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 Six: Girls Live Performance 2
Tuesday,
February 28, 2006
Editor’s
note: How do this year’s American Idol contestants stack up to previous
seasons? There are more contestants who are technically proficient singers,
but the overall image and stage presence of the contestants has been worse
than in previous seasons. How can we tell? At this point in the competition
in every previous season, we’ve known most of the contestants’ names by now,
and we could put faces with most of the names when seeing them in print.
Not this season: So far, only a few of the contestants have been memorable
enough to know their names without looking at the screen or rewinding the
video as we take notes during the performances. Something you can apply to
your own career: Be memorable!--RR
Katharine McPhee:
Katharine McPhee’s
version of Stevie Wonder’s “All in Love is Fair” was pitchy, and although
she’s usually technically excellent, we weren’t impressed tonight and were
even a little bored by the performance. It was a little too Telethon, and
image and stage presence-wise, we’re still not blown away: Being really good
means people demand more of you. (Celine Dion, who the next American Idol
may be competing with on the charts, is known for being one of the most
technically proficient singers in the industry, but also has a very definite
image and style and strong stage presence.) Finally, keeping in mind what
the producer’s purpose of American Idol is, we still don’t feel she’s
commercial enough for a pop recording contract in the current music
industry—an important point, because the next American Idol will be
competing for chart position in the commercial recording industry. Tips
for success: Song selection and image are the key here. Singing
something from recent charts, that also fits her voice and style
would help tremendously on both counts.
Kennik Sky:
Kennik Sky’s version of Gretchen Wilson’s “I’m Here for the Party” was a big
improvement over last week’s performance. It was pitchy on a few notes, but
the overall stage presence and more casual image worked much better than
last week. Paula and Randy didn’t like the song selection, but we liked it
just fine and were entertained, and being a little “Amusement Park” beats
being too Pageant-y any day. Tips for success: The dramatic switch
from elegant to casual can be confusing to an unestablished artist’s
audience, so to succeed Kennik now needs to keep her image consistent to
develop her fan base, so she’s memorable—key to getting votes every week, as
well as to CD sales.
Lisa Tucker:
Compared to the knock-it-out of the park stage presence Lisa Tucker
showed in last week’s performance, this week’s performance of Jackson 5’s
“Who’s Loving You” was too subdued, and she was pitchy on several notes. We
were bored, which was disappointing, because Lisa’s capable of much more,
even at 16. She was also dressed just a little too casually and looked like
she was about to hit the studio instead of the stage. Tips for success:
Better song choice would help tremendously here. But more importantly,
you have to give it your all and “project” (in terms of image
and stage presence) during every performance. It’s important on AI, but for
you the reader as well: You never know which night a talent buyer, label
exec, or their friends might be there…and they usually don’t announce
themselves.
Melissa McGhee:
Melissa McGhee’s
version of Reba McIntyre’s “ Why Haven’t I Heard from You” was
a good song choice for her voice and style, and in terms of stage presence,
was a much better performance than last week. Was it memorable as a
stand-out performance? Definitely not, but we respect that she’s really
working on it. It shows. Tips for success: In addition to continuing
to work on stage presence, Image is the key here. Stars don’t look
like the person next door. Glamming it up while staying within the range of
your own style is key.
Heather Cox:
Heather Cox made the fatal mistake of choosing to do Mariah Carey’s
signature song, “Hero.” No one can possibly live up to a signature song that
the performer wrote--especially when that performer is in one of the best
periods of her career--so it came off as pageant-y or like a high school
talent show competition. Heather was a little pitchy, but she sang it well.
The problem is, it wasn’t spectacular, which Mariah’s version is. Therein
lies the problem. Think it’s not fair of us to compare Heather to Mariah?
Maybe not, but it’s unavoidable; Mariah is the next American Idol’s
chart competition, as Kelly Clarkson was last year. Tips for success:
1. Always know who the competition is. At this level your competition isn’t
your next door neighbor or the girl down the street; it’s Mariah herself. 2.
Never do an icon’s signature song. As we said last week, choosing songs that
bring out your own unique personal power and then making them your own with
unique arrangements that work for your voice and style is key.
Brenna Gethers:
Brenna Gethers’ version
of Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” was very Cruise Ship; even the stage looked
like someone filled in the Love Boat swimming pool. It was just…not great.
And the fake smile and posing really bugs us. Just be yourself. Tips for
success: When a performer thinks they’re great, they’re not trying, and
there’s no artistic growth.
Paris Bennett:
With this week’s
performance of “Wind Beneath My Wings” Paris Bennet lost some of the
sparkle that makes her so special. It had too much vibrato, and although we
never thought we’d say this about Paris Bennett, it was boring. The imaging
was off as well; we agree with Simon in that looking like a little old lady
at 16 is never a good thing. Tips for success: We’ve
said it before, and Simon said it tonight: choosing your Grandma’s (or
Mom’s) favorite song never works. Know what works for you and what brings
out your own personal spotlight, and sing Grandma’s favorite to her in
private.
Ayla Brown:
Ayla Brown’s version of Celine Dion’s “I Want You to Need Me”
was sung well with only one notable pitch
problem. The problem is, it wasn’t memorable, either; we had to watch video
of the performance to remember whether or not she sang it well. On the plus
side, Ayla used the camera well, and major kudos to her for not doing one of
Celine’s signature songs; it worked well for her voice. On the minus side,
it’s slightly boring song that needs a sparkling performer with huge
presence to carry it off. Tips for success: Ayla’s getting
there in terms of song selection. Working on stage presence, projection, and
sparkle, and emotion helps everything else come together.
We agree with Simon in that a little rawness is a
good thing; perfect can be boring.
Kellie Pickler:
Kellie Pickler’s version
of Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” was the perfect song choice for
her voice and style, and was a 100% improvement over last week. The nerves
are vanishing, and it’s clear that she’s working really hard. She may have
been a little pitchy on a few notes, but her stage presence was so improved
and the performance was such a spark compared to the other contestants, we
didn’t notice. Great work! Tips for success: Whatever she’s doing to
work on stage presence and getting rid of the nerves is working, so doing
more of it is key. Given Kellie’s amazing first audition, most of her off
notes are coming mainly from liver performance nerves: as her confidence
continues to improve, so will her vocal accuracy.
Mandisa: Mandisa Hundley’s version of Faith Hill’s “Cry a Little”
wasn’t a great song choice for her voice and style, and it made her sound
like a poorer singer than she really is. “Cry a Little” was made for a
classically-trained, straight-line vocalist—especially the “fall” in the
chorus—and unfortunately just doesn’t fly for a jazzy vocalist. Mandisa has
a great voice, but she butchered a great song and is capable of so much
better. Tips for success: Song selection, song selection, song
selection.
We voted for:
Kellie Pickler.
Additional notes:
Poor song selection and
lack of stage presence made for unmemorable performances overall, and
tonight’s episode of American Idol had to be the most boring episode
of the entire series. Song selection, song selection, song
selection!!! Also, will someone please improve the sound system the judges
hear in the American Idol performance studio? What we hear at home is
coming directly through the board and sounds very different than what the
judges are hearing…and as a result, the judges missing some real clinker
notes.
Ryan Seacrest Smart Quip of the Night:
None, but we loved
when the girls said “Seacrest out!” to sign off. Seacrest without the
“Seacrest out” is like Bugs Bunny without “What’s up, Doc?” When something
becomes a household word, don’t mess with it. (Pssst: A household word is
rarely something you create yourself or have control over; it’s something
everyone else latches onto.)
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.
|
