''American Idol'': Taylor raises his game when it counts

”American Idol”: Taylor raises his game when it counts

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to…

Oh, sorry, I was just having a private moment there — didn’t realize it was time to start my usual American Idol TV Watch. You’d think I’d have the drill down pat by now; after all, this is the 36th column I’ve written about the show since its season premiere this January. But tonight, I’m a little distracted. Maybe even mildly depressed. You see, I’m an Elliott Yamin addict, and if you caught tonight’s penultimate season 5 performance episode, you’ll understand my blue funk. My man lost his mojo — at the most critical juncture of the competition — and deep down, I know not even the serenity prayer is going to help me cope when they boot his funky white behind.

This isn’t to say Elliott disgraced himself. It’s just that at no point during his three ho-hum performances tonight did the congenial guy from Virginia look or sound like an American Idol. And that’s a cryin’ shame, too, considering that his best performances over the past dozen weeks — specifically, ”Moody’s Mood for Love,” ”Trouble,” and ”A Song for You” — rank as some of season 5’s most memorable moments.

This week, though, each of Elliott’s three numbers played out like a different scene highlighting our hero’s resurgent shortcomings. Act 1: Journey’s ”Open Arms,” an abundantly cheesy choice by guest vocal coach Clive Davis (but still, not worse than the record exec’s pick for poor Katharine), recaptured the stiff amateur vibe Elliott brought to some of his early-season performances. Not only did he seem frozen to his position behind the microphone stand, but he also reversed the order of the lyrics ”hoping to see/what your love means to me” and ”nothing to hide/believe what I say,” a mistake the judges neglected to mention. Act 2: What should’ve been a showstopper — Paula’s inspired choice of the smooth-jazz classic ”What You Won’t Do for Love” — was instead more of a non-starter. Sure, Elliott sang it proficiently, but the sexy swagger he pulled out during Elvis week was nowhere to be found. Could it be he emptied his confidence tank seven days ago and couldn’t afford to refill it?

Even Elliott’s finest moment tonight, the Ray Charles/Donny Hathaway joint ”I Believe to My Soul,” which he selected himself, worked to his disadvantage. To be fair, I was grinning and couch-dancing as E-Double got down on his song about a ne’er-do-well lover. And Paula was right: He’s the only contestant in the competition who could have sung a song like that. But, on the other hand, does that mean he should have? Only if he didn’t care about scoring desperately needed votes from the large majority of the Idol viewing audience who’ve probably never heard ”I Believe to My Soul” and don’t care if they do again. In other words, Simon’s words in fact, Elliott’s a great guy, and a great singer, and he made his mother proud. But he’s almost certain to head home Wednesday night. Yaminiacs: Start your five stages of grief now.

Then there was Katharine McPhee, who truly earned her spot in the final two (if you can forget about Paris Bennett and Chris Daughtry for a second) on the strength of a single performance. Surely, nobody voted for Katharine after tonight’s show because they were rocked by her interpretation of ”I Believe I Can Fly,” which she sang with all the conviction of a third runner-up in the Miss California pageant. Granted, as Kat herself pointed out, she didn’t pick the track, but after we endured her peculiar diction and shrieky delivery, the only thing missing was a post-performance Q&A with host Ryan Seacrest about wanting to end world hunger and ”help the children.”

Katharine’s closing number, ”I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But the Blues,” wasn’t exactly the stuff of Idol magic, either. For once, Paula was completely on target, saying that Katharine is best when she showcases a softer, more intimate side of her vocals. In other words, stick with the melody, kid, and don’t try to knock Christina Aguilera off the podium in the vocal-acrobatics Olympics; it ain’t gonna happen.

But, really, who’s going to remember those missteps in the wake of Katharine’s home-run rendition of ”Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which, while I’d hesitate to call it the best performance of the season (as Simon did), was certainly Miss McPhee’s shining moment in the competition. Sprawled on the stage Fantasia-style, Katharine finally connected with her lyrics — and her audience — in a profound way, and made me understand why so many folks have caught the McPheever. Nope, I’m still not infected (I got my booster shot during last week’s off-key ”Can’t Help Falling in Love”), but I have to admit her likely presence in the final two will make for a far less lopsided season finale.

That said, is there anything (or anyone) that can stop Taylor’s coronation as season 5 champ? It’s doubtful, especially after the gray-haired dude’s knockout one-two punch of ”Try a Little Tenderness” and ”You Are So Beautiful.” The former was classic, manic Taylor, complete with spasms and a self-embrace (a move he hasn’t trotted out in weeks), but more important, it returned the Alabamian to the deeply soulful vibe he displayed way back during his audition to ”A Change Is Gonna Come” (and hasn’t quite found since). Plus, not only did Taylor bring a much needed sense of fun to the Idol stage, he stayed on-key throughout. (Yeah, he also hit the notes on ”Dancing in the Dark,” but his woeful karaoke stylings — right down to having Paula sub for Courteney Cox — drained the song of any kind of sexual urgency.)

Thankfully, I can’t say the same for Taylor’s ”You Are So Beautiful,” which was about as restrained and sensual a performance as I’ve ever seen on Idol. Call Taylor a little weird (and the downcast eyes and pouty face he made mid-performance did indeed make me skittish), but when he’s on, he’s got a gorgeous tone to his voice that’s instantly recognizable. Is there anyone else on the radio today who could be confused with Taylor Hicks? Is there any Idol finalist from this season who’d have held back on the big notes, the better to seduce his audience? In my mind, those attributes make Taylor a worthy winner. And in a season where my personal favorite seems destined to finish third — and my second and third choices wound up fourth and fifth — it says something about Taylor’s star quality that I’m still willing to run alongside his bandwagon. Heck, if I’m right about Elliott’s imminent Wednesday-night demise, I might even hop aboard it come Thursday morning.

What do you think? Was Katharine’s ”Rainbow” the best performance of the season, or was it only the second best of the night, behind Taylor’s ”Beautiful”? Which of those two performers is more likely to take home the Idol crown? Or is there an upset in the works for Wednesday, with Elliott destined to sneak into the final two?