Posted on 05/08/2006 4:22:13 AM PDT by silent_jonny
I liked the second song but it was hard to get past his not looking rough, tough or eeeevilll. Kind of like watching 'Ritchie Cunningham' singing it instead of the Fonze.
I love to tease the "24"'s with Antiques Road faux "live" threads LOL!.
I didn't catch that one...
Do we know what the theme is next week?
Nora Jones on Letterman now.
I like her , but she's really no better than any of the AI contestants.
Does she need a ride?
Or a place to stay?
LOL
You don't miss a thing, do you?! :)
And you are an angel.....jonny angel :-)
ROFL!
Thank you, darling
Oh my....ROFL!
We got in just over a thousand votes here tonight.
Time for the West Coast Wrapup!
This is the tricky part of the competition for me. We've reached the point now where the deadwood is all gone and the contestants are pretty evenly matched. Some have one strength and some have another, but all in all, they are pretty even. Yet someone has to go home ....
Taylor: I don't know why Simon bothers watching Taylor's up-tempo songs, since he can be relied upon to either call it Karaoke or accuse Taylor of being a closet tippler. Simon might as well take a little nap instead; it would be more productive. I enjoyed Taylor's first song. It wasn't God's gift to inventiveness, but it brought a genuine smile to my face, and I enjoyed it. I was actually less enthused about his second song ... but I think part of that was the excessive orchestration and the excessive loudness OF the orchestra. The show's producers had a full string orchestra up there and it was apparent they were by-God-gonna-use-the-whole-thing, even when it was inappropriate. When they showed Taylor rehearsing "In the Ghetto," with just the piano for accompaniment, the rawness and power of his voice were apparent, and gave me a brief chill. But the nuances of his voice (and EVERYONE'S voice) were covered up by the incessant strings. I nominate "In the Ghetto" as Probably the Best Performance We Never Actually Got to Hear.
Chris: First song, terrific. Very nuanced and interesting, and not coincidentally, quite sexy. Chris has a very distinctive voice, one that you could instantly identify on the radio, and if he doesn't give himself nodes by singing incorrectly, I think he could have an interesting and profitable singing career. Second song: Eh. Not so much. Just not a good song choice -- very Johnny One Note. This is a tight race, and that bad song choice just might finish him off.
Elliott: His first song started off rocky, but improved as it went on, and was actually rather thrilling at the end. But first impressions stick, so that rocky beginning may cost him. Also, that first song is not that well known, and voters tend to like songs they actually know. Second song was lots of fun and well sung, but I must agree with a previous post that it was a bit like watching Ritchie Cunningham sing it. Just didn't fit his perceived persona, though it fit his voice very nicely.
McPhee: First song had the opportunity to be a knockout, but flubbing the lyrics made her a little panicky and kind of ruined the moment. (Also, whoever put that gray blouse on her should be shot. It was not flattering to her, and also was completely inappropriate for the song. She should have snitched one of Kellie's satin camisoles.) The beginning of her second song was breathtaking. I literally sat up in my seat and thought, "Oh my, I may actually have to vote for her this time!" But the strength of the song had dissipated by the third section, and the very end of the song was just plain weak. Her voice was lost in the orchestra and backup singers, which made her voice sound weak, though it actually wasn't. (And again, her wardrobe consultant should be shot. Who the heck puts on a conservative gray suit to sing a torch song? And then ruins the suit -- that you shouldn't be wearing in the first place -- with a peach blouse that makes it look like your belly's hanging out? Someone REALLY doesn't want her to win, I think!)
Everyone had strengths and weaknesses tonight. On the basis of their performances tonight, I would be hard-pressed to pick one as the Idol. On the other hand, I think *any* of the remaining contestants could fill that role pretty well, so I'll be happy with whoever wins.
There was a little discussion going earlier about Elliott's stage persona -- whether he is sexy, the "good boy," or what. Being a het female, I'm not really qualified to comment on Kat's sexiness or lack thereof, but here's my rundown on the males (or rather, their stage personas, which are not to be confused with their actual personalities):
Taylor: Most likely guy to go out on the town drinking with. And then go home by yourself.
Chris: Most likely to be pulled into a supply closet by the nearest red-blooded female.
Elliott: Most likely to be taken home and introduced to Mom and Dad.
And speaking of home, who goes there tomorrow night? Honestly, I don't have a clue -- except that it won't be Taylor.
No it won't be Taylor, I am just now watching and his Jailhouse Rock is very very incredibly perfect.
In fact it is a keeper. Anyone know where I can get it for my own greedy self?
Just watched In the Ghetto and I think Taylor should win.
I really am going to miss Kat's smile on the show.
Cute girl, but I think she used the wrong approach to the songs.
IMO she should have gone Ann Margaret with them. Been for female and sassy with her presentation the way Ann would have.
Ann Margaret was one woman who was capable of sharing the state with Elvis as an entertainer.
I think if K went that way with her approach, it would have been a far far better night for her.
Katharine: When someone with the credentials of Tommy Mottola talks about her range and how easy singing comes to her, I have to reevaluate my previous opinion of Kat's abilities. I kept wondering what do the guest coaches hear that we don't? Does she sound different live? Is she more relaxed? More toned down? All we viewers can do is go by what she shows us during her performances. Katharine tried very hard tonight. Maybe the hardest she's ever tried before during this season, and I have to give her credit for that. But to be honest, her performances were a mess. Her limited range and lack of power were on full display in both performances.
She runs out of breath in her low register because she really doesn't have a low register. She sounds sharp in her upper register because she really can't get up there. At least she's never shown us anything more in her performances.
She also totally discarded Mattola's advice to remember the meaning of the lyrics. I think this is because she always tries to be theatrical -- and it always just seems awkward. I don't know. All I can do is shake my head wondering what Mattola and the other guest coaches have heard in rehearsal that we never heard. But in the end, it doesn't really matter, because if she can't translate what she does in rehearsal onto the stage, she's not going to have a career.
Chris: As mentioned previously, I've warmed a lot to him over the course of the season. I now think he's a nice guy, where in the beginning I couldn't get past how grim he seemed all the time. So why do I have trouble paying attention when Chris sings? It isn't about his voice, which is really quite good at times. I just get the impression that, although he's stretched and learned a great deal over the season, he keeps rejecting everything he's learned from the guest coaches. Chris brings the exact same emotional level and expression to all his songs, whether he sings a tender ballad or a hard rock anthem. We've all used different words to describe it. Mattola called it intense. Others call it anger.
To me it's like when you hear someone yelling all the time, eventually you just tune them out. That's where I am with Chris. I don't mean he yells all his songs, because he doesn't. I mean the expression, attitude and emotional level he brings to every song is the equivalent of someone yelling all the time.
The arrangement for Chris' rendition of 'Suspicious Minds' was weird, with odd tempo changes that he seemed almost to miss momentarily and had to catch back up.
Taylor: Both of his performances were wonderful. He is an entertainer through and through, and I think his concerts would be a blast. I was totally impressed by the fact that he lost his ear piece midway through 'Jailhouse Rock' and it didn't phase him a bit. I've seen really good singers get totally thrown if their ear piece isn't working. Most singers these days are very dependent on it. Taylor proved he has the talent to perform the old-fashioned way.
I actually liked 'Jailhouse Rock' a little better than 'In The Ghetto.' The latter is a story song that needs more than 90 seconds to develop. Taylor seemed a bit rushed with it. I also didn't like the arrangement of 'In The Ghetto.' The song should be sung almost as a lament. What would you say the beat of the arrangement was? Latin? Carribbean? Whatever...it made the song almost too upbeat. In spite of the poor arrangement, Taylor's performance was first rate, and he really does have a terrific voice.
Elliott: OK, keeping it real as Randy would say, at last here was the breakout performance we've been waiting for all season, for me at least. Elliott's rendition of 'Trouble' was OUTSTANDING. All season long, Elliott has chosen the most difficult songs, and has never given a truly bad performance. Difficult phrasing. Difficult timing. Difficult key changes. Difficult runs. Elliott does it all. He has also grown the most and seems to have taken the most out of the sessions with the guest coaches.
I liked his first performance, but 'Trouble' was the performance of the season so far, for me at least. Elliott doesn't have a silky smooth voice like, oh, Michael Buble. But that's good, because the bit of roughness to his voice gives him a modern edgy quality that the Buble type can't attain.
The one thing all three guys have going for them that Katharine doesn't is they know who they are musically. If America gets it right, she'll be going home tomorrow. As for the three guys, we're at a point when the personal tastes of the viewing public will be more determinative than their performances. We know what all three can do, and we know they aren't likely to flub any of their performances much.
For me, I've decided that Chris is not a one-dimensional singer. He's one-dimensional in the emotion he brings to his music. It's not a quality that suits my taste in music.
I love Taylor and thoroughly appreciate how much he works to entertain the audience. Emotionally, when he performs Taylor is the exact opposite of Chris. He lets it all hang out there and invites the audience along for the ride. He doesn't sing at the audience, he sings for them. For me, at least, it makes a world of difference. For me, music is ALL about the emotion.
I also love Elliott. To me, Elliott and Taylor are nearly equal. I only put Elliott slightly ahead because he chooses the more difficult songs. I have a deep appreciation for the fact that Elliott is deaf in one ear, like my own father was. I admire the fact that Elliott has remained sweet and humble, even as he's taken all the superb coaching and run with it nearly all the way to the top of this season. If we had a 'Chicken Little' this season, we also had an 'Ugly Duckling' who is turning into quite the magnificent swan.
MarMema, there is a website called youtube.com. People from around the world post videos of all sorts there. Give it a day or two, then go to youtube.com and search on Taylor Hicks, on Taylor and on Hicks. Maybe someone capped the performance and will post a video. If so, you can play it as often as you want. I think there's also a way to save it to your own computer.
Nice. :)
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