American Idol Fan Site | Who got voted off American Idol

Elvis Presley night on American Idol 5-10-06 . Before the show, we wondered: Would it be the lean, swivel-hipped sexy Elvis of the early years or would it be the bloated Vegas caricature he became?

And how would Katharine McPhee, the sole remaining woman in the final four, fare singing Elvis?

To answer the first part, shockingly the Idols traveled a middle of the road path in tackling Elvis. It was neither ’50s cool or Vegas cheese.

Chris Daughtry, the rocker, who has a tendency to overdo it at times, was surprisingly restrained on Suspicious Minds and A Little Less Conversation and made the songs his own. While the laid-back approach robbed Suspicious Minds of its urgency and hook, the smoldering style worked wonders on Conversation until he deployed one of his customary screams at the end. It was still sexy, memorable, a Conversation to savor again.

Taylor Hicks, however, is about as sexy as a door hinge — in no way did he evoke early Elvis. His DOA version of In the Ghetto — wildly overpraised by the three judges — revealed how truly weak his voice is. “Soul Patrol” is the name of Taylor’s vast fan base: They’ll have to search for months to find any scrap of soul in that dreary, colorless performance.

Elliott Yamin made it more difficult for crystal ball gazers. By far the odds-on favorite to take a hike tonight, Elliott stymied the bean counters by playing to win, shrewdly attempting two lesser-known Elvis tracks — the soulful If I Can Dream and the bluesy Trouble. The latter competes with Chris’ Conversation for Best of Show. Trouble was terrific, earning “your best performance ever” kudos from judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul; Simon Cowell told him that “you deserve to go through to the next round.”

Trouble wasn’t really Elliott’s best ever. That honor would go to his tongue twisting take on James Moody’s jazz number Moody’s Mood for Love a couple months ago — but it was good enough to spell trouble for Katharine, who came into this night at a “disadvantage” according to host Ryan Seacrest and who didn’t rise to the challenge.

The claim that she was hindered by having to play in the boy’s club that is Elvis’ music is a bit bogus. Hound Dog was originated not by Elvis Presley but rather by a woman, blues belter Big Mama Thornton, who took the song to No. 1 R&B in 1953, three years before The King shocked America on Sullivan with it. Katharine offered Hound Dog as a medley with the similarly structured All Shook Up and came closest to Elvis’ Vegas period.

Not a good thing, according to Simon, who likened it to a “manic, shrieky theatrical audition.” The one positive note is that the performance showed how much Katharine has grown on Idol. When the season began in January she stood on the stage as if impaled on a pole. With Hound Dog, she moved naturally and was fun to watch. Not so with her second song, an overwrought, pitchy Can’t Help Falling in Love.

If Elliott does defy the odds, this leaves Taylor and Katharine to consider. Taylor is truly terrible but his sizable fan base wants to see him in the finals. Katharine, rather charmless Tuesday, looks to be the shocker when she’s voted off.

Source: www.mercurynews.com

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