American Idol 2006--Live Thread (Part III)

Fox ^ | 5-8-06

[MarMema]

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.

Now that's what I'm talking about!!

Husky vibrato seemed right in place tonight, though some have been critical that he turned it loose so much.

[MarMema]

First press releases are looking great for Elliott and validating my earlier sadness about missing Kat's sweet smile on the show.

It's just too sweet for me to see them having to sit up and take notice of Elliott now. After having written him off all week long. We Elliott fans are going to be gloating a tad, I suspect, so bear with us.

I just wish I had made the time to bet money on Elliott. Some people are going to make some bucks...it sounds like.

[MarMema]

His voice was quivering in the beginning so I just took it as nerves.

OK, I finally got to see the video.

That's called vibrato and Elliott has a lot of it. Sometimes he keeps it under control but for If I Can Dream he really let it completely loose. Especially at the beginning..

Some people think it was entirely appropriate to cut it loose because of the Elvis thing and the genre, and a few think he should have had better control over it.

And it seems there is a lot of personal preference on this as well. I like it. Some people don't.

But on the whole I have to say he didn't seem well this evening. Allergies, scratchy throat, maybe?

The wonderful thing is that he finally managed to avoid those cheesy things he used to do all the time and actually had his hands and body under control on the stage. I loved him cheesy but it was sure nice to see him without that stuff.

I have probably watched his videos more endlessly and read more forums about him than most here. I think I have seen him work to eliminate the thing they call "google-eyed" on some forums and he has come a long way with that alone. I mean I actually believe I have seen him slip into it and kind of remind himself to not do it. He badly needed to give up the right hand flying around which was kind of distracting, and he seems to have mastered that this evening as well.

I am so impressed, but sad too, because I think he has now reached stardom officially and is completely out of reach for any kind of homegrown contact - which he used to be well-known for just a few weeks ago.

[FreedomForce]

My rankings:

Elliott--Takes top honors on the combined strength of his songs.
Taylor--Thought "In the Ghetto" was the best performance of the night although Elliott's "Trouble" was close.
Chris--Decent with both songs. I enjoyed hearing another aspect of his voice with the low beginning of his second song.
Katharine--Deserves to go home for being so clueless as to sing "I Can't Help Falling in Love" the way she did. First performance wasn't great vocally, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Who should leave--Katharine.
Who will leave--I'll trust the viewers to get it right this time and think it'll be Katharine.

[MarMema]

Call me nuts but I really thought Taylor was terrific on Jailhouse Rock. He sang it, for real. I think people just expected to see him perform and some of them writing reviews (not you) forgot to actually listen.

I listened and I liked what I heard.

[Netizen]

What a great wrap up!

I think what the coaches see in Katharine during rehearsal is nuance. For some reason, she controls her voice better during rehearsal and when she is in fron of the audience she leaves nuance in the dressing room and is all about bravado, particularly when it isn't needed or wanted.

You're right, she's no Houston, much as she tries, but, if she would stop forcing herself to be like Hoouston, she could be like Roberta Flack, who I thought had a crisp, clear vocal.

The prima donna bit got old. I think Matolla was honest with her about her not emoting and I think other coaches tried to get through to her, too about that, but when she hits the stage, its like everything takes a back seat to 'LOOK AT ME!'

This season has done two things for me. 1) It has shown me that I do not like falsetto being sung for an entire song. 2) I dislike vibrato as much as I dislike falsetto, maybe more, since less or it, can still be annoying to me. Some thought it was nervousness, but it was deliberate, and that first song reeked of it when it started.

[Netizen]

DialIdol
Rank

Idol

DialIdol Score

Margin Of Error

Actual Rank

1-2

Taylor Hicks

29.749

1.533

-

1-2

Elliott Yamin

29.181

1.539

-

3-4

Katharine McPhee

25.623

1.577

-

3-4

Chris Daughtry

25.241

1.581

-

Here's the final dial idol results. Taking into account that Katharine usually gets a lot of unseen support (probably text messages), Chris could be in danger of leaving. If either of the top two (Taylor/Elliot) get booted, then you can color me cynical and suspicious.

[txrangerette]

Mornin', Wolfstar. I enjoyed reading your take. My question is, were there any among the already rejected who have what it takes to make it out there in the real world? And no matter if yes or no, which one among them was your favorite. Thanks...

[kevkrom]

Elvis has left the building.

Thank you, thank you very much.

Any more cliches I can use (other than a strange hankering for fried chicken and waffles)?

Anyway, on to what we're all here for. Well, other than Simon bickering with Paula. As before, I'll break them down by performance and then overall.

First Numbers:

1. Chris - I don't think anyone "knocked it out of the park" on the first number, but Chris' issues were the most minor. I really liked his control, which has been a concern (and continues to be so later in the evening). The up-tempo parts of the song were very good, but the bridge section was kind of weak.
2. Taylor - He either forgot the words in the beginning, or had horrible diction. Either way, it was enough to cost him top honors for the first song.
3. Elliott - The beginning was a bit shaky, but built to a very nice ending. He could use a little less vibrato. And would someone please shoot (or at least muzzle) the band?
4. Katharine - I liked the way the two songs were combined, but it wasn't executed to the level of the others. I thought "Hound Dog" was quite good, but the "All Shook Up" section was very sloppy.

Ok, rest, regroup, and onto Song #2:

1. Elliott - Performance of the night. There may a technical quibble or two, but he made this a BIG number, great energy, great connection to the audience. The camera work of cutting to the band every 2 seconds was distracting, though.
2. Taylor - I still can't watch Taylor, especially on the slow-tempo stuff. When I closed my eyes, he sounded great. When I was watching him at the same time, it was painful.
3. Chris - Seriously, could the first 2/3 or so have been any more boring? The ending finally had some energy, but the very end was too far over the top. This would have been the worst performance of the night, easily, except for...
4. Katharine - She just couldn't resist the big ballad, could she? Has she really not figured out that she should avoid numbers like this like the plague? It was a very good arrangement -- I especially liked how the key changes made the song "build" quickly in the short time they have available. But the execution just wasn't there, and it got progressively worse as the song went on.

For the night:

1. Elliott - The first number between the guys was a pretty close contest, but Elliott blew them away on the second one.
2. Taylor - He gets the smallest of nods over Chris for 2nd, based more on consistency than anything else. Taylor needed to do better tonight, though, given the theme.
3. Chris - Boring translates to low finishes.
4. Katharine - The worst performance in both halves, there's no choice but the bottom this week.

In the overall standings, Elliott solidifies his lead while Katharine continues her free-fall:

1. Elliott Yamin (NC)
2. Chris Daughtry (NC)
3. Taylor Hicks (+1)
4. Katharine McPhee (-1)

[Pure Country]

I don't understand how anyone can say Kat isn't good enough. That girl has the pipes! But to each his own I suppose.

I'm sorry for saying this, but when I read your take on Kat, I immediately thought of bagpipes as the kind of pipes she has. Bagpipes go screechy on the high notes--the pipers say that is an awesome sound, on a lady--it's not quite as attractive.

Kat seems to do a great performance for just part of a song and then the part that is not so hot is the part that stands out in your mind. The forgetting of the lyrics didn't bother me a bit, she handled that well, but when she got out of her comfort zone range (either high or low), my easy listening comfort zone went out the door as well. I think she is at the point where she is just trying too hard and has lost who she is...as Paula would say.

[EmilyGeiger]

Nice post. :)

[misterrob]

very much so...

[bert]

How do you send that many votes??

[bert]

..... I guess when you dance around and shake your ass you can screw up lyrics and shriek your notes. .....

In cse you missed it, AI is not church.

[Fawn]

C'mon. You have to admit that Kat has a powerful & clear voice....and Elliot or Taylor do not. Chris screams too much....but has a great voice too. He will no doubt sing scream songs though if he wins. It's a toss up of true talent (not who I 'like' the best becuz it would be Taylor)---but who has the talent. It's Kat and Chris.

[silent_jonny]

Mornin', Hetty :)

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.

I agree. This is the first time I've felt that way about the final four. Usually it's not until the final two that we really get to the cream of the competition.

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.

I forgot about that. You're right. If Taylor had been accompanied with just a piano instead of the orchestra his performance would have knocked Paula out of her chair :)

(McPhee) 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?

LOL

I think those bulky blouses are all McPhee's idea. She wore something similar to Graceland--a pullover with pockets in the front. The pockets made her look like she had a beer gut :-/

I don't understand her thinking. Maybe she's self-concious about being a little thicker than what women are "supposed" to look like according to Vogue. But speaking as a lust-filled guy :) she has a GREAT body. And she looks great when she wears form fitting clothes. But it's a moot point now because I think she's going home tonight.

[Fawn]

Yes....fantasia was like a blackboard and nails. I'll never understand what kind of people voted for her. SHe CANNOT sing...and what happened to her? She's GONE.

[silent_jonny]

Chris: Most likely to be pulled into a supply closet by the nearest red-blooded female.

Any volunteers? ;)

[misterrob]

But it's not a burlesque show either. Should we reward women who use sex appeal to get ahead when their talent isn't up to scratch?

And hey, I am more than willing to acknowledge a great rack when I see one.

[ken5050]

If, (and I hope it's not the case) McPheever goes home tonite, she'll be BACK on TV next week. The producers of "24" will hire her to play Chloe's new assistant. She has an even better, waaay more intense, "death stare"