Taylor is starting off with “Jailhouse Rock”. This is right up Taylor's alley. It's not that far from Birmingham to Memphis. Taylor is right at home with Elvis. It fits his voice and style completely. Taylor is looking groomed and groovy in his sharkskin suit. Everyone loves him, including Randy and Paula. Simon leaps on his high horse and says it was a poor imitation; was Karaoke with a capital K. Has he ever seen an Elvis movie? They weren't about whatever he is talking about. They were about what Taylor was doing; having fun and scoring chicks. They were not about being a whimpering bully with a sour puss.
Chris is next. He gets lots of gifts and wears boxer briefs. Ryan pretends to have fear of Chris's boxer briefs but I'm not convinced. Tommy love$ Chri$. The song is ”Suspicious Minds” and the shades make Chris look more than suspicious. They look evil. Chris is singing pretty good. It's not a big stretch of a song, but he does it justice. Randy wasn't moved. Paula loved it. Simon hated the sunglasses just like me, but liked the performance. It was good in that I only saw a small bit of vein throbbing forehead.
Elliott didn't seem to make as big an impre$$ion on Tommy. He is singing “If I Can Dream”. It's not one of Elvis's big hits. It was a show closer, the big build with the power ending type song. The vibratro is maybe a bit too evident at first, but Elliott gets in gear and sings the song with all he's got. I think Elliott is good singer, but I also think his vibrato can overwhelm sometimes. Tonight he does a great job and builds the song just at it should be. The judges love him, including fussy boy. Simon goes on to say it was the best performance so far tonight. I'm aghast or as close to that as I'll ever get which is slightly less than bored.
Katharine is singing what Tommy calls Elvis's signature song “Hounddog”. It was one of many and recorded before Elvis did it, so it's not that sacred. Katharine is dancing, spinning and doing pelvic thrusts and loses her breath and the words at one point. She is combining “Hounddog” with “All Shook Up”, and I admit I got confused for a minute, just like she did. Simon didn't like it. He thought it was like an amateur audition and I can agree to a bit. She professes to have fun and I'm glad, but I'm not sure I did. It was hectic, frantic, and too much “fun” for an old blues song. Don't put on a show kids, just sing the song. Just sing the song.
Taylor is back with his second song. He has fond memories of riding shotgun with Lisa Marie driving the golf cart on a wild ride. Tommy says Taylor's singing was impre$$ive. He is singing an old song “In the Ghetto”. Taylor takes the good advice that Tommy offers and tames his actions down and sings the song from the heart. It's an old-school sensitive song and a perfect format for Taylor. Taylor is “at home” tonight and Simon says he just earned himself a place in the semifinals and I wholeheartedly agree.
Can Tommy be more intere$ted in Chri$? I don't think $o. It's like a cat with a mouse or some animal in heat. Nearly creepy. “A Little More Conversation” had it's biggest hit with the recent remix. Chris is not very believable to me as the Elvis sex symbol type. He seems more interested in getting to the yelling part of the song and finishes with a big old yell. Bald is not that sexy when it's yelling. Simon says it was just OK, but not as good as the first one. I wish Chris could sing just one song without the yelling thing. Parts of it were OK, but it all goes down the tube when the yelling begins.
Elliott's second song is “Trouble”. If your looking for trouble, would you look for Elliott? I think maybe so. Elliott knows how to sing the blues. If Elliott has any problems, it's in his high range. He doesn't or can't go there, but he mostly makes up for it in the lower registers. The vibrato is nearly non-existent and Elliott is looking and singing like he wants to win. Simon even gives him kudos and says he deserves to go to the next round. Ryan says he feels like he should tip Paula a dollar after her hootchie dance, but Paula hasn't worked that cheap in years.
Katharine is finishing up with “Can't Help Falling in Love Again”. Tommy says she needs to project from the very first and listen to lyric. Good advice for any singer. Katharine starts off with great vocal tone. I think Katharine's biggest flaw is her lack of experience. If anything, she oversings parts of the song. The end of every line does not need an accent. It leaves nothing for the big ending. She did an OK job, but lacked the emotion a pretty ballad requires. Simon says she was over the top and I agree. It started great and got worse as it progressed. Not what you hoped for.
The two standouts were Taylor and Elliott. Chris did OK, but looked weird and yelled. Katharine had the worst night. She is not a blues singer and the ballad wasn't great. I can now see Taylor winning this whole thing unless someone steps it up. Simon is dreading the record that Taylor might make, but seems resigned to give up Chris at this point. Maybe Tommy want$ him more. If I was sending home based on tonight's performances, sadly Katharine would be leaving. Still, who wants three boys in the finals? It's time to vote based on talent and growth rather than who is the cutest or hottest, but this is America and anything could happen.
