On The Eve of Taking Back The Music

A brief review of the final performance night of American Idol's Season 5: Taylor Hicks and Katherine McPhee.

Greetings all from the Left Coast, a 5 hour drive up the highway from the Kodak Theater. I, too, stayed up ’til 1:00, keeping those DialIdol numbers high for Taylor by land-lining constant votes for 4 solid hours. I don’t think those teeny-boppers parents’ let them stay up that late voting for Kat! Got in at least 300 votes; was too out-of-it tired at the end to keep track. I voted until the lines shut down altogether, until those California cows came home.

Both contestants were, I thought, quite nervous last night and it really impacted their performances. Overall, Kat did not have her best night by a long shot and showed why she just shouldn’t have been in the final pairing at all. Bless her heart, she just doesn’t have the maturity yet. She might one day, but not yet. She came across like a giggling 14-year-old. Her coronation song did her no favors, nor did that sausage-casing dress. She was in over her head and it showed. I think it was a great example of why good looks and stage parents really don’t do you any favors at all. My prediction is that she’ll be a much better singer and performer at the end of the summer American Idol tour. She will benefit greatly from the experience.

Taylor, too, wasn’t his usual I’m-in-charge-here self. In spite of the nerves, he did carry on like a trooper. First song was very good: great fuschia velvet jacket! His nerves showed with Levon, but the Soul Patrol would forgive him nearly anything. The coronation song that he was given was pure cheese, just as Kat’s had been, but somehow he managed to Taylorize it and that made all the difference. He finished up in a burst of soul and with that, he took back the night!

My last thought about this season's next-to-last American Idol production? Kill the choir. Cheesey bright blue robes, winged sleeves waving in the breeze? Oh my gosh! Whose awful idea was that? Both singers looked like they were being attacked by swarms of indigo bats.

Now I’m looking forward to a nice nap since I still had to get up early this morning. And then? I’ll be glued to the tube again tonight for the final celebration of Season Five. It WILL be fun, indigo bats and all! And then will come that moment the Soul Patrol has waited for, that moment when we Take Back the Music.