The NGH Report

Okay. It's Elvis week.

And I am disheartened by the comments on the web. Let me explain something about Elvis and it's music.

Now, my award of the week is the "Fanbase I Hate The Most Right Now" goes to the Kat fans. Because, honestly… this week has been hell reading some of these posts. BUT, not all Kat fans are like this, and in fact, every fan base has pissed me off one week or the other. Meh.

So, let's start a new segment called "In Defense Of"

In Defense Of – Taylor Hicks – IT'S JAILHOUSE ROCK!!! OF COURSE IT'S GONNA BE CRAZY; go watch the Elvis video. Taylor was TAMER than Elvis. Did Simon just say it's Karaoke?! OF COURSE IT IS. American's have been singing Elvis's hits forever. Karaoke isn't a viable excuse for tonight. Because while Elvis is the King of Rock, he is also the King of Karaoke hits. Stupid.

In Defense Of – Chris Daughtry – As much as I don't think Chris was at the top of his game tonight; he had the low Elvis purr. And it was very nice.

In Defense Of – Elliott Yamin – Umm….? He got rave reviews twice tonight… no one should complain about Elliott. But people will. Idiots.

In Defense Of - Katharine McPhee – She got kind of a bum wrap tonight. Unfortunately, it's really hard for someone like Katharine to sing Elvis. She came in at a disadvantage; sorry if I seem harsh on her. Still gotta love her voice right? Fantastic. But, one of my favorite conundrums of tonight's ramblings on the forums is that Kat fans HATED Jailhouse Rock and then LOVED Hound Dog/All Shook Up………………WHAT? They were both karaoke, over played, AND MANIC.

So, in conclusion, Elvis is MANIC. Deal with it.

Last week was the Scott Savol week, and this week is the JPL week. Cool.

Another funny point. I preferred JPL's version for both Jailhouse Rock and A Little Less Conversation. And that's saying a lot. Also, tonight's first and second rankings were hard. While I think the person I named as number one tonight deserves his position, he DID NOT, in my opinion, have the performance of the night. That goes to the runner up.

Here we go:

"Thank you. Thank you very much"

4. Katharine McPhee – Oh man, I'm going to get reamed by the Kat fans. As peeeer usssssual. I love her, I do. She's my favorite female. But, unfortunately, TONIGHT, wasn't her night. No matter what happens. First song, WHAT? Listen, on American Idol you get a MINUTE AND A HALF to sing as it is… and you try to make a mini-medley and fit a second song in there? Yes. The two songs are similar congratulations. So does Greenday's Lonely Road and Aerosmith's Dream On, but that doesn't mean they go together. Listen an apple and an onion are about the same shape and size, but don't take a bite out of an apple and then follow that with an onion. Because that's just stupid. And if you do that, do me and the world a favor and throw yourself off the nearest bridge. So, "Hound Dog/All Shook Up", ugh, I hate the slash, was a disaster. It was fun, sure, but it was confusing, manic, and she was out of breath a good portion of the time. She needs to take lessons from Hicks on moving. Now, the second song, "Can't Help Falling In Love" was how I felt watching her. She was very charismatic and sang a very pretty version of the song. Unfortunately, that is all it was or could be. It's hard for a female to sing Elvis. That's my opinion. He was such a sex symbol of testerone origin. Sigh. Yes, it was a little over the top with some of the runs. But, otherwise, a good job. Unfortunately, not good enough, she finishes last on my review. Good luck to her. NOT SAFE

3. Chris Daughtry – So. Chris this week, to me, besides channeling the low purr of the Elvis voice, was the definition of "MEH". This was a weak set arrangement, mainly because I felt like he wasn't even trying. But, "Suspicious Minds" was beautiful. A great song, and a great fit, but I would have done it last, because "A Little Less Conversation" was exactly how I wanted to talk about it. Not so much. It didn't leave me wanting more. Both songs were stagnant, monotonous, and didn't really go anywhere. There wasn't a lot of strength and breath support. Two things I hated about Chris tonight? Sunglasses. It's not sunny in the building. I get it. You're playing with the theme; and it's cool. But, you also look goofy. So stop it. And my second hated point? WHAT WAS WITH THE RAPTOR SCREAMS AT THE END OF HIS SECOND SONG? It looked like Chris was trying to get a bad taste out of his mouth or cough up a hair ball. No me gusta, no me gusta indeed. Vocals were on track and the choices were good. The problem was he never brought it home. SAFE

2. Taylor Hicks – This was tough for me… because I thought "In The Ghetto" was the best of the night. But, unfortunately, his first song, lowered his score incredibly. First of all, yes, it was Karaoke. But… it's Elvis. It's famous Elvis. And it was done very well. The problem? Awful song choice. The song doesn't build, it doesn't go anywhere. Same thing as Katharine. Why is Taylor's better? Breath support! At least Taylor wasn't coming unhinged. His ear plugs are out! Now, "Jailhouse Rock" was meh, but the second choice was fantastic. Absolutely brilliant. There was connection and it was a brave choice that he slightly gave a taste of Taylor. Very soulful changes and people were eating it up. Even Simon. You know what I've noticed? People hate giving this man credit? Why? I don't care if he's not your thing. I give everyone credit, and try to speak fairly, but when people talk about Taylor, it's brutal. It's very interesting. But, interestingly enough, this was supposed to be Taylor's night. And it was. But, guess who else shared in his glory? NOT SAFE

1. Elliott Yamin – I'm loving the fact that so many people were worried for the underdog. Worry no more. With two great performances, the only one to have two great performances, Elliott takes the cake with the best night on Idol. But, NOT the best performance of the night. I gave that to Taylor. Elliott came out fighting. He was like a vicious squirrell that was tired of being pelted with acorns, so he came out with his teeth bared…and cute little squirrell noises. Good for him. I'm rooting for him tonight, and I hope the Yaminions (God, that name is stupid) are voting their butts off. Good show, ole chap, good show! NOT SAFE

Who should leave?

Katharine McPhee

Who will leave?

Katharine McPhee

~NGH