Sorry if this was posted before. PARTS of an Entertainment Weekly Article online.

And I describe the last Idol episode of 2006 (what are we gonna do with our lives?) as satisfying because Taylor's distinctively gravelly vocals, irrepressible joy in performing, and gawkily uncommercial persona make him a hard-to-fault season 5 champ — even for a guy like me who spent the season rooting for the third- and fourth-place finishers, Elliott Yamin and Chris Daughtry.

As I see it, though, Taylor's toughest competition will most likely come from Chris, Elliott , and possibly Paris Bennett, all of whom proved Idol-worthy in their brief moments in the spotlight tonight. (Surprisingly, Lisa Tucker sounded pretty tuneful tackling ''Alfie,'' too; Kellie Pickler's food segments with Wolfgang Puck, however, suggested she's pinning her showbiz hopes on getting a job as a wacky co-host.)

I just about burst an artery when Elliott was joined by Mary J. Blige on U2's ''One,'' seeing as I've been advocating that he cover the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul all season. It's too bad that MJB, clad in her diva sunglasses, seemed determined to relegate the funky Virginian to backup status; he fared much better, and appeared far looser than he had all season, belting out ''A House Is Not a Home'' and ''Tobacco Road'' during the group medleys. If there's any justice in a music industry that's made Britney Spears a superstar, someone will sign Elliott to a big fat deal before the summer's out.

Good article. Thanks! B)

I saw it but I never tire of hearing praise for Elliott!

Thanks for sharing the article.

wooo hooo! I like re-reading awesome articles every so often! :)

thanks for sharing that article

my top three!! elliott, paris and chris! yay!