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 career.
Week Eighteen: Finals
Taylor Hicks vs. Katharine McPhee
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Katharine McPhee: Katharine McPhee’s version of K.T. Tunstall's “Black
Horse With a Cherry Tree” had nice vocal variations, but a couple of them
were pitchy and screechy. Her stage presence was good, and she looked great,
but it just didn’t hit us emotionally. We agree with Randy Jackson in that
we weren’t excited about it since we’d seen her do it before. Tips for
success: Keep it interesting, and hit the audience emotionally with your
performance.
Taylor Hicks: Taylor Hicks had great vocal chops on his version of
Stevie Wonder’s “Living For the City” and it showed off what he can do
vocally. We’re not sure if the song connects with the public, but it was a
good demonstration of his abilities. The purple lounge lizard jacket has to
go, though. We agree with Simon Cowell: Round 1 goes to Taylor. Tips for
success: Song selection that shows off your vocal ability is important;
sing the hell out of it. But make sure the audience connects to the material
and the performance; otherwise you may as well just be singing
scales.
Katharine McPhee: Katharine McPhee’s choice of doing Judy Garland’s
“Somewhere Over the Rainbow” so soon after her last performance of it
revealed either a potential lack of versatility, or a slower learning curve
in comparison to other contestants when it comes to new material. She
oversang it a bit, and we got bored about halfway through. Said our
Ed-in-Chief’s mom, who was in town visiting and summed up our thoughts
exactly, “If that’s what she’s singing, why don’t they have her sit down and
just replay what she did the other night?” And, the excuses about the in-ear
monitors were clearly a vote-getting tactic. It’s what performers use in
2006. Deal with it. Tips for success: Mix it up, and stop making
excuses.
Taylor Hicks: Elton John’s “Levon” was a perfect song choice for Taylor
Hicks’ voice, and we were really excited earlier in the week when we heard
he was planning to sing it. But, the Bland Band’s arrangement was bloody
awful, and Taylor’s voice unfortunately cracked… A real shame, because we
feel that with a better arrangement, he would have nailed it. We’ve heard
fabulous versions of this song, but unfortunately this wasn’t it. Tips
for success: Never let a bad arrangement throw you off. But before it
even gets to that point, see if it’s possible to try out a few different
ways of doing the song.
Katharine McPhee: (Debut single, "My Destiny") Katharine McPhee was
pitchy on the low notes of this and other notes were very, very off and
screechy. We didn’t see any emotional connection to the song, and if America
votes her as the next American Idol after this performance, they’re tone
deaf. Looking great isn’t enough, and her plea for votes at the end was
just…pathetic. Tips for success: At this point in the competition, we
should be hearing perfection, or close to it…Not begging for votes.
Taylor Hicks: (Debut single, "Do I Make You Proud") Taylor Hicks’ single
is a better song and has a nice hook. He had a couple of off notes, but it
was far better than Katherine’s performance, and we were entertained.
Image-wise, Taylor’s styling was much better this time, too. Tips for
success: A song with a great hook, delivered on pitch and in an
entertaining manner by a performer who looks like a star is exactly what an
audience wants.
We voted for: Taylor Hicks.
Ryan Seacrest Smart Quip of the Night: None, but he was still a charming
host.
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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