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 that can be applied to your own
performances.
Season 6 Top 16: The Top 8
Girls Perform
Air date: Wednesday, March
7, 2007
Jordin Sparks: Pat Benatar's
"Heartbreaker" was an excellent choice for Jordin Sparks' voice, and she
sang it well except for a few pitchy spots. Unfortunately, the Bland Band's
ultralite performance of it didn't gel with her big voice at all, so we're
glad she rose above it. We think she could record it (with a much better
band). Image-wise, Jordin's clothing choices could be a little better in
terms of fitting the song. Tips for success: Keeping the total
package is important. The feeling of the song, and the feeling your clothing
conveys should work together.
Sabrina Sloan: Sabrina Sloan has a good voice, but she's not memorable
(when we're taking notes each week we've had to wait for her name to come up
on the screen to remember it). Her version of "Don't Let Go" was a little
screechy on part of the chorus, and her performance was a little mechanical
and lacked passion. Tips for success: Sing with passion and feeling.
You have to make the audience feel in order to get them to connect
with you...not just hit the notes and look pretty. Watching performance
clips of Janice Joplin might help; Janice wasn't pretty, and her notes
weren't technically perfect, but she was a riveting performer who made you
feel every one of them.
Antonella Barba: Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On" was a boring song selection, and Antonella Barba didn't do anything for
it. It had no energy and fell flat, and the quality of her singing isn't
anywhere near the quality an American Idol contestant should be. Tips for
success: Singing is not this girl's thing, and she should be wary of
potential rip-off artists who may try to cash in on her photo controversy by
offering her a bad music deal. Our musical integrity doesn't allow us to
take her seriously as a potential recording artist, so she's better off
trying acting or hosting instead. Failing that, she's a prime lingerie model
candidate, and Stuff and Maxim will come calling soon, if they
haven't already.
Haley Scarnato: Haley Scarnato's version of Faith Hill's "If My Heart Had Wings" wasn't bad, exactly, but it wasn't great either.
It was pitchy in a couple of places on the chorus, but the main
problem is, it was bland and had no energy. It was "nice," but that's it,
and we couldn't remember her name. Tips for success: You must be
memorable. Finding a good trademark would help. It's better to be known as
"the girl with the hat" or "the girl with the pink stripe in her hair" than
not at all.
Stephanie Edwards: Stephanie Edwards' choice of Chaka Khan / Mary
J. Blige's "Sweet Thing" was
a poor song selection, and her performance of it was very Telethon. Despite
a decent vocal, the song dragged, and we just wished she and the band would
put some energy into it. Tips for success: Song selection, song
selection, song selection. After that, bring energy into whatever you sing.
LaKisha Jones: Lakisha Jones' choice of Whitney Houston's "I Have
Nothing" is a
dangerous one, because any comparison to the untouchable Whitney is only
going to be negative. She sang it well, but of course not as good as
Whitney, so we'd say she squeaked by. Big improvement on the wardrobe, too.
Tips for success: Selecting big songs by artists who are not considered
untouchable is key here...The way for an artist with a big voice to avoid
comparisons is, develop a signature song of your own (as Fantasia did
several seasons ago with her version of "Summertime"). Lakisha has the vocal
talent and performance ability to do that.
Gina Glocksen: Gina Glocksen's version of Evanescence's "Don't Cry for
Me" had good energy, and her performance had loads of passion. She screamed
and over sang a little on one part, but overall it was very good. Tips for
success: This performance showed what it means to bring it and
leave it all onstage. If all the competitors did that, this season's
American Idol would be a lot more enjoyable to watch.
Melinda Doolittle: Melinda Doolittle's version of the classic "I'm a
Woman" was excellent! What a powerhouse! We wouldn't change
a thing vocally or performance-wise. Image-wise, we didn't like the dress.
Tips for success: For a powerhouse vocal on a powerhouse song, a power
color like red or royal purple is the thing.
We voted for: Melinda Doolittle.
Ryan Seacrest Smart Quip of the Night:
None, but it was hilarious when
one of the judges said, "Don't point, you're not Larry King!"
One other note...We like Ryan, and it's cool that he's supportive of the
contestants. But, he's beginning to sound a lot like Paula by telling them
what they want to hear instead of the truth. (Given during each show someone
in our viewing group shouts, "Shut up Paula" or "Sit down Paula" at least
once in response to her tone-deaf comments, this is not a good
thing.) Since it seems to happen most often with attractive but poorly
performing female contestants, maybe Seacrest is listening with his eyes
instead of his ears?
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.
|
