American Idol 5: Farewell Chicken Little

Another final week of American Idol. Before the result was announced, like usual, they showed a weird ads of car (Ford) by the idols, singing on the beach (I was too astonished at the bizarre advertisement. And even after two ads, their singing are still not harmonized!). The ads sounded like just a group of people being put together to sing an ads jingle, despite how talented they are. Well, I'm just gonna concentrate on my three idols instead, Mandisa Hundley, Elliott Yamin, and Katharine McPhee. And of course, the idol who has to be laid off this week, who is none other than our beloved "Chicken Little", Kevin Covais.

Anyway, the other night, I think each performer showed their best performance, except for Bucky Covington who sang "Oh Boy" in a pointless karaoke mode (that's what AI judge Simon Cowell said). At this moment I knew right away that Bucky would be on the "bottom three" performers. I even thought that he was the one to go home on the next day's result show. Oh boy, you gotta go home =) OK, Mandisa Hundley, she dressed elegantly, which matched with that night's theme "music from the 50s". Despite her jumbo size, she looked elegant and pretty that night. And wait till she started to crack your emotion with "I Don't Hurt Anymore". She earned high praises from the three judges, Randy Jackson was a little speechless, Paula Abdul called her a thoroughbred, and Simon Cowell loved the performance and he thought it was sexy as she made it sounded like a stripper song.

My boy, Elliott Yamin! =) Man, I should definitely get a chance to meet him if I have to live in Richmond, VA for the next 5 years this August 2006 (but still I prefer to live in Atlanta, GA no matter what!). He came back with "Teach Me Tonight", Ladies and Gentlemen! Well, his strength is jazz (and soul) anyway, he used to gig around Richmond with a jazz band. At first, I thought he was gonna sing "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" or any of those stuffs. Anyway, after those so-so (or should I call lame?) performances the past two weeks, he was finally alive! I have to agree with Rico though, that Elliott's best performance is still when he sang "Moody's Mood For Love" (and also his first performance when he sang "If You Really Love Me". That was the first time I realized him.). And you can tell that the AI people are working hard to give him some make-over. He looks a bit better with that goatee beard and a bit of messy hair style. But please, that night was the "music of the 50s", I was hoping that he could dress a little bit "50s". Take a note from the female contestants will ya? But dude, if you ever make a record deal (but I think it would be tough for him to win AI if viewers judge looks also. There is a chance though and I'm very, very sure that he can make it to the top 5 contestants.), I will surely buy your CD! (even though I will convert your songs to MP3 later on, for the sake of my iPod =p) I think you have the best vocal among all this season's male contestants and I wanna learn vocal lesson from you! (hey, at least we have the same vocal technique and I never did any vocal lesson either!) BTW, I've already downloaded the MP3 of him singing "Teach Me Tonight" during that night's performance. I will upload the MP3 on this blog tonight so you too will have the chance to listen to his wonderful voice.

My newly-found crush, Katharine McPhee! =) Oooh boy, she's such a feast to both the ears and the eyes. She sang Ella Fitzgerald's "Come Rain or Come Shine" that night. She has a beautiful voice, she can sing, she dressed elegantly again that night, she knows how to work the stage and the camera, she is a real singer and performer! Just take a look at her picture on the left-hand side and listen to her voice every Tuesday on Fox, 8/7c. Despite AI judge Randy Jackson said that this wasn't her best performance, I'm pretty sure that she could be the next American Idol for this season! But she'll have to be smart since she'll be facing fierce competition against Mandisa Hundley and Paris Bennett.

Well, last night's result show, Ace Young could relax a bit for this week. It seems that his teenage-girl fans surely voted for him this time, a lesson that could almost lay him off last week. It's a shame that Lisa Tucker had to be on the "bottom three" performers again. I think she can actually sing, the thing is that her performances have always been a wee, bit tedious. Where's her fans? I'm affraid that she would be laid off next week, judging from the pattern that has been going on these past two weeks. And my prediction was correct, Bucky Covington was in the "bottom three" list. But to my surprise, it wasn't him to be laid off, it seems that the sky didn't fall on our "Chicken Little", Kevin Covais. It was a shame though, despite his nerdy look, I really love his voice, the way he sings, and his self-confidence. I love his rendition of "When I Fall in Love" on that night's performance. And should I remind you that he's just 16 years old? Anyway, at this point, the rest top-10 contestants will get a chance to tour the U.S. and to make the American Idol Season 5 CD! Well peeps, stay tune for next week's American Idol.

STOP PRESS (March 24, 2006): I just found out, next week's theme is "the music of the 21st century". Well, this is our era and the contestants' era as well. They will have a broad range of repertoires to choose. I have no idea what to suggest this time =p