American Idol top 2 - Taylor Hicks makes the Soul Patrol proud...
Last night belonged to Taylor. I would like to say the final performances were a real showdown, but I think Taylor took it pretty easily. Katharine put all her chips in one basket, and I don't think it will pay off for her.
Here is my completely biased review -
The songs:
Taylor Hicks -
Living For The City - Taylor opened with a bang with this one. I thought he sounded better than the first time he performed it, the first week of the top 12. Taylor really knows how to grab the audience and he had everyone with this one. He sounded awesome he completely owned the stage and song. Grade A+
Levon - This was the first song Taylor performed on American Idol and I thought it was a nice way to bookend the show. I do think this performance lacked some of the enthusiasm he had for that first week, but that could be because he is so confident on the stage now. I do think this song shows off his voice in a nice way. The first time I heard him sing it, I thought he had a really good tone, and I still feel that way. Another thing I really like about his version of this song, is that he doesn't sound anything like Elton John, so it gives him a chance to show off his own style. So, while not the showstopping performance it was the first time, it was still very good. Grade B
Do I Make You Proud? - We all know that for the finale a generic sounding pop song is written for the contestants that is supposed to be their first single. The lyrics are supposed to "fit" the contestants and are usually about as corny as you can get. That being said I think Taylor knocked this one out of the park. No, it wasn't the best thing I've ever heard him do, but unlike Katharine, he took his song and ran with it. I got kind of jolt when it first started because it didn't sound like anything Taylor would write or pick on his own to do. But, then he turned the song into his own and he sounded awesome. The ending really brought it home. He showed that the next phase of his career started at that moment and that he was ready to win. Grade A
Katharine McPhee -
Black Horse and the Cherry Tree - I think this was a poor song choice for the final performance. Stylistically the song belongs to someone else. Vocally, it sounds great when KT Tunstall does it, but it doesn't fit Katharine that well. It just wasn't a good way to enter into the finals. Grade - C
Somewhere Over The Rainbow - I think Katharine was banking on gaining a lot of first time viewers votes by doing this song for the second week in a row. To me it was kind of like trying to win twice with one performance. This song carried her into the finals, and she was trying to use it again to win the whole thing. Thinking back over the last several weeks, this song was the only one Katharine got enthusiastic praise from all the judges on. It's like she would be winning twice because of one song performance, if she were to win, which she won't. Like last week, I thought Kat sounded ok, but didn't show any real emotion for the song. She's kind of like the Kenny G of American Idol. She links a lot of scales and big notes is how to emote; it's not. Grade - I'm not going to regrade this. She did it the exact same way she did it last week.
My Destiny - I'm not sure what Katharine's destiny is, but it's not winning American Idol. Katharine did not seem comfortable with this song at all. Granted it was a brand new song and the lyrics were corny, but that's the way American Idol is. You've got to embrace it, like Taylor did, or it will fall apart, which is what happened to Katharine. She tried to hit some big notes, but in the end it seemed like she just gave up. It was annoying that the judges told everyone to think of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, instead of this one. It's all part of the competition, and this is what we're supposed to be hearing on the radio. Grade - D
If all is fair and right in the world Taylor will win this tonight.
Good luck Taylor - the Soul Patrol is proud of you.
P.S. - the 2 hour finale stars at 8 PM tonight. The final 12 will perform. I've heard a lot of rumors. I think we will be seeing something special from Chris. Katharine is performing with Meatloaf (?) and whoever is performing with Taylor has been kept secret (at least at the time I'm writing this).
Here is my completely biased review -
The songs:
Taylor Hicks -
Living For The City - Taylor opened with a bang with this one. I thought he sounded better than the first time he performed it, the first week of the top 12. Taylor really knows how to grab the audience and he had everyone with this one. He sounded awesome he completely owned the stage and song. Grade A+
Levon - This was the first song Taylor performed on American Idol and I thought it was a nice way to bookend the show. I do think this performance lacked some of the enthusiasm he had for that first week, but that could be because he is so confident on the stage now. I do think this song shows off his voice in a nice way. The first time I heard him sing it, I thought he had a really good tone, and I still feel that way. Another thing I really like about his version of this song, is that he doesn't sound anything like Elton John, so it gives him a chance to show off his own style. So, while not the showstopping performance it was the first time, it was still very good. Grade B
Do I Make You Proud? - We all know that for the finale a generic sounding pop song is written for the contestants that is supposed to be their first single. The lyrics are supposed to "fit" the contestants and are usually about as corny as you can get. That being said I think Taylor knocked this one out of the park. No, it wasn't the best thing I've ever heard him do, but unlike Katharine, he took his song and ran with it. I got kind of jolt when it first started because it didn't sound like anything Taylor would write or pick on his own to do. But, then he turned the song into his own and he sounded awesome. The ending really brought it home. He showed that the next phase of his career started at that moment and that he was ready to win. Grade A
Katharine McPhee -
Black Horse and the Cherry Tree - I think this was a poor song choice for the final performance. Stylistically the song belongs to someone else. Vocally, it sounds great when KT Tunstall does it, but it doesn't fit Katharine that well. It just wasn't a good way to enter into the finals. Grade - C
Somewhere Over The Rainbow - I think Katharine was banking on gaining a lot of first time viewers votes by doing this song for the second week in a row. To me it was kind of like trying to win twice with one performance. This song carried her into the finals, and she was trying to use it again to win the whole thing. Thinking back over the last several weeks, this song was the only one Katharine got enthusiastic praise from all the judges on. It's like she would be winning twice because of one song performance, if she were to win, which she won't. Like last week, I thought Kat sounded ok, but didn't show any real emotion for the song. She's kind of like the Kenny G of American Idol. She links a lot of scales and big notes is how to emote; it's not. Grade - I'm not going to regrade this. She did it the exact same way she did it last week.
My Destiny - I'm not sure what Katharine's destiny is, but it's not winning American Idol. Katharine did not seem comfortable with this song at all. Granted it was a brand new song and the lyrics were corny, but that's the way American Idol is. You've got to embrace it, like Taylor did, or it will fall apart, which is what happened to Katharine. She tried to hit some big notes, but in the end it seemed like she just gave up. It was annoying that the judges told everyone to think of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, instead of this one. It's all part of the competition, and this is what we're supposed to be hearing on the radio. Grade - D
If all is fair and right in the world Taylor will win this tonight.
Good luck Taylor - the Soul Patrol is proud of you.
P.S. - the 2 hour finale stars at 8 PM tonight. The final 12 will perform. I've heard a lot of rumors. I think we will be seeing something special from Chris. Katharine is performing with Meatloaf (?) and whoever is performing with Taylor has been kept secret (at least at the time I'm writing this).
posted by Sherry L at 9:35 AM
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