Idol Watch: The End for Elliott?

In a striped blazer and gold bling that made him look like a yachtsman who’d somehow docked at a casino fountain in Vegas and then swaggered onto the carpeting, Rod Stewart visited the American Idol set for Tuesday's show and did a surprisingly good job coaching the contestants in the sort of American standards he records nowadays.
Even if the night as a whole sometimes felt less like Idol than an old variety show, most of the performances were really very enjoyable. Even Simon finally seemed to be paying attention again. In the past few weeks, he’d been sinking into apathy. I was afraid Paula had poked him with a manicured nail and he’d sprung a tiny leak.
However, he did conspicuously lower his head as Kellie Pickler picked her way through "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," a very tricky, very slow number that can leave a singer swamped in the middle. Well, it swallowed Kellie whole and then it burped, and it might even drag her down into the bottom three tonight. Lucky for her, the camera loves her open-faced, guileless prettiness, and maybe voters will expect her to bounce back next week and give her a break.
I was a bit bored by Chris Daughtry’s "What a Wonderful World" and kept myself amused imagining he was singing "It's Not Easy Being Green" instead, but anyway the judges liked it. And they went crazy for Katharine McPhee doing "Someone to Watch Over Me." Eh. To me it just sounded starchy – stiff. Paris Bennett did a standout "Foolish Things" (how’d she know to lift her shoulders in rhythm with "I knew somehow this had to be…”?), and Taylor Hicks redeemed himself after last week’s lousy Queen performance, which I thought might be the beginning of the end. Well, for “You Send Me,” he ditched the cornball Bye Bye Birdie dance steps and put a little Van Morrison growl into the lyrics. You’re the dog, man! Or the cat! Or the goldfish! last week’s show I also had wondered if Ace Young, the handsome young man who keeps winding up in the bottom three, might have a saving triumph singing a standard, but I don’t know… He had his hair slicked and pulled back, and he wore a suit, all very Spandau Ballet, but it still didn't really work.
Elliott Yamin, who sings with so much vibrato he ought to be shaking like a rubber plant, swung nice and easy through “It Had to Be You,” but he was sabotaged by backup vocals that sounded like harmonizing squirrels, and then Simon told him he lacked “personality” – which means, I think, that sometimes you're better off looking like Spandau Ballet than crooning like Sinatra. He may be out, shoo be doo be doo, la dah dee dah dah…

Idol' helps established stars too

It turns unknowns into icons overnight - but "American Idol" isn't just for aspiring singers.
With its unparalleled exposure - the weekly audience is usually somewhere north of 30 million viewers - "Idol" is now launching record sales of the established artists who appear as guests.
As such, it has become a hot destination for music stars. Stevie Wonder and Shakira have appeared on recent programs, and veteran rocker Rod Stewart was set to sing on Wednesday's episode.
"It's a great opportunity for artists to be on the show in front of tens of millions of people," said Fletcher Foster, senior vice president of marketing for Capitol Records. "There's not a venue like that for music acts except when you come to the Grammy Awards and CMAs. But here's one program a week when you can be in front of that many eyeballs."
And those eyeballs are connected to wallets.
Barry Manilow's "Greatest Songs of the Fifties" soared from No. 24 to No. 4 on the pop charts - a sales increase of 140 percent - following his March appearance on the program. Shakira's new album, "Oral Fixation Vol. 2," jumped 11 spots on the Top 40 charts after her hip-shaking "Idol" performance three weeks ago.
Artists have enjoyed sales boosts even when they didn't sing on the show, which began in June 2002, said Geoff Mayfield, senior analyst for Billboard magazine. Lionel Richie appeared as a guest judge during "Idol's" early days and saw sales of his greatest-hits collections shoot up, Mayfield said.
In fact, stars don't even have to appear on "Idol" to enjoy a sales spike. Sales of two Keith Urban singles increased more than 20 percent after contestants performed the songs on the show, Foster said.
"It's just those songs reaching a new audience," he said.
Music stars started appearing on "Idol" during its second edition. LL Cool J, Brandy, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Gloria Estefan and record mogul Clive Davis are among the big names who've lent their star power to the show.
No other weekly program promises such a massive audience of music fans, Mayfield said.
"In this era, you don't really have a variety show in prime time," he said. "So even though it's a newfangled contraption, and more `Amateur Hour' than `Ed Sullivan,' `American Idol' is today's version of a variety show. It's a weekly vehicle, not a once-a-year shot like the Grammys."
An "Idol" appearance can create its own media frenzy. After Kenny Rogers sang on the show two weeks ago, People magazine published a story about the country star, and radio stations added his new single to their playlists, Foster said.
Shakira's appearance was pegged to the release of a new single, said Lois Najarian, senior vice president of publicity for Epic Records: "It's an ideal place for a music star to be."

'American Idol' Recap: Ace Is Out Of Time, Katharine Can't Be Stopped

Surprise performance: The biggest shocker Tuesday was that with seven still standing, there were no weak links. Even Simon Cowell liked everyone, Ace Young included. If we had to name one surprise it would be Chris Daughtry, who needed to show some diversity and did just that with his understated but solid rendition of "What a Wonderful World."
Fashion hits and misses: It was a terrific week for music and a terrific week for style. Katharine McPhee has come around with another stunning look and Chris is starting to reinvent himself as often as Paris Bennett. The only miss was Ace, not for the classy suit, but the ponytail that said "high school jock" almost as clearly as his sleeveless T-shirts had in previous weeks. And then there was the Paula Abdul cleavage we have come to know so well.
Judging the judges: Seems Randy Jackson and Simon made the Paula mistake of forgetting that someone has to go. From their reactions, only Elliott Yamin is at risk, although Simon's "I'm concerned for you" probably helped him more than anything. Paula interrupted Simon too much ... but did we mention her cleavage?
Best audience sign: "Ryan, Will You Be Our Brother?" Perhaps the creepiest sign ever.
Who will go: Headline writers everywhere are drooling: "Ace Doesn't Ace 'Idol'." "Ace In The Hole." "Ace Is Dealt A Return To His Full House." He was decent, but it wasn't enough.
Who needs to step it up: Elliott needs a miracle next week, not because he can't sing — he just doesn't have as strong a fanbase as the others. And Taylor Hicks is losing his grip as his competitors improve and he does the same old thing.
Who is the one to beat: Simon said it best: Katharine makes the others look like amateurs. And once Kellie Pickler's aw-shucks innocence ("I butchered it") wears off, all those votes will go to McPhee.