American Idol 5/9 Recap- It's Karaoke With a Capital K
 

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Welcome to another exciting edition of American Idol. Only four contestants remain tonight, and each one has the chance to wow us with two songs. Yippee! Ryan introduces the show, dressed as Professor Henry Higgins, and I realize that I’m not overly fond of three-piece suits on anyone but British men and professors. What is the deal with his clothing this season?

Tonight our Idols are performing the songs of the original American idol himself, (no, not Justin Guarini) - Elvis Presley. And, to get prepared, they all took a trip to Graceland and met record mogul, Tommy Mottola. I’m not sure what Tommy was doing hanging out at Graceland, and I don’t think he ever worked with Elvis, but hey! It works out for the Idols. They even got a special tour from Priscilla Presley! It doesn’t get much better than that.

Tommy helped the kids prepare for tonight, and tells us that Elvis is the reason he got into the business. I thought it was the fame and fortune, and possibly the ladies.

Taylor’s singing “Jailhouse Rock?” I’m shocked.
Taylor knows he’s gonna have some fun because it’s Elvis week! He’s chosen “Jailhouse Rock,” and is looking forward to busting a move on the Idol stage. Tommy helps him with the arrangement, taking the key higher, and it when it works, tells Taylor that he charges extra for the key change. Just like Denny’s charges extra for the cheesy hash browns.

Taylor starts performing from the audience tonight, wearing a pin-striped red suit and trendy hair. He makes his way to the stage, so he can show us some excellent dance moves, and manages to sound pretty good too.

Randy thinks that Taylor was in his element and did a good job. Paula tells Taylor he looks fantastic and was phenomenal, and Simon disagrees with both of them. He calls Taylor’s performance karaoke with a kapital K, and tells him that since we’re down to the final 4, we have to get real, and in the real world that performance was like a terrible impersonation. Then he tells Paula to shut up, and I forgive him for his cruel remarks.

Ryan doesn’t think Simon has ever lived in the real world, what with his staff at home, staff at the studio and personal driver, but Taylor doesn’t care about all that as long as he’s able to yell “Soul Patrol” a few times.

Chris is caught in a trap.
Chris Daughtry has a lot of fan clubs, like the Daughtry Gang, Chris’s Crew and the Chris-a-holics. They send him gifts like watches, belt buckles, junk food, cologne so they know what he smells like, and sunscreen for his bald head. Am I the only one who is a little creeped out by this? His fans send him cologne so that they know what he smells like? Yikes. Anyway, Chris answers the one question that I know has been driving me nuts by telling all of America that he wears boxer briefs. Thanks, dude. There are just some things I don’t want to know. Ryan says he’s uncomfortable with the conversation, but I think that’s just because it was not about him.

Chris is wearing jeans and a black jacket, and is sporting a pair of Elvis sunglasses to sing “Suspicious Minds” tonight. In the intro, Tommy Mottola tells Chris that it’s easy for him to perform vocally, so he tends to let it go. I think that’s a nice way of telling Chris that he’s lazy sometimes. Tommy thinks that Chris has an amazing live sound, and it will be even better on record.

Randy thought the performance was a nice, tender moment, but it was not Chris’s best. Paula says that she forgot how good “Suspicious Minds” was until she heard Chris Daughtry sing it. Simon thought that, sunglasses aside, the song worked.

Ryan tells Chris that he is wearing hybrids, and then has to explain to Chris, and the rest of America, that “hybrids” are boxer/ briefs.

It’s not the bald guy, it’s not the gray haired guy, it’s… Elliott!
Tonight, Elliott’s singing a song that he had never heard before this week. That seems to be a common theme with him. Tommy thinks that Elliott can do a good job with his song, as long as he practices, and learns the words.

Tonight Elliott’s singing “If I Can Dream,” one of Elvis’s more passionate and spiritual ballads, and wow is Elliott passionate about singing this song tonight! He is earnest, and really seems to believe what he’s singing.

Randy was worried that Elliott would not do very well with the Elvis music, but thought he laid it out and was hot. Paula tells Elliott that Elvis closed his shows with this song, and this was the best vocal Elliott’s done this season. Simon says that Elliott came into the show tonight as the underdog, and was the best so far tonight. Yes, that is a compliment and all, but he did have a 33% chance of being the best so far, so I don’t think Simon’s comments are all that impressive.

Ryan tells Elliott that he is soooo different from the Elliott at the beginning of the competition, and Elliott replies that the old Elliott is history. Well, I’m certainly glad the old Elliott’s hair style is history at the very least.

A Mini-Medley? That’s Ambitious.
For her first song tonight, Kat is singing a mix of “Hound Dog,” and “All Shook Up.” I didn’t notice much about her trip to Graceland, except that she looked a little under the weather. Or maybe the Idols didn’t have their usual stylists with them or something.

Oooh, Kat’s on the catwalk! I think Katharine really wanted to sing “Jailhouse Rock,” because she’s wearing an outfit of prison- issue gray clothing tonight. She is dancing and doing all sorts of Elvis moves, and the singing seems… secondary. I think she’s focusing more on her moves than on her vocals, and she forgot the words in the middle of the performance.

Randy says that Kat had a good time with the song, and did her thing, but forgot the lyrics in the middle. Paula had fun seeing Katharine dance, but neglects to say anything about the actual singing part of the performance. Simon says that Kat’s performance was like a desperate, manic audition for a musical. He calls it “shrieky,” and does not think it was a great performance

Taylor is in the ghetto.
Taylor reveals to Ryan that while at Graceland, Lisa Marie Presley took him on a wild golf cart ride. I don’t think that’s a euphemism for anything, because Taylor seems like the kind of guy who can get really, really excited about a golf cart. And, he tells Ryan that he did not ask Lisa Marie out on a date. I’m bummed, because that would have made an interesting intro video.

Tommy Mottola gives Taylor some good advice for his second song- let people feel the song and leave the dancing out. This advice is good, because Taylor is singing “In the Ghetto,” and I don’t think crazy dancing is appropriate. Taylor is now wearing a dark suit, and dark clothes mean serious Taylor.

Randy wants to give Taylor some real, real, real constructive criticism; he thinks that Taylor finally picked the right key, and finally picked the right song, and thinks the performance was hot. Paula says the performance shows a whole different side of Taylor, (a calm one), and it was well-rounded. Simon calls Taylor’s second performance a world apart from his first, and tells him he’s earned a place in the semi-finals. Hey Simon? I think the semi-finals were a couple of months ago, and we’re actually in the finals now. Glad you’re paying attention.

Ryan tries not to let Taylor get a word in, but he manages to yell “Soul Patrol” a bunch of times anyway.

How about a little less yelling, Chris Daughtry?
Chris is singing “A Little Less Conversation,” and I have just one question: is he going to bring the funky fresh dance moves like Season 3’s John Peter Lewis? I hope so!

Chris sounds good, but for me the performance is just average, and there’s a little too much yelling at the end.

Randy thought that Chris sang in the right key, (which is very important in a singing competition), and it was hot. Paula has nothing to add to Randy’s “hot,” and tells Chris he picked a song that showed a little personality. Simon thought Chris’s first song was stronger, and the performance was flat until the end.

Ryan asks Chris if he felt like he was holding back, and Chris replies, “No, I’m just boring.” Actually, he says that he wanted to stay true to Elvis.

Trouble loves Elliott Yamin.
For his second song, Elliott is singing “Trouble,” because it’s rebellious and shows attitude, just like El. Since this is an upbeat song, I’m hoping we finally see some E Double dance moves. He sings his song, and unfortunately does not dance, but seems really, really confident, and kind of sweaty.

Randy tells Elliott that tonight was his best performance, ever. Paula takes back her earlier critique, and declares that this was Elliott’s best, and Simon has to hand it to Elliott- he came out fighting, showed personality and deserves to go through the next round.

Ryan points out that Paula was doing some nice moves during Elliott’s song, and he feels like he should give her a dollar. Well! First Simon tells her to shut up, and then Ryan basically calls her a stripper. What a fun show!

Katharine can’t help singing off-key.
Katharine’s returning to her strong suit- ballads, for her second song with “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You.” In her intro, Tommy Mottola tells her that Elvis really got into the lyric, and she needs to be emotionally connected to the song in order to perform well. He thinks she has a special voice, and can do incredible things.

Her second outfit is a little better, but I wonder if Kat’s stylist took the week off, and she let Paris Bennett help her with her clothes for the night. Her voice is strong, and… quite loud.

Randy tells her it was better than her first performance, but it was a little pitchy and she ran out of air at the end. Paula liked the dancing in the first song, but neglects to say anything about Katharine’s vocals for the second time tonight, and Simon feels this hasn’t been one of Kat’s best nights. Her performance started off beautiful, but it was too much and over the top. Then he gives an analogy about apple pie and cream, but frankly I I’m not really sure what he was talking about.

Ryan plays Mr. Obvious and tells Kat that this was a challenging night for her, and she agrees, but thinks you should vote for her anyway.

Wow, those eight performances just flew right by! Tune in tomorrow to see who you sent home, and hear “Bad Day,” of course.


I'll be taking care of business in a flash, but you can reach me at:SueEllenMishke@fansofrealitytv .com