RECAP OF THE FINAL 4 PERFORMANCE ( TO ADD TO MY QUICK RECAP LAST NIGHT ).
TITLE : IT'S NOW OR NEVER
Ahh Elvis, over 30 years after his death, people still think of him. His house in Graceland has become a shrine, a mecca of rock and roll and every year, thousands of people visit the place during the anniversary of his death as if to pay homage to the man himself. If you have the yearly Hajj in Mecca, you have the yearly pilgrimage to Memphis.
The thing about performing Elvis songs is this --- MANY OF HIS SONGS ARE *ICONIC*, meaning, HE DEFINED THE STANDARD BY WHICH THESE SONGS, WHEN PEFORMED, WILL BE COMPARED WITH.
So, good luck trying to dance and sing through such performance-defining songs as --- HOUND DOG, BLUE SUEDE SHOES, LOVE ME TENDER and JAIL HOUSE ROCK.
The point is YOU WILL BE TARRED WITH THE DREADED "K" word ( AKA Karaoke ), NO MATTER HOW WELL YOU DO. THAT I CAN GUARANTEE. The King has been IMITATED, IMPERSONATED and COPIED by thousands of look-alikes from here to Timbuktu.
Heck, when I was in Taiwan, they even had an Elvis show, complete with colored sideburns on one contestant. Do I have to mention a South African black Elvis ? How about a Korean and Japanese and Native Hawaiian Elvis ? 'Nuff said. YOU CAN'T WIN IN A THEME NIGHT LIKE THIS SO BE PREPARED TO BE TARRED AND FEATHERED WITH THE "K" WORD.
Elvis Presley has of course assumed legendary and god-like status among the icons of the music industry. Such famous bands as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and diverse singers as Tom Jones and Michael Jackson have all akcknowledged being influenced by the King himself. And ask yourself, how many times have you seen Elvis enter the building with his famed white custom with the sunglasses and sideburns ?
Here is tip --- GO TO LAS VEGAS. I can guarantee you an Elvis in almost every grand hotel. Heck, you can even get married with Elvis as your best man.
Of course talking about god-like, did you know that there are still many people who believe that Elvis isn't dead and that someday, he'd actually re-appear and assume the role of a religious guru or something ? I remember this quote from someone in Nashville ---- Jesus Christ resurrected once and was seen by hundreds of people. Elvis has resurrected a hundred times and has been seen by everyone in the world, mostly in the state of Nevada.
Yeah, but here's a question --- the government in Jesus' time investigated news of His resurrection and found an EMPTY TOMB ( owned by a famed council member --- Joseph of Arimathea ) inspite of it being surrounded by soldiers. Why not go to Elvis' tomb and exhume the body, do a DNA test and find out if that's his body lying there or somebody else's ?
OK, enough of my theologizing and trying to do forensic science, and on with the show....
The Idols are flown by private jet to Graceland where thousands of fans holding such signs as "X is the HAWT" ( where X can be replaced by any of the 4 remaining idols ) are waiting.
Priscilla Presley greets the idols in front of Graceland. My wife asked me how old dear Priscilla is and I said that I don't know. I do know that Elvis was 11 years older than she is and Elvis would be 72 today. So, She's 61 by my count. My wife gave out a remark in disbelief -- 61 years old and still looking great !! I told her to calm down and ask her to compare Priscilla's face with the one she had when she was doing the NAKED GUN movies with Leslie Nielsen. I hate to say this folks ---- that woman has had a ton of work on her face. But let's not talk about her.
She claimed that if Elvis were alive, he'd be a supportive fan of the show. Legend has it that Elvis auditioned for the Ted Mack Amateur Hour, the 50's version of American Idol, and was turned away. So Simon, remember this --- YOU MIGHT HAVE JUST TURNED DOWN THE NEXT ELVIS BY REJECTING DAVID HOOVER ( the bat out of hell ). NOT !.
HEY IDOL PRODUCERS, WHAT's THIS ---- NO TOUR OF THE HOUSE ?
I want to see the Jungle Room !! What a let down.
So, who is there to advice the kids ? Tommy Mottola --- well known as Ex-Mr. Mariah Carey, and producer and talent scout of such famed singers as J-Lo, Mariah herself and most recently, belly dancing -- Shakira.
To make a long story short ---- His advice was competent. I can't argue with a man who has made so many successful commercial stars. My daughter keeps wondering aloud what makes a pretty woman like Mariah fall for a not so hot looking guy like Tommy.... the poor girl doesn't realize that HAWT can always be overlooked with scabs of green.
ON TO THE SHOW....
Taylor Hicks chooses "Jailhouse Rock" -
WELL DUH ! What else ? If such performances as Play That Funky Music, Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Livin' In the City doesn't tell you anything about Taylor by now, you don't know the man. HE HAS TO MOVE OR HE'LL DIE.
I know, I know. I should just trust Taylor and his instincts, right?
But this is an iconic song and I wasn't very pleased when I heard he was singing "Jailhouse Rock." I really thought there was huge potential for this to turn into a mediocre imitation. The performance from the film is a great classic. And for any singer to attempt to perform it is to invite comparisons to the original version. So, I was more interested in hearing what Simon WILL SAY rather than the peformance itself ( that's what makes the show so entertaining ).
I wrote a quick note : more than likely, his comments will be negative.
But back to Taylor, well hot darn !!!
He really pulled this off. It started with band leader Ricky Minor playign his bass guitar.
Say what you will about the man, he has a fantastic bluesy, soulful vocal. The other very samrt thing he did, was to make sure those vocals were always in front of the dance moves. He danced, but he wasn't all over the place. He made sure that his accompaniment ( Ricky) was adequately given credit by dancing next to him. He moved but did not cover the entire area. He started in the crowds, made sure they participated ( And hey, I see Nigel Lythgoe clapping and stomping his feet along with the rest. Yep, the producer, Nigel in the audience with that great big grin on his face ), and then slowly moved to the stage where he did his twirl the mic stand thing. He choreographed his moved so that it was entertaining, but not distracting.
Randy loved it, so did Pauler ( mis-spelling deliberate ). But Simon AS I EXPECTED, SAID -- "Let's Talk about the REAL WORLD. In THE REAL WORLD, THAT WAS A TERRIBLE IMPERSONATION OF ELVIS. IT WAS HORRIBLE KARAOKE ! WITH A CAPITAL K" ( I KNEW IT, the dreaded "K" word surfaced. How often will he be using it ? Is there a thessaurus entry for the word KARA-OKE, which in Japanese literally means --- EMPTY SONG. THE KARA in the word, is the same word as in the word KARA-TE ).
Again, Taylor, true to form was laughing, and so was the audience. I think Ryan is starting to be buddies with Taylor because he makes a great comeback at Simon --- IN THE REAL WORLD, SIMON ? Is being chauffered around in a black limousine the real world ?
Let's summarize this performance ---- TYPICAL TAYLOR. IF YOU LOVE HIM ALREADY , THIS IS A GREAT PERFORMANCE. IF YOU HATE HIS QUIRKINESS AND SPASTIC DANCING, YOU'LL AGREE WITH SIMON. PERIOD.
LET's TAKE A BREAK.
Chris Daughtry chooses "Suspicious Minds"
OK, IMHO Chris picked a great, great Elvis classic here. This was a perfect song for his style and his vocal range.
Chris, with his rock sound always does well on tunes that require intensity and passion. People have been commenting about his YOU WANNA TAKE ME ON look when he sings, as if he wants to fight and kill someone.
However, the glaring is more a by-product of the fact that he's a very serious, intense performer. What else do you expect from an ALT-ROCK performer ?
But it only works when he picks the right song.
This was the right song. Chris captured the urgency and emotion of the song extremely well. His vocals sounded clear--the goatie vibrato was kept to a minimum. And his phrasing was well done. The stage movement was also very well done.
Good performance. Chris doing Elvis in his own style CAN NEVER BE KARA-OKE. But what's with the Sun glasses ?
The Judges' reaction were mixed. Randy didn't like it, Pauler is of course her usual effusive self, and Simon simply said -- THAT WORKED.
YAY, My favorite faun is singing. Elliott is my new underdog favorite. THE MAN MOST UNLIKELY TO WIN BUT WHO KEEPS DEFYING THE ODDS.
The half deaf singer who is the epitome of what America, the home of the brave and courageous is all about and who SHOULD BE SINGING THE SONG -- AGAINST ALL ODDS and not Kat.
Elliott Yamin chooses "If I Can Dream". Elvis used to end a lot of his concerts with this song, sort of like Bob Hope ending his performances with Thanks for the Memories. I wonder how he'll do ?
During Elliott's clip, I was a little leery, because he was shown forgetting his lyrics and singing badly. But on second look, I realized that the producers were once again presenting Elliott as Rocky --the singer who begins as a diamond in the rough, works hard, and emerges as a polished performer. You remember Rocky Balboa ? The unlikely underdog who became the heavyweight champ ? That's Mr. Tumnus ( AKA Elliott Yamin ) himself.
The Yaminions are growing by leaps and bounds as if you did not know.
Just when you think the producers at the top are trying to wave goodbye to him, they turn around and start throwing their support. And I think they support him, because his is a great backstory that's too juicy to pass up. How can you not support Rocky Balboa ?
OK, now that I've said my piece, I didn't think this performance was one of Elliott's best.
Firstly as in so many of the AI performances, I thought the arrangement was not good. The start was a little tentative and uncomfortable. But as he got into the song, especially the bridge, it was fantastic. There were really wonderful moments here--especially when he went for the big notes.
The great thing about Elliott is he does not play safe. He challenges himself every week with difficult songs ( see Queen Night for instance ).
To make a long story short he goes through the long and winding road ( hey, who's gonna sing this ) and CAME HOME AND PULLED IT OFF.
Simon gives him a toungue bath ----- "that was the best performance so far."
As soon as I heard that Katharine McPhee is going to sing "Hound Dog/All Shook Up" , I wondered to myself --- HOW IS A GIRL GOING TO SING AN ICONIC ELVIS NUMBER ? This will be verrry interesting ( as Arte Johnson used to say ).
I've seen Kat perform MANY TIMES already and here is my inescapable conclusion ---- Katharine really shines on the standards, and on ballads that don't require her to belt out the top notes. She is of the mold of Barbra Streisand-lite, or Whitney Houston-lite ( and I hate to say this, I have to add the word "lite").
When Kat goes for blues, soul or rock, songs--she sorta look quite FORCED. She's still competent mind you, but like Paris singing adult sounding tunes with se xual innuendos in them, IT JUST SOUNDS UNFIT.
So, what to make of her version of this song ? First, a compliment ----- SHE MADE IT HER OWN. The dreaded "K" word does not apply here.
Secondly, Her performance was the Broadway, cabaret version of Elvis. So ask yourself the question --- are you prepared to watch Elvis! The Musical ?
If so, this performance might just be your cup of tea.
In fact, the performance was a min-medley of sorts with HOUND DOG being the main song eventually morphing to ALL SHOOK UP.
I was too distracted with her movements to notice what Randy did ---- SHE ACTUALLY MISSED A FEW WORDS ! Hmmm.. gotta rewind that later.
Randy called her on the lyric she missed, and then both Randy and Paula harped on it. Simon said it looked like a "desperate, manic audition...it was manic, it was shrieky...it wasn't a great performance over all."
Well , well, well, no pim ping of poor Kat this time. Will her fans come out in full force tonight ? WE SHALL SEE.
THE ROUND OF FINAL 4 HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE MOST UNPREDICTABLE ROUND IN AI HISTORY.
It was at this point when the great favorite Tamyra Grey was voted off in favor of Karaoke singer ( and now owner of a karaoke joint ) Nikke Mckibbin, and the great, polished, mature Latoya London ( who was BETTER than Fantasia IMHO ) was voted off in favor of the inferior youth, Jasmine Trias.
Lookie here, Nikko Smith in the House... what;'s he doing nowadays ?
ROUND 2 OF ELVIS.....
Taylor Hicks chooses the song, "In the Ghetto"
Now folks, this is the kind of song that Elvis sang that when you hear it, you say to yourself --- IT ISN'T A SONG YOU PERFORM. It is a plea for help.
There are songs that tell stories, songs that preach, and songs that simply ask you to be a better person. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE SONGS.
I wondered how Taylor, a performer's performer, can even PERFORM a song like this ....
Taylor startes on the American Idol -- STAIR OF SENSITIVITY, sitting down.
And here's a pleasant change ---- He puts his personal, heartfelt touch on this tune and actually made you forget Elvis' version !
Taylor proves again what a clever performer he is. While Taylor's vocals may not be technically perfect, his phrasing is EXCELLENT. I did a rewind on this song several times already, and I marvel how he takes pauses in just the right places, or punches up a word or a phrase perfectly. And that little falsetto "whoohoo hoo" in the middle was one of those perfect Taylor touches. No comparisons to Elvis at all. This was a great, INDIVIDUAL performance. It was a pleasant departure from the same old same old and proved that he can choose songs that showcase a different sensitive side of him ( as a side note, Taylor really is a person who cares for his fellow men. He gathered his fellow top 12 idols to put their signature on a T-shirt which was auctioned at e-Bay for I think, $3000 to benefit an Alabama charity ).
One criticism --- I DISLIKE THE ARRANGEMENT. The bandzilla was too loud and distracting. The ideal background music would be a simple acoustic guitar, not a full band with trumpet and the works !
I hope Taylor chooses this song to sing in his next CD and listens to my comment (if he ever reads it ).
The praise from the judges was UNANIMOUS with randy echoing me saying that's the kind of song that Taylor has to incorprate in his next CD. Simon said, "Taylor, what you have just done, you have just sung your way into the semi-finals, young man." ( young man ? did anyone really check his birth certificate ?).
If this is an Elvis tribute night, it is also a noght to remind ourselves that John Peter Lewis of season 3 actually sang 2 Elvis songs in the contest. JAIL HOUSE ROCK WAS HIS SWAN SONG. This next song chosen by Chris Daughtrywas his other song --- "A Little Less Conversation"
To remind you of what I said, I said Chris does really well with songs that require passion and intensity. He doesn't smile much when he sings. He's a very serious guy. He's like a rebelious, IN YOUR FACE, ME vs YOU, type of singer.
The problem with this song is YOU HAVE TO LIGHTEN UP A BIT. You have to have fun and try flirting. ALT-ROCKER seldom if ever do that.
Which means one thing --- IT DOES NOT WORK FOR HIS PERSONA !
Ergo --- Chris chose the WRONG SONG !!
Who would have done justice to this song with its flirty words and fun, come hither implications ? Well, none other than the sultry Kat herself. But no, she did not choose this.
Don't get me wrong, Chris has a good voice. But this is just wrong as Tofu sandwich for him. He glared and stomped his way angrily through a song that requires a lighter approach. It would be like Ayla Brown trying to immitate a Vince Carter power dunk ! Just DOES NOT FIT ! No smile, no fun. Just not his style. And to top that horrid choce, he adds insult to injury by ending with an apache warrior-like scream at the end of the song. It was dull and monotone. Elvis would have disapproved of this !
After watching this, I am beginngin to miss John Peter Lewis's performance of this song back in Season 3. Now, that was fun. Yep, before Taylor Hicks, there was JPL -- the original dancing idol. Where is he nowadays ?
What the judges say does not matter to me. It just does not work. PERIOD.
Remember the song -- TROUBLE ?
Yep, last season -- the sweet country lass, Carrie Underwood attempted it and Simon called her a kitten trying to be a tigress.
Elliott Yamin will now attempt to convince us that he is EEEVIL, HEH ! HEH !
Can you really picture Mr Tumnus as Evil ? heck, he didn't even have the heart to kidnap Lucy in Narnia.
I am having a hard time envisioning sweet Elliott pulling off this tune.
But just suspend your disbelief just once and listen to him sing. This was actually a better and more entertaining performance than his first number. THE INTER-PLAY BETWEEN HIM AND THE BACKGROUND MUSICIANS WAS QUITE FUN !
Elliott is coming of age folks. He looks more relaxed and comfortable than ever. I said this before and I'll say it again --- the kid has a great set of great R&B chops, and man they were on display here. He had the time of his life and the band was having a blast !
What Elliott really needs is to ask his buddy Taylor to show him how to work the stage more. That's my only reservation about his performance.
Otherwise, it was VERY ENTERTAINING --- -I saw no tentativeness or hesitation here.
Look folks, in the beginning, I was ready to concede that Elliott would go as high as number 6 and no more. But he keeps getting better every week !
I agree with Simon--Elliott may have won himself a spot in the semi-finals.
Oh, and that jeans and blazer combo was hawt. Elliott's looking real good these days.
Randy said, "that was your best performance ever."
I am unsure now as to what Elliott's best performance ever was. HE HAS HAD AT LEAST 5 GREAT PERFORMANCES and I would say that at least 4 comes to mind which I would PAY to have on his CD compilation ---- IF YOU REALLY LOVE ME ( Stevie Wonder ), MOODY's MOOD FOR LOVE ( his best IMHO ), IT HAD TO BE YOU and A SONG FOR YOU.
If Elliott ever wins this contest, IT WILL SHOW ONCE AND FOR ALL THAT AMERICAN IDOL IS ABOUT SUBSTANCE, NOT STYLE. If it were Style, Kat and Ace would win this.
Finally, we have another iconic and over-performed Elvis song. I've heard this song sang SO MANY TIMES by SO MANY ARTISTS, that I've lost count.
Katharine McPhee chooses to sing ------ "Can't Help Falling in Love" -
Let's cut to the chase ---- THE SONG ARRANGEMENT KILLED HER. PURE AND SIMPLE.
Kat Mcphee has this irritating tendency to be MELISMATIC, adding runs and variations where none are needed. When she avoids it, she would soung great.
Case in point --- HER VERSION OF Whitney Houston's "I HAVE NOTHING" a few weeks ago was IMHO SPOT ON and I DEFENDED HER from the UNFAIR criticism of Simon and Randy ( AND I WAS RIGHT OF COURSE. they apologized the next day ).
Can't be the councel for the defense today folks.
Let's try to be positive ----- she starts off well enough--the first two lines were very nice. But the moment she attempted the line ---- "Like the river flows..." the song went wrong, because she went for the un-necessary melismatic variations and her vocals went screechy and out of tune.
It was as if in the NBA, Lebrone James goes for the steal , is all alone, and could have simply laid the ball in when, inexplicably, he attempts the 360 spin dunk and completely missed !! I'd scream if I were his coach.
So, after that line, it was all downhill from there. When the song changed key, she went totally off. It was a mess. Elvis's version of this song is breathtaking in its simplicity No melisma, no glory notes and no vocal tricks. A more understated arrangement of this song would have served her so much better. But then, she might have been a victim of the contest itself, which FORCES YOU to showcase glory notes and FORCES you to avoid the stigma of being called a boring performance. Poor girl, she tries to conform and it backfires.
Simon said it all , "This hasn't been one of your best nights...It was so over the top, it was just too much." Well Simon, had she sang it straight up, you would have used the "B" word ( boring). The devil and the deep blue sea.
Chances of going home:
Taylor 0% - He was on tonight
Chris 30% - He wasn't on tonight
Elliott 30% - I don't even know why at this point. If the world were fair his % would be much closer to 0%
Kat 40% - But who knows - it could be any of the three and it wouldn't shock me.
Rankings:
In the Ghetto - Taylor
If I Can Dream - Elliott
Trouble - Elliott
Suspicious Minds - Chris
Jailhouse Rock - Taylor
Hound Dog/All Shook Up - Katharine
I Can't Help Falling in Love With You - Katharine
A Little Less Conversation - Chris
Should Go Home: Katharine
Will Go Home: Elliott - BOO !! THE WORLD IS UNFAIR BUT SUCH IS LIFE !!
RE: Elliott - Normally I think that the contestants should stick with the more "well known" songs. The best example of why is Chris on Queen night. He should have hit it out of the park that night but the song choice cost him.
But since doing Elvis invites the Simon Karaoke tag (as well as comparisons to the "King" himself) Elliott was wise to pick his first song as he did. It became an "Elliott song" and was good enough that you'll remember it.
We'll see how well it worked tonight.
I think Katharine will be going home. Chris is in danger as well if you believe the Dial Idol numbers.
