MBADC American Idol
Armchair Quarterback 2007
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.
Season 6: Final Performances
of Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis
Air date: Tuesday,
May 22, 2007
Coin Toss:
On the coin toss, we felt Blake blew it by deferring to
Jordin and not electing to go 2nd. Tip for success: When
given the choice in a coin toss, always perform last. The person who
performs last usually has the edge: they’re performing to an audience that’s
already warm and can then channel that energy into an even better
performance. And, in a judged competition, they’ll remember the last thing
they see.
Blake Lewis, Performance 1: Blake Lewis’s version of Bon Jovi’s “You
Give Love a Bad Name” was off to a great start, and we like the cool jazz
vibe of the bass line. His vocal wasn’t as strong on the middle section, but
the beat boxing was very strong. We also liked that he had excellent stage
presence and used the stage well.
Jordin Sparks, Performance 1: The timing of Jordin Sparks’ version of
Christina Aguilera’s “Stronger” seemed a little rushed at the beginning, and
again through the bridge…It was as if she was hurrying to get through it and
get off the stage. Her vocal wasn’t bad, but we were bored (despite liking
the Christina version). A dynamic song with a strong lyric needs a dynamic
performance, and we felt she should have taken the opportunity to use the
whole stage and interact with the audience. (Remember, TV is a visual
medium.) Tips for success: Adjust your performance to the size of the stage.
Got a big stage? Use it!
Blake Lewis, Performance 2: Maroon 5’s “She Will Be Loved” is far
from our favorite Maroon 5 song. But, said one MBADC staffer, “He’s not
nearly annoying as the Maroon 5 guy on this” and added, “I’d take Blake’s
version over theirs anytime.” Blake sang it well with a clear, pure tone.
But equally importantly, he used the stage well and had great crowd
interaction, good presence, and made a boring song more entertaining. Tips
for success: Song selection. When choosing a ballad, make sure it’s one that
doesn’t “drag” as this one can tend to do.
Jordin Sparks, Performance 2: The sound mixing was especially bad on
the chorus of Jordin’s version of Martina McBride’s version of “A Broken
Wing,” so it was hard to tell exactly how off some of the notes were. To us,
it sounded a little sharp on the chorus. But, she capped it off with a huge
note at the end. We just wish she was more interesting to watch onstage,
because she doesn’t use the stage well and hasn’t developed her stage
presence yet. Tips for success: See Tips for success under Jordin’s first
performance above.
Blake Lewis, Performance 3: We liked the mellow sound of Blake’s
voice on his version of “This is My Now” (the American Idol Songwriting
Contest winning song). But unfortunately the thing that stood out the most
was the Bland Band’s terrible performance. In particular, one of the
much-too-loudly-mixed backup vocalists was so off-pitch, it nearly threw
Blake off. He recovered really well, though, and as usual, he used the stage
well and had good presence. Tips for success: Get a new house band, please.
Jordin Sparks, Performance 3: Jordin’s version of “This is My Now”
was shaky on the verse. But interestingly, the ff-key backup vocals
virtually disappeared and suddenly the band was better, too. Hmmm. Thus
unhampered, Jordin soared to big notes. But, it wasn’t flawless by any
means, and we kept wishing she’d use that huge Kodak Theatre stage, because
it was boring. Tips for success: Watch live performance videos of other
performers to see how they handle ballads. Sometimes even a slow stroll
across the stage does the trick.
We voted for: Blake Lewis, because he’s more of a total artist. As we
said last week, if the technical aspect of singing was all that counted,
we’d all be listening to opera. Jordin’s a great singer, but she has a way
to go on stage presence and interacting with the crowd, so we’re often bored
during her performances. She does, however, fit the American Idol prototype
pop singer, so we won’t be at all surprised if she wins.
Ryan Seacrest Smart Quip of the Night: None, but with the
“congratulations” and all the gushing talk about “17 year-old” Jordin
Sparks, we wondered if there was, at least subconsciously, some possible
stacking of the decks.
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.
|
