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 Four:
Wednesday, February 9, 2005
(Hollywood Semifinals Night 2, Group Night)
Guys: Best bet from tonight's male contestants: Mario
Vazquez.
Also interesting: Anwar Robinson.
Tips for success: Mario: If Mario maintains his quality, continues to
use creative song arrangements, and tones down the attitude, he can finish
in the Top 3. If Anwar steps up his game by using more creative song
arrangements and material selection, he also has a good chance of finishing
in the Top 3.
Girls: Best bet from tonight's female contestants: Jaclyn Crum.
Also interesting: Janay Castine.
Tips for success: If Jaclyn takes a cue from Mario and incorporates
some original arrangements, she can do well. Janay has excellent vocals, but
just isn't memorable. Working on presence is key for her.
"________________sounded great, so why didn't he/she make it to the next
round?": We concur with the judges.
Ryan Seacrest Smart Quip of the Night: No Smart Quip, but the first "fly on the wall" shot of Seacrest perched in the
balcony looking down at the onstage action sent us into hysterics.
Tuesday, February 8, 2005 (Hollywood Night 1)
Guys: Best bet from tonight's male contestants: Mario
Vazquez--A perfect example of how to handle a cover song: make it your own.
Good imaging, too: he looked ready to stroll into TRL.
Also interesting: Anthony Fedorov's
still our favorite vocally and has a great essence about him, but he wasn't
as musically original as Mario tonight. Vocally, Sean McNeil is another
favorite, has a great personality, and is different. Anwar Robinson is still
up there for his star quality, but his tone and phrasing sound so much like
Stevie Wonder, we sometimes lose interest. (The world already has a fabulous
Stevie Wonder. We need an Anwar Robinson with his own fabulous sound.)
Tips for success: Musically Mario should keep doing what he's doing, but
tone down the attitude. We love an East Coast guy, but he's not a star yet,
and America tends to think badly of overconfident TV personalities.
Anthony Federov can win if he chooses material and arrangements wisely.
Anwar Robinson has a good shot if he works to develop more musical
originality. Sean
Mc Neil can easily place in the Top 5 if he works on his
image in terms of clothing and personal style.
The rockers: Vocally, our favorite is
Bo Bice. We love his technique and interpretation of the melody. Tips for
success for Bo: Work on projecting to the audience so they come along
for the ride, and work to improve the image and star quality.
Constantine Maroulis one of the best looking guys in the competition and
has the kind of star quality that makes him a potential heartthrob, but he's
not our favorite vocally. Tips for success for Constantine: Don't
overdo it. Sometimes trying too hard has the wrong effect.
Girls: Best bet from tonight's female contestants: Despite
forgetting the lyric, Carrie Underwood. She covered it like a pro and moved
on.
Also interesting: Jaclyn Crum and Rashida Johnson.
Tips for success: Carrie sounded like
she was in a rehearsal holding back her voice. (Appropriate for rehearsal,
but not auditions.) She was dressed for rehearsal, not an audition, so we
think it may have put her in the wrong head space. Jaclyn's vocals are
good, but working on her originality will keep her from being confused with
2004 runner up Diana DeGarmo. Even with a cold, Rashida sounded great and
had one of the best song interpretations of the night. If Rashida works on her confidence, she can get far in the competition.
Everyone has an off-day, and vocally she handled the adversity perfectly.
Working on a positive attitude will be key to how Rashida does in the
competition.
A word on Briana Davis, who was cut: With the right vocal coach and
material, we still think Briana can make a successful transition to pop or
rock if she wants to. The voice is there; the key is learning how to use it
for the song at hand. It didn't come together this time, but a year of hard
training with a vocal coach knowledgeable in translating classical training
into a rock style will make a huge difference. Image-wise, again, it's
possible to tone it down a little without sacrificing your style. [I listen
to punk and am a huge fan of eyeliner, and I was scared!--Ed]
"________________sounded great, so why didn't he/she make it to the next
round?": Jeffrey Johnson. Vocally, Jeffrey reminds us a bit of Nick
Lachey, which is good. Jeffrey's "problem" is also the same as Nick's:
compared to others around him, he doesn't always stand out. We've now watched the
show four times in the process of writing this and still had to refer to the
notes to find Jeffrey's name, because we couldn't remember it. Stars are
memorable. Tips for success: To succeed, Jeffrey should work on the
image to develop a bit more of a unique style, and get a new vocal coach who
can help make the vocals even stronger. We'd also suggest Jeffrey listen to
some different types of music than what he usually listens to in order to
develop stylistically.
Ryan Seacrest Smart Quip of the Night: There wasn't one, and we're in
mourning. What's up, Seacrest?
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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