In Search of the Fiction Fairy

award-wining author Mia Zachary's online diary where she ponders the meaning of life, strives to improve her craft and generally mouths off

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

IDOL- Too close to Call

So, the last two contestants competed tonight and I honestly don't have a clue who will win.

KATHARINE did "Black Horse & Cherry Tree" again and I think it was better than the first time. However, her rendition of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" seemed off tonight- I'm not sure why. Her final song, rumored to be written for her [let me know if I'm wrong] was "My destiny". I can easily imagine this on the radio, once the studio has arranged and polished her performance over several takes. But live on TV tonight, I didn't like it at all. She started too low and was all over the place in my opinion.

TAYLOR started with "Living For the City", not one of my favorite songs, but he did really well with it. On the other hand I love "Levon" and I loved what he did with it, slowing the pace and making it more intimate. Lastly, he sang "Do I Make You Proud" [also written for him?] and the answer is hell, yes! I think the song started in too high a key but he found his way in the middle and then brought it on home.

Who should win? Who is going to win? I read a really interesting article in the L.A. Times earlier today and here's my assessment: Katharine has the better vocals/ voice/ range but Taylor is the better performer.

What this means, I think, is that Katharine is going to sell a lot of records and she will fit very nicely into the pop princess image that BMG and Clive Davis will create for her. Taylor will also sell records, but as many as Kat? I'm not sure. Here's why: Taylor is going to be a little harder to market, harder to reign in and harder to control. Taylor is an accomplished songwriter who has already recorded two CDs and performed with his own band. What we love about Taylor- his enthusiasm and individuality- is exactly what will be lost once he is shuffled into a corporate money making machine.

So while I think Taylor deserves to win American Idol, I'm not sure he should. We'll find out tomorrow

2 Comments:

At 10:56 PM, Blogger Jimmy M. Espana said...

Go Katharine!!!!!!!!!!1

 
At 12:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I want Taylor to win, because I'm tired of the girls always winning over the boys when it's girl/guy in the finals and because I love his sound. But I agree with you that his sound would probably get watered down in a post-Idol CD. Definitely happened to Bo Bice, last year's runner-up. His CD is white bread compared to what I personally think he could and should do.

Cindy

 

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