American Idol Fodder

American Idol: Katharine vs. Taylor

It's the last night, and we could tell because Simon busted out his jacket. There were also better celebrities in the audience. The first 10 seconds showed off Mandy Moore and Ben Stiller. Later, we saw Christina Applegate and Tori Spelling. Did I miss anyone else on Fox's celebrity cam?

The show kicked off with the contestants' respective treks to the top two slots -- like we all weren't there for the entire thing. Taylor came off as humble, Katharine came off as a hottie.

Katharine opened the show with "Black Horse in a Cherry Tree." I was sort of sad that it was going to be a night of repeats (I forgot from last season), but she did an excellent job. I was also happy that she stood for the song this time; she looked like she was having a lot more fun.

Taylor came out from the audience in his purple smoking jacket to perform "Living for the City." Paula was up, but when is she not? People were freaking out and he was his usual energetic self, but I think if he was going to pick a previously heard song, it should have been Joe Cocker. Stevie is just a hard nut to crack.

On a side note: Was that Kellie Pickler sitting in front of Bucky Covington? I rewound a few times. She looks hot with that hair!

Next up, Kat recapped her performance of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The first time she did it, I was in the minority, and hated it. I actually liked this one a bit better (even though she was back on the floor), but it still didn't quite win me over. I prefer seeing her having a good time. Maybe if she had kept up with the a cappella, I would have thought differently. Otherwise -- and let me say, I do think she can sing beautifully -- it just reinforced to me that she would do great on Broadway, but I wouldn't sit through two seconds of that on the radio.

One thing that no one can take away from "American Idol" -- they can kill time like no show can. At the 30-minute mark, we had heard exactly three songs.

That led into Taylor's second performance, "Leavon." I don't agree with Randy's assessment that it was pitchy, but he was sort of left in the dust after the reaction that Katharine got.

For the final round, Katharine sang what would be her first single, "My Destiny." This song did not showcase her talents one bit, and really blew what I thought was a perfect night for her. Can any of these "Idol" originals not be weepy tearjerkers?

Did anyone else notice that when they flashed to "Katharine's Family & Friends," it was Tori Spelling? Who knew that she was a friend? (Obviously I am kidding, so please don't post about that.)

The last performance for Taylor was his first single, "Do I Make You Proud?" Proud, maybe. Disappointed, definitely. I know that these guys don't write these songs, but wow. I think Taylor might have done slightly better with his song, but both he and Katharine sounded a little unfamiliar with the material, and that might be a good thing.

Daniel Powter wrapped up the show. Can I vote for him? After all, he didn't just fly from Europe to sing "Bad Day" live, but also to preempt "House." After hearing so much about this "special" performance, I was glad that he didn't get cut off by the credits. However, I thought he would be performing tomorrow night. Exactly what will we do for those two hours then?

I think overall, the night belonged to Katharine. But does that make an "American Idol?" Not always. Something tells me that the Soul Patrol is going to rally to make Taylor the first guy to beat a girl in the finals. -- Rachel Cericola

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Posted by Rachel Cericola on May 23, 2006 8:58 PM
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