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 Eight
Monday,
March 7, 2005
(Guys):
Scott Savol: Scott Savol had a nice vocal interpretation of "I Can't
Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honeybunch)". His vocals are consistent yet continue
to improve each week, even if we don't always see a lot of his personality
coming through. Vocally, he's one of the best in the competition. Tips
for success: Continuing with good song selection and bringing out his
personality onstage can help Scott move to the next rounds.
Bo Bice: Bo Bice's version of Edwin McCain's "I'll Be" was good for
his range and showed us his versatility, but didn't highlight the vocal
power we look so forward to hearing from Bo each week. But even though it
didn't highlight his best vocal features, it wasn't bad; we just wanted
more. Tips for success: If Bo chooses versatile songs that bring
out his power, and continues to show us his soul, he'll be
unstoppable...regardless of how the final votes turn out.
Anthony Fedorov: It was nice to see Anthony show his joy by doing the
up-tempo "I've Got You" but like Simon, we weren't wild about that
particular song. He belted it out well, though. Tips for success:
Anthony should continue to explore what works for him with song selection.
We feel if he can just find that signature song, the personality and star
quality we saw in early rounds will come out.
Nikko Smith: Nikko Smith did a nice interpretation of "Georgia,"
although he was a little shaky on some of the low notes and it was a little
"Star Search" at times. He ended the song with a great finish, though, which
is what star quality is all about: getting it together when things go wrong
and leaving your audience remembering how talented you really are. Tips
for success: Working on his vocals to get those low notes together
consistently and continuing the good song selection Nikko demonstrated this
week will improve his chances for a Top 3 finish.
Travis Tucker: Travis Tucker's performance of Bobby Brown's "Every
Little Step" continued to cement our belief that Travis is more passionate
about fame than he is about music. He's full of charisma and is a great
performer...But the vocals were so off-pitch, with seemingly no attempt to
correct them through the performance, that the whole thing came off more
like showing off than taking part in a vocal competition. Begging for votes
afterward by saying, "Help me out" was a turn-off as well, and he may just
as well have been saying, "That sucked, but vote for me anyway." No, thanks.
We prefer to vote for someone who actually cares about the music. Tips
for success: We've said it before, we'll say it again: We think Travis
would be brilliant in a sitcom or hosting something. He's great looking and
loaded with charisma, and those assets would probably be better served in
another area of the business.
Mario Vazquez: Mario Vazquez's interpretation of "How Can You Mend a
Broken Heart" had some really nice variations, and was a good interpretation
overall. He was a little pitchy in places and sounded right on the edge of
the note in others, but he pulled it off. It was great to hear him sing a
ballad again; we feared he was in danger of becoming a one-note performer.
Tips for success: Doing a ballad this week was a good choice.
Continuing to choose material that highlights his vocal strengths and shows
off his versatility without losing sight of his style should put Mario in
the Top 2.
Constantine Maroulis: Although Constantine Maroulis's execution of
"Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" was pleasant, and there was nothing
inherently wrong with it, we weren't inspired by it, either, and it was a
bit of a bar band performance. Doing the signature Police song was probably
the main problem; Constantine seemed to be "perform" the song rather than
owning it. Constantine is loaded with charisma, but we just never get any
emotion out of it. Tips for success: Constantine should find a
signature song he feels strongly--then make us feel the lyrics, too. Knowing
how to use your charisma to touch the listener is what rock stardom is all
about. Jon Bon Jovi realized this early on. Constantine has some of the same
kind of charisma, but needs to figure out how to work it and show the
audience some of his soul to achieve even a fraction of Jon's success.
Anwar Robinson: Anwar Robinson's "What a Wonderful World" was an
excellent version that was a great example of how to handle a cover song;
own it, change it up, and make it yours. Great variations on the vocals,
nice vocal styling. But we really missed seeing him dress in that funky,
signature Anwar style and were a little disappointed in seeing him dress
more like a music teacher than a star. Tips for success: Bring back
the Anwar style, and don't let your mama pick your clothes. The vocal style
and song selection Anwar displayed tonight, along with Anwar's previous
wardrobe choices, make for a winning combination.
We voted for: Bo Bice, because he seems to have the most soul, is
deeply connected to the music, and it would be great to see a rock performer
win. 2nd choice: Anwar Robinson, because he has musicality, unique
interpretations, and star quality.
Ryan Seacrest Smart Quip of the Night: "Thank you for not saying
'ass'. We
appreciate that." But even funnier was the sight gag that resulted when
Seacrest, unbeknownst to Constantine Maroulis, got up on tiptoe to make
himself appear taller as the well-over six-foot Maroulis turned to leave the
stage. It was a classic, Letterman-esque moment.
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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