Author: Mike Farley (Page 56 of 63)

Last night the final two contestants on season 5 of “American Idol” performed for the final time before America lit up the phone lines to determine the winner. It was the “McPheever” of Katharine McPhee versus the “Soul Patrol” (sorry kittens) of Taylor Hicks.

And while you would figure both of them would leave it all out there on the Kodak Theater stage, there were moments when you weren’t sure if either one really wanted to win this thing. Here’s the Marley recap:

KATHARINE McPHEE

Katharine started off with KT Tunstall’s “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” a song that she sang about a month ago which validated her status as a contender. Randy said it was fun and Simon said it was “Good with a small ‘g'”…..in other words, she didn’t dazzle like she should have on the final night of performances. Her second song was “Over the Rainbow,” a tune that earned her a spot in the finals last week, and it was once again very very good. Simon said it was even better than last week….but I don’t think it was. She finished with an original song, and her first single that will be released some time in the next few months, depending on if Katharine finishes first or second. The song, “My Destiny,” was absolutely awful. Randy Jackson even said he didn’t like the song, but that Katharine sang it okay. Simon said she went from brilliant to “quite good” in one song, and that’s being generous. I think the song sucked, and she butchered it, plain and simple. That said, Katharine has one thing going for her that’s going to earn her votes….she is undeniably hot.

TAYLOR HICKS

Taylor started off with Stevie Wonder’s “Living For the City,” and he absolutely nailed it, something that Randy Jackson said he was nervous about when he heard the song choice, based on the fact that Stevie is Stevie. Simon said it was a smart choice and great start for Taylor. Paula said something in her drunken stupor, and I think she dug it. Taylor’s second choice was Elton John’s “Levon,” and it was a bit boring and uninspired for some reason. Simon correctly said that Round 2 went to Katharine. Then Taylor sang his single, “Do I Make You Proud,” a better song than Katharine’s but still quite lame. However, the difference is that Taylor left it all out there like he really wanted to win. Simon declared that Taylor probably won based on that performance, and I’m going along with that since I’ve been touting Taylor as the favorite for the last month or so.

A side note on songwriting……look, I know that songwriting is kind of a lost art now that radio congolmerates have done their best to homogenize stations, songs, and advertising. But please…..those two songs that were performed by Katharine and Taylor were horrible. Both songs are likely the result of industry powerhouse songwriters sitting around in a room, putting formulas of hit songs into a computer, and spitting out a new song that sounds like, well, regurgitated crap. The songs had no feeling or emotion, so how then were Katharine or Taylor supposed to convey those things? Well, Taylor for the most part did, and that’s probably why he’s going to win.

But back to songwriting….you want a great song? Daniel Powter performed to close out the show…..his hit song, “Bad Day,” has been the anthem for contestants of “American Idol” getting voted off each week. Granted, the show has helped Powter become an overnight success, but here is a great song with a great melody with a hook and with feeling….and when he performed it, it made those other two songs look like the crap that they are.

Okay, so I had to get that rant out of the way. Now it’s on to business…..and likely crowing Taylor Hicks, the gray haired wonder from Birmingham, the next American Idol. See you tomorrow for the recap of tonight’s 2-hour finale.

Marley, OUT.

Last night’s “American Idol” results show was painfully a full hour long, before the climax of sending home Elliott Yamin. And in the end the thing that surprised us all was that the voting was so close. Mere percentage points separated Elliott from the second-place vote-getter…in fact, each contestant garnered 33 % of the vote but then the last per cent determined the outcome. Wow. Elliott really brought his A-game the last few weeks and made a serious run at becoming the next Idol, but was beaten out by the hugely popular Taylor Hicks and girl-next-door Katharine McPhee.

The show started with Ryan Seacrest telling us that on Tuesday night, 50 million people voted, another record. As annoying as Seacrest is, that number really is astounding and proof of just how popular this show has become. Then there was a recap of Tuesday’s performances, followed by footage of each contestant going back to their hometown last week to mingle with fans, meet with Governors, and be interviewed on radio and TV. Elliott even got to throw out the first pitch at a Richmond Braves game, and dude threw a strike!

After the footage, each contestant got to perform the song they recorded for the upcoming “American Idol 5” CD. Taylor did the Doobie Brothers’ “Takin’ It To The Streets,” Katharine sang Aretha Franklin’s “Think” and Elliott did “Blue is the Mood For Love.” After watching them all perform, I concluded that Katharine’s version of “Think” was her best performance yet, even better than “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” from Tuesday night. Mrs. Marley even agreed, while muttering under her breath that Chris Daughtry still should be in the finals. Anyway, maybe it’s because there was no pressure, but holy shit…..Katharine can belt it out and in many ways really does deserve to be in the finals.

Then Clive Davis came out and accepted an award for his role in making the show what it is. When you look back, and realize that Kelly Clarkson alone has sold 10 million records and won two Grammys, and then at the success of Clay Aiken, Fantasia, and Carrie Underwood…..it’s clear that “American Idol” has had quite an impact on pop music since its inception in 2002. Fox Network, please make that check out to “Spike M-A-R-L-E-Y.” But anyway…..

Seacrest showed the results a little differently this week….he put up on a big screen the final percentages of the votes: 33.68, 33.26, and 33.06. Then said “Let’s put a name to the lowest percentage,” and it was Elliott. That wasn’t a surprise, but the closeness of the voting sure was.

So next week, the gray-haired wonder slugs it out with the California girl for the right to be named the next American Idol. I’m still banking on Taylor, but then again, I thought Bo Bice should have won last season. Hang on, it’s sure to be an exciting (read: painfully long) two episodes next week.
Till then,

Marley, OUT.

Three contestants left, only four episodes remaining of one of the most popular reality TV shows, and thankfully, only one more week of Ryan Seacrest….that is, until he pops up somewhere else. I’m guessing the folks at “Wheel of Fortune” are waiting for Pat Sajak to retire already so they can stick someone like Seacrest in his place.

Anyway, last night the final three performed, and each did three songs chosen by different people. Legendary music industry executive Clive Davis was on hand and chose the first song for each of them. Then each judge chose one song for one designated Idol. Finally, they each were able to choose their own song. So how did it shake out? Let’s go to the Marley Videotape……

Elliott Yamin

I’ve been writing this blog for four months and I still don’t know for sure if Elliott’s name has one “t” or two. Do I care? No. If I did, I’d probably be wearing a suit and telling people what to write in this blog instead of writing it myself. But anyway…

Elliott started out with Journey’s “Open Arms,” the Clive Davis choice….it was a pretty good selection but Elliott seemed to try a little too hard. Simon even suggested that Elliott needs to loosen up a bit. Paula Abdul got to pick Elliott’s second song, which was Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do For Love”…and what I thought was the perfect song for Elliott. Randy said it was sharp in spots, but Simon declared it as “really good.” His last selection was “I Believe in My Soul,” the old Ray Charles song that was re-cut by one of Elliott’s heroes, Donny Hathaway. Randy said it wasn’t perfect but that there is not doubt Elliott can sing well. Simon said it was good but predicted that this would be the end of the competition for Elliott.

Katharine McPhee

Katharine started out with Clive Davis’ choice, R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly.” For some reason it seemed a bit disjointed but we all know Katharine can sing her ass off. Randy even said it wasn’t quite right and Simon made mention that he’s still waiting for Katharine to create a special moment on the show. Paula Abdul was once again drunk. Katharine’s second song was “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which Simon Cowell chose for her. Simon wanted his moment, and Katharine delivered it. Holy crap, was that awesome. Randy and Simon both said it was the best vocal so far of the entire competition….that’s a stretch, but it was damn good. Katharine finished with Ella Fitzgerald’s “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But the Blues” and while it was a bit of a reach, she pulled it off okay. Look for Katharine to make it to the final based solely on her second performance last night.

Taylor Hicks

Taylor started out with Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” and you could almost see the expression on his face toward Clive Davis, saying “Come on, old man, that’s the best you could do?” Instead he did the right think and respectfully thanked him, then went out and did the song and Davis proud. He had a lot of fun, as always, and even dragged Paula up to dance ala Springsteen and Courtney Cox in the video. Did I mention Paula was drunk? Randy Jackson chose Taylor’s second song, Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful,” and it was the perfect song for him. Simon said it was his best performance yet. He closed with “Try a Little Tenderness”…..which Paula said was incredible and to which Simon declared, “See you next week.”

So there you have it….it appears, at least on paper, that Elliott Yamin will finally be exiting “American Idol” after hanging in there for so long. But we’ve all been wrong before, so you really never know. Let’s remember that we all thought Chris Daughtry would surely be in the finals and got booted off last week. Mrs. Marley kept reminding me of that during the show, just in case I had forgotten.

I still think Taylor Hicks is going to be the next American Idol, but if he doesn’t stop that “Soul Patrol” thing, I’m going to drive Buffybot to the river to drown those kittens. Dude, is someone pulling a string every time you finish a song? “Soul Patrol, Soul Patrol, Soul Patrol!” Okay, we GET it.

See you all tomorrow, and till then,

Marley, OUT.

I don’t think any of us saw this coming. Not me, not Mrs. Marley, and not any of the judges on “American Idol.” Chris Daughtry, the resident rocker on the show, was sent home last night after two really good performances on Tuesday night.

It just goes to show a few things…..America is in love with Taylor Hicks and he’s still the favorite to win…..Katharine’s hotness saved her because her singing sure didn’t…..and Elliott came to bat twice on Tuesday night and twice hit the ball way out of the park. (Did Barry Bonds loan Elliott some of “the clear” this week?)

Seriously though, I think everyone was sure it would be Elliott before Tuesday, then everyone had to shift that thinking to Katharine, because she just didn’t bring it on Tuesday.

Before they got to the results, they had to, as usual, fill up like 25 minutes. So they showed more of the Idols at Graceland with Priscilla and with Lisa Marie. Yesterday I commented on the grape-by-way-of-raisin face on Priscilla…but yesterday noticed the outfit and her bulging belly coming through it. What was that exactly? Beer? A baby? Or is she hiding Elvis in there? Either way, it was a little disturbing.

Then the top two were announced, Taylor and Elliott…..and Katharine and Chris were the bottom two.
But for some reason, you had to believe it would be Katharine, and it was a bit shocking when Ryan Seacrest sent Chris home. I think even Chris was in shock, and he should be……he had to know he blew Katharine off the stage on Tuesday. But oh well….the bottom line is that some label is going to sign Chris anyway, probably in the next 10 days if they are able to.

So your remaining 3 are Taylor Hicks, Elliott Yamin and Katharine McPhee…….wow, it’s hard to believe that Mandisa and Chris didn’t make it this far, but great voices aren’t everything….sometimes it’s looks, and sometimes it’s how you perform on any given night or nights.

We’re almost there folks…..from thousands of hopefuls down to just three. And one of them will be crowned the fifth American Idol in a couple of weeks. Who will it be? The way things are going, you just never know….so see you all next week.

Marley, OUT

Last night, the final four on “American Idol” performed after spending some time in Memphis at Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley. They got to hang with Priscilla, Lisa Marie and record exec/producer Tommy Mottola. What a cool experience that had to be.

A side note to those of you who witnessed Priscilla greeting the Idols……do people not know how to age gracefully anymore? To you plastic surgeons out there….I know you need to make a living, especially with Hollywood types, but stop making everyone look like Michael Jackson, and especially stop trying to make raisins look like grapes.

But I digress.

There are only 2 weeks to go until the final two contestants square off so the competition is really heating up. That means there is way less room for error. Who impressed and who less-than-impressed? Let’s find out….

TAYLOR HICKS

Taylor started off with “Jailhouse Rock,” seemingly the perfect song for his goofy personality. His vocal was great, but his dancing or lame attempt thereof was his downfall on this song. The problem with Hicks when he does this is that it’s all schtick. Simon said it was a “terrible impersonation” of Elvis, and it was. (Simon also told Paula to shut up when she interrupted him, and that’s always entertaining). Then Hicks came back with “In the Ghetto,” and it was one of his better performances of the whole competition. Simon said it was the perfect song for him and I agree. However, when he said “Soul Patrol” three times I mourned for the three kittens Buffybot was surely going to drown.

CHRIS DAUGHTRY

Chris had two strong showings last night, with “Suspicious Minds” and “A Little Less Conversation.” Paula said “see you in the finals” after the first song and on the second song Chris started off slow but wailed at the end. Tommy Mottola mentioned that Chris had a great, pure voice that is going to sound amazing on record…..and the way he’s going, there’s no doubt a major label is going to sign him whether he wins this thing or not.

ELLIOT YAMIN

Elliot started off with “If I Could Dream,” a lesser know Elvis song and with him being the underdog this week, a big risk. But he received a huge ovation from the studio audience and from the judges. Simon declared it the best vocal of the night so far, and it really was. Later, Elliot sang “Trouble” and it was even better than his first effort. This dude somehow has shocked America and is peaking at the right time…..don’t be surprised if he makes it to the final two after those performances.

KATHARINE MCPHEE

Katharine started off with a “Hound Dog/All Shook Up” medley of sorts. She messed up some lyrics and looked a bit out of synch with her dance moves. Simon said it was like a “desperate audition”…indeed, she looked like a deer in the headlights. Later, she toned things down with a ballad, “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” It wasn’t bad, but when you look at the rest of the field and what they did last night, Katharine was the worst of the bunch.

So while I’m still pimping Taylor Hicks to go all the way, I’m thinking Elliot’s performance last night puts him just ahead of Chris into second place. That means that yes, Katharine McPhee should be going home tonight. Then again, she’s a lot easier on the eyes (at least to me and most of the male population) than any of those guys so she’ll get votes for that. Also, all of these final four are worthy of the grand prize so nothing would really surprise me at this point. That’s what makes this season so interesting…..that, and the fact we could have a final 3 of all guys for the first time ever.

See you all tomorrow for the results, and until then….

Marley, OUT