From the Archives: Season 5 Semi-Finals

I'll need to start posting these more quickly if I hope to have Season 6 online by the January premiere of Season 7. Not like anyone is really reading these anyway, though...

I read yesterday that Chris Daughtry's album was the biggest selling album of 2007. Taylor Hicks? Katherine McPhee? Elliott Yamin? No where to be found. Neither was the 2007 American Idol Jordin Sparks. But more on that when I start posting the 2007 recaps.

From May 16, 2006

I have to make this good (I even took notes this time), since my Mom is reading this to get the latest on American Idol instead of watching the show. She's abstaining out of protest that Chris Daughtry was voted off. I hate to say I told you so, because he was my choice too, but I told you so.

This week the 3 remaining contestants sang a song of their choice, a song chosen by one of the judges, and one chosen by music mogul Clive Davis, the main behind Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, and the resurrection of Carlos Santana.

Elliott Yamin: The Clive Davis choice, Journey's Open Arms, opened a little flat but he came on strong towards the end. I agree with Simon that his performance was a little stiff, somewhat reminiscent of his earlier performances. Paula Abdul asked him to sing What You Won't Do For Love, which he did better with than Open Arms but still not his best performance. Let's face it, it's a lousy song, but that's not his fault. He did about as well with it as anyone could have. He did loosen up a bit though and showed more emotion and passion. His choice, I Believe In My Soul, was OK but not great. He made a good choice to do the Donny Hathaway version instead of the original Ray Charles version and there were some strong parts, but there were other parts that were a bit disjointed.

Katherine McPhee: She really oversang the Clive Davis choice, the R Kelly song I Believe I Can Fly. Even Paula had harsh words for her, though Simon seemed to like it. To be honest, though, I think she was the only one who could have even made a reasonable attempt at that song. Simon Cowell selected Somewhere Over The Rainbow, and she hit it out of the park. The only goose bump performance of the night. It showed off her full vocal range, including some lower notes that she rarely sings but really does well when she does. Starting the song a capella (while sitting on the stage again) really sold it. Her choice was the Ella Fitzgerald song I Ain't Got Nuthin' But The Blues, and it was a lot like the first song. She oversang it too but not as badly as the first number. She gets partial credit for tackling a difficult vocal song but it was a bit of a downer after Rainbow.

Taylor Hicks: Clive Davis challenged him to sing Springsteen's Dancing In The Dark. He did a good job with it, though I don't think I would buy a record with that performance on it. Inviting Paula Abdul to dance with him (like Springsteen did with Courtney Cox in the video for the song) was a nice touch. Randy Jackson's selection was Joe Cocker's You Are So Beautiful. It was his strongest vocal performance to date, though he seemed to be really fighting the restraints that song placed on him. You can't dance to it, but nevertheless he pulled it off well. He chose to sing Otis Redding's Try A Little Tenderness, and rather than sing it straight he sang it in his own style which really worked. Maybe for the first time he chose a song that he and only he could do well. Often his performances degenerate into silliness (though very popular silliness) but this time he kept the dancing to a minimum.

Fearless Prediction: Last week Elliott Yamin had to hit a home run to stay in the competition and he came through. So the question on my mind was could he do it again, because he had to duplicate his performances of last week to have a chance and knock out another favorite. Well, he did alright but not good enough to stay in. Katherine's rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow sealed the deal for Mr. Yamin, which is too bad because no one has worked harder during the competition than he has. So I predict that Elliott will be voted out and it'll be Taylor and Katherine in the finals. Then it'll be Katherine's turn to try and hit the home run that she needs to beat Taylor and win it all, but my guess is it'll be the grey hair guy that Simon originally didn't think would make it past Hollywood Week.