Idol thoughts

I really expected more from an Elvis night.

Daughtry bored me on "Suspicious Minds" and needed to kick it up sooner on "A Little Less Conversation." At least he took a step away from the uber-predictable Daughtry intensity. That was welcome.

Taylor Hicks must have promised his firstborn for a theme night this suited to him, but he was pretty average. I was particularly disappointed by his "In the Ghetto" -- he's way too happy to sell that sappy song. The audience knew he just wanted to get up and start bopping around. Plus, everyone knows Taylor is channeling the fat Elvis, which is bad juju.

I thought McPhee butchered both of her songs.

Which leaves us with Elliot. "I Can Dream" isn't a song I've heard often before, but it seemed well suited to Yamin. "Trouble," on the other hand, was so obviously unsuited for him, it's like Michael Jackson singing Bad. And yet, he totally nailed it, and really sold it to the audience, too.

So McPhee would be my pick to walk, joined by Daughtry in the bottom two. Elliot had so much ground to make up, though, that I won't be surprised if he's on the chopping block. It's actually a good test of how much the audience listens to Simon.