Had a Bad Day. Where's My Video?

Sorry! I haven't had time to write about what Elliott Yamin means to me but will try again tomorrow. I apologize for not linking to all the fabulous articles and interviews yet.

Family health issues have kept me from sleeping, writing or attending to my blog much in the 48 hours since Elliott was eliminated. Nothing life-threatening, just time-consuming.

Tonight I finally sat down to compose my thoughts about Elliott. I felt emotionally sturdy enough – or numb from lack of sleep – to watch his homecoming video again without blubbering. Before I taped Wednesday's results show, my DVR allocation was nearly maxed out. I have stored every top 24 American Idol episode featuring an Elliott performance, including his Wednesday night singouts. Yes, I have been on board the E-Train since it left the station.

To make room, I chose to delete top 16 week when he performed Bryan Adams' Heaven – my least favorite of his song selections. If you read AI5 Royal Flush: The Heir and Four Spares, you already know how I feel about Adams.

Computer downloads are a godsend, but I prefer to watch Elliott on our widescreen TV. My son hadn't seen this week's carmercial and we all shared a hearty laugh at Elliott's grandpa rapper as we rewound it for repeat viewings.

Then I fast-forwarded through Taylor Hicks' video and performance. Near the end of Kat McPhee's, the recording stopped. Dead – 35 minutes into the show. Yaminions, another reason to hate her. No Richmond rally, no parade, no first pitch, no Moody's Mood for Love, no elimination drama, no gracious goodbye.

Just me and buckets of fresh tears.

While checking online for a high quality download that won't unleash the hounds of spyware hell on my aging laptop, I read that AI5 tour tickets became available at 10:00am this morning. I thought the August 27th stop at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim went on sale Sunday. Oh, these are special Pop Tarts presale tickets – and, ten hours later, the best are gobbled up.

Quick – what is the cutoff age for temper tantrums? The terrible thirties? Screwed again.

There's an unopened pint of coffee Häagen-Dazs in the freezer and I. Don't. Care.

Tomorrow has to be a better day. Good night, all.

Elliott Yamin R Us – T-H-E-Y Is History

After Elliott Yamin was eliminated from American Idol tonight, I decided to redecorate my blog just a bit. I still like Taylor Hicks, but he is no Elliott Yamin.

I don't hate Katharine McPhee or blame her for Elliott's departure. She makes me smile when I think of her and the clan McPhee as Simon Cowell's – and Clive Davis' – bad karma sprung to life.

Thousands upon thousands of Chris Daughtry and Elliott Yamin fans might stick rusty pins into their Kat McPhee voodoo dolls during next week's finale. That's not my thing.

Nope. I think I will take a pink popsicle out of the freezer and let it melt in her honor.

Meow.

Elliott Done Been Screwed and Knows It

Last night on American Idol, Elliott Yamin performed I Believe to My Soul by Ray Charles as his personal selection. The lyrics may hold special meaning.

Since I live in Southern California, I can listen to Elliott's mp3s that Rickey so generously posts hours before American Idol airs on the west coast. He sounded consistently good throughout all three songs and excellent in parts. Then I watched the show. On What You Won't Do for Love, he danced around more than he has since I Don't Wanna Be. Maybe I watch too closely, but he just seemed down personally. I hope he is okay.

Those of us who watch Elliott obsessively noticed that his sparkle and ready smile were missing. His voice was a little hoarse on Open Arms. When he spoke, he sounded husky. Usually hyper and nervous, he seemed resigned and subdued. Something changed him. Maybe the hustle and bustle of traveling home to Richmond and back this past week exacted a toll on his health. Maybe it was the writing on the wall - too many AI judges and producers foretelling a future without him before a note had been sung or a single vote cast. Despite the fact that some Soul Patrollers think the relationship between Taylor Hicks and Elliott is like the Skipper and his Little Buddy, Elliott is far from stupid.

On Good Day LA this morning, entertainment reporter Dorothy Lucey said that, for the first time this season, the contestant eliminated tonight will not be available for an interview tomorrow. On Thursday, May 19, 2005, AI4 third place finisher Vonzell Solomon made the usual media rounds: MTV, Rodney Ho, etc.

A commenter at MJ's Big Blog with the user name Canuck posted this comparison of the singing times American Idol allotted to each contestant last night.

Total Song time = sum of all three songs from beginning to end
Singing time = total song time, less intro and any non-singing time at end

KATHARINE
Total Song 5:31
Singing 5:12

TAYLOR
Total Song 5:20 (97% of Kat's)
Singing 4:54 (94% of Kat's)

ELLIOTT
Total Song 4:30 (82% of Kat's, 84% of Tay's)
Singing 4:07 (79% of Kat's, 84% of Tay's)

Katharine's longest singing time was 2:33, Elliott's longest singing time was 1:38 -- a difference of 55 seconds. Elliott's two shortest songs together had less singing time than Kat's longest. If Kat had left out her shortest song, her total singing time would have been only 1 second less than Elliott's. Kat's shortest singing time was 4 seconds less than Elliott's shortest singing time. Taylor had 18 seconds less singing time than Kat, Elliott had 1:05 less than Kat. Okay, I'll stop.

Just for fun, the raw numbers, longest to shortest singing time:

PERFORMER, SONG TITLE, SONGTIME/SINGINGTIME

Katharine, Somewhere Rainbow, 2:33/2:33
Taylor, Try Little Tenderness, 1:49/1:45
Taylor, You Are So Beautiful, 1:56/1:44
Elliott, I Believe To My Soul, 1:45/1:38
Katharine, I Believe I Can Fly, 1:41/1:33
Taylor, Dancing in the Dark, 1:35/1:25
Elliott, Open Arms, 1:27/1:19
Elliott, Won't Do For Love, 1:18/1:10
Katharine, Ain't Got Nothin' Blues, 1:17/1:06

Read these song lyrics and see if there isn't a screw-you message to the American Idol Idiots-in-Charge or somebody who done him wrong. Perhaps I am projecting my frustrations with the heavy-handed favoritism and manipulations. But, when Simon gave him his kiss-off, Elliott did not look surprised.

One of these days, and it won't be long,
You're gonna look for me and I'll be gone
'Cause I believe (I believe, yes I believe)
I say I believe right now (I believe, yes I believe)
Well I believe to my soul now,
You're tryin' to make a fool of me (I believe it, I believe it)

Well you're goin' 'round here with your head so hard,
I think I'm gonna have to use my rod
'Cause I believe (I believe, yes I believe)
I say I believe right now (I believe, yes I believe)
Well I believe to my soul now
You're tryin' to make a fool of me (I believe it, I believe it)

Last night you were dreaming and I heard you say
"Oh, Nelly" when you know my name is Elliott Yamin
That's why I believe right now (I believe, yes I believe)
I say I believe right now (I believe, yes I believe)
Well I believe to my soul now
You're tryin' to make a fool of me (I believe it)

Vote for Elliott Yamin! May 16, 2006

1-866-436-5701

1-866-436-5704

1-866-436-5707

Please vote non-stop for Elliott!

No vote splitting!

Check Dial Idol regularly for voting data updates.

Elliott, we are so proud of you!

We knew you could, we knew you could, we knew you could!

Vote Like Yamin It!

The biggest shocker this week on American Idol was:

1. The elimination of Chris Daughtry.
2. Dial Idol accurately predicting the voting results.
3. The underdog, Elliott Yamin, stealing the show.
4. The final four dancing together during Wednesday’s Elvis medley.

My choice? Item 4. My eyes! My dog’s eyes! For one hideous moment I hope to banish from my optical memory, I channeled Simonvision. Taylor’s choreography is usually entertaining, but the whole lot of them staggered around the catwalk like a quartet of paraplegics sprung from their wheelchairs at a “Heal, Jesus!” service.

America, this is what happens when you vote off all the black performers.

Far from surprising, Daughtry’s departure was predictable. Last week I warned about the precedent of final four eliminations during odd-numbered seasons, a.k.a. the Curse of the Cowell-Pimped Contestants. If fans had done their homework, they would know that two other early Simon favorites, Tamyra Gray and LaToya London, were sent packing at this exact point in seasons one and three respectively. Chris described his own ouster as “the biggest shock in American Idol history.” Sure – if history began in 2006. Those Cro-Magnon relics, Tamyra and LaToya, might disagree. And besides, the season ain’t over yet.

I detailed Daughtry’s dilemma in Is Simon Cowell Off His Rocker. The AI team, and Simon in particular, wanted Chris to have a breakthrough, breakout moment – especially during the Queen show – that would secure his base, lure fans away from other contestants and establish him as an unbeatable frontrunner. But Chris adamantly refused to compromise his rocker credibility for any of the musical themes. His strategy may have cost him a TV contest victory, but it should pay off magnificently when he begins his career independent of the show.

Attention, fans – and especially Yaminions! Please note these important lessons. Don’t buy the hype, become complacent or take success for granted. Daughtry’s departure proves that American Idol is not rigged – just clumsily manipulated. Tuesday night phone calls and text messages are the only poll that counts – so vote like Yamin it! The past is prologue – every message board should have at least one historian. And there is no situation so bad that the AI team cannot make it even worse.

Did Chris deserve to be cold cocked on international TV? In his Wednesday afternoon interview, Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe explained, “Whatever happens tonight, I can assure you it’s going to be someone that we don’t want to lose.” He added, “So we’ve got to be careful how we handle it, you know, I don’t want to sort of make a mockery of the competition at this stage, but you know the vote isn’t always what you want it to be.”

If the callous send-off of Chris Daughtry represents the AI team being careful, are viewers ready for malicious? Just to be safe, I strongly encourage the top three contestants to wear Depends on Clive Davis Judgment Day.

Taylor is probably the most polarizing AI contestant since Kevin Covais. You are either charmed by Taylor, as I am, or you can’t stand to watch him. Only when he sings plainly from the heart with his shoes nailed to the floor can Simon appreciate his talent. But the Soul Patrol wants him to tear it up with his trademark dances like the Carlton Banks and the Diddley Squat. At this level in the competition, he needs to focus on pleasing the fans. Can he do that without exasperating Clive?

Kat has her share of detractors, too. Ouch! But, like so many guest judges before him, Clive may not be immune to her wanton wiles. She also appears to suffer from a geographic disadvantage. I have been a close observer of Dial Idol these past two months. Even if Jim Hellriegel, who developed the Dial Idol software, doesn’t rank the finalists in their correct order every week, the results usually fall into the margins of error he establishes between them. What I find most informative is how the contestants’ results vary in different time zones. For instance, Taylor is consistently strong as voting sweeps westward. In recent weeks Elliott, whose support used to peak along the eastern half of the country, has gained significant ground in the Mountain and Pacific zones. The west coast is Katharine McPhee’s voting base and thus far she has not made inroads in the Central and Eastern Time zones.

The good news for Elliott Yamin? Most negative reactions to him have been cosmetic and superficial. With longer hair and some spiffy duds, Elliott’s looks have actually become an asset. He even has a new fangirly nickname – Hottie White Choc-o-lat-y. Oops! Did I write that out loud?

The bad news? Elliott gave two – count ‘em – star making performances on Elvis Presley night. Conventional wisdom had him leaving last week, but he stole the show. Despite his triumphant tour de force, Elliott remains the underdog. The gambling sites still consider him a long shot to reach the top two.

As the Clay Aiken phenomenon proved, viewers become more invested in contestants who display variety, versatility and visible growth. Elliott hasn’t come this far because of flattering light shows, fawning video clips, comical dance routines, revealing wardrobe malfunctions, or kneeling/falling on the stage. Of the three semifinalists, Elliott is the only performer who has never shared the spotlight with an instrumentalist. He never needed one. His voice requires no special lozenges or fancy props – just a melody line and a chance to shine.

I will be the first on his doorstep, begging to help Elliott write his autobiography. If I fictionalized his life story, the skeptics would call it far-fetched – from Richmond to riches, from rags to recording greatness.

The AI team may not recognize the amazing gift they have in Elliott Yamin, but somebody up there is looking out for him. This week, it might be Clive Davis. If not, Elliott's future is in even better hands.