In honor of the American Idol finale this week, I’m ceding this week’s Music Monday to American Idol fever. My favorite winners, finalists, and a few of this year’s best tracks. (Sound clips from the show taken from Rickey.org)

Previous Idols

Kelly Clarkson

I wrote Kelly Clarkson off for years because she came from Idol. Those were the same years, incidentally, that I was scoffing at Idol itself. But now I love her, and she remains the best Idol as well as the first (I just saw Season One on American Idol Rewind, and the only other contestant that season who even remotely competed evenly with Kelly was Tamyra Gray–Tamyra’s about to start starring on Broadway in RENT as Mimi, by the way–I bet she’ll be great in that role). On the other hand, Kelly’s immediate release after Idol (”Thankful”) was not terribly impressive from what I’ve heard of it, so skip straight to her second release “Breakaway” (I tried to pick songs that haven’t been overplayed on the radio–but since I don’t listen to the radio, I might be grossly mistaken). Hopefully her upcoming release this summer will be similarly enjoyable.

[audio:Kelly Clarkson - Gone.mp3]
Kelly Clarkson - Gone (right-click-save to download)
[audio:Kelly Clarkson - Where is Your Heart.mp3]
Kelly Clarkson - Where is Your Heart (right-click-save to download)

(buy "Breakaway" from Amazon)
(pre-order "My December" from Amazon)

Katharine McPhee

What, did I skip a few years? My bad. I started watching in Season 5, and don’t care enough for what I’ve heard of Clay, Ruben, and Fantasia to bother going back and get their albums. I do like Carrie Underwood, but not being a country fan, I also haven’t been proactive about getting any of her music. So there you have it. On to Season 5. Kat’s self-titled debut album is a bit overly pop/R&B for my tastes, but it’s actually growing on me. Which is a little disturbing when I think about it (do I like everything if I only listen to it enough?). But anyway, one review I read of the the album is that her voice sounds great, and it’s just too bad that the material often dips into the banal–especially the lyrics. I would totally agree with that assessment. If you like Kat’s voice and want to hear more, you won’t hate the album, but you might be disappointed that she didn’t hold out for better material. Here are a couple of tracks. “Dangerous” is a laid-back club number, while “Ordinary World” shows off her vocal ability better than most of the other tracks.

[audio:Katharine McPhee - Dangerous.mp3]
Katharine McPhee - Dangerous (right-click-save…you get the idea)
[audio:Katharine McPhee - Ordinary World.mp3]
Katharine McPhee - Ordinary World

(buy "Katharine McPhee" from Amazon)

Daughtry

I have Daughtry’s album, but I’ve only heard it a time or two, not enough to pick out songs I like. In fact, most of the songs seem to run together as annoyingly similar. Just to have something of his, though, here’s “Home,” which is currently being used as the journey recap music for voted-off Idol contestants.

[audio:Daughtry - Home.mp3]
Daughtry - Home

(buy "Daughtry" from Amazon)

Elliott Yamin

I was also disappointed in Elliott’s album. (I guess I should stop hoping for good Idol debut albums, eh? Especially since not even Kelly’s first one was good…fingers crossed for sophomore efforts?) But his voice is still incredible, even if I think they hired chimps to write a few of the lyrics.

[audio:Elliott Yamin - Find a Way.mp3]
Elliott Yamin - Find a Way
[audio:Elliott Yamin - A Song for You.mp3]
Elliott Yamin - A Song for You

(buy "Elliott Yamin" from Amazon)

Taylor is conspicuously absent for the simple reason that I don’t like him. Deal.

Best of This Year

Why should Jordin Sparks win this year? Because of these songs, among others:

[audio:Jordin Sparks - To Love Somebody.mp3]
Jordin Sparks - To Love Somebody
[audio:Jordin Sparks - Youll Never Walk Alone.mp3]
Jordin Sparks - You’ll Never Walk Alone
[audio:Jordin Sparks - I Who Have Nothing.mp3]
Jordin Sparks - I Who Have Nothing

Why do I want Blake Lewis’s CD? Because of these performances, among several others:

[audio:Blake Lewis - Mack the Knife.mp3]
Blake Lewis - Mack the Knife
[audio:Blake Lewis - When I Get You Alone.mp3]
Blake Lewis - When I Get You Alone
[audio:Blake Lewis - You Give Love a Bad Name.mp3]
and especially Blake Lewis - You Give Love a Bad Name

Why was I surprised when Melinda Doolittle got voted off, even though I was rooting for a Jordin-Blake finale? Because she’s amazing:

[audio:Melinda Doolittle - Im a Woman.mp3]
Melinda Doolittle - I’m a Woman
[audio:Melinda Doolittle - My Funny Valentine.mp3]
Melinda Doolittle - My Funny Valentine
[audio:Melinda Doolittle - I Believe in You and Me.mp3]
Melinda Doolittle - I Believe in You and Me

Why did I feel bad when I started hoping LaKisha Jones would get voted off? Because I felt a bit shallow choosing personality rather than talent, which she clearly has:

[audio:LaKisha Jones - And I Am Telling You Im Not Going.mp3]
LaKisha Jones - And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going
[audio:LaKisha Jones - Midnight Train to Georgia.mp3]
LaKisha Jones - Midnight Train to Georgia
[audio:LaKisha Jones - This Aint a Love Song.mp3]
LaKisha Jones - This Ain’t a Love Song

Why did I want Chris Richardson to stay around as long as rationally possible? Well, partially because I was crushing on him. But also because I enjoyed his versions of these, among others:

[audio:Chris Richardson - Dont Get Around Much Anymore.mp3]
Chris Richardson - Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
[audio:Chris Richardson - Dont Let the Sun Catch You Crying.mp3]
Chris Richardson - Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying
[audio:Chris Richardson - Wanted Dead or Alive.mp3]
Chris Richardson - Wanted Dead or Alive

Why did I vote for Haley Scarnato even though I knew she couldn’t (and shouldn’t) win? Because I downright love her tone quality, even if I’m in a minority. And I think her voice is better suited to the recording studio than the live stage, and that hurt her.

[audio:Haley Scarnato - Its All Coming Back to Me Now.mp3]
Haley Scarnato - It’s All Coming Back to Me Now
[audio:Haley Scarnato - Aint Misbehavin.mp3]
Haley Scarnato - Ain’t Misbehavin’
[audio:Haley Scarnato - True Colors.mp3]
Haley Scarnato - True Colors

Just to prove I’m truly obsessed, I do have audio rips of pretty much all of the performances from both Seasons 5 and 6, if there are any y’all are interested in that I didn’t post here. American Idol.com has studio-recorded versions for sale, which I hear are often worthwhile getting, too, if you’re even more obsessed than me.

You can hear Katharine McPhee’s first single and B-side here. It’s not really released for another couple of weeks, but I guess Kiss radio is special. Anyway, I point it out because the recording is actually so much better than I was expecting it to be. “Over the Rainbow” has replaced “My Destiny” as the main single, which is a great change, with “My Destiny” now the B-side instead of “Think,” which is already available on the AI S5 Encores CD. I didn’t think she could top her “Over the Rainbow” performances on the show, especially after hearing her sing the song many times on various radio and TV shows since, but it’s amazingly good on the recording. It was obviously recorded before she started losing her voice towards the end of the show (her first couple of post-show performances on the radio and TV sounded painful, almost, but she seemed to be recovering by her appearance on The Early Show last week). She’s been singing it too fast on her media appearances, I suppose due to time constraints, but she lets it linger on the recording, and it’s delicious.

And, get this. Even “My Destiny” sounds a lot better. Sure, it’s still got insipid lyrics, and it’s still overly bubble-gummy, but compared to what we heard on the show, this is way better. As in, actually listenable. In an interview Kat mentioned that they’d had to drop the key a half-step to accomodate the fact that she was losing her voice and running on cortisone and adrenaline the night of the finale, and that it sounded better on the recording. She wasn’t just making that up…her voice is in better shape here, and the key really does make a difference in the tone of the song. But I hope she gets better-written songs from here on out.

Incidentally, Taylor is People Magazine’s Most Eligible Bachelor as of tomorrow’s issue. In case you’re interested.

The Very Best of Katharine McPhee

Great post here recapping the best performances by Kat on American Idol this year. I’ve been reading Breath of Fresh Ink since I started scouring the internets for mp3s of the performances, and Chris Evans has a good blog going. Here he’s included both his original reviews of the performances and his current thoughts, PLUS, he’s got links to video clips of the performances that he’s uploaded to YouTube. (Also check out the interview of Kat, Taylor, and Randy Jackson with Ryan Seacrest that was on Larry King Live last week…Chris has video of it all. It’s heavier on Kat than Taylor, because she’s more outgoing, but hey. That’s fine with me. *g*)

I totally agree with his choices for her best performances. These all made me just sink back into my chair and go “wow.”

What the hell did they have her singing? Taylor’s wasn’t a much better original song, but Kat’s? Kat’s was one of the worst pop songs I’ve ever heard. She did her best with it, but damn. I agree with Randy…she is so much better than that, but that song was crap.

I think I’ll rewind and listen to “Over the Rainbow” again.

Will American Idol be a Red State vs. Blue State Battle?

Interesting post today on Reality TV Magazine, about how fans are likely split up geographically between Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee along the same lines as the 2004 presidential election. I’ll leave you to read the post, but basically it boils down to Taylor will get the red states (Southern/Central, conservative, Taylor’s home and home to many similar-styled artists) and Katharine will get the blue states (Northeastern/Western, home to the Broadway/Las Vegas-style performers that Katharine resembles). In addition, it points out that their different demeanors are likely to ingratiate them with the same states as their singing styles…Taylor comes across as humble, gentlemanly, polite, and doesn’t talk back to the judges when they criticize him (not that they’ve been doing that a lot lately, even Simon). Katharine, on the other hand, has been attacked by a lot of Elliott, Chris, and Taylor fans for being pushy, over-confident and happy when she gets into the next round (God forbid people be happy for doing well), as well as talking back to the judges, which tends to put off some people, but may in fact help her with the more aggressive Northeastern and Western demographic.

Personally, I’m a red-stater politically, but a blue-stater in this case (dare I say, a blue-stater culturally? In some senses, not all), based on the article’s division of red and blue…one of the commenters made a case for Katharine as California Republican and Taylor as working-class Democrat which makes some sense, at least based on a more historical view of the two parties rather than a contemporary one. I love Katharine’s bluesy Broadway voice, and while I think Taylor is good, I would never listen to him just for the sake of listening to him. I love the fact that Katharine called the judges on their comments about song choice when she didn’t even pick the damn song. I love the fact that she interacts with the judges and with Ryan instead of just standing there and taking whatever they dish out. I love the fact that Simon was forced to apologize to her for his undeserved harshness on her rendition of “I Have Nothing.” I love the fact that she can forget lyrics and recover so well. I love the fact that she’s bubbly and effervescent and enthusiastic and that her emotions play upon her face constantly.

What do I love about Taylor? Well, I love that he’s not afraid of looking like an idiot. I love when he hits his high registers. I love when he does quiet songs like “In the Ghetto”. I love when he sneaks a thirty-year-old song into the Billboard Top Ten week. That’s about it.

I know there are a bunch of Taylor fans here. Interestingly, I think most of them are from the South. Could be Reality TV Magazine is on to something. Or else they’re really bored over there are making up stuff to write. Honestly, I would probably be okay with either of them winning at this point. They’re both very talented. But Kat’s album is the one I will buy (especially if she does an American Songbook-themed one, or ends up on Broadway and there’s an Original Cast Recording–that’s where I think she would really shine). So I’ll be over here texting my little fingers off for her.