Ray Mickshaw/FOX
Kellie Pickler displayed sweetness, sunniness and an easygoing silliness during her American Idol stay but not – to quote Paula Abdul – greatness. As expected she left the show Wednesday night, taking her nesses with her.
Minus Kellie, the voting breakdown put Chris Daughtry and Katharine McPhee standing in the front ranks, as humble yet handsome as king and queen of the prom. They were followed by Elliott Yamin and Taylor Hicks, with Paris Bennett in last place. All very good singers, singing in very distinct styles.
The show will go into the final five with a strong mix. Good! Fun! But Paris’s history on the show has been so consistently shaky – her history, not her vocals – I’m not sure how she’ll ever win over enough people now.
Tuesday Night's Show
Tuesday was not a good night, not at all for American Idol, with only two performers really wowing the judges.
Elliott Yamin, seizing the opportunity to shine on a show dedicated to love ballads, punched up every note of "A Song for You" with emotion. Frankly, his voice can get on my nerves – it vibrates like a saw that’s been struck with a hammer, woing woing woing – but every word was phrased sharp, clear and meaningful.
Chris Daughtry, who was a surprise visitor to the bottom three last week after a tepid "What a Wonderful World," found his way back to praise with a more compatible rock-style number, Bryan Adams's "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" He probably wished he could elbow aside the two flamenco guitarists who were flanking him – and vocally, by the end, he did. He rode out the song with smooth, almost trilling power.
More on Idol
Paula can be so intense sometimes. There's a word – Italian? Can you help, Andrea? Diva.
Paula was much more subdued with the other singers, and so were Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell. Viewers probably were feeling the same. Kellie Picker’s Dolly Parton-Goldie Hawn persona is awfully cute, but her voice has shown a bad tendency to lose its way in a song. You wish someone would throw her a rope and pull her out to safety.
Ray Mickshaw / FOX
Simon described Katharine McPhee's cover of the Whitney Houston ballad "I Have Nothing" as "quite cabaret," knowing full well that the word "cabaret" induces shivers of disgust, fear and loathing in most young Americans.
I always like Paris Bennett, but even she had trouble with "The Way We Were" – she sang it so big, she seemed only a few notes away from spontaneously combusting.
Who’s going? My guess is Kellie.
Last Week's Episode
