MBADC American Idol
Armchair Quarterback 2008, Season 7
American Idol, from
the perspective of a former national-level talent booker, demo screener, and
performance coach: who we like in the
competition, what works and what doesn't, what contestants can do to improve
their chances of success, and advice you can apply to your own career.
Editor's Note: Much has been made in the media about some of this year's
contestants having had label deals in the past. After much discussion, we at
MBADC made a conscious decision not to use this as a factor when rating each
contestant's performance in the MBADC American Idol Armchair Quarterback
column...including the new "most signable" section.
Season 7: The Top 8 Sing
Inspirational Songs
Air date: Tuesday,
April 8, 2008
Michael Johns: Michael Johns' version of Aerosmith's "Dream On"
had Michael going back to his old karaoke tricks. He was pitchy, the band
was terrible on it, and he didn't change up the arrangement, which was a
huge mistake...second-rate Steven Tyler wannabe high note and all. Had he
bothered to change the arrangement and make it his own, it might have
worked. We're completely with Simon on this one; it was a "wanna-be
performance". As is, we were unimpressed and his great performance from last
week has been erased. Tips for success: Song selection
and unique arrangements of those songs. Trying to copy an iconic
performance is never good.
Syesha Mercado:
Syesha Mercado's version of Fantasia's "I Believe" was pitchy in
places, but had a nice moment. The problem was, we were too distracted with
negative comparisons to Fantasia's highly memorable version to care.
Researcher Extraordinaire put it best: "With all the 10 million songs out
there, why would you do a Fantasia song? After 7 years, you'd think they'd
learn." Tips for success: See Michael Johns above.
Jason Castro: Jason Castro's version of the Israel
Kamakawiwo'ole interpretation of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
was an excellent choice for his voice and style, and we liked it a lot. But
for a little more originality, we'd have preferred he drop the ukulele and
use an acoustic guitar in the arrangement instead. We listened to Israel
Kamakawiwo'ole version to compare the originality, and Jason's voice is
different enough to almost make it work, but could be more so. (Israel's
also includes "What a Wonderful World" in the arrangement.) Performance-wise, his confidence and
stage presence are really improving. Tips for
success: Jason's beginning to figure out who he is as an artist. Now he
just needs to keep following through with good song selection and
arrangements, and improving his stage presence.
Kristy Lee Cook: Kristy Lee Cook's version of Martina McBride's "Anyway"
was an excellent song selection for her voice and style, and she sang it well,
with only a couple of minor pitch problems. The problem here is that she
sang it almost exactly like Martina's arrangement, and their voices are too
similar to make Kristy's a marketable recording on its own. Changing the
arrangement would have done the song more justice.
Image-wise,
she looked great. She's finally
starting to look like someone who could be signed to a major label, instead
of like a local kid singing at a rodeo. Tips for success: Continuing
to improve her stage presence and image is key developing into a memorable
artist.
So is changing the arrangement when the artist you're covering has a
similar style and range to your own.
David Cook: David Cook's version of "Innocent" by Our Lady of
Peace was a really bad arrangement for his voice and style, and undid all
the great stuff he's done in weeks past. Had he rearranged the song into his
harder-edged style, he may have gotten away with it. But this lesser-quality
arrangement was so vastly different, and not in a good way, that seeing this
performance was like watching another, drastically lesser-quality artist. Tips for success:
Once you get the hang of it, nearly any song can be arranged into your own
style. That's what should have been done here.
Carly Smithson: Carly Smithson's version of Queen's
"The Show Must Go On" was pitchy all over the place,
which was a shame, because it almost could have worked for her. The odd
thing was, she picked an uplifting song to get angry on. Image-wise, she
looked great. Much improved. Tips for success:
Confidence is what she needs, along with the right songs and arrangements.
We still don't know what she does.
David Archuleta: David Archuleta's version of
Robbie Williams' "Angels" wasn't great, but we've seen worse. He was shaky
and a little pitchy on the first verse, and we didn't feel that, as a song
selection, it brought out what's special about his voice. Tips for
success: Song selection, song selection, song selection...
Brooke White: Brooke White's version of Carole King's "You've Got a
Friend" wasn't bad, but it wasn't a knockout performance, either. It was a
decent song selection for her voice, but there was little emotion in it
compared to her other performances. Simon called this one right: it was like
a pleasant walk in the park, but nothing really special or memorable. Tips for
success: Song selection, and arrangement of those songs into something
memorable is key. You can never coast, because there are a million other
artists waiting for the opportunity to get ahead of you.
Most signable:
Based solely on tonight's performances and had we not seen any previous
weeks' performances, no one. Based on previous performances, it would be
David Cook, but tonight he didn't cut it.
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.
American Idol
Armchair Quarterback |
