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: Top 11 Perform
Songs from the ‘60’s British Pop Invasion
Air date: Tuesday,
March 20, 2007
Guests: Peter Noone and Lulu
Haley Scarnato: Hayley Scarnato’s version of “Tell Him” (Exciters /
Billie Davis) was OK, not bad, but not fabulous, either. She had a little
too much vibrato at the beginning, and was a little flat on a few of the
notes. Her voice isn’t bad…her delivery comes off a little too sweet and she
smiles her way through every performance regardless of the lyrics, so we’re
bored. With more training, she’d have a good Broadway voice; we could
picture her as one of the fresh-faced kids in Grease. Or, she’d make a good
Osmond. Tips for success: Work on feeling those lyrics! After a
while, too much smiling gets in the way of the storytelling.
Chris Richardson: Chris Richardson’s version of Gerry and the
Pacemakers’ “Don’t Let the Sun Get You Cryin’” had a great arrangement, and
he delivered it well. It was a good contemporary version of a song that
could come off as very dated. Performance-wise, he projected better when he
was seated; when he stood, it lost some of the impact. And the Timberlake
image cloning still disturbs us (we already have a Justin Timberlake and
need a Chris Richardson who looks more like himself). Tips for success:
Be yourself; if people are commenting that you look or sound exactly
like someone else, it’s not a good thing outside the local level; the
industry already has one and is looking to fill a different need in the
marketplace.
Stephanie Edwards: Stephanie Edwards’ version of Dusty Springfield’s
“You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” wasn’t horrible, but she didn’t deliver
it with the strength that she has the voice for—especially on the verse. She
essentially did an imitation of singing it like Beyonce would have, which
isn’t a good thing in our book, because although talented, Beyonce's voice
is too thin for this particular song. Image-wise, she looked great. Tips
for success: Sound like yourself! Stephanie has a good voice when she’s
not delivering a song like Beyonce.
Blake Lewis: Blake Lewis’s version of The Zombies’ “Time of the
Season” had a great arrangement, and we loved the beatboxing. He went off
pitch a couple of times, though, and at one point he seemed a little too
focused on his dance moves, so his vocal lost impact. Tips for success:
Vocals and performance are equally important!
LaKisha Jones: LaKisha Jones’ version of “Diamonds Are Forever”
(Shirley Bassey) was excellent at first, then got a little draggy and
Telethon as it went on. She should have listened to Lulu and played to her
strengths by doing the other song, because this was a little hotel lounge
and we got bored. The night needed a higher-impact song at that point.
Tips for success: 1.Pay attention to the energy level of your song in
relation to the others on the evening’s lineup. You don’t want to pull the
audience energy up, not down. 2. When someone (Lulu) is literally telling
you how to win on American Idol, listen! Lulu a great performance coach—we
think she’s the best out of all 6 seasons thus far.
Phil Stacey: Phil Stacey’s version of The Nashville Teens’ “Tobacco
Road” was delivered with a good vocal, but it was boring and lackluster, and
average Los Angeles karaoke bar. It was way too white bread, and Phil’s look
doesn’t have enough edge; he looks more like he came from the cubicle across
the office than from Tobacco Road. Improving his stage presence would help,
too. Tips for success: When choosing a cover, read the lyrics without
the music, and look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, “Do I look
like I wrote this song and am believable when telling this story?”
Jordin Sparks: Jordin Sparks’ version of Shirley Bassey’s “I Who Have
Nothing” was excellent. It was perfect for her voice, and we loved the way
she built the intensity of the song without dragging it out. Excellent
pacing! Performance-wise, we’d like to see her work on her stage presence a
bit. Tips for success: When signing a song while standing at a mic
stand, put your body into it a bit to emphasize the lyrics. (Although not
with Mariah-Christina hand movements!!!) Stand firmly, lean into the song,
and be present.
Sanjaya Malakar: Sanjaya Malakar’s version of the Kinks’ “You Really
Got Me” was his best performance of the season, and he’s improved his
singing and stage presence a lot. For a local high school kid, it was
good…but unfortunately not up to the performance level an American Idol
should be, and The Bland Band was no help.. Given the level of improvement
over last week, if he had the luxury of three years’ of solid hard work, he
might develop into a passable pop rock singer. Trouble is, he needs to have
that level now. Back on the plus side, the clothes and hair were a good look
for him. Tips for success: Acting might be more Sanjaya’s thing.
Gina Glocksen: Gina Glocksen’s version of The Rolling Stones’ “Paint
it Black” suffered from a terrible arrangement, and was not her best vocal
at all. It was pitchy, she wailed her way through it (and not in a good
way), and it was just…bloody awful. Gina has the chops, but she needed to
listen to Lulu’s coaching for the delivery of that particular song, because
it had no grit. The Bland Band did not help at all; they’re too low energy.
The American Idol producers really need to make Rock Star Supernova musical
director-arranger Paul Mirkovitch a hefty offer, because that was truly bad.
Tips for success: Listen to a good performance coach, like Lulu.
Chris Sligh: The Zombies’ “She’s Not There” is a boring song, but
Chris Sligh sang it very well. His vocals were good and stylistically fit
nicely into the song, and he had a nice variation on the chorus… But God
what a boring song, best left to the stoned-out hippie days of the ‘60’s.
Tips for success: Song selection, song selection, song selection.
Melinda Doolittle: “As Long As He Needs Me” from the musical Oliver
was the perfect song for Melinda Doolittle’s voice, and she delivered it
really well. Excellent, perfect vocal! Image-wise, we felt she should have
been dressed in something that matched the star-quality level of her
singing. Tips for success: There are blue jeans lyrics and
performances, and there are non-blue jeans performances. Always know which
your song—and your performance—is, and dress appropriately.
We voted for: Jordin Sparks, because she had the whole package
tonight. Had Melinda Doolittle been dressed better for her performance,
Melinda would have had our vote.
Ryan Seacrest Smart Quip of the Night: None, but his beatboxing and
dancing with Blake Lewis was hilarious. Ya gotta love a guy who’s not afraid
to make a fool of himself.
Additional Comments: Ricky Minor, leader of the American Idol House
Band is a talented guy, but the arrangements and band performances of
up-tempo pop and rock songs on American Idol have been particularly bad this
season, and it’s starting to affect the performances. If the show was
Big-Band or jazz oriented, it would be fine, but given that the number of
rock and country rock songs is likely to increase with each new season of
Idol, an arranger more skilled in rock is in order. Please, Idol producers,
salvage Ricky Minor’s talent by luring Paul Mirkovitch away from CBS’s Rock
Star—Idol’s current band is a really bad joke.
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.
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