The Final Five

Now that there are only five contestants left on American Idol, everyone is singing two songs. The theme for last night was Billboard hits. Each contestant had to choose one hit from the year in which they were born and one song that is currently on the Billboard charts. This should have been a night where everyone picked great songs (and familiar ones--my theory is always that the audience likes hearing songs they enjoyed in the original form). Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way. In the order in which they sang:

Elliott Yamin: His first song was "On Broadway." I thought this was a bad choice--it's a really cheesy song. More problematic was that he seemed to oversing it--his vibrato was too big at points and he seemed too earnest. His second song was called "Home" by Michael Bubbe (I think). I had never heard of this song before. In fact, I had never heard of any of the current hits that were sung, other than Taylor's (Something by the Beatles, which is apparently on the charts through some compilation album). I thought Elliott sang this song well, but it was...boring. Of course.

Paris Bennett: When I heard she was going to sing "Kiss" by Prince I was very nervous. As Paris herself said, it isn't really the type of tune someone can make a song out of. I actually thought she did a very good job with it, though. (She changed the lyric "don't have to be cool to be my girl" to "don't have to be cool, to be my boy"--that sounded dumb.) The judges weren't as impressed, and I was surprised. Simon actually said she was screechy, but I thought her voice sounded strong throughout. Her second song was something by Mary J. Blige. I hate when I haven't heard the original, but I thought she did fine with it. I thought the song itself wasn't that great, but she sounded okay.

Chris Daughtry: I'm a little nervous for Chris. He sang "Renegade" as his first song. I thought he sounded okay, but not his best. His second song was some rock song and he sounded awful. His voice sounded really rough, he was off-key, he was screeching, it sounded as if his voice might crack at any minute. He seems to be a fan favorite, so I doubt he will go this week, but you never know.

Katharine McPhee: Her first song was "Against All Odds" by Genesis (or was it a Phil Collins solo? I think Genesis...). Atrocious. The arrangement was awful and she sang it really poorly--she was totally off-key, hitting notes all over the place. She slaughtered the song (and yes, I like Genesis! So there!). It also seemed like she didn't get the song--the notes that she chose as big ones didn't make sense. It's a song about losing someone and wanting them back, and that seemed a bit lost on her (I think this is a somewhat consistent problem with her performances). Her second song was something called "Black Horse and a Cherry Tree." She squatted on the floor in bare feet the entire time. I thought the song was boring, although she sounded fine on it. The performance just looked silly. I'm going to have a hard time forgiving her for "Against All Odds." I think Scott Savol might have done a better job with that song last year. And he couldn't sing at all.

Taylor Hicks: I think Taylor has so much schtick that it covers his voice, and when he does actually sing it becomes clear that his voice isn't quite up to everyone else's. First song--"Play that Funky Music." I thought it was a fun choice for Taylor. Of course, it was dance city while he was singing it. I think he tried to showcase his voice at times, since it isn't a challenging song, but as a result it just sounded like he was oversinging certain notes, which was odd. His second song was "Something" by the Beatles. I don't think that you can win singing this song. On the one hand, I don't want to hear a different arrangement because the song is so beautiful as written it doesn't need any changes. On the other hand, if you just sing it straight, you aren't going to improve on the Beatles. I thought Taylor ended up with the worst of all worlds--his changed the arrangement a bit, which made it worse, but he still wasn't as good as the Beatles (of course he wasn't!). His voice didn't sound bad on the song, at least. I thought Simon's comment about forgetting that Taylor is quite a good singer was an overstatement.

Worst singers: I think Taylor is the worst singer left in the competition and would like him to go home. Based solely on performance last night, I would eliminate Katharine, although Chris' second performance might have been worse than her "Against All Odds." Close one.

Best singers: I thought Paris was the best of the night. I am sure I am in the minority.

Who will be eliminated: I fear it will be Paris. The fans don't like her, the judges gave her lukewarm reviews (and hated her first song). The writing is on the wall.

Over the next few weeks: I think Taylor should go tonight, Elliott next week, probably Katharine the week after that. I think Paris and Chris are the two best voices/performers left in the competition, although if last night was any indication, Chris is going to have to start taking care of his voice or else will have big problems.