After viewing the performance show on Wednesday night, there was probably, in my humble opinion, a 70-30 chance that Taylor Hicks was going to win the Idol crown, which he did eventually, anyway. Here are ten reasons why Kat never had much hope of winning...
1) Throughout the competition, Taylor had never landed in the bottom three or two positions, which therefore implies he's got quite a number of fans out there rooting for him. In contrast, Kat had probably been in the bottom spots four or five times... (I've lost count!).
2) Unlike Kat, who was a clear favorite from the start, Taylor was never really a candidate to win Idol. He was even passed over by Simon because he didn't have the right Idol "look". This underdog status early on in the competition probably contributed to his ever-gaining popularity right up 'til the finale.
3) Although sometimes his song choices were abit bizarre/obscure, he never botched a song before. He is vocally competent on ballads and performed with unfailing zest during his uptempo numbers.
4) He's abit loony -- but that's what makes him so endearing! Moreover, the unexpected things he does onstage makes for great entertainment...
5) Had never "talked back" to the judges over a bad performance or unwise song choice. He maybe slightly off-kilter at times, but still a responsible gentleman overall. =p
6) Not once did he compromise his style to meet the demands of Idol themes. Whether singing a Queen song, a country number or the American standards, he's still distinctly TAYLOR. Kat, on the other hand, sometimes tried a little too hard to sing (style-wise, at least) like kelly clarkson/christina aguilera/whitney. As Randy had once said, she ain't that good yet!
7) Taylor had never let a wardrobe malfunction get the better of him.
8) Was fortunate to perform second, after Kat, during the finale. As can be studied from Idol history, the contestant who performs second always wins (with the exception of Ruben in season two -- he performed first, before Clay).
9) Although both of them got very, VERY sucky singles (Kat - My Destiny, Taylor - Do I Make You Proud), Taylor pulled it off better. It was a forgettable song.. but he managed to emote rather well and give it some credibility, despite the extremely cheesy lyrics.
10) After performing his last song on Wednesday night, Simon literally proclaimed him the next American Idol. THAT probably put the trophy in the bag for Taylor.
All hail Taylor Hicks~!! And now good luck to his producers/songwriters; I think it'll be a tough job churning out a hit record for him which may hold its own on today's pop charts. It's a high likelihood that he's debut album will not be much of a commercial success but then again, if he's fan-base is really that huge, he might still be a bankable star afterall. With that said, don't you think a gaudy purple jacket is just the wrong thing to wear no matter what the occasion??? =p
