Elvis Is Good
To American Idol
Thank You.
Thank You Very Much

A trip to Graceland, a personal tour by Pricilla and Lisa Marie Presley, and private vocals sessions with Tommy Mottola certainly seemed to help the Top 4 contestants turn in a string of memorable performances this week on American Idol. In what could have been a disastrous night of botched performances, the finalists managed to do the King of Rock N Roll proud (for the most part).

Following is the It's Destiny! panel's take on the AI5 Finals Round 9: Elvis.

Taylor Hicks "Jailhouse Rock"
Tammy: Taylor did about as much as he could do with that song. It's not really something that you can really tamper with too much. It was high energy and the vocals were good, but a bit too 'Elvis impersonator' for my liking.
Score: 8.0
Destiny: I loved how he started out in the audience. He looked great (loved the suit and the hair) and looked like he was having so much fun. His vocals were really strong, too. I didn't get the impersonator vibe like you and Simon did.
Score: 9.0
Liza: I sway towards Simon and Tammy on this, but I did love the vocals. The thing about this performance is that it reminded me so much of his other ones, like "Play That Funky Music," "You Send Me," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." It's all the same moves, all the same dancing. He's almost as one-trick as Chris can be.
Score: 8.0

Chris Daughtry "Suspicous Minds"
Tammy: Chris never really seemed to lose himself in the song as he sang. He seemed somewhat self-conscious, and the sunglasses were distracting (as were the obviously choreographed shedding of them). Overall, rather meh.
Score: 7.8
Destiny: While the sunglasses bit was slightly on the cheesy side, I must admit that I liked it. The main reason I liked it was that it was Chris actually showing some personality and having some fun onstage. I thought he sounded great, too. Definitely my favorite Chris performance to date.
Score: 9.0
Liza: This was one of my favorite Chris performances also, although I wouldn't go so far as to say he looked like he was having fun onstage. Really good vocals on a really good song.
Score: 9.0

Elliott Yamin "If I Could Dream"
Tammy: Elliott was loose and completely in his zone. He was confident and his voice shone as his sang. One of his best performances on the Idol stage.
Score: 9.3
Destiny: I agree. Man, it's exciting to see a performer be able to rise to the challenge and not crumble under the pressure. Elliott had to turn in fabulous performances tonight in order to have any chance of making the Top Three, and with this one, he very well may be on his way. Awesome. It was really nice to see Simon sincerely compliment Elliott, too.
Score: 9.4
Liza: I thought the beginning was a little bit shaky (literally - the vibrato was more noticeable than usual), and I thought they were out to get him by showing that he struggled in the rehearsals, but he turned that around in a hurry. Elliott really tore that song up! Just terrific.
Score: 9.25

Katharine McPhee "Hound Dog/All Shook Up"
Tammy: Here I'd thought she'd gone an entire performance without screeching, and she had to go and tack it on at the end. Maybe she actually thinks she sounds good when she's impersonating a one-sided cat fight? That, along with the bungled lyrics did not a great performance make.
Score: 6.8
Destiny: Despite the bungled lyric and the screech note at the end, I really enjoyed this performance. She looked adorable, lit up the stage, and sounded pretty good throughout. I was really surprised at the judges' high level of negativity.
Score: 8.9
Liza: The lyric mishap was hard to ignore, but I really enjoyed that performance because she was having so much fun and showed such a playful side without looking like a dancin' fool (coughTaylorcough).
Score: 8.5

Taylor Hicks "In The Ghetto"
Tammy: Taylor really benefits when he just sings the song and leaves the crazed dancing alone. Once again, he just let his voice do the talking, and the resulting performance was powerful and no doubt left the other Idol contestants glancing nervously at each other backstage. Taylor is near impossible to beat when he's on his game. A clever song choice pays off.
Score: 9.7
Destiny: Man, I love me some Taylor Hicks. This was a great song choice, and he surely delivered. Beautiful tone, beautiful emotion. And he looked great to boot!
Score: 9.7
Liza: Best Taylor performance ever, by a mile. The delivery was perfect, the vocals were incredible. If he had sung like this the entire season, I would have been all about the Taylor train a long time ago.
Score: 9.85

Chris Daughtry "A Little Less Conversation"
Tammy: Chris's vocals were better than usual as his lower register sounded spot on during this performance. The requisite dragging the mic stand around the stage has long since grown tired, and the yelling of the final lyrics seemed odd and out of place. Chris needs to step up his game if he wants to win the title. He seems to be waning as the finale nears.
Score: 8.4
Destiny: I liked how he set up the song, playing it low in the first half then amping up his energy and vocals at the end. It was very effective. This is Chris' best night of the competition. I have to disagree with you, Tammy. I feel that, rather than waning, Chris is putting more into it as the finale nears, actually trying new things like personality and variety in his vocals.
Score: 9.0
Liza: And I'm going to have to disagree with you, Destiny. If I closed my eyes, I would have really liked it, but this isn't Radio Idol, and in that performance, I saw zero personality. And I agree with Tammy in that the RAWK screaming at the end of the song was odd and out of place. It's a fun and playful song, and Chris sang it with the same death glare he uses when he sings about fire and pain and devils. The whole thing makes me want to pull out the JPL version. Gasp!
Score: 7.5

Elliott Yamin "Trouble"
Tammy: Elliott continues his winning ways with this performance, full of personality and showing no sign of the nerves that had been a thorn in his side in the past.
Score: 9.2
Destiny: Whoo!!! This was American Idol magic. Good camera work, fun stage antics with the dancing band and fabulous singing by Mr. Yamin. Way to deliver, man! Not only does he deserve to move onto the next round, he deserves a spot in the Top 2 and even the title itself. Exciting stuff.
Score: 9.8
Liza: Elliott got pimp lighting! Good for him! And here I thought the producers were trying their darndest to get rid of him. But Elliott didn't even need the pimp lighting. It was an excellent all-around performance. I didn't know if I would be able to buy sweet little Elliott singing about being evil, but he sold me. And with the judges saying that was his best, that's really incredible because he has really set the bar so high this season with performances like "Moody's Mood For Love," "A Song For You" and "It Had To Be You."
Score: 9.5

Katharine McPhee "Can't Help Falling In Love"
Tammy: This song could have been a great Idol moment for Katharine, but once again she has troubles with her upper register and struggles to hit those notes. Not a great night for Katharine, which is unfortunate, because with the right song she can sound amazing. Will so many weeks of uneven performances finally catch up with her?
Score: 7.3
Destiny: I agree, this was on it's way to serious Idol greatness, but then classic Katharine stepped in and started inexplicably belting it and messing with the arrangement, thus leading to irritatingly off vocals (a la the one-sided cat fight Tammy mentioned earlier). If she would have just kept her vocals simple, it would have been beautiful. She is her own worst enemy and definitely deserves elimination this week.
Score: 5.0
Liza: She didn't quite listen to Tommy Mottola when he said emoting does not equal being louder. It could have been stunning, but it really wasn't.
Score: 7.0

Who Should Be Eliminated
Tammy: Katharine
Destiny: Katharine
Liza: Katharine

Who Will Be Eliminated
Tammy: Katharine
Destiny: Elliott
Liza: Katharine

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We Asked You, "Who Did You Vote For On Birth Year/Billboard Week On American Idol?"
38% Elliott, 19% Chris, 18% Taylor,
9% I Didn't Vote, 8% Paris, 5% Katharine
We Asked You, "Who Has The Best Personality On AI5?"
48% Elliott, 20% Chris, 12% Taylor,
11% Paris, 9% Katharine

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