performing as it is about the singing. Unfortunately Simon does not seem to get that fact.

The second song was from the Billboard Charts of today:

ELLIOTT - Michael Buble’s “Home” – This song fell a bit flat for me. It was good, but not great and I guess I am expecting great from Elliott now…

PARIS – Mary J. Blige’s “Be Without You” – I noticed something very interesting…when the camera was moving around and you got a shot of the audience…THEY WERE SITTING THERE ON THEIR HANDS…there was no one up and dancing to this sassy little number. I thought her ending was some of the roughest singing I have heard from her, but again, Paris proved she can sing any genre of music.

CHRIS – Shinedown’s “I Dare You” – OK, here is what I heard: screech…screech…mumble…screech…screech...mumble...screech...screech
Sorry…I do not get it…everything comes from his throat, so of course his vocals are going to get scratchy and he is going to lose his voice. His comment that he had sung the song 5 times…ummm Chris? In concert you sing many more then 5 songs…and the judges all just blew by the fact that his voice seems shot…In the past they have taken contestants to task for this very fact…Oh wait, those were not chosen one’s…

KATHARINE – K.T. Tunstall’s “Black Horse And The Cherry Tree” – I had never heard this song until last week and very much enjoy Tunstall’s sound on it. I was sure Katharine was going to fall flat on this one when I heard it was her song to sing. It really was not that bad. I thought it was a very self -indulgent though, but that be because I am now seeing that 'I am great' look in her eyes. What was bad was the whole choreography…her on her knees the entire song…she kept looking like she wanted to get up but couldn’t and at times she looked like she was humping the floor…and then she told Ryan how uncomfortable she was…

TAYLOR – Beatle’s “Something” – The best thing about this…Taylor used the rules to HIS advantage this week. In the last few weeks, the judges have used them to hurt him. As Simon mentioned, he was amazed Taylor got a 30 year old song into a current theme, but hey…them are the rules...the album appears on the Billboard Catalog chart. The song and Taylor’s performance…flawless…yes he can sing folks...the “whiskey tenor” Barry Manilow referred to was shining brightly last evening. This performance generated the best line of the night from Mr. Cowell…”We have to remember that even with all your balminess, you can sing.”
balm· Pronunciation Key (bäm)
adj. balm·i·er, balm·i·est
1. Having the quality or fragrance of balm; soothing.
2. Mild and pleasant: a balmy breeze.
3. Slang. Eccentric in behavior.
balmi·ly adv.
balmi·ness n.

Yes, Simon…Taylor is mild and pleasant!

(edited) Pepperdog on the AI boards tells me the word Simon used was Barmy... not Balmy Simon did not say "balminess" (which of course makes no sense). He said "barminess". "Barmy" is a very common British slang word meaning "nutty", as in "You're barmy" -- i.e. "You're crazy".

Thanks Pepperdog..either way I think Simon meant the same thing!

Now, it appears that TPTB know what they are doing...If Taylor Hicks goes home it is because of one thing...THEY HAD THE CONTESTANT VOICES ANSWERING THEIR CALLS! Now we all know what happened...every female Taylor fan dialed the number the first time, heard his voice and either:
1: THUDDED and never recovered for two hors thus not getting a seconf vote in
2: Listened to the entire message each time they called, thus only getting in 10 calls during the entire two hours...

No more bottom three’s as I am not sure how they are going to set them up this evening, so we will just select the person going home this evening.

If you went on performances alone, I would be sending Katharine home. Since this is about fan base and the public voting on more then just singing ability, I would believe that Paris will be leaving us this evening. Paris dear, I will be purchasing your first CD immediately…you are a star.


On a housekeeping note, you may have noticed over the last few days, the inclusion of color and different sized type. Well, the I realized that I had been composing in the html mode and was having a hard time figuring out their codes for certain things. Lo and behold, I found the easier way to compose, that allows me to use a wysiwyg interface and allows me to add these features. As a wise man once said DOH!