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Recent "American Idol" runner-up Katharine McPhee returned to the Idol stage Tuesday at Bobcats Arena after joining the tour in Pittsburgh.
Still recovering from laryngitis, she sang only two songs -- KT Tunstall's recent hit "Black Horse & the Cherry Tree" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." She sang the latter sitting on the side of the stage with friend Kellie Pickler, who sneaked into the front of the crowd in a hooded sweatshirt to watch McPhee.
McLeansville's Chris Daughtry was a crowd favorite. He kicked off the second half of the show with Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." He absolutely owned the arena when the band dropped out during the song's bridge for a quick a cappella solo. He joined Elliott Yamin, Ace Young and Rockingham's Bucky Covington for Guns N' Roses' "Patience," which showcased their four-part harmonies and ended up one of Covington's strongest performances. An early countrified duet with Pickler of "You're the One That I Want" from "Grease" didn't work as well, although fans thought it was cute.
Covington was the only one to transform his well-known songs such as Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" with his Southern-drenched vocals.
All the former contestants sang better than they did on the show, often with the aid of pre-recorded backing vocals that left little room for Simon's skewering. Wouldn't it have been better if their fellow contestants provided those live? Especially if Mandisa stuck around to back up Young for George Michael's soulful "Father Figure" after the pair's duet.
Paris Bennett provided the most pizzazz with her bootylicious version of Beyonce's "Crazy in Love." Some reviewers have found the 17-year-old's rump-shaking a bit too risqué for "Idol," but it was less provocative than that of the song's originator. She and Lisa Tucker imitated TLC's "Waterfalls" video dance as if they'd been practicing it in front of their TVs since they were children.
Winner Taylor Hicks made a surprise entrance from the crowd singing "Jailhouse Rock." He followed it with plenty of Tayloresque dance moves and harmonica playing, but sometimes sounded breathless during "Hollywood Nights," "Takin' It to the Streets" and his current single, "Do I Make You Proud."
But it was Pickler's night. "I have to pinch myself and make sure I'm not sleeping," the 20-year-old Albemarle native said during her set, which included Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight" and Melissa Etheridge's "I'm the Only One."
He joined Elliott Yamin, Ace Young and Rockingham's Bucky Covington for Guns N' Roses' "Patience," which showcased their four-part harmonies and ended up one of Covington's strongest performances.
They're still doing 'Patience?' How much patience do they need before Kat starts singing her full set? And I wonder if Kat saw video of that tribute they did to her while she was absent...
Katharine McPhee fans around the world