I've reason to believe
We all will be received
In Graceland

So said Paul Simon and tonight he's right as American Idol's Final Four traveled to Graceland, met a scary looking Priscilla Presley and enlisted the help of producer Tommy Mottola (the former Mr. Mariah Carey) for tonight's Elvis theme.

Taylor starts off the night with "Jailhouse Rock". I don't mind Taylor, but now I get why some people think he's an asshat. He's wearing a stupid burgundy suit and sings the song exactly like Elvis. It's totally karoke, but of course only Simon has the guts to say so. Taylor is the new Pickler, he's so safe, even though this performance gets just a 4.

After revealing he wears boxer briefs (yawn), Chris gets down to business with "Suspicious Minds". Confession time: I think this is such a cheesy song. But, to his credit, Chris cuts the cheese (I know, I'm 12) out with a slower, deeper take on the song. Of course, for all I know, Live did a version and Chris is merely covering it. That's the problem with Chris, he really is a good singer, but it's so easy to dismiss that because you get the feeling that something's not genuine about him on the show. All that said, I really liked it and he gets an 8 from me.

My boy Elliott is next singing an Elvis song I've never heard, "I Can Dream". At first I was annoyed that Elliott was again singing something I didn't know, but I quickly forget that and just get wrapped up in Elliott's performance. It's beautiful, tender and powerful all at the same time. Elliott's won me over again! Randy didn't like him, but Simon did and really, isn't his opinion the one all the performers care about? I'm giving Elliott a 9.5.

Let's hear it for the boys, because the girl, Katharine butchers "Hound Dog". Tonight Katharine is full of sound and fury but signifies nothing. She bounces around and screams and looks cute, but the vocal is completely lacking. She's kind of like Taylor in that she's focusing on the performance so much that she's forgetting to sing. However, she doesn't come off as an ass like Taylor does, so she gets a 5.

Act II begins with Taylor's take on "In The Ghetto". Heh. I know I'm a terrible person, but this song cracks me up. It's oh so melodramatic. The paradox of Taylor is that when he dances he can look like an ass, but when he doesn't dance he's frankly kind of boring. This is kind of boring. Zzzzzz. Randy & Paula eat it up and Simon likes it because he didn't dance. Are they all breaking into Paula's stash? He stunk. It's a 5.

Chris sings "A Little Less Conversation" which just brings up memories of Jon Peter Lewis' hilarious version. Chris is many things, but hilarious is not one of them. His take is a little jazzier and a lot sexier. I really dig the overall vibe he brings to the song. It's Chris stripped of all the crap and just singing. Simon doesn't like it because it was low and not flashy, but I thought it was one of Chris' best performances. It was a departure and I'm giving it another 8.

Elliott brings out his wild side to sing "Trouble". This is a cool song, but Elliott seems like such a sweetie pie, not a trouble maker. The boy was crying after his first performance. But you know, who cares? This is fabulous. Elliott's suddenly a frickin' rock star. What he lacks in image he completely makes up for in pure vocal power. Another 9.5. He's driving me to vote! Oh, Elliott!

Whoa! Ryan just reignites his feud with Paula by comparing her dancing to that of a stripper. Sweet! It's so boring when things are lovey dovey between the judges and our intrepid host.

Random Elliott blurb I learned during the break. If you go to Elliott's Wikipedia page you get a link to a list of "famous short men". Heh.

At last, it's Katharine who hopes that America "Can't Help Falling In Love" with her. Kat's version has a nice country feel to it, but I think she cares more about flirting with the camera tonight than singing well. Instead of being powerful (like Paris, sniff...) she's just screechy. I think she's hope to flirt her way to the next round. Better her than Taylor, I guess. The judges were underwhelmed, as was I. It's just a 3.

My rankings:
1. Elliott
2. Chris

100. Taylor
101. Katharine

I think Kat's going home, but I'm really afraid for Elliott. Vote for Elliott!