The Final Two Sing on American Idol

It’s the last night of singing on American Idol, and we have one of the better showdowns in the show’s history. I mean, did anyone really think that Justin, Diana, or Bo would win? Do you even remember who Justin and Diana were? That’s what I thought. So tonight’s contest between Katharine and Taylor will be one of the best – two really good singers with very different styles. This should be good…

Katharine started off with “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” which was a great choice. It’s upbeat, and she sounded great. I was also glad to see that she didn’t do that ridiculous dancing on her knees this time. The judges weren’t blown away, but I don’t think they’re ever blown away by Katharine.

I’m not really sure how Taylor’s first song, “Living for the City,” went. I was so focused on that purple velvet jacket. I just couldn’t stop staring at it. The judges loved it – clearly the hypnotic jacket wasn’t such a problem for them. (ok, so Simon noticed it…)

Katharine’s second song, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” was beautiful. I just wish that she had done something a little different with it. She did the same sitting down thing, the same basic performance. Of course, the fact that her monitor didn’t work makes her performance a bit more impressive

Taylor’s second performance, “Levon,” was good, but not nearly as good as Katharine’s. Randy even thought it was “pitchy.” I’ve been watching the show for years, and I still don’t know what pitchy means. But I agree with Simon – it’s a tie game.

Finally, they each sang what would be their first singles. In the past, each one sang the same original song, which was great in that you could actually compare the two performances. And haven’t they usually sung more than one original song? (rather than choosing their favorites from the season ) Katharine’s song started out really good. But it sounded like in the middle she oversang it a bit. I agree with Randy that the song wasn’t great, but that’s not her fault – those songs are chosen for them. Taylor’s original song wasn’t great either. He had the same problem as Katharine – the singer was much better than the song. The judges seemed to like his better than Katharine's...I'm not sure why. To me it still seems like a dead heat.

So, tomorrow night we’ll have results…which, of course, will be dragged out over an excruciating two hours. (and, of course, will compete with Red Sox-Yankees for my attention…oh how I love my tivo…) I think that this will be close, like Clay-Ruben in season two. And I think that they might do the same thing they did that season, and release the two singles the same time (essentially saying that the show was a tie). In the end, I think it will be Taylor who wins, but in the long run Katharine who will be more successful. (what a prediction!!)