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Tonight, each of the final three contestants had to sing three songs. The first song would be one chosen by music mogul Clive Davis. The second song would be chosen by the show's judges (and announced by each contestant's local politician of note.) The third song would be chosen by the contestants themselves.
As a whole, tonight's performances were really good. Two of the performers (Taylor and Katharine) had at least one spectacular performance each, and Elliott held his own as well. If I were to predict the results of tonight's show, I'd wager that Taylor and Katharine will end up in the finals. But after Chris' elimination last week, who really knows?
The Performances
1. Elliott Yamin
- Song number one was "Open Arms". This is a good song for "American Idol". I think that arena ballads are a good way to go in competitions like this, as they're real crowd pleasers. (Of course as a teen in the late-1980s, I am a bit partial to the arena ballad.) Elliott sounded really nice with this song up to the chorus. Grade: B
- "What you won't do for love" was Elliott's second song. This seemed to be a good song for his voice. As I heard this song, I was thinking that Elliott would do well with something by Jamiroquai. The song by Elliott wasn't all that exciting, but good enough. Grade: B
- Elliott's last song was "I believe to my soul". I liked the background music for this song. In fact, I liked the music better than the singing. This song turned out alright, but it didn't stand up to the home-run performances by Katharine and Taylor. Grade: B
2. Katharine
- Katharine's first song was "I believe I can fly". She looked nice in blue. The song was okay, but not great. Listening, I had the suspicion that she was "saving it for later". Probably a good strategy. Grade: B
- The second song was the Idol-obligatory "Somewhere over the rainbow". She sang it with a couple of gimmicks: no music at the start, and she sat down on the stage for the song. The judges ate it up with a spoon. I don't know. . . I suppose it was okay. This song is better left to Mandy Patinkin or Judy Garland. Grade: B+
- I really liked this third song, "I ain't got nothin' but the blues". The judges were lukewarm on it. I don't get it. Grade: A (That'll make up for my criticism of "...rainbow".)
3. Taylor
- Taylor's first song was Springsteen's "Dancing in the dark". He sounded pretty good. It was a good effort from Taylor. Grade: B
- The second song was "You are so beautiful". Nice pick for Taylor! Taylor really put a lot into this song. He was right-on with sound, emotion, and the intangibles. My favorite one of the night. Grade: A
- Lastly Taylor sang "Try a little tenderness". Not bad, but not particularily memorable. His second song was good enough to make up for anything tonight. Watching this, I was struck by how it seems that Taylor remaining in the contest really speaks to the wide age-range that American Idol appeals to. I'd doubt that he has many people under the age of twenty in his fanclub. He just seems to resonate with the older viewers. Third song grade: B
With that, I eagerly await Wednesday's results show. Soon we will know who the final two contestants will be, and then I will eventually pack-it-in for "Idol" coverage until next year.