MBADC American Idol
Armchair Quarterback 2006
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 Eleven:
The Top 9 Sing Country Songs
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
Taylor Hicks: John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads”
was not the right song choice for Taylor’s voice, because it didn’t give him
a chance to vocalize. It was boring to watch, and it just didn’t click. We
like Taylor Hicks' voice a lot, but this wasn’t his night, and was probably
his worst performance over the course of the show. We did like his suit,
though. Tips for success: Song selection, song selection, song
selection… If you’re a powerful, soulful vocalist, choose a song with soul
and power within the genre. We might have chosen Rascal Flatt's' "Bless the
Broken Road" for Taylor.
Mandisa: “Any Man of Mine” by Shania Twain may have been a good song
for Mandisa, but the Bland Band’s boring arrangement of it had no dynamics
and didn’t give her much to work with. Vocally, it wasn’t my favorite of
Mandisa’s, and there were a few pitchy notes. But mainly the problems with
the vocal phrasing seemed to stem more from the arrangement than from
Mandisa herself. Hopefully the audience will see that too. On the styling
front, we thought the hair and makeup looked great, but the clothing didn’t
work well on camera. Tips for success: A good song arrangement can
highlight your vocals, but a bad one can make your vocals sound stretched
and out of breath.
Elliott Yamin: Elliott Yamin’s version of Garth Brooks’ “If Tomorrow
Never Comes” was off to a shaky start on the opening low notes and was a
little too subdued, but not bad. It was a good song selection for him, but
we’d like to hear him highlight certain parts of the lyrics with a little
more dynamics or expression. Also…it’s a sad song, so don’t smile.
Image-wise, we liked his styling a lot: Great colors for him, and a nice
casual style. Tips for success: To better connect with the lyrics of
a new song, read the lyric sheet several times without the melody, and take
time to really understand the meaning of the words: what does it really say?
What was the writer feeling when he/she wrote it? When have I felt this way?
When might the audience have felt this way? What words should be emphasized
to show I’m feeling this way when I sing it? What can I do vocally to better
tell the story and make the audience feel it too?
Paris Bennett: Paris Bennett’s version of Faith Hill’s (or LeAnn
Rimes’) “How Do I Live Without You” had a really off vocal in places, and it
was vocally probably her worst of the competition thus far. Since that’s out
of character for Paris, we think perhaps she couldn’t hear herself. Given
Simon’s glowing praise, apparently he couldn’t either. (It’s been an ongoing
problem since Season One that the judges can’t hear the vocals clearly when
they’re live in the studio.) Image wise, although we thought she looked
great tonight, the styling schizophrenia continues. Tips for success:
It’s good to reinvent yourself, but not when you’re building a fan base, and
not when audience votes decide your fate in a competition. Casual viewers
who only see the show occasionally and liked you need to be able to
recognize you!
Ace Young: Ace Young’s version of Keith Urban's "Tonight I Wanna Cry"
was a nice vocal compared to some of the other contestants’ performances,
but it was a bit nasal, and we felt the arrangement was a little too slow
for him to sustain some of the notes. We just weren’t’ entertained. But,
although it wasn’t our favorite performance, we did prefer this ballad to
some of his other song selections in previous weeks. Tips for success:
Ace sounds better when he sings ballads like this one (rock ballads, too),
because they seem like a natural, more comfortable fit for his voice. Find
the genre that fits your voice like a great pair of jeans.
Kellie Pickler: Kellie Pickler’s version of Reba McEntire’s “Fancy
(Don't Let Me Down)” was an excellent song choice, and she should record it.
It wasn’t the best arrangement of it and could have used more dynamics on
the part of the band, but she worked with it. There were a few pitchy notes,
but nothing really glaring, and we loved her ending notes. Meanwhile, her
stage presence gets better every week, and the styling was great, too.
Tips for success: Don’t let a so-so arrangement of a song hold you back
in a talent competition. Kellie didn’t, and neither should you. In a talent
competition, you just have to go for it whether the arrangement and band
step up or not.
Chris Daughtry: Chris Daughtry’s version of Keith Urban’s Making
Memories of Us" was the only performance of the night that left our staffers
silent during the whole performance. He had a great tone, and it’s evident
that he’s had excellent vocal coaching without sounding like he came out of
the Voice Coaching Factory assembly line. There may have been a couple of
shaky notes in the beginning, but we love how he “is” onstage. His
presentation was excellent, too: although he sat on a stool to perform the
song, he wasn’t kicking back, and he sat with presence—key to making
the audience pay attention to you. In terms of song selection it wasn’t our
favorite song and was a little boring (especially due to the Muzak-like
arrangement) but
stylistically
it was a good choice for
Chris’s voice. (There's actually another Keith Urban song, whose title
escapes us, that we felt would fit him better.) Tips for success: If
he’s in a position where he must sing country again, we’d really like to
hear Chris sing a less traditionally country arrangement of “If Tomorrow
Never Comes.” His voice would be perfect for it, and with Chris singing
it,it could be a successful crossover hit. (Sorry, Elliott Yamin.)
Katharine McPhee: Katharine McPhee’s version of Faith Hill's
“Bringing out the Elvis in Me” was not our favorite performance of hers, and
it didn’t hold our attention. She was off pitch on the first verse, and
although it got better on the chorus, we wished Kelly Clarkson was there to
show her how to do it. Tips for success: Song selection, song
selection, song selection. Maybe a Patsy Cline song would have worked better
for her?
Bucky Covington: Bucky Covington’s version of Gary Allan’s “Best I
Ever Had” gets our award for Most Improved Performer this week. It’s evident
Bucky’s been working hard on his stage presence and presentation, and he
even had some nice camera work. There were a couple of slightly pitchy
notes, but it was a really nice job overall and was definitely his best
performance thus far in terms of the whole package: vocals, imaging,
presence, presentation, and camera work. Great job! Tips for success:
If you’re weak in certain areas, work hard to improve them, as Bucky did.
What an amazing, night and day difference he made in just a week.
We voted for: Chris Daughtry. Close second: Bucky Covington,
because he was the only other contestant that put together the whole package
tonight: vocals, imaging, presence, presentation, and camera work.
Ryan Seacrest Smart Quip of the Night: “Safe, boring, and lazy:
Simon’s love life, Ladies and Gentlemen!” (After Simon used those words to
describe Taylor Hicks’ performance.)
Editor’s Note: For more about the contestants’ stage presence,
as well as a behind the scenes tidbit I stumbled upon when I was writing our
staff notes into this column, check out my
MusicBizAdvice Blog.
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.
The official American Idol website is
http://www.americanidol.com.
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