MBADC American Idol
Armchair Quarterback 2005
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.
Week 19
Tuesday, May 24, 2005: The Final
2 Showdown of Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice
Bo Bice 1st Performance: Bo Bice's choice of "The Long Long Road"
as his first song didn't have enough energy to kick off the night, and he
probably should have gone with "Vehicle" first. There were a couple of pitch
problems--one small one during the first verse, one small one on the last
note, but had excellent stage presence, and we agree with Randy that Bo can
sing anything. As for the imaging, although that particular pair of shades
was better than last week's, again we say kill the shades so the audience
has an opportunity to connect...especially if you have beautiful eyes.
Tips for success:
Better song selection, and no shades onstage.
Carrie Underwood 1st Performance: On Inside Your Heaven Carrie
Underwood was all over the place on the chorus, and it wasn't a good song
for her at all. She also seemed to be pushing too hard, risking blowing out
her voice. As to Paula's saying "But who cares?" regarding the pitch
problems, our webmaster said it all: "We do! At this stage we expect
perfection." As for imaging, the clothes and hair weren't overdone and were
perfectly in keeping with Carrie's mom-friendly, teen-friendly, "America's
sweetheart" image. Tips for Success: Don't push so hard, don't
strain, work on hearing yourself better in larger venues.
Bo Bice 2nd Performance: After Bo performed "Vehicle" during 70's
week, the Ides of March contacted him to let him know what an excellent job
he did with it. We agreed then, and we agree again. Brilliantly done. As for
imaging, we weren't wild about the pants with that shirt because the line of
the leg looked a little out of proportion with the fitted shirt, but that's
nitpicking. Tips for Success: If you wear a fitted
shirt, the line and fit of the pants should be perfect.
Carrie Underwood 2nd Performance: Carrie Underwood's choice of
"Independence Day" was a good one for her country-pop style, but it was
almost out of her range, and she sounded strained and throaty singing it.
There were some pitch problems on the chorus too. We really liked the
imaging, though; the clothing was a good choice for the song. Tips for Success:
Always remember that if a song is almost out of your range in rehearsal,
you're highly likely to go off-pitch when you do it live with a full band
and noisy audience and can't hear yourself as well. When nerves kick in,
that's a lot to fight through, so choose songs accordingly.
Bo Bice 3rd Performance: Bo Bice's performance of Inside Your Heaven was subtle yet powerful and made us want to sing along on the
chorus. We liked his version of it much better than Carrie Underwood's
interpretation because the power built slowly, he drew the audience in, and
we saw part of his soul, even though he didn't write it. That's what a good
singer should do. The imaging was great, too. Go Bo! Tips for Success:
None. This was a textbook example of how to handle a song you didn't write:
make the audience believe you did.
Carrie Underwood 3rd Performance: Carrie Underwood's performance of
"Angels Brought Me Here" was pitchy, and she had some notes at the end of
the first verse and on the choruses that were way off, and others that were
dangerously close to the edge...which given Simon Cowell's comments, we
suspect were hidden at the venue by the Kodak Theatre's acoustics. The
lyrics fit well and it was nice to see her connect with the song, but the
pitch was off enough that we just didn't connect with the performance. As
for the imaging, the dress will make the most conservative voters happy, but
we like her jeans looks best. Tips for Success: Bending notes is a
dangerous thing when nerves and emotion kick in, and you can easily veer too
far off, so choose songs wisely.
We voted for: Bo Bice, because he was the most consistent
throughout the season and has an innate sense of musicality and showmanship.
Bo Bice was the only contestant who sang well in every musical genre the AI
producers threw at them, he's original and true to himself. A Bo Bice
win followed by a successful album would change the music industry for the
better as more labels rediscovered the singer-songwriter and signed singers
who have soul instead of vocal gymnastics. Carrie's talented and has star
quality and is a marketer's dream, but we just don't find her as original as
Bo, nor as consistent a live performer, and for us it's all about what
happens live. Plus, Bo Bice seems like the kind of guy you'd just want to
have a beer with while checking out a good live band, and we like that.
Who we think will win and why: Current public opinion seems split
after tonight's performances, and we hope we're wrong, but since rockers
don't tend to vote in polls, we think Carrie Underwood has the edge based on
the probable voter demographics. Since Britney's proven herself "not that
innocent" and Jessica Simpson has changed her image there's an unfilled
niche; Tweens and young teens don't have an "America's Sweetheart" to look
up to, and her smalltown charm makes her a bit of an underdog, which
America loves. Carrie Underwood also fits the mold of the Conservative
culture's idea of an American Idol and is the more marketable of the two:
Carrie's tailor-made for ad campaigns with companies like Wal-mart, clothing
lines, make-up lines, etc. that would keep Tweens and young teens happy
while still having enough musicality for their parents who like pop country
crossover albums.
Who we think will be more successful and why: For quick success,
Carrie Underwood, because she has more cross-promotion and marketing
possibilities, but an America's Sweetheart image is very hard to live up to,
and we're not sure the public would accept a less-innocent image from her.
Bo Bice will probably have lower numbers for album sales but higher numbers
for live performances, as well as a longer career due to his live
performance ability and versatility as a singer. Singers with soul never go
out of style.
Ryan Seacrest Smart Quip of the Night: None, but the coin falling
through the grate during the American Idol coin toss--and Ryan's reaction to
it--was priceless, and was very much in keeping with the the rest of the
weird happenings of Season 4. That could've only happened to Seacrest, and
the way he handled it is exactly what we like about him.
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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