No preliminaries, let’s get right to it. We’re down to three…
Three songs each tonight…one picked by Clive Davis, who has worked with everyone in the industry, one by the judges, and one they pick themselves. The winners from tonight go on to the finals at the Kodak Theater next!
Ryan comes out sporting a nice, less funereal suit (altho he’s obviously wearing one of Eliots big fat ties. sigh.) He’s also sporting the latest in hobo facial hair. It’s just not you, Ry Ry. Keep the cute, clean, metrosexual look we’ve all come to love. You’ll never look tall, dark and dangerous, and we don’t want you to. Well, the tall part maybe, but what can you do?
First up are the Clive chosen tunes.
Eliot is first. Clive chooses Open Arms by Journey. A good choice, it seems. We’ll see. Eliot comes out in a gray suit, and sings the song with a kind of understated raspiness, then cuts loose on the refrain. Not a bad job. Not the song that will drive the crowd to its feet, but okay.
A peek at the star-studded audience, then Judges? Randy (who was in Journey, in case you didn’t hear him the first 1000 times he told us) says he thought Eliot worked it out. Paula thinks he’s in great voice. Simon says it was good song, a little tight, then very sincerely tells him he has to loosen up and belive he’s a finalist to make it to next week. I concur.
Next up is Kat. Clive chooses R Kelly’s song I Think I Can Fly which is SO overdone. Ugh. But okay. We’ll see if he’s right that this song can give her a “sound” that defines her. She only says a few words during this clip, but it sounds to me like she has a bad cold. Hope I’m wrong. I think she should go next, but I don’t want it to be a cold that brings her down. Hope she at least can know she was able to give it her best.
She comes out with bouncy curly hair, very pretty as always… She is in great voice, but she grins her way through every song she sings, and this is a powerful “believe in me” ballad, but it would be nice to see her tap into some emotion other than a sort of unhinged glee while she sings. To hear that powerful voice combined with more depth of expression/ performance, would be great. Gets a little screamy at the end, but all in all, as good as she gets.
Judges? (hey, it was the So You Think You Can Dance judge in the audience! You know, the bitchy, loopy one. Hunh. Yes, it’s sad that of all the stars in the audience tonight, she’s the one I recognize. I know.) Randy loves her look (Kat’s, not Loopy Dance Judge) but he doesn’t think she’s quite found her niche. I agree. Big huge voice, but no “sound” as Clive said, that makes us know when we hear her on the radio that it’s Kat McPhee we’re hearing. I still say Broadway is her destiny. Paula shies away from being mean. Kat speaks up for herself (finally) and asks why they are being so hard on her, and perhaps with a point this time around, and Simon steps in and saves her. Are they trying to make sure she goes home? I dunno. Not sure what Simon’s angle is, but he reminds us that she didn’t choose the song, and while there were a few weak notes, he felt she came close to creating a moment for herself. So, kind of agreeing with the other two, but not hammering her unfairly. (I think America will take care of that if left to their own devices. ) Chris’s fans fo sho won’t be voting for her. I just hope the judges are careful not to get everyone else upset that she’s being treated unfairly so they don’t try to “save” her. Please.
Next up is Taylor and Clive Chooses…WOW, a Springsteen song? Didn’t see that one coming. He gets Dancing in the Dark. Hmm. Intriguing. He feels that Taylor can connect with Springsteen’s intimate lyrics, and I’d tend to agree. Taylor also lets us in on the fact that Clive called Bruce and personally got permission for the song to be used on the show. Dang. I’ll say now that with Chris gone (still can’t believe it) Taylor is the heir apparent. Eliots nerves and stuttering lack of confidence, though sweet and endearing, will do him in, where Taylor’s years of stage experience will bring it home for him. They both sing very well, but Taylor is nothing if not supremely comfortable in his own skin and I think that will give him the edge.
Here we go…so…not sure he’s bringing anything powerful to it. He’s defnitely singing it and he’s good, but he’s not Bruce. A really really tough act to try and overcome and make personal. Not bad, totally Taylor, but The Boss is The Boss. Would have loved to have heard Chris rock this one out. Sniff. Taylor pulls a Springsteen/Courtney Cox video moment when he climbs up on the catwalk behind the judges and pulls Paula up to dance with him. Hey, play to your strength man, nuthin wrong with that. He knows he can’t smack a Bruce song around, so why not entertain anyway you can. Smart move. Back on the stage - and is it me, or did he look realllllly bloated last week and this week, totally slimmer and sleeker? Hunh. He’s looking really good.
Judges? Randy really loves him and recognizes his performance brilliance. Paula laughs about almost having a wardobe malfunction, which is actually funny (because that would SO have been me) and Simon says it was okay and pales to Bruce (hello? channeling!) but okay. And Paula is totally looped. This is not a shock.
Now we’re on to Round Two! Judges Choice (and enough with the Soul Patrol, Taylor. I need to be happy with your apparent ascension to the AI throne, so make it easier for me, dammit.)
Eliot is up first, my homeboy from Virginia, hangin’ with the mayor….and announces that Paula has chosen his song, and it will be What You Won’t Do For Love by Bobby Caldwell. One of my all time favorite songs EVER. I get goosebumps just thinking about this song. And it’s admittedly perfectomundo for Eliot’s voice. But I will hunt him down if he does anything to ruin it for me. Love this song. Love. This. Song.
Here we go…ahhhhhh. Not letting me down. But don’t dance, El. Just sang. Okay, it’s wandering a bit in the middle. Yeah. Not getting better. Dammit. I need to hit iTunes immediately and download the version I love (which is not Bobby, altho he’s a cloooose second, but Go West. Peter Cox’s voice? Full of raspy goodness. Eliot’s version? Not so much, and no one is sorrier than me.) The arrangement was not kind. It was just okay. But, Eliot, my man, you didn’t help it any.
Okay, song downloaded (okay, three of them) and listened to…ahhhh, good times. I’m all better now. Back to the show (thank god for TiFaux.)
Judges, Randy agrees it was a little sharp and from the middle on. Yup. Paula continues to be totally incoherent, even for her. Simon Says…he wasn’t keen on the song (ah, right in the heart, Simon!) but he thought Eliot sang it very well. Hey, if it gets him through over Kat, I’m all for it.
Speaking of which…Kat gets her song chosen by Simon who picks OH MY GOD Somewhere Over the Rainbow. !!!!!! Really, Simon? REALLY? Well, I guess we’ll see if she can emote now, goshdangit. She needs NOT to do that brainless grinning like a loon thing. But….really? Judy Fracking Garland? Hell, for that matter, Kimberly Locke from a few seasons ago. (Wasn’t it Kimberly who Knocked It Out?) Anyway….I guess if they can saddle Taylor with taking on The Boss, this is only fair, but…man. Simon says he’s known this was her “making a moment” song since Day One and he thinks she’ll knock everyone out.
Yeah. Okay.
I mean, she’ll sing the hell out of it. Which is just what I’m afraid of. Where did I put my ear plugs….?
(By the way, I miss Chris. I feel like we’re watching the runner ups with no closing act tonight. Sorry, Eliot! Just me?)
Aaaaaaand, here we go… and OH MY GOD all over again. She’s sitting on the floor. AGAIN. I hated it last time. Past the first thirty seconds I hated it anyway. Damn distracting (and I still say Black Horse and the Cherry Tree was her best song, could have been her “moment’ if she’d just STOOD UP.) Okay, okay….so yeah, she’s singing a capella. with some really different arrangement that has rendered this song almost unrecognizable to me. Just me? Now she begins (microphone ear piece malfunction) with a guitar and orchestra slowing swelling in….and she continues. No loopy grin, she’s trying to give it Emotion. Still sitting (not as annoying this time because she’s not crawling all over the place.) Maybe it’s working because it keeps her from having to figure out what the heck to do with her body. It’s pretty. And yeah Simon, possibly her best turn yet in connecting with the audience, but still….Broadway for me. The crowd enjoys, but doesn’t go wild wild.
Judges, Randy says its her best vocal of the season. Paula actually makes a point (I know, it’s rather shocking) that she is in her element when she doesn’t oversing, which is very very true. Simon takes full credit for picking the right song and getting her to lay off the cream and just bring us the apple pie. Which she did. Enough to get her to the final 3? Don’t think so. But Eliot? Dude? I’m telling you, it could be close. You’d better bring it, yo. And standing next to Ryan for even five seconds while he recites the laundry list of phone numbers, she’s already bouncy, young, unseasoned Kat again. Cute as all hell, but so obviously not ready for this giant step.
And now, Taylor with the Randy chosen song, You Are So Beautiful. Well, I’ll be damned. FINALLY!! He gets to sing a Joe Cocker song. And it’s about dang time, y’all. TAYLOR made for him. If he can’t bring this home, he doesn’t deserve to win. And if he does? It’s all his.
And here we go…. Yeah, this is the Taylor I loved. Pared down to the basic essence of his soulfulness. (god, I sound like Paula.) But this is his core and he’s so not letting me down. Beautiful. And proves that what Kat just did was flash in the pan. The crowd is with him all the way. So am I. That’s a finale winning performance right there. (Really glad he didnt’ go for the Cocker falsetto note at the end. Whew!)
Randy? Loves it. Paula loves it. Simon says that was far and away his best performance ever. And, once again, channeling, channeling! The WHOOOO Taylor makes a swift and loud return, but deserved this time. It has to have been a totally nerve wracking week for all of them, and the whole Chris Debacle (which Chris himself did so un-humbly not help any) had to have only piled more stress upon stress. So go ahead, man, WHOOOO it up. You earned it this time.
Round Three….Songs they picked themselves. I think the judges did really well by all of them tonight, so it will be interesting to see if they can manage to not screw up the really good vibe those last three songs began. All in all, so far, I’ll say Eliot is the most forgettable tonight. Taylor the most memorable. With Kat the most “rubber-necking”-able. (Train wreck in motion, watch between your fingers and wait to see if she gets it right, or mangles it.)
First up, Eliot the Invisible (Yay, we finally get the Barstool of Pimping the Understudy!) He’s going to sing a song by Ray Charles (in an apparent pre-empt of Taylor doing Ray Charles) called I Belive to My Soul and he’s doing the Donny Hathaway version. Title doesn’t ring a bell. Tell me he’s not making the Song We’ve Never Heard of mistake as his final outing of the night, not with both of the remaining singers left so go after him. Sigh. Eliot, Eliot, Eliot…
Here we go….bluesy, right up his alley. Never heard it in my life, but good tune. Definitely a good choice for his voice and style, but will the audience connect with a tune they can’t sing under their breath? Not sure. Chancy chancy! If he gets a lion’s share of Chris’s votes, he might be safe. (Surely they won’t go to Kat, but could swing to Taylor.) Crowd likes him, nicely done…
Judges..Randy agrees with me on song choice and that he rocked it out. Channeling me now, too, Randy? (as long as it’s not Paula…..) Paula agrees with Randy in a partially coherent but still stoned kind of way. Simon says his songs are not going to carry him through to next week (afraid he might have a point there) but goes on to say he’s a great guy, a great singer, and has made his mum quite proud with all he’s accomplished in this competition. Nice send off. I just hope it’s one week premature. 
Now it’s Kat on the Stool of Inquisition and she’s singing I Ain’t Got Nuthin But the Blues which is another old song, but slightly more recognizable. Heck, stick with your strength at this point. I wonder if she’ll have to sit on something again…. She does make the point that she didn’t choose something more current to avoid the inevitable comparisons. (So Ella Fitzgerald is a safer choice?)
Whatever.
Here we go…so, in a short black dress and knee high black boots, she makes the vamp entrance down a ramp at the rear of the stage and I am already deeply concerned (but privately? Squee! Yay, for Eliot.) Throwing her body around is never a good thing. Trying to vamp while doing so? Seriously risky. Except she’s singing like she took a Paris School of Scat class during the week. If she resists oversingning, this could put her next week. Okay, so a little oversinging, but she’s pumping as much ‘tude into this as she’s capable of. Which is more than I’d have thought. So brownie points there. The biggest crowd reaction she’s gotten thus far.
Randy says it was okay, but totally channels me. Paula seriously needs to detox. But, in all fairness, she does really sing the hell out of things and both Randy and Paula have come down, to my mind, harsher than necessary. I agree, but they haven’t really leavened their comments with much positive. It’s surprising and smacks of “what do we have to do to ditch this chick and save Eliot?” Let the voters decide without the obvious manipulation and let the chips (or Kats) fall where they may. This could hugely backfire as people rush to protect her after what looks like a gang-up.
Simon agrees with the other two, but covers the ground in a more coherent, lucid way. Not a shock.
Last up is Taylor with Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding. Great choice. He seems to have caught on to the fact that the judges and the crowd at large likes hearing him tone it down and connect his bluesy side to his tender side. This should be the perfect showcase for that. (And Otis Redding? More love from me! What a great night of songs.)
Here we go…a great standard, but he’s bringing the Joe Cocker and Ray Charles to it, and totally closing this out. A tiny bit weak in the early bridge, but overall, he’s got it nailed when he pumps it up a bit. Loses the band a tiny bit near the end, but brings it back and gets the crowd going. Pefect close. A slam dunk from the judges. (But man, you gotta cool it with the Soul Patrol freak outs, dude.) Still, he’s got a pass to next week’s Final Two.
Then again, we said that about Chris, too.
Tonight could be an interesting one!
Tags: Writing by Donna
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Why do I bring this up, you ask? Well, this week’s SHaQ Attack involves Jill. As it happens, we both have books coming out JUNE 1st! So, to celebrate, we decided it would be fun to combine our book giveaways this week. 
