It's the big show tonight, boys and girls, as Katharine and Taylor go head to head for the title.
Three songs each -- two "greatest hits" selections from the past season, and each singer's Official First Single; the singers have been given different OFS songs this year, making head-to-head comparison a little bit more difficult. (But is that going to stop me? Hell, no!)
Each singer, I thought, had one very good performance and one OK performance during the "greatest hits" rounds, so let's compare like with like. First, the very good:
Taylor, "Living for the City" (his first song) -- This is Taylor doing what he does best; he's a showman who knows how to work the crowd. The song suits his voice -- of this year's Idol contestants, Taylor has the best understanding of his own range and limitations -- and it's an energetic, entertaining performance. If there is a flaw, it's that it doesn't show us anything new; it is, in some ways, the default Taylor performance.
Katharine, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (her second song) -- As it was the first time she sang it, it's impeccably sung. I think this performance may be even better; the phrasing feels a little looser and more relaxed. And not once does she throw in one of the inappropriate broad smiles she's often criticized for; tonight, she's acting the song as well as she's singing it.
On to the OK performances:
Taylor, "Levon" (his second song) -- Again, the song suits his voice perfectly, and the verse is quite nicely sung. But when he gets to the chorus? Well, the chorus is a bit on the dull side, and Taylor seems a bit off here, not bringing quite enough energy to it to overcome the repetitive nature of the song. It's a perfectly adequate performance, but it's not much more than that.
Katharine, "Black Horse and Cherry Tree" (her first song) -- She's not sprawled on the stage as she was the first time she sang this (mainly because she'll be sprawled for "Rainbow"), but her movement on stage is more relaxed than she's been in the past. She's enjoying herself, and
her flirtation with those drummers is kinda sexy, which is a surprise; in the past, Katharine's tended to come across as the serious girl play-acting at sexy without quite understanding it. The singing is not quite at the level it was when she first did the song, but it's still pretty good, and she's having so much fun that she completely sells it.
And on to the new songs, the first singles. Both are the standard issue Inspirational Idol Pop Ballad, designed to talk about how thrilling it is to be here on the verge of winning the competition, but in a way that's lyrically vague enough that it'll sound like a generic love song in six months, when we've stopped caring about the competition.
Katharine opens with "My Destiny," which is not much of a song. It puts in her lowest register to start, which is one of her strengths; she's got a rich, husky quality down there. She's having pitch problems, though, especially at the ends of those short rising phrases in the verse ("I didn't stop;" "I did my best"). And when she gets to the bridge and the final chorus, she doesn't quite have the power that she needs to sell the climax of the song; it needs to be one volume level higher, and you can hear the strain in her voice as she tries to get there.
Taylor follows with "Do I Make You Proud?," which is a marginally better song than Katharine's, and is a better fit with his style than her song was for hers. More important, though, he sings it better. Oh, there are a few flat notes scattered here and there, and Taylor does this odd head-shaking thing right after the key change that makes his voice fade in and out -- not smart -- but on the whole, it's a solid performance. Not brilliant, not hugely memorable, but solid.
I'd give Katharine a solid lead on their "very good" songs and a slight edge on their "OK" songs; Taylor takes the First Single round. For the night -- and for the season -- I'd give it to Katharine by the narrowest of margins, but I expect Taylor to win.
And a few end-of-the-year awards:
Best performance: Mandisa, "I Don't Hurt Anymore"
Runner-up: Paris, "These Foolish Things"
Worst performance: Kevin, "Part Time Lover"
Runner-up: Kellie, "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" (though it was awfully tempting to give this spot to Kevin, too)
Voted off too soon: Mandisa
Runner-up: Chris
Honorable mention: Gedeon, who should have made the final 12
Lasted too long: Kevin, who won this award the instant he made the final 12
Runner-up: Elliott
Most disappointing: Lisa, who never figured out how to communicate with the audience
Most pleasant surprise: Chris, who actually could sing when forced out of his preferred rock-scream mode
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