Taylor vs. Katharine

Live; and then there were two.... Ace and Kellie in the crowd, looking great. And some other past contestents. 50 million votes last night, not even the final. And Ryan claims the margin between them all was close.... Recap is pretty standard. They gotta pad a full hour, should be interesting. Assoicated Press did an interesting round of interviews with the three and those who know them.

Commercial, for once, is funny--the Idols are dressed up like old people, but still dancing. It's pretty hilarious, actually. Back, plug for X-Men 3, they give them a sneak peek of the movie, they're not like wow but do the obligatory X-Men 3, baby.

Going back home with all of them, first Taylor, on a radio show called Rick and Bubba. Then to the FOX station, does the weather, shots of him and his band, then police escort to parade--Birmingham, Alabama goes nuts for him, complete with cheerleaders, a key to the city, imitators. Then to Hoover, where he went to high school--wow, shopping center is totally packed, like thousands screaming. Jams again with his band; man, the other are not gonna be able to top this. Then to governor of Alabama's mansion; who proclaims it Taylor Hicks day. Back live, sings Taking it to the Streets. Dances with Elliott/Katharine, beckons them back down on stage with him to dance in the background for a bit. It's an okay song; he should sing that Gimme the beat boys and free my soul one, it'd be a good fit.

Katharine next. Sherman Oaks, CA. FOX show, no excerpts for some reason. To KROQ, then KISS; then a helicopter. She totally plays to the camera. Lands at her high school, Notre Dame high, to a pep rally. Seh's dancing around like a fool. Cool cheerleading routine, spells out her name. Mayor Villaraigosa shows; she sings while working the crowd. To her parents' house, with her dog and friends. And okay video, but none of the craziness that greeted Taylor. Back live, does Aretha, such a put-on performance.

Elliott last. He goes back to Richmond, he says he felt like he was the king and was touched. He's pumped starting from the landing, at 2:30 a.m., few hours later big crowd greets him as he goes to a radio station, this is like Taylor. Crowds along the route of his motorcade, to the pharmacy where he used to work--huge crowd. Downtown, another big crowd, sings a bit, very heartfelt. Meets governor, his mom is happy and tells him she voted for him. Gets a parade, people are going crazy; then to ballpark, which is packed with people along the way, his mom is jst in total shock. He's so pumped, this is really totally insane, everyone in the crowd is going nuts. Nice pitch too. Wow, so this is where his support is coming from, and he's in tears back live, his mom's crying, Paula's crying, it's amazing. "You're a good man, Elliott", says Ryan aptly. Such a sweet, nice guy, sings In the Mood for Love.

Simultaneously following Detroit-Cleveland game 5, crazily it's tied with 40 seconds left, Cleveland's really shown a lot of heart this series. And taping Amazing Race... what a tv night. Now Cleveland's up, it'd be amazing if they beat the Pistons three games in a row down the stretch.

So now, the vote totals, maybe. Promo upcoming CD, promo past CDs. Then Clive Davis comes out on stage, Paula stands for him but Simon just shoots her a look and Randy stays seated too. Clive is talking, unbelievably Detroit just lost to Cleveland. Ugh.... Clive still talking, and stumbling, and puffing Idol. So weird, a huge moment--the climax of the seasons to date--and they've got this guy up there slowing down the entire show and talking about 'units' sold. He talks as if this poster they're giving him for sales is a real award he's 'accepting'.

Back from commercial, vote totals now.... 33.06%, 33.26%, and 33.68%. Wow, crazily close. That just means phone lines were at capacity. Who's going home... they show the lowest vote percentage, and the name is--Elliott. He's nodding his head like he knew. Talks to Ryan, they clap for his mother, and they show his video. "I was so lost, for so long" he says. A lot of tears. "I'm just a counter clerk at a pharmacy, I've been waiting my whole life for a shot at this" he ends. Sings us out; what a great guy.

Well, the anticipated final two. Taylor, the front-runner the whole year, who's never been in the bottom three. Katharine, who almost seemed eliminated in the middle, but finished strong (with some help from Simon, in my opinion). Should be a doozy of a showdown.