Lack of show-stopping talent and bad song choices deliver us a DOA American Idol finale.
I said from the beginning that this Idol season was a little weird. What made it great was that there were so many talented people: not just people who were okay, but so many people who were great, which is rare.…
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26 - rene
Why do people comment that Kat has the total package. She's very lacking on one very important component that makes "a total package." It's called talent. While she may sing one genre ok (certaintly not outstanding) she's very inconsistent in other genres. Taylor doesn't fit the general population's idea of a "pop" star but only time will tell if his music will sell. I think it really depends on his material.
27 - Rav
Chris, you nailed it. That's exactly how I saw it come down. A little more objectivity from the judges would appear more appropriate. Personal opinions during the final show almost seem to be a last ditch effort to influence the audience.
28 - Hugo Sanchhez
KATHARINE HAS THE TOTAL PACKAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
29 - Ty
I agree with the sentiment that if Taylor wins, his CD's will sell better than Ruben, but that's about it as far as comparing him to AI winners. Kelly, Fantasia, and Carrie are better than Taylor.
But Taylor is still good and light years better than Ruben Studdard, the worst AI winner ever.
30 - Ty
Oh yeah, and as much as I want to bang Katherine, she better not win. We need to show that a man can beat a woman in the AI finale, or else men should just forget about even trying out for the show.
31 - idlerock
Kat's got it going on! It's all about the issues, you know?
32 - Rob
I want Taylor to win, no doubt about it..My original pick was Chris Daughtry...I feel he was robbed of the whole thing and he is the real winner....Elliot is another amazing singer and he should have been in the finale rather than Kat...she doesnt have that great of a personality...she thinks her looks and good voice will get her by..I dont think so...Sorry Kat...I think whatever Chris Daughtry does, he will sell more records than any of them..He's got true talent.
33 - Chris Evans
Jake, I did mean "All By Myself"--but I wasn't referring to the first season, I was referring to a performance by La Toya London from season 3.
34 - Chris Evans
Sorry--that comment was to Rene--not Jake.
35 - Lucas P
I have been a fan of AI since the beginning. Season 1:I loved Kelly Clarkson, have both her albums, and love both of them. I hated Justin Guarini and would never buy his album. Season 2: I loved Clay Aiken, Rubin, and Kimberly. I have both of Clay's albums and love them, have both of Rubins albums and like them, have Kimberly's album and think it's ok. Season 3: I loved Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia. I like Diana, but not as much as Fantasia. I have Fantasias album and hate it. I have Diana's album and like it. Season 4: I loved Bo from the start and hated Carrie. I have Bo's album and hate it and I recently got Carrie's album and it is currently my favorite CD. Season 5: Mendisa was my all time favorite (we all know she got voted off because of her weight), Chris was my second fave, and I have the McPhever. I know she isn't as good as alot of the best through the years, but she really is great. She is beautiful and when she sings a good song, she sings it good. I liked the song they wrote for her, I just felt she was too emotional last night. I could see in her eyes that she was on the verge of tears. I know tonight is going to be very emotional. I never really liked Taylor, maybe it's the grey hair, maybe its the horrible outfits, or maybe just the stupid dancing. However, last night was the first time this season I was blown away. Taylor did an amazing job on his last song. I would buy his album just to hear that song. No matter what happens, the Taylor fans will buy his album and the Katherine fans will buy hers. I can't wait to see who wins. God I love Idol!
36 - Shannon
Kat is Disney at best and will be used as a pretty and likeable face to market other things too. She sings amazingly... but is boring as boring can be. She's not confident, she has said she's "happy just to make it to the final 2 and she made it".
Taylor has an amazing voice too... and unlike Kat he has character. His schtik is getting old, but that will be refreshed when he's got people minding his image for him ;) - and it seems that no matter how weird or funny he looks with all his moves... somehow people keep watching that and it ends up memorable. Kat can't do that (unless singing disney type music). That's why Taylor is the winner.
I will probably buy Taylor's CD too. I definitely will not buy Kats
37 - Bob
Taylor wins and spends the rest of his life as the opening act for Larry the Lineman on the Redneck Riviera between Hurricanes. He has peaked.
Kat has the long term potential, face, THE voice, curves and sincere appeal. A little maturity and she will be a real songbird.
38 - syd
If you don't think Katherine will win then you guys are weirdos becasue Katherine sang SO beautifully and SHE has the whole package! In my opion the whole package is:
-looks -singing ability -personality
She is BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING SINGER, AND HAS AN UNBELIEVABLE PERSONALITY!
Taylor IS NOT that good looking, O.K. singer, and DISPICABLE personality. If I was Ryan I wouldn't be able to do anything but hit him 50 times! Katherine on the other hand, all I could do would be to kiss and hug her! I LOVE KATHERINE!!!!!!
39 - Greg M
Kat and Taylor have voices that are best suited to entirely different types of music. neither has the ability to directly compete with one another in the "sweet spot" of their vocal talent. It is refreshing to have two competitors emerge that are far from any kind of cookie cutter types of one another.
Both have delivered some great performances throughout the season. But Kat, unlike Taylor, even when considering her for what she is supposed to be good at doing, hit some serious walls in the performances - some genuinely awful, off pitch and rubbish. Taylors performances, while not all perfect, to say the least, were far more consistant both in terms of vocal quality and performance.
Kat may be able to sing what some would call... blusey - but she can't sing blues worth anything. She has the lip-gloss pouty, sing-into-the-camera thing down (developed at home in the mirror, no doubt). But whenever she tried to perform physically, she usually came off poorly IMO.
Taylor never was trying to perform broadway-style or ballet type dance. But his "dancing", if you could call it that, was fun and funky. And traditionally, blues style singers are not known for their finesse style moves while performing, but funky stuff. So, it goes with his shtick, so to speak.
When in her range and at decent volume on a good night, Kat sounded fabulous. But in the end, regardless of the quality of the song itself, Kat's vocal quality on her last song of the competition, started off atrociously, off pitch, of very poor vocal quality and weak, and even though her vocals improved somewhat as the song progressed, it could only be summarized as a poor performance that she would have been justifyably harpooned for by the judges earlier in the competition - on a pure vocal quality basis alone.
This inconsistancy and lack of ability to perform well outside of her sweet spot vocal range is why Kat should have been eliminated much earlier and has no business, regardless of how she sings Judy Garland classics, claiming the AI crown.
Taylor was far more consistant, and while both contestants, generally speaking, improved over the season, Taylor emerged with the ability to do better - at the very least adequately, when out of his primary element. He also did not deliver the utter performance failures towards the end, like Kat did.
In the finale, Taylor finished with a great performance that drew the audience in - not because of the song (which was quite average at best) but because of the performer and his package of talent. On the other hand, Kat took a less than average song and delivered it with a performance that was awful in parts and good-at-best in others, making for a truly distasteful package indeed.
Due to his more consistant performance quality and his regular display of willingness to work hard to win over a crowd, Taylor should win and probably will despite the fact that Taylor's music base probably has less appeal to pop music specific audiences and greater appeal with some somewhat older audiences that are less likely to spend two plus hours doing nothing but speed dialing.
40 - bstarr
I can hardly wait to by a Taylor cd! I hope he does old time rock n' roll, by Bob Seager on it!
41 - jane
It's generally a very entertaining show. This is the first year I've watched the entire thing. I thought there was a lot of talent, and it's fun to see people get discovered.
While I think Kat is a lovely girl and has a tremendous voice, I wonder if she wasn't so beautiful if she would have made it this far. I agree with whoever says she shows great promise but really needs to get the performance thing down. It seems to me that EVERY song suffers from her fixing her hair or clothes or changing which camera to look into, I mean, it's not a news show. It's a song - you need to discover what's beautiful about the song and deliver that. This is where I think she falls flat. My brother calls her "yay for me".
Taylor is more of a polished act, as far as putting a song over. I completely agree that his soul patrol thing is becoming a bore, but I think he is the better musician because his performances are more fully realized. Performing a song successfully requires a lot more than just learning the words and melody.
I feel that with proper management/coaching, Kat could be a major talent. However, I doubt that at this point I would buy an album from her = maybe when she matures as a musician and starts to use that phenomenal voice she's been given as a real instrument of the music.
Or, you could just say that certain performers just know their audience and sing to them. It's a little shallow, but hey, pop singers have been becoming millionaires by selling to teeny-boppers since the dawn of pop time.
It doesn't hurt anyone, I'm not against it. I just am more attracted to the more soulful, heartfelt singers. I loved Mandisa, Chris, Elliot, Taylor and I was always hoping Kat would dig deep and get over herself a little and bring forth the music. For me, she's not "in the zone" of the music enough.
Whether or not you like his style, Taylor is in fine control of his voice and knows what he wants to convey. There is nothing wishy washy about him. I think that rings true with a lot of people. Just please, quit yelling soul patrol.
All in all, I was surprised at how drawn in I got to the show, and, being a musician, I find it great that it's a music show. I'm not a huge pop fan, but still it's fascinating to see what people find compelling about a particular performer. Of course, there are cheesy aspects to the show, and I wish the judges would "keep it real" a LOT more. But, as far as entertainment, I'd rather get to know these hopeful singers than 80% of other characters on TV. And that's the truth.
42 - jane
to Greg M #39 - Right on! Super review.
Personally, I don't like the "sing into the camera" thing - this is what got Constantine kicked off the show on another season. It's a "get over yourself" thing that is totally distracting from the song.
I want to see what the song means to you - I don't want to see your mirror routine (also the big flaw in the beautiful young Lisa Tucker). Please - don't do your mirror routine!! Give me the song from your heart. (I liked this about Melissa McGhee - very heartfelt performances).
Taylor was definitely the more consistent performer and a real crowd pleaser. He's got so much more experience. Now, it's unlikely that someone who's a knockout like Kat would go unnoticed as a bar singer, it is an interesting proposition to imagine Kat as a seasoned small-venue singer coming to the show at the age of 28.
I still think Taylor and this group made for an interesting and fun season.
43 - Chris Evans
Whoa, did anyone just see the performance with Kat and Meatloaf?
Meatloaf scared the shit out of me but Kat was awesome.
If only she'd sung like that last night.
44 - Susan
Glad that Taylor Hicks won. Katherine got on my nerves with her clothing choices showing too much cleavage and capitalizing on her physical assets instead of concentrating on winning the contest on her talent. Maybe Taylor should have performed in a speedo--would have been the same logic.
Clay Aiken is the best one to ever perform on AI and give consistently great performances. He is the only one that I travel great distances to see in concert. Guess that makes me a Claymate because I love his voice--it gives me goosebumps! Best wishes to all the competitors though!!
45 - NR Davis
#41: I agree completely. Well said.
#43: Oh wow, that was the creepiest thing I'd seen in a long time. That is, until Toni Braxton started wrapping herself around Taylor to sing "In the Ghetto"!!??!?!?! That was twisted. But yeah, who in the world thought of inviting Meat Loaf? The worst of the contestants weren't as perennially off-key as Mr. Loaf.
Kudos to both Katharine and Taylor for soldiering on and getting the job done despite the distractions.
Oh, and we finally had the moment: Mandisa. Wow. In fact, there were a number of electric performances. In some ways, tonight's show provided the most entertaining finale yet. No, it wasn't perfect. Meat Loaf. Toni Braxton. And then there was the Golden Idol Awards conceit, particularly when it was used to further embarrass memorably bad auditionees, just made me uncomfortable. Did like the award for Claudette Yamin and the Brokenote trio singing, though. And Clay and his doppelganger - really, it was early Clay and modern Clay side by side - was so freaky and out there I loved it. Especially when the sound guy finally wised up and turned down the volume on ClayClone's mic. One other thing got to me: watching teenage cowboy Garet, who before AI only sang at home on his farm, belting it out from the friggin' Kodak Theater stage for an audience of millions. It's fun to watch dreams come true, and the look on his face as he sang with his buds justified this reluctant fan's pursuit of following Idol this year.
But best of all, both of the final two sang their hearts out tonight and gave it their all. Elliott, Paris, Mandisa, Chris and Live... They all made me proud. Go kids!
And for those doubting Taylor, remember that a lot of the AI thing is finding potential. Imagine how his artistic output could deepen and mature with the access he now has to guidance (though not too much, I hope), resources, and millions and millions of people who know who he is.
I know the chanting is annoying, but please understand that Tay is thanking his most hardcore fans. They are a huge reason for his success.
Oh, and Ruben Studdard was no flop. He decided to focus on the genre he loved - gospel. And he's sold millions of albums and been nominated for numerous awards including the Grammy. His career isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. I bet he'll be singing and making people happy for as long as he wants and is able. Carrie Underwood is focusing on a particular genre, country. What's the problem with going into a genre and excelling within it, even if it is a category of music that has a limited audience? As the finale demonstrated tonight, American popular music is a lot of things: rock, country, R&B, jazz, soul, Bacharach standards; old and new; Live and Al Jarreau and Mary J. Blige and Dionne Warwick and Prince. And yeah, even Meat Loaf. How cool it was to see all of that represented - and to know that, yes, AI "grads" have achieved successes in more than just pop music and in other entertainment fields as well. That's awesome!
Yes, lots of it is cheesy, superficial, troubling and conformist. But this year's winner is, if nothing else, someone unique in the traditional modern-day pop field. And millions of Americans chose him. That says something about the voters and about their possible realization that they should dictate what they like, not the industry suits. I have to cheer that.
Thanks for the correction on the country awards.
46 - PJahlman
Hey....I'm an aging Baby Boomer - and was glad to see that of the two, Taylor won. He was definitely the more unique of the two - and has his own style of talent. Of course, I cried the week Chris lost - Her I am in my mid-50's and I am defintely going to purchase Chris' CD. I'm addicted to him!
47 - MerlinsElbow
I resisted watching AI after Chris's exit but I tuned in to the finale even though I already knew Taylor had won thanks to my brother's girlfriend in NY. It's not fair the east coasters know before us west coasters!! Anyway, I was not surprised that Taylor came out the winner - but the stars they lined up for the show?? It was odd. It seemed like they booked whomever they could get and puzzled the arrangements together. The real kicker was Prince because he's very particular about his performances which is probably why he performed last as a finale to the finale. Did anyone notice that some of the stars performing didn't exactly sound like great singers anymore? What was up with Toni Braxton? At first I thought there was an audio error! Dionne Warwick I can understand being 75 years old. And I like Mary J. Blige but she stole the stage from Elliot which made me feel really bad for him. I've never been a Clay Aitken fan but I thought he looked fantastic sporting his new hairstyle. Also, as much as I love Chris it was really sort of bizarre watching him perform next to a guy that was almost his mirror image! As for the "golden idol award" presentation - why did they come up with something so cheesy to fill in some time? It would have been better to see more arrangements by the 12 finalists! Tomorrow I will have mild depression as it sinks in that I'll have to wait until next year for the next installment of 'Idol' but life goes on.......
48 - Cladylady
I loved the whole evening.The "awards" were a little strange. Loved seeing Clay, even though all too briefly. My husband said it's a shame he made all the winners sound so bad by comparison.The Tony Braxton number was mystifying. What did happen to the audio? And I was waiting for Randy to jump up after Mary J.Blije tromped on Elliot's song and say," Hey! Check it out. Check it out. It was al-ight I mean,hey,it was just al-ight for me. You had some pitch problems in the beginning. But it wasn't your song. You gotta step it up,man." It would have been nice to have heard more of Elliot. It was strange to see Chris and his clone. The Pickler/Puck segments did nothing to dispel the notion that AI was making fun of her,especially after after Puck said the menu is in English and then had poor Kellie read "escargot" and try to eat them. You don't have to be a small town southern girl to have an aversion to slugs.A few years in Seattle will do that. Kellie deserved better.How about a cooking lesson -lobster vs crawdads? I thought the BrokeNote trio were cute. Not great singers but in their own element with their own genre,perfectly entertaining.
I still think Clay's appearance was the best thing about the show.
49 - Eric Olsen
what was that on top of Clay's head?
50 - Rene
Clay looked horrendous. Everyone I've talked said that segment was ridiculous.
51 - jane
The Clay segment was hilarious. He sang pretty well - I didn't watch that season much so I can't comment more. I thought that "impersonator" was going to piss in his pants. Too funny.
BrokeNote Mountain Boys were adorable and deserved their minute in the sun. Love is tone deaf indeed.
Mandisa was a highlight - lordy, lordy, that girl can sing the rest under the table. Love her!
I was going to complain about all the last generation music they make the kids sing, but after talking to my 85 year old dad this morning, I think they are reaching for the widest audience and certainly it was entertaining. Even though i had to fastforward part of Carrie's boring song and Chris's band. I love Chris but let's just say I wouldn't buy a record by that band.
Did Kevin Covais grow a few inches? I think the girls generally outsang the boys or was it that the girl song repetoire is just more fun? But you can't go wrong with Mandisa at the helm.
Taylor's voice sounded somewhat tired after outdoing Toni Braxton, who by the way, looked like she had some of whatever Paula is usually drinking. Taylor actually looked a little scared of her, like he wasn't sure just where she was going to put his hand (when she took his hand...) Too funny.
Mary J. Blige didn't turn in her best performance, but did her darndest to outsing Elliot (I felt she was on steroids or something...she was, uh..pumped? I think they needed a few more practices but at least Elliot got the most current star to sing with.
And Kat and Elliot at the end...she isn't a very good actress and her attempts to sing a love song with Taylor, well, can I say that I think he's a bit more attractive than MeatLoaf...would it have been so bad to pretend that you like Taylor just a little? Might have helped the icicle image. Taylor for his part looked like a jilted lover - either he's a good actor or he's really got McPheever. Aw. Get in line, boy. Her biggest talent is being gorgeous.
My dad and mom had the best time so I thank American Idol for trying so hard to entertain. Gotta love it. And Prince to boot! What a kick!
52 - Jake
some people would call it superficial if kat won AI and "unique" if taylor won. however, why would these people call kat superficial when her voice is molded into a beautiful work of art if it were used well(song choice let her down). i agree with posted comments the mcphee has the range, the key, tone etc. for the makings of a good singer. personality also has let her down besides song choice. some even called her a bitch or whatever but it cant be denied that vocally, she is better than taylor. kat was quite the overacting person in the competition. kat should have chosen song with heart. sadly, she wanted the song which, as Cowell said, were over the top or the songs which make her go overboard. somewhere over the rainbow was a great choice but she sang it two times in the competition as if hoping for the same result which kept her in the final two at elliot's expense (did i spell yamin's name right?) summertime, there's a place for us etc. would have been great choices for the "epedemic" source (mcpheever duh!) my destiny totally screwed her chance for winning AI.
who would buy taylor's CD anyway? the fox is a good person as far as i can see. he is a happy-go-lucky guy as viewers would see. simple, happy. Dancer. but who would really buy his CD. my sister would but would the rest of US (except alabama of course) ? his tone was unique yes did he have the voice everyone would rather hear than kat's over the rainbow? maybe. the good thing about taylor was that he what was he made of and he knew what to sing ang he knew what he loved. he knew his element as kat didn't. the judges kept saying rainbow was her element but its like she struggled to find the songs in the same element as hers which eventually led to her demise. poor kat, they screwed you at destiny.taylor however, knew what he was working with. do i make you proud would have really changed my vote from kat to tay. but honestly, he shoudn't have been the AI. Chris, paris and even Ace could have changed taylors fate. but who could do anythngnow? the losers will still strike gold in their careers as singers. Good Luck idols!!
53 - Tom & Klesko
How come nobody is mentioning how gut-wrenchingly AWFUL Meatloaf and Kat were? And thank GAWD Chris didn't make it to the finals afterall... could you imagine him having to sing either one of those scanky songs? Can AI not come up with better songwriters for the first releases of the winner? Of all five, only Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" was halfway decent, and that's not saying much. Why do we anxiously sit through an entire season only to be rewarded with schmutz??
54 - NR Davis
"it cant be denied that vocally, she is better than taylor."
Sure it can, if one does not enjoy the type of singing McPhee does. Many people don't. I enjoyed Taylor's singing MUCH more than Katharine's, which often was painful to my ears. So, yes, IMO, his voice is better - for me.
Have you ever studied voice or sung professionally? Hitting all the right notes is important, but there is a lot more to it than that. A truly great singer needs personality that can shine through the vocals, an ability to make the lyrics believable in order to communicate the song's meaning, consistency, and flawless lyric recall - and that's just for a start. IMO, McPhee was deficient in all those areas - and she often sang off-key (some of her warbling sent my son and me running from the room, quire literally). All the training in the world doesn't make someone a good singer. And it is certainly possible to be a great singer without training.
This isn't to say that McPhee isn't decent and doesn't have potential. As I've said before elsewhere, I think that in time this talented young person can develop into a fine performer who could do terrific work on the Broadway stage (which she says is what she wants to do). She ought to be thankful (and from what I understand, she is) to have come in second when she should have come in fourth.
55 - Kris
Totally agree that sandbagged Kat with that single. HELLO...didn't go with her voice?
CORRECTION - Simon did give Clay a stamp of approval in the finale (strangely enough because we all know he favored Ruben) He said after Bridge over Troubled Water...
"That performance could just win you the competition"
56 - Chris Evans
But that isn't the same kind of "set in stone" approval that he gave Fantasia, Carrie, and Taylor.
57 - lily
gO mCPHEE
58 - Jeff
Taylor, Paris, Chris and Elliott will all have far more long term success than McPhee.
59 - Terry
I have perused the entire array of commentary here and the overwhelming majority of pro-McPhee agitants are male and relentlessly make references to her "great looks", "sex appeal", and yada yada. Never has it been more obvious where their hormone enraged heads are at.
Go McPhee-o-phites, go!!!
The envelope is in and time will tell if the final vote was right.
(Just for the record, Kat is awesome and talented and has a great future ahead. I'm just don't happen to be ga-ga for her hoohoo's.
I love you, byebye.)
60 - Randell
FUCK CELEBRITY WORSHIP AND FUCK AMERICAN IDOL !!