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 Seven (Guys):
Monday, February
28, 2005:
Mario Vazquez: Mario Vazquez has excellent stage presence and
has his look together, which continues to put him on our list of picks to
win. Nice vocal delivery, too. Our only complaint is that tonight's
performance of "I Love Music" seemed a bit of a Part 2 to last week's
(albeit better), so we'd like to see him mix it up a bit and show more of
his vocal power. Tips for success: Mario's singing was what got our
attention in early rounds, and we'd like to hear those emotional vocals
again. He's a more well-rounded performer than what's he's showing here.
Anwar Robinson: Anwar Robinson's natural presence and star quality are
developing into nice stage presence. He's becoming more expressive with each
performance, and tonight's "What's Going On" was no exception. We love that
Anwar's love of music is starting to really show and if he keeps it up, by
the end of the competition he'll be amazing.
Tips for success: If Anwar continues to show his love of music and
joy in performing, he'll easily make Top 3. Keep shining, Anwar. Song
selection will be key, too.
Joseph Murena: Joseph Murena (or Joe, as Ryan Seacrest referred to
him) has a great voice technically, but something gets lost in the
delivery of the performance. Although tonight's "Let's Stay Together" wasn't
bad, it just didn't come off as the impassioned plea it should have been,
and we found ourselves a little bored with it halfway through. Tips for success:
We want to see Joseph Murena deliver an explosive vocal; we feel like it's
in there somewhere but needs a little help getting out. Perhaps a well-timed
stick with a straight pin? Kidding aside, we'd like to hear the passion of
the lyrics come through. It takes more than just hitting the right notes to
shine.
David Brown: We liked David in early rounds, but nerves seemed to
take over in tonight's performance of "All in Love is Fair."
It was off-key and seemed to be a bad choice for his voice, and there didn't
seem to be any joy or love of music in his performance...which saddens us,
because he was so good in his first audition.
Tips for success:
We miss seeing David Brown's amazing smile. A happy song he's passionate
about coupled with some relaxation techniques might help bring out his true
spirit again.
Constantine Maroulis: Constantine's presence continues to make him a
favorite with the girls, and tonight's performance of "Hard to Handle" was a
vast improvement over last week. We're in agreement with Simon that it was
like an average bar band performance, but we can't help thinking part of it
was due to the American Idol band's less than rockin' delivery.
(Talented musicians, but around the MBADC office they're referred to as the
Bland Band.) Tips for
success: If you do a rock and roll scream, it must go with the key of
the song or you end up with screeching. If rock is Constantine's passion, a
year of working with a rock vocal coach to bring his power and style
together could produce great results. We recommend voice coach Elizabeth
Sabine.
Scott Savol: Although not our favorite song personally, Scott Savol's
choice of "Never too Much" brought out his pure, clear voice. Well done. Tips for success:
Continued strong vocals coupled with a memorable song could raise Scott
Savol's game significantly. Continuing to improve his stage presence and
show his joy and love for music will help, too. We're having fun
watching.
Travis Tucker: Travis Tucker had nice delivery and stage presence on
Lionel Richie's "All Night Long," but he still strikes us as someone
pretending to be a singer rather than being a singer, which makes
us want to pull him off American Idol and send him to a casting
director. He gives us the vibe that that he wants to be famous in whatever
medium he can make it in, as opposed to having a true passion for music, and
it puts us off. Tips for success: If music--not getting famous--is
Travis Tucker's passion, we want to see it. Better song selection and
stronger vocals that make us feel the lyrics will help.
Nikko Smith: Nikko Smith's choice of "Let's Get it On" was an
excellent choice for the range of his voice, and his delivery and stage
presence were excellent. More strong performances like this one can give
Nikko an edge over several of the other guys. Tips for success:
Continued good song selection and strong delivery are key to Nikko's
success. Tonight was a great example of what to do.
Anthony Fedorov: Anthony Fedorov's performance of "I Want to Know
What Love Is" was much improved over his performance last week, but it's
tough to live up to the vocals of Lou Gramm, who made the song famous and
was known for years as one of the best voices in the business. There was
nothing wrong with Anthony's delivery, and we're still rooting for him, but
we were left muttering, "song selection, song selection, song selection."
The arrangement of the song didn't help. Tips for success: Having
heard the magic of his early auditions, we know Anthony Fedorov is capable
of even more. We want to see him pull out those power vocals to serve
on a platter for all of America to see. Finding a signature song to bring
them out can help him do just that.
Bo Bice: Bo Bice has soul. Although this wasn't our favorite
song, Bo Bice's delivery and passion made us feel the emotion of it anyway.
This is what a good singer should do, and it's great hearing someone sing
with power and conviction. Whatever the outcome on American Idol, Bo
Bice is the real deal. Tips for
success: We would say song selection, but Bo seems to know what works
for his inner artist, so we're hesitant to suggest anything that may
resemble selling out. But for a winning strategy to get votes, we'd
encourage him to go for big, powerful, rock ballads that middle America
relates to, and to scream them out with the conviction he's becoming known
for. We think Bo has the soul and artistry to make it work in his own way,
without compromise.
We voted for: Bo Bice, because he's true to his artistic self and is
the antidote to the soul-less, bland vocal delivery that's taken over the
music industry. 2nd Choice: Nikko Smith, for his live performing
ability. But we have to admit we think America may choose Mario Vazquez
as its top choice tonight.
Ryan Seacrest Smart Quip of the Night: "For
those of you just tuning in, yes I am short." (Said when the 5'9 1/2"
Seacrest appeared onscreen next to the well-over 6' Constantine Maroulis.)
Self-depreciating humor made Seacrest a radio star long before his Idol
days, and we love that he hasn't lost the ability to laugh at himself. Even
funnier was when Seacrest cracked up laughing and had a hard time composing
himself when, off-camera, Simon made faces at him.
Seacrest's got his groove back.
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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