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 career.
Season 6 Top 24: The Top 12
Girls Perform
Wednesday, February
21, 2007
Stephanie Edwards: Stephanie Edwards over sang Prince's / Alicia
Keys' "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore" a little, but her presentation skills were great. A few of the notes were
a bit off, but she should have a chance to stick around for a while, because
the chops are clearly there. It was immediately apparent that she's
performed live before, and that was nice to see.
Tips for success: Watch your pitch!
Amy Krebs: Amy Krebs' version of Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me"
wasn't bad, but one of the runs didn't work at all and would best
have been left out. We were bored, though, and we agree with Simon that
she's not memorable. Tips for success: 1. Runs are like red pepper flakes: they should be
used sparingly and carefully. 2. Stage presence, stage presence,
stage presence.
Leslie Hunt: Leslie Hunt has some really nice, smokey qualities in her
voice, but her version of Aretha Franklin's "Natural Woman" was karaoke bar
quality and most of the other singers will probably blow her away.
Performance-wise, she looked awkward and needs work, but there's a lot to
work with. Tips for success: Song selection that highlights your best
points is key. If you have trouble with stage presence, choosing a
powerhouse vocal isn't going to work. Working on her stage
presence--especially the camera aspect of stage presence--by filming and
watching her stage performances in conjunction with performance footage of
many top artists would help tremendously.
Sabrina Sloan: Sabrina Sloan's choice of Aretha Franklin's "I'll Never
Love a Man" was good for her voice vocally, and she has good chops. She also
used the camera well. The problem? Despite looking and sounding great,
there's something indistinct and unmemorable about her. Tips for success:
Putting passion into your performances is key. Being "perfect" isn't the key
to star quality.
Antonella Barba: To say that Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"
was not the best choice for Antonella Barba's vocal ability is an
understatement. It was too rangey for her voice, and her pitch was off. To
make matters worse, the Bland Band's unexciting arrangement of it made it
very Telethon.
Tips for success: Song selection would be a start...That particular song
is known as one of the most notoriously difficult to sing rock ballads of
the past 20 years.
Jordin Sparks: Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason to Stay Here" wasn't the best song for
Jordin Sparks' voice, because the lows were a little too low. But it got
better as she went along, and we want to hear more from her because she does
have vocal chops. Tips for success: Remember what nerves do to your
voice. Does your voice shake, giving you trouble with the lows? Or does your
voice get high and squeaky, making the highs difficult? Choose your song
accordingly.
Nicole Tranquillo: Chaka Khan's "Stay" was a really
bad song for Nicole Tranquillo's voice, because it sounded like she was
trying to imitate someone else. She's not an urban R&B singer, and it was
just...awful. We agree with Simon 100% on this one. Tips for success:
Figure out who you really are, instead of who you wish you were.
Authenticity is key.
Haley Scarnato: Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" was
too much song for Haley Scarnato, she delivered it with too much sweetness
and light (it's a power song), and it was way too Star Search. She has good
chops, but it was a bad song selection and arrangement by the Bland Band. Tips for success:
Passion, passion, passion.
Melinda Doolittle: Aretha Franklin's "(Sweet, Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone" Excellent! Bravo! Perfect
song for her voice, and we wouldn't change a thing. Tips for success:
A little more confidence in her interviews wouldn't hurt...but her
performance is flawless.
Alaina Alexander: The Pretenders' "Brass in Pocket" was way too classic
and Chrissy Hynde's vocal on it too memorable for Alaina Alexander to
pull off. There were a lot of pretty bad notes, and...it wasn't good. Tips for success:
Song selection, song selection, song selection.
Gina Glocksen: Although Gina Glocksen almost pulled it off, doing the
Celine Dion vocal arrangement of Eric Carmen's "All By Myself" is a huge
mistake for anyone, because who can sing it as well as Celine? We think Gina
G. is a great singer; we just want to hear her sing something else. Tips for success:
Note-for-note renditions of Celine are never a good idea. Choose something
else that can highlight your power instead.
LaKisha Jones: Lakisha Jones' version of "And I Am Telling You I'm
Not Going" from Dreamgirls was flawless, and we wouldn't change a thing. Simon's right: that was
in a whole different league than the other competitors. We liked her hair
better in the braids, though. Tips for success: Song selection and
imaging will be key for Lakisha.
We voted for:
Tie: Lakisha
Jones and Melinda Doolittle.
Ryan Seacrest Smart quip of the Night: We almost spit out our Coke when
Ryan was standing next to one of the tallest girls on the show and said,
"Once more, I'm short again this year. And small." Maybe you had to be
there, but we howled.
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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