The best part of each season’s final Idol show is the debut of the Power Ballad that becomes the winner’s first single. Said ballad usually contains images of climbing mountaintops or flying without wings or soaring into the sky or soaring above the clouds on the way to the mountaintop while flying without wings.
So, in a HUGE step-out, I’m going to predict water imagery for this year’s single…perhaps we’ll have a river of love, or a sea of faith, or an ocean of truth, but my prediction is that it will in fact be a body of water filled with a universally valued attribute. And a soaring note at the end. You heard it here first.
(Now we’re watching on TiVo. David and I are cracking up at seeing Mandy Moore and Ben Stiller in the audience – guess this show has pretty broad appeal, huh?)
Katharine McPhee –
“Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” – Probably a wise move for her to come out and show her fun side right off the bat – especially since her competition is Mr. Fun Happy Man. I loved this song the first time she sang it, and it was rock-solid again tonight. Honestly, though, sometimes I feel like she works really hard to seem like she’s having fun! We’re having fun! Y’all! She did seem sincerely touched by the reception of the audience – those were real tears. And good grief she’s pretty, isn’t she?
“Somewhere Over The Rainbow” – Perfection.
“My Destiny” – Definite imagery of a journey, a quest…but I may have stepped out too far with my water imagery prediction. :-) Anyway, this song sounds like it’s in the wrong key for her. The low parts are giving her a little trouble, and plus I imagine that it’s difficult to sell lyrics that are quite this cheesy. I’m gonna go ahead and say it: it’s a pitchy performance. She’s all over the place. But I am happy to see the ubiquitous gospel choir, which I believe is an Official Requirement for an AI anthem.
Taylor Hicks –
“Livin’ For The City” – MY that’s a fuschia jacket. And he definitely gets crowd-pleaser points. I think his voice sounds great – way stronger than it has in the last couple of weeks. I actually still have his first performance of this song on TiVo, and what struck me tonight is that he didn’t sound like a recording of that first performance. Good grief the crowd loves him.
“Levon” – I have a deep, abiding love for this song. And I think tonight’s version of it is leaps and bounds better than the first time Taylor sang it – he’s calmer, more confident, and seems more at home on the stage. All that being said, I think Katharine wins the slow song round.
“Do I Make You Proud” – This type of music doesn’t really suit him, but this song works better for him than Katharine’s Power Ballad worked for her. Taylor got to “do his thing” a little more than she did, so I think Round Three goes to him. Even though the song is cheesy, he still sounds like Taylor – doin’ the best he can with some wretched material.
By the way, we have no idea what Paula is talking about tonight.
So, here’s the bottom line: I think Taylor will win for three reasons:
1) The South will vote in droves.
2) Most of the people who previously voted for Elliott are more likely to vote for Taylor than Katharine.
3) People seem to adore Taylor. His fans are rabid – did you hear the crowd? And for old time’s sake, I looked back at some old posts and found this – I’ve loved him from the very beginning, y’all. :-)
But I think David just gave the best reason why Taylor will win: he has personality. Katharine is beautiful, and her voice is distinctive – but she doesn’t come across as having the level of personality and likeability that Taylor does. Plus, in her third song, she didn’t offer anything special…it could have been any other good singer doing a similarly average job. On the other hand, Taylor took a weak song and made it his own – I can’t imagine that’s easy to do.
Looks like we’re gonna have another Idol from right here in B’ham.
Soul Patrol, everybody.
I think you got it right again – never could decide which one I wanted to win, never did vote (may be the only American who didn’t), thought it would feel like I was betraying one to vote for the other. We havent had a guy win since Reuben – who never really went anywhere with it – and he’s just too unique for America to not love him. Yep, think youre right.
So you’ve got another ‘relative’ winning the show? Congrats to you and the ‘fam’! ;-)
Taylor has also been my pick from the beginning!! I tried to call a dozen times tonight and never got through!!! Great summary Boo!!
My husband was monitoring the dial idol website, and Taylor was in the lead. One of the voters commented that she called and voted for Katharine 200 times, but Taylor’s line is busy. Hmmm. So many callers they can’t get through?
I didn’t like either of the singles, but Taylor owned his, whereas Katharine seemed to struggle with hers.
Taylor is idol material if you ask me, because he involves the audience. Katharine is beautiful and talented, but she plays to the audience rather than with them.
Either way, they’ll both be stars.
I just did my own little experiment here at 10:30 CST. Tried all six Idol numbers (3 for Kat, 3 for Taylor). Couldn’t get through on any of Taylor’s lines. Got through on Kat’s lines twice.
Idol, thy name is Soul Patrol! It still kind of makes me giggle.
I really do like Katharine; I hope she’ll do well.
Oh, BTW, Boo, notice also that back in February when you were commenting on the Final 24 round of Idol, you were also impressed with little Will Maker from The Woodlands, Texas (aka Bobby Brady). You can’t win ’em all, my friend.
I concur with your recap! Soul Patrol all the way! Kat, just didn’t do it tonight.
We have never voted before and hubby tried to vote for Taylor and guess what…it was busy!
Daph – We all have Idol skeletons in our closets…Justin Guarini, anyone? Anyone? :-) And do you have any idea how much I appreciate that you actually took the time to dial ALL SIX voting numbers to check whether they were busy or not? I believe that is one among many reasons why we have been friends for so long.
I definitely think Katharine will do well. Big things in store for her…though I’m still thinking Broadway and not pop star. However, I’d love to see her do a CD along the lines of Norah Jones or Joss Stone.
War Eagle / Roll Tide / Soul Patrol.
Girl, I’ve loved Taylor from the beginning!
There was something about him that made you want to pay him some attention…something about him that made you never really sure what he’d do next…you just knew you didn’t want to miss it.
I thought he did fabulous last night! Over a half hour period, I only got through once to vote for him. I couldn’t keep trying because I had sooooo much paperwork from school to finish. :(
As for Kat…she is a star in her own right, but I agree…she does look uncomfortable at times. She’s more diva quality…stand there and look pretty and sing pretty and make-everyone-cry-kind-of-singing…you know, like Celine and Whitney.
If Taylor doesn’t win, I’ll just cry. I really will. He so deserves it! I will miss seeing his weekly performances. Over all other idol participants, he’s my all-time favorite.
Janie and Beck voted for the girl about 50 times. Janie does not think that what his name has any “star appeal” and he is going to be another flop like Rueben. I think he needs to do something to his hair. He just reminds me of a singer that you would see on a cruise or a piano bar.
Ditto. I’m with Brother. :)