| American Idol (Results Show Final 4) |
| Ryan Seacrest kicks off tonight's results show with a quick nod to the contestants and another to the judges. With only four left in this contest that results sofa looks bigger than ever! |
| Before the first commercial break Chris Daughtry, Elliott Yamin, Katharine McPhee and Taylor Hicks view the recap reminders of their "Elvis" performances from last night. |
| After the first ad-break we're treated to this week's Ford-ommercial which plays out to the Idols' version of Louis Armstrong's classic "What A Wonderful World". It's a green themed video which begins with Kat rolling back home in her gas-electric Ford Escape Hybrid. When she clicks her hand-remote to open up her garage we see that it's brimful of junk. Luckily 3 handy he-men are close at hand and at Kat's command they work McPheeverishly to give her garage an overhaul in their overalls. |
| They clear out all the junk and lay a car-port carpet of green grass, which they decorate with fabulous flora and fauna. Everything is in harmony, even the newly perched parrott can do a mean Taylor impression! Job now finished, the guys beckon Kat into her wonderful green world. As she wheels in her Hybrid she has some company on the passenger seat, an environmentally friendly muppet called Kermit who declares "Gee, I guess it is easy being green!" Kat gives him a friendly tickle. |
| Back in the studio the Idols are tickled more pink than green, as they partake in their pre-result ritual of rolling around on the results sofa laughing at how funny they look on the Ford VT. |
| Of course less Idols means less results and more time to fill, so yet another VT whisks us back to Graceland to see more of what the final four got up to... |
| On arrival at the Graceland gates they're greeted by excited fans, some collecting autographs, some collecting hugs! Elvis' wife Priscilla Presley (who looks a well kept 45 but unbelievably will be 61 in just 2 weeks!) honors the guests with a personal tour of her husband's old homestead. |
| First they get to hang out in Elvis' favorite room, "The Jungle Room", which looks a little bit like Katharine's garage from the Ford-ommercial. Priscilla then takes them to the "hall of fame" where they view the "wall of gold" which is covered in around 150 platinum and gold discs. "How cool is that" remarks Elliott, understandably impressed. Last stop on Priscilla's tour is the "meditation garden" where Elvis now rests. Priscilla explains that when Elvis was alive this was a quiet place where he used to take time out. |
| Back in the mansion the gang of four meet Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie Presley who wishes them all the best of luck before whisking them off in a golf buggy for a tour of the grounds. They ride out through the gates where the assembly of screaming fans has now grown some. Kat shakes every hand she can on the exit route and also collects a present for Elliott which she passes back to him. |
| Back now to the studio and the results... well not quite, because first we're going to listen to the final four sing an Elvis medley comprising... |
- Don't Be Cruel (Elliott - lead vocal)
- Blue Suede Shoes (Ensemble - The boys sing "Go Kat go", Katharine obliges with a swaggering spin)
- Heartbreak Hotel (Taylor - lead vocal)
- Are You Lonesome Tonight (Katharine - lead vocal)
- Love Me Tender (Chris - lead vocal)
- I Just Can't Help Believing (Ensemble - The Idols crowd out the judges)
- Burning Love (Ensemble featuring Taylor and Katharine)
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| After another break surely now it's time for those results? No, not until Ryan has mingled with some audience celebrity in the shape of Rebecca Romijn, "Mystique" from the X-Men movies. She's with her beau Jerry O'Connell whom she's apparently engaged to, although Ryan can't find any ring to prove this! Naturally Rebecca is a big fan, she's even "freaking out" wondering which finalist is going to leave. You'd think she'd be in as much of a hurry for the results as we are, but instead she makes an 'off the cuff' request for Taylor to reprise his brilliant "Jailhouse Rock" from yesterday. |
| It's seems more than a little odd that Rebecca can just hijack the Idol schedule on demand like this. Perhaps this is just part of her "Mystique"... Speaking of which, she gets a valueable plug for her X-Men "The Last Stand" movie which premieres May 26, just as Idol ends. |
| We digress... Taylor agrees to sing, and although we're all convinced it's all pre-conceived by the producers, he delivers another joyful performance which momentarily makes us forget that someone's about to get kicked off the show! |
| Why was Taylor singled out like this? We shall probably never know, but you can bet your last buck that the internet forums will be abuzz with conspiratorial postulation! Maybe Taylor is singing because he's about to get the chop? |
| Ryan is about to divulge all. He greets Taylor onstage after the performance and asks him to step to his right hand side. Ryan then calls Chris, Elliott and Katharine from the stage-side sofa. Elliott is told to stand with Taylor, but Chris and Kat are instructed to stand to Ryan's left hand side. |
| Just as everybody has already figured, Ryan confirms that one pair is the bottom two, the other pair the top two. "Which is which?" he says. The audience figure correctly again... we'll find out "after the break". Grrr! |
| "After the break"... Ryan is ready to reveal whose Idol dream is broken. He paces behind them and contemplates their fate in the manner of a scolding schoolmaster. After a few more seconds of Idol agony Ryan tells Taylor and Elliott they can hit the sofas because they are this week's top two! |
| So, it's between Chris and Katharine. Ryan asks Simon which of them he thinks will go. Simon replies that "...based on last night ... Katharine." |
| Ryan turns to the pensive pair and he sounds kind of angry as he tells them "a lot of people predicted both of you could be in our finale." He now focuses intently on Chris, "a lot of people predicted Chris... that you could be the next American Idol..." The audience cheers for Chris as harsh-toned Ryan nods in Chris's direction to deliver the shock of the season, "Chris you are going home tonight. The journey ends. America you have spoken and Chris is off the show tonight". |
Chris looks surprised, Katharine's jaw drops in disbelief, the audience boo and Paula buries her head in her hands. Even Simon, who is usually impassive at these times, looks troubled. We're as shocked as anyone, not just by the curve ball of a result, but also by the apparently insensitive way Ryan delivered it. When a contestant gets as far as the top 4 you kind of expect to see a bit more dignity in the proceedings. |  |
| Chris hugs Katharine before she heads back to the safe sofa. Ryan then asks him if he's as shocked as the rest of us, "I'm a little bit in shock" admits Chris. |
| Ryan turns to face the audience and America "Chris Daughtry ladies and gentlemen, based on your votes!" |
| We notice he's still sounding and looking pretty angry. Suddenly we figure that Ryan isn't intentionally angry with anyone tonight, he's simply as shocked by the result as we are. His 'gast' is well and truly flabbered, but not in a good way. Standing center stage with Chris he pats him on the back and shares his frustration. |
| Chris' Idol journey plays out on the big screen. No matter that we're too numb to take it all in. The waving of the yellow slip, his wife wishing for his dream to come true and Chris's voice declaring "If it ended now I'd be totally satisfied with what I've done so far in the show". The VT ends with Simon's words from one of the live shows "Thank God for Chris!" |
| Ryan presents Chris to the Idol audience for the last time, "Chris Daughtry ladies and gentlemen... A star... A star!" |
| Chris closes the show with a reprise of his "Suspicious Minds" performance. |
| The surreal half hour ends. Reality bites, Chris has come 4th in American Idol and nearly every US citizen knows about him and his amazing talents. |
| Hmm? You know, maybe things aren't so bad after all! Somebody tell Ryan please! |
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