American Idol - Elliott Leaves, Paula Sobs, Taylor Looks Pensive, Katharine Cheers Inappropriately

Linda: I'm blogging as I watch. Can I just say that I absolutely hate Ryan? Why? No reason that I can articulate clearly. He just rubs me the wrong way. Yech. He kind of reminds me of those guys in high school who thought they were so cool - maybe wore the sports jacket every now and then, letting his peach fuzz grow out. Yechhh. Taylor looked like he was having such a blast back home. And it all seemed so natural and comfortable and FUN. It looked like he also had fun folks hanging out with him in addition to the fans. I felt bad for the governor's wife though. I mean, couldn't someone have fixed her hair for her? And what's up with the magenta trench coat? Pink in all variations is my favorite color. But seriously, folks. The Gov. was wearing a bright red tie. Did they not see each other before the cameras dropped in? They should fire their wardrobe consultants. Katharine was an idiot at her hometown thing. Cardboard cut-out time. And what is with that shirt? I mean, I know she has a decent figure under there somewhere. Her song was pretty good, though. Not the personality that went along with it - I just don't watch her antics and I enjoy it much more. Of course, Aretha Franklin is one of my all time favorite performers, so she's treading on sacred ground as far as I'm concerned. ELLIOTT!! The best thing about this part was watching him back in my hometown. Sit down Gavin. What's up with that stupid hat? Woo hoo!! RICHMOND!!! Now I'm homesick. I hate Pennsylvania more than ever. Westbury Pharmacy!! No way!! I mean, seriously, I used to ride my sting ray bike there for milkshakes. And now the James Center. Damn!! Now he's on Monument Avenue. Ohhhh. This is painful. The Governor's Mansion. I have such awesome memories of that place. Nostalgia. Once again, though, I have to say...this Governor's wife needs some serious fashion guidance, too. OK, so that used to be Parker Field. I watched Ralph Garr wow the crowds there for an entire summer. OK. Now I'm depressed. I must go to my fridge and find a nice cold beer in order to drown my sorrows. I'm waxing nostalgic here -he's driving through my old college stomping grounds. For anyone who's never been to Richmond, I'd highly recommend a visit. They're going to send him home tonight, aren't they? That may require more beer. This is a great song - too bad they can't perform like this when competing. OH WAIT! They've panned to Taylor and Katharine. I think Taylor has gas or his left nut was being pinched by his tighty whiteys. And Katharine has perfected the zombie look. "I'm smiling, but I have no idea what's going on. Is my lip gloss still even?" Elliott is doing great. Even the fact that Paula is creaming in her jeans for him doesn't dampen my enthusiasm. Ahhhhh. This beer is quite tasty. I know, this posting is becoming quite self indulgent. Speaking of which ... what's up with the Idol self-idolatry? Blah blah blah. Clive is an old fart. Why is he successful? Because of the hype surrounding the show. People are curious - it's controversial - it garners press. Grammy, Shmammy. OK, I admit it, I'm not a big fan of the current POP genre - I'm getting old. Simon looks totally bored. Let's drag this out a bit longer, shall we? You can blame those guys for my long-winded post. Wow. These numbers remind me of the Olympics. If only I'd been able to watch this show last night. That's it - my five year old is going to have to start living in the basement. Don't want her to be an American Idiot...... Taylor - thank you for your expression. You're handling this like a decent human being. Katharine, you are so stuuuuupid. If you win, this will forever be American Idiot in my mind. I actually love Paula at this moment. After only two sips of the beer. OK - that does it. Elliott -the expulsion of you and Chris is living proof of the nation's lack of taste. Put out a CD. I'll buy it. The sad thing is - I won't be surprised if Katharine wins. She's the embodiment of the shallow, cookie-cutter culture being embraced by the youth of our country. I'm so depressed.


Terry: I thought that Taylor showed "some" humility at some points but appeared to be letting this thing get to his head (his confidence is "abundant" at this point). Katherine came across as fake, insincere and that comment about "I don't talk to my parents much anymore," after playing up her relationship with her dad....was sad (and VERY telling). Elliott was BY FAR the most sincere, down to earth and absolutely genuine of the remaining 3. Since the best true "talent" is gone (Chris, we hardly knew ye) I have found myself rooting very very very hard for the best "person" left..and that is very clearly, Elliott. And, although I KNEW he was going home it still hurt to hear (actually, "see") his name announced as such. Even though he is, in my opinion, clearly not the best singer, I will absolutely support him and buy his album because he does have the best heart, the most sincere soul, and is clearly the best and most unaffected by this whole thing person. God bless him.


Coolia: I normally hate it when they stretch the results show to an hour, but this one was entertaining with the trips home and the wacky idols as senior citizens commercial. I too was sorry to see Elliott go. It would have been nice to see him in the finals with Taylor. I almost shed a tear during his montage to see how far he had come...although I didn't blubber with snot coming out of my nose the way Paula did. He looks so much better now with longer hair and a goatee instead of the amish-style beard. And his relationship with his mom seems really sweet. I kind of interpreted Kat's remark about her parents just to mean she's been too busy with the competition to see her folks right now. I still don't care for her though. I find her very plastic, and it was tacky the way she and her parents openly cheered for themselves when they should have been respectful of Elliott. If she wins I'll be as disappointed as I was last year when Carrie won, and I'll probably have to channel it into a scathing ape culture rant that will garner lots of hate mail like my Carrie one did last year. I'll be voting like crazy for Taylor next week. I do disagree with you about Elliott being a better person than Taylor. Vocally, he is more talented than Taylor, I agree. But this show is about finding a star, and I think Taylor has more charisma and way more command of the stage. Elliott never seemed very comfortable on stage. I didn't find Taylor to be arrogant at all last night. I thought he seemed very down to earth and comfortable during his trip home and on the show. I think Taylor radiates a lot of happiness, emotion, and fun when he sings. I don't think we've learned much about Taylor's family, friends, etc, and that makes me curious, wondering what he's really like. Perhaps he does have a dark side, but I havent glimpsed it. From what I can see he's a regular, good guy. He's an Idol in the Reuben mode - meaning people just gravitate to him and like him for who he is, no matter if he doesnt have a Mariah Carey type range. This may mean he won't have great post-idol success...remains to be seen. I am hoping a lot of the Elliott voters will go to Taylor since they're both in a soul mode. If Kat wins, I'll start to believe the idol conspiracy theories about it all being fixed.