Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Elliott Yamin was cut from American Idol last night in what was an apparently close vote. This was an outcome that people had been predicting for many weeks as the competition progressed, but he'd always managed to pull himself out of the fire by putting in a stellar performance just when he needed to.

Many viewers are saying Elliott is the reason that popular finalist Chris Daughtry was bumped from the show last week, because he put on such a show that he made viewers really believe in him. This week, however, it didn't seem like he believed in himself. Ultimately, that was his undoing.

Confidence has been the main bane of Elliott's chances from the start. It was evident initially with his awkward stage performances, where he seemed wooden, even robotic, compared to the natural performances of competitors like Taylor and Katharine. Still, his vocal control and beautiful tone endeared him to many who rooted for him as an underdog.

This week, however, he faced fierce competition. Taylor has been consistently strong, so it would have taken a big misstep for him not to make the final two. Katharine also stepped up her game. The only way to stay in would be for Elliott to have put in a performance as strong as the previous week.

Song choice has also been a major factor for Elliott. He likes to sing songs by singers that can almost be considered pop crooners, people like Donny Hathaway. There is a certain segment of the audience that responds to that and knows those songs. However, he seldom picked songs that were more universal in their appeal.

Of course, no one can fault him for song choice this week, since he didn't choose two of the songs he had to perform. But the one he did pick was a somewhat obscure Ray Charles song, and he no doubt suffered from comparison to competitor Taylor, who would have delivered a stronger performance of that song. After all, Taylor is known for his affinity to soul music, so it was a poor choice for Elliott. Maybe he was trying to appeal to that demographic, but he needed to just sing a song where he would be strong.

I wonder, when he chose that Ray Charles song, if he thought about the lyrics in the opening verse, "One day you'll look for me and I'll be gone." They seemed sooo appropriate when he sang them at the end of last night's show.

I think it's safe to say that Elliott is very well liked. He's given himself a huge boost in his career and once he puts an album out, he's likely to sell quite a few. Unlike some previous contestants that made the top three, such as Jasmine Trias, he truly deserved to be there.

Why did Elliott stay in the game so long? I was really starting to believe in him. I thought he might be another Clay Aiken, somebody who started the season with everything stacked against him and grew so much in the competition that people began to root for him. That wasn't the case, exactly, with Elliott. Even when he got to a part where he started to impress people, the next week he'd be off his game. Still, he is the one contestant who's grown the most in this competition. He just needed the confidence to keep going.

So what will happen next week? A lot depends, of course, on the evening's performances. It is, however, probably worth noting that of the two remaining contestants, only one has never appeared in the bottom three, that being Taylor. Katharine, however, has appeared not only in the bottom three but has even been in the bottom two before.

Who will Elliott's votes go to? It's possible that may of the people who voted for Elliott this week will back Taylor next week. There has been some discussion amongst fans that both appeal to similar audiences. Of course, there might also be an anti-Taylor vote, which would benefit Kat. We'll have to see.

On thing's for certain, though. If you care about the outcome, don't let a busy signal deter you. Keep hitting the redial button until you get through.

More on American Idol:

Musings on American Idol Season 5 (2006)

Musings on American Idol Season 4 (2005)

Musings on American Idol Season 3 (2004)

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

Musings Index

What do you think? Share your thoughts
at Alyce's message board (left button):