After “16 weeks of voting and 515 million votes,” as host Ryan Seacrest has intoned, two “American Idol” contestants remain: Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee. They will have one last singoff of three songs each at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and the winner will be crowned during the two-hour finale at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Who has the edge?
KATHARINE MCPHEE
Stats: 21, Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Best song: “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”
Worst song: “All in Love is Fair”
In her favor: She’s gained confidence and has gotten stronger and sexier each week.
Working against her: Her first and only episode-stealing performance was just last week with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
Odds: The long shot at sportsbook.com with 17-10 odds. Young and sexy should trump gray and spazzy, but she’s definitely the weaker performer.
McPheever pitch
Kat Pack, McPhans, McPheevers, McPhASIANS–the Web is filled with fan sites devoted to finalist McPhee.
– McPhee and “I Got McPheever!” are plastered on coffee mugs, keychains, campaign badges and T-shirts offered on ebay.com.
– At lexilu.net, you can “Wear the same earrings as Katharine!” The site says she wore the Lola earrings while visiting Graceland and rehearsing for her Queen-inspired performance.
– A lot of folks at youtube.com have caught the McPheever. The site has several McPhee montage clips, accompanied by songs such as “I’m Still on Your Side,” “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and, yes, “Your Body is a Wonderland.”
TAYLOR HICKS
Stats: 29, Birmingham, Ala.
Best song: “You Are So Beautiful”
Worst song: “Easy”
In his favor: His energy is infectious, and last week he seemed Idol-like–completely relaxed and in control. Notice we didn’t say he “looked” like an Idol.
Working against him: Some voters might feel a guy is due since the “Idol” has been a woman three out of four years. But “Gray Charles?!” If men start dyeing their hair, we’ll admit we’re wrong.
Current odds: Favored to win with 1-2 odds at sportsbook.com. Stranger things have happened.
Custom Taylored
Hicks is one of the most animated “American Idol” contestants in the show’s history, so naturally he’s a magnet for “Idol” games and trinkets:
– What does Hicks have in common with a yellow, pellet-munching blob? Better question: What doesn’t he have in common with it? The online perversion of the Pac-Man video game at www.taylorhickspacman.com (below) has Hicks gobbling up his rivals after eating one of four Ryan Seacrests. Wrong on so many levels.
– “Soul Patrol,” Hicks’ call to foot-stompin’ music fans, has taken on a life of its own. Cafepress.com, for example, sells T-shirts with the slogan and his signature gray mop top as its logo.
– Yirmumah.net devoted a couple of cartoons to mocking Hicks. “Saturday Night Live” even took a shot at spoofing the Soul Patroler.
REDEYE’S PICK
Whether you think he’s a bubbly entertainer or a bumbling buffoon, no one can argue that Hicks is consistent. The question is whether McPhee’s frail voice will crack under the pressure of three crucial songs. The answer is: probably. It won’t be nearly the stomping Fantasia put on Diana DeGarmo, but Hicks should bob and weave his way to victory pretty handily.
