Just realised that my last entry was dated May 1st. That's like TEN days ago. How time flies, eh? LOL
So whilst my blog was lingering in blogger-limbo for that week-and-a-half, alot of stuff have been happening out here in the real world. Significantly, the elections came and went without any major upsets but in its aftermath, the Gomez saga is still making the rounds in the local news. So do I have opinion about this issue? -- Absolutely not. =p
Anyway, the reason why there wasn't any AI review last week was because I had missed the show due to a conflict with my tuition lesson. Consequently, I wasn't able to witness Paris Bennet's swan song on AI. I AM a little sad to see her go... She had always been one of my favorites eversince she first blew away the judges at the auditons with Dixie Chicks' Cowboy Take Me Away and Billie Holliday's Take Five. Her immense talent made her elimination from the show rather unjustified but in recent weeks, she had been a familiar face in the bottom three spots despite gushing praises and compliments from fellow luminaries of the industry such as Andrea Bocelli, Rod Stewart, Barry Manilow, Queen, et al.
Although possessing the vocals and stage presence to tackle almost any genre with ease, her efforts had never been 100% a hit with the judges. Why this paradox exists, I can only venture a guess -- perhaps her lack of experience and maturity prevented her from really delivering a credible and engaging performance? She's only 17 afterall, and she certainly doesn't seem wholly convincing when singing songs about heartbreak or despair. However, with her excellent pedigree (her grandma is the Grammy-winning gospel singer, Ann Nesby) and natural talent, I'm sure we haven't heard the last of young Miss Bennet. Heck, it's been rumoured that Matthew Knowles (Beyonce's daddy & manager) is interested in signing her up for a record deal!
So back to the present: Our four remaining contestants made a trip to Graceland, home to deceased rock-legend, Elvis Presley (who else??) and met the latter's ex-wife, Priscilla, who looked (eerily) like she hadn't aged abit since I last saw her a long time ago in the incredibly cheesy Naked Gun films.
As expected, Taylor Hicks and Chris Daughtry couldn't do no wrong with their performances; Taylor simply shines when singing oldies and Chris' element is rock afterall -- and isn't Elvis the undisputed KING of rock?? Elliot Yamin is his usual consistent self albeit his selection wasn't as well-known as the rest of his peers. So more or less, the guys did OK this week. Like I care, anyway. I was, and always have been, only looking forward to see one person in particular...
After try-outs in front of the ageless Tommy Mottola (top music honcho & Mariah Carey's ex-husband), I had expected nothing less than a spectacular showing from my Katharine McPhee but unfortunately, she was a tad disappointing.
Forgetting her lyrics during Hound Dog/All Shook Up was forgivable but her overall performance wasn't -- She should have marked up the ante and given the song the saucy/sexy edge it really deserved instead of being all cutesy/smiley/jumpy like an inebriated kitten. Having said that however, her idea of combining two upbeat songs was ingenious. Her second song, the infamous mush-fest Can't Help Falling In Love, started off very promising but the musical arrangement in the later half sort of drowned out her vocals, making her sound more than a little "shrieky" on some parts. Predictably, the judges weren't too pleased.
I am really, really terrified to bits right now. And that dratted Simon Cowell, in his commentaries, had implied that Taylor, Chris and Elliot would be a shoo-in to the top-three showdown next week. As I've learnt from past episodes of AI, Cowell's prophetic words have the tendency to be rather accurate. Previously, I had thought that an Elliot departure was imminent, but now, Katharine is the one most in danger of getting the boot...
I have nothing against Elliot of course (he is an excellent singer), but seriously, I'm not looking forward to an all-male Idol finale. I don't care who leaves tomorrow... but it had better NOT be Katharine McPhee!!! *Grrrrrr*
