MBADC American Idol
Armchair Quarterback 2006
American Idol from
the perspective of someone who's booked artists at the national-level: who we like in the
competition, what works, what doesn't work, what contestants can do to improve
their chances of success, and advice you can apply to your own performances.
Week Fifteen:
The Top 5
Sing Songs from the Year They Were Born and
This Week’s Billboard Charts
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Elliott Yamin: Performance 1: Elliott Yamin’s
choice of George Benson’s “On Broadway (1978) wasn’t our favorite song
selection. It’s been performed on various talent shows and telethons so many
times over the years with that exact arrangement that unless the artist is
an extra charismatic superstar who brings something completely different to
it, it’s simply filed as another Telethon performance. Elliott hit the
notes, but unfortunately it wasn’t special, was very average, and we were
very bored. Tips for success: Song selection. Don’t choose a standard
“telethon” song the audience may already be bored of. Remember: At this
point, their competition is the artists on the charts—not each other. The
one who’s as good as, or better than, the artists currently on the charts
will win, so everyone needs to bring a higher performance level into the
game.
Elliott Yamin: Performance 2: Elliott Yamin’s
choice of Michael Buble’s “Home”
had no off-pitch notes, but it was boring. At this point,
we—and apparently the judges—want to see “wow factor”. Nice suit, though.
Elliott gets definite props for styling improvement over the season. Tips
for success: Tackling a song without a lot of big notes by a performer
as charismatic as Michael Buble is tough. To pull it off, you need to be as
charismatic, or even more, than the original artist.
Paris Bennett Performance 1: Paris Bennett’s
choice of Prince’s “Kiss” (1988) wasn’t the best song selection, but she
made the best of it. She performed it well, but we’d like to have heard
something from 1988 that would show off her musicality a bit more…Perhaps
rearranging something, including the tempo, instead of performing it karaoke
style. Tips for success: At this point song selection is crucial,
because it shows potential A&R reps and producers what kind of material
appeals to the contestants, and how they handle song interpretation. When
Paris said, in the pre-performance interview, “The song isn’t really a song
that people can make a song…” it should have been be a clue.
Paris Bennett Performance 2: Paris Bennett’s
choice to sing Mary J. Blige’s “Be Without You” as arranged in the Mary J.
Blige version was a mistake, because Paris isn’t as good and doesn’t have
the depth of emotion yet. (Remember: at this point, the contestants’
competition is really the artists on the Billboard charts.) A poor
performance by the Bland Band didn’t help, so the effect was more like a bad
back lounge version of 2AM karaoke, or late-night telethon…which was a
shame, because Paris is better than that. Tips for success: A
different song selection or new arrangement would have helped immensely. You
have to make it your own.
Chris Daughtry Performance 1: Chis Daughtry’s
choice of Styx’s “Renegade” (1979) was an interesting one…While at first
glance it wasn’t the greatest arrangement on the Bland Band’s part, Chris’s
vocal interpretation was very good and showed off his chops. He had a couple
of slightly off-pitch notes at the opening of the first verse but
immediately got back on track and threw in a little extra, so it was a good
recovery. A+ on stage presence, too. Webmaster / Researcher Extraordinaire
paid Chris an excellent compliment: “That’s the first time I’ve seen someone
perform it when you could really hear all the lyrics”--including Styx.
Tips for success: Chris shines brighter than the rest of the
contestants, but he can shine even brighter by taking a familiar song and
altering the tempo and arrangement into something completely unique to him.
Chris Daughtry Performance 2: Chris’s performance
of Shine Down’s “I Dare You”
was excellent, and Chris impressed us by not only hitting
every note, but delivering a little extra on every note even though his
voice was starting to sound a little hoarse. He didn’t play it safe, and
while we wouldn’t recommend doing that on a tour (vocal cord safety), it’s
appropriate here, and we respect it. He could step in and become Shine
Down’s lead singer tomorrow. Tips for success: Song selection and
arrangement will be key for Chris from here on out. In terms of professional
voice quality and performance and what’s considered “signable,” Chris is
far, far ahead of the other contestants.
Katharine McPhee Performance 1: Katharine
McPhee’s choice of Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)”
(1984) wasn’t a good song choice at all, because it didn’t suit her range or
style, and it sounded like she ran out of air in a couple of places. Not one
of her best at all. Tips for success: This song has become somewhat
standard among certain voice teachers, and it sounded like perhaps she chose
it because she’d done it in lessons in the past—not a great reason for
choosing a particular song, because it can become robotic, and your only
emotional connection to it is about hitting the notes. The heart connection
is just as important, because that’s what makes the audience connect.
Katharine McPhee Performance 2: Katharine McPhee’s
version of KT Tunstall’s “Black Horse With a Cherry Tree” was a good
choice, because it was a good song for her style. The staging of it wasn’t
boring, either, which was a plus, although figuring out how to get her off
the floor after a certain point probably would have been a good plan,
because it looked a little odd when she was walking around on her knees.
Kudos to her for working on it, though. Tips for success: Dropping
to your knees during a performance to heighten the effect of a lyric is a
good effect, but you’ve gotta figure out how to get back up again--tricky
when camera angles are involved. If you don’t, it can look either stagey and
contrived, or like you couldn’t figure out how to get back up so you just
stayed there!
Taylor Hicks Performance 1: Taylor Hicks’ choice
of Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music” (1976) probably wasn’t what we’d
have picked…Taylor’s a great singer, but it was very karaoke and bad wedding
singer-esque. (We almost spit out our Coke when, after writing it in our
notes, Simon echoed the bad wedding singer sentiment during the judges’
comments.) Taylor has far more artistic potential than that performance
portrayed. Tips for success: Webmaster/Researcher Extraordinaire said
it best: “At this point they should be showing what good singers they are."
Agreed.
Taylor Hicks Performance 2: Taylor Hicks’ version
of the Beatles’ “Something”
was a good song for his voice and style, and he almost had the vocal chops
to get past the stigma of performing a Beatles tune. But committing the
mortal sin of covering a Beatles song didn’t do much to show A&R execs and
producers what kind of contemporary material he’d chose, which was the point
of the theme of “Songs from This Weeks’ Billboard Charts. Tips for
success: Breaking the rules is OK, but first figure out the purpose of
the rule so you’re not hurting yourself in the process! It’s not just about
going outside the box--it’s knowing when, and which rules to
break.
We voted for: Chris Daughtry. When you’re that
good even with a strained voice, you deserve it.
Ryan Seacrest Smart Quip of the Night: None, but
Ryan’s impression of the Taylor Hicks floor roll, and his running Elliott
Yamin across the stage and exaggeratedly tiptoe-running out of the shot was
vintage Seacrest that had us laughing out loud.
American Idol
Armchair Quarterback
The MBADC American Idol Armchair Quarterback is intended as commentary and
is not affiliated with Fox Television, American Idol, or its producers or
judges in any way. Tips should be taken as a suggestion only and are not
intended as a substitute for qualified vocal coaching or artist management.
The official American Idol website is
http://www.americanidol.com.
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