"American Idol": Somewhere Over the Rainbow

My fellow Chris voter at work asked me who we were voting for tonight. I told her no one. “I just don’t care,” I said. But if Taylor brings it, I’ll probably vote for him.”

So what did I do?

First some other more pressing questions like don’t you just love Randy’s color-coordinated glasses? Wonder how Clive Davis felt about being demoted from the judges’ table? And most importantly, why does Ryan keep growing back that beard?

To the scorecard…

First, the Clive Davis songs. These scores are only out of 20 since the contestants didn’t make the song choice.
Elliott, “Open Arms”: 17
And here I thought Paula would pick a sappy song. I can’t stand that bravado and it was boring with a bad ending. Clive certainly didn’t do Elliott any favors.
Katharine, “I Believe I Can Fly”: 13
Apparently, Clive is a Chris fan trying to get back at Kat for making it past him. This was just awful (Paula certainly agreed with me.)! However, I think Simon took it easy on her to get her to the finale.
Taylor, “Dancing in the Dark”: 19
Didn’t you love Taylor’s shoutout to Bruce for letting them use the song? Don’t be surprised to see a campaign for a Bruce night next year. The song and the dancing with Paula (a la Bruce’s video with Courteney Cox) was good, but Taylor, stop saying, “Soul Patrol”!!!

Now, the judges’ choices. These scores are also only out of 20.
Elliott, “What You Won’t Do for Love”: 16
Paula actually chose well here, I’m just not sure he nailed it. Much more interesting than Elliott’s performance was the dirty look Paula shot Ryan during the introduction and the inappropriate look Elliott gave Paula during the song.
Katharine, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”: 20
Simon said his song choice would get Katharine into the finale, and it looks like he was right. I can’t believe I gave her a perfect score, but she deserved it. However, she needs to learn the lesson Simon was trying to teach her and stop being so over the top.
Taylor, “You Are So Beautiful”: 19
It appeared in the video that Taylor was not happy with Randy’s choice and he did seem a little uncomfortable, but it was a good vocal.

And last, the contestants’ choices. These scores are, of course, out of 25.
Elliott, “I Believe to My Soul”: 19
Sorry, still not impressed. He didn’t come to play two weeks in a row. It was nice, though, to hear Simon get all sappy with him.
Katharine, “I Ain’t Got Nothing But the Blues”: 19
Katharine, you’re on a stage, you might think about wearing a longer dress. And singing a better song.
Taylor, “Try a Little Tenderness”: 20
I have to admit that I missed part of this one because I was reading an e-mail from a friend of mine making fun of “Soul Patrol,” but what I heard, I didn’t like.

So who’s going home? It’s got to be Elliott. As much as I hate to see Katharine in the finale, Elliott just didn’t bring it enough to stay.

So did I vote for Taylor? Yes, I did—not because I thought he was overly fantastic, but because I can’t handle the thought of an Elliott-Katharine finale.