For those of you having trouble getting through, I wonder if this is a regional thing? I put in ten votes for both Chris and Katherine, and five for Elliot. For Chris and Kat, I doubt that I dialed more than 20 times for each (thus only half of the attempts were busy attempts). Elliot was easier to get through.

Dial-idol spoiler:

I thought Taylor and Elliott (of whom I usually don't like) were the best tonight. Chris was good but didn't really stand out for me, and poor Kat was a mess. I like her a lot, but she kind of blew it. She may be beautiful enough to get through for another week (and she did rock those jeans in the first song), but it isn't a sure thing.

For the most part, Simon was echoing my thoughts on the performances.

Taylor - spazzy first performance that just undercuts his momentum, but he made up for it in a more focused second performance, though he still has those strange body tics that encourages me to close my eyes when he sings because he can be visually disturbing.

Christ - hated the thuggy look on the first song, plus the performance was average. He was really off on the second song because he had no passion, no ethusiasm, and just screamed to a big sloppy finish. Not his best night.

Elliot - good song for his voice on the first song, but he really brought the passion on the second song. If people voted on performance, he deserves to be in the final 3.

Katharine - she's still awkward as a "dancing" diva (i.e. she moves as awkwardly as Whitney Houston) on the first song, and ran out of breath too. The second song was like listening to a singer on steroids, the runs were silly and added nothing, and she did go out of tune in spots.

Katharine should get the boot, but I suspect it's a free-for-all at this point in the competition.

What was up with Chris's Parka and Sunglasses get-up for his first song? Was he going skiing after the show? I also thought it was hilarious when he took the shades off to gaze into the camera.

After this week, I'm pretty convinced that Taylor is going to win. I wonder if Elliot might be the runner up...he's sort of awkward, but he was much better than Chris or Katharine--His only problem I think was that I burst out laughing at the thought of him being "Trouble". Chris seems to be fading--looks sort of bored and uninspired. Both of Katharine's songs were bad.

I thought Chris looked like Kojak with the shades. He just needed a lollipop and to say "Who loves ya baby?"

Chris still spends too much effort orienting the mic stand so the mic is in front of his mouth (but sometimes you can tell he get distracted by it when the mic starts rotating away from his mouth). Just get rid of the mic stand, hold the mic and sing, dammit!

I would have agreed with you until I saw the performances tonight. Yikes! I expected it to come down to Taylor and Katherine as the Final 2. I have the feeling we are going to see a huge upset tomorrow.

Well, an upset as huge as is possible on something like American Idol.

I can't believe I'm in this thread posting :)

I thought for sure Kat would make it to the final 2 - I really like her but tonight just didn't work and that may have cost her. Here are my ratings...

Taylor:

1st Song - :up:
2nd Song - :up:

Chris:

1st Song - :up:
2nd Song - :down:

Elliott:

1st Song - :up:
2nd Song - :up:

Kat :(

1st Song - :down:
2nd Song - :down:

Haven't really been following this season much but I did watch tonight's show.

A few things:

- Enough with the talk of Kat have a gender disadvantage tonight. Remember..."Hound Dog" was originally sung by Big Mama Thornton. Elvis' version was just a cover (and a comparatively weak one at that). Many female vocalists have covered Elvis with a lot of success., often surpassing the originals.

- When hearing Chris sing "A Little More Conversation," I started to miss John Peter Lewis. It was a largely monotone performance with none of the swagger that made the orginal fun. At least JPL had some fun with it.

- Really, really impressed with Elliott. Had him pegged as a boy band wannabe, but I think he out-souled Taylor tonight.

-As for Taylor, I'm probably in the minority but I liked his first performance much better. In the Ghetto is a great record, but it does not lend itself well to being chopped up. I would have liked to have heard him tackle the whole song. Chopped up, it just seemed to go nowhere.

Quick, someone get Justin Timberlake to perform with her on stage next week!

there won't be a next week for her on the show

I've watched this show since Season 1, and I don't think I can remember before where a contestant this late in the competition who was a virtual lock to go home before the show saved themselves with a stellar performance like Elliot did last night. Big time choke by Katherine, who can't be endearing herself to fringe fans with her sloppiness, bravado, and attitude.

Kat's jeans and her bending over the table was :drool:

Kat was the worst of the 4 last night.
If you only go by last night's performance she should go.
But she won't.
She's the only girl left. She's going to get a lot of votes just for that.

I think Elliot is going home. He doesn't have the fan base that Taylor has.

Agreed.

Elliot has been the one who each week has gotten a little bit better. Sort of like Kimberly Locke in season 2 when she progressed a bit more each week and landed in the top 3.

This season he has been a combo of Amefrican Idol and Extreme Makeover.

Week 1 this guy looked like a serial killer, his transformation has been nothing short of spectacular. I thought at first his looks would be a major major problem and sink him quickly, but he has minimized those issues with this transformation. And lurking in everyones mind was the "Best Male Voice Ever" comment Simon gave him early on.

Somethin happened about 4 weeks ago as well, he gained a sliver of confidence and since then, he has shown major strides each week. Last night he was superb. His song choices screamed campy, but the arrangements for a change were actually quite good for both songs and he sang his arse off.

I like Taylor a lot, he probably has the weakest voice of the 4 left, but he is a fun entertainer and overall a decent voice. I do think it has been his competetion to lose for a very long time.

i think a surprise might happen with chris leaving.... even though i dont think he will win the competition...i hope he goes and does his rocker thing

When Taylor does his non-spaz dance all hunched over, he looks like he's suffering from appendicitis. Still, he did well on both songs.

I've never really gotten Elliott's voice, but he was definitely the best of the night, with both performances.

Chris was okay on ALLC, and better on SM.

The less said about Katharine the better. She got winded, forgot her words, almost screeched part of the song, and tried to rely on vocal gymnastics. If there's any justice in this competition, she's gone tonight.

Priscilla Presley looked like she just scratched her way out of a shallow grave. Why do people do that to themselves? Does she actually think it improves her looks?

I can't believe one of these 4 jokers is actually going to win this competition.

Someone needs to warn Paula not to flail her arms about when Elliot is on stage. Werewolves can strike quickly, and she might lose a hand.

das

You do not watch AI on a regular basis do you?

This is the strongest field ever for AI.

too late for that now

love McPhee's lady lumps... :drool:

oh yeah Paula is freaking nuts... she might have an orgasm on stage next time Elliot sings....

You don't know me too well, do you? :lol:

A month back, this was the strongest field in terms of depth, as past seasons only had a couple of people who didn't flat out suck; but there's no one who's actually good enough to <i>win</i>, and as we get closer to the finals, it becomes more obvious. As a Final 12, they were a great group. As a Final 4, however, they're really lacking.

das

Wow, talk about a real unfair advantage. Who knew He could even sing....

One small criticism of your review..., over a billion christians agree that Christ has the Passion.... Even Mel knows that...

Overall, I agree with the screaming to a big sloppy finish. Being crucified is a painful messy way to go out....

Agreed 100%

I think the only deserving one is Elliott.

Taylor wasn't that great to start with, and has resorted to dancing crazy every week (ala John Peter Lewis) to get the audience into it, which obviously works. The grey hair also works in his favor. I saw him winning after his first performance although I don't think he should. I don't think he's bad, but I don't think he's anything special.

Kat is gorgeous and that works for her. She has a strong voice and I think she's the second most talented of the four overall. She did blow it last night being out of breath, and dropping a few lyrics. She's nothing I havn't seen before but I like her more than Chris.

Which brings us to Chris, who is the epitome of a good cover band singer. I know 5 bands in my town alone that have singers of his caliber. Someone said he wasn't comfortable with the lower notes earlier, and they hit it on the nose. He often resorts to blaring to a big finish, and he's under the assumption that singing louder and higher is better. Personally I think he shouldn't have been in the top 8 let alone the top 5. He's a guy the audience will get behind though (I know alot of females voting for him).

Elliott would be my choice. He shows improvement each and every week. He does need work on stage presence, but he has come a long way in the reguard. He's not an obvious star, but he's probobly the best pure singer in this competition. Vote for Elliott. I've been in the music biz for most of my life, and ran my own record label for several years. If I was gonna bank on who would make the best album it would be Elliott hands down. Although I'm not sure he would sell the most.