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 Nine:
The Top 11 Sing Songs of the ‘50’s
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Mandisa: Mandisa’s version of Dinah Washington’s
“I Don’t Hurt Anymore” was delivered with a vocal that had a few pitchy
notes here and there but was a great vocal overall. Her stage presence was
excellent, and we loved the makeup, hair, and overall styling, and her
personality really came out. On the downside, the arrangement may have been
a little too Telethon and retro, but it’s particularly tough to inject
contemporary flair to music from the 1950’s, and her performing skills are
so excellent, she gets a pass. Tips for success: Song selection, song
selection, song selection, and consistency. Mandisa has flashes of
brilliance, but at this level, brilliance needs to be consistent every time.
Bucky Covington: Bucky Covington’s version of
Buddy Holly’s “Oh Boy” was a good song choice, because he still sounded like
himself. His vocal was very good, but we felt that due to the song’s
simplicity, he needed to inject a shot of extra energy into it. That was a
shame, because we felt that would have been accomplished if the Bland Band
had given it stronger country rock bass and guitar parts. The cheesy backup
vocal parts unfortunately made it worse. With a heavier, more country rock
arrangement we’d like to hear Bucky record it though. Tips for success:
We love Bucky’s song selection and ability to make a song his own, so
continuing that and injecting more energy into every performance and
developing stronger stage presence is key.
Paris Bennett: Paris Bennett’s version of Peggy
Lee’s “Fever” wasn’t well executed on the low notes, but we loved what she
did when she went into her power voice on the chorus. She had excellent
presence and image wise has great styling, but we’d like to see her invent
her own style, rather than copping Peggy Lee's. Tips for success:
Finding your own image is important if you want to have longevity. We
already had a Billie Holiday, and she was unique and fabulous. Be your own
unique, fabulous self.
Chris Daughtry: Chris Daughtry’s version of Johnny
Cash’s “I Walk the Line” was another stellar performance by Chris, who
continues to impress us with his true musicianship. The arrangement was a
fabulous, textbook example of making a cover fit an artist’s musical genre,
vocal style, and range, and it was an excellent performance by the band.
Chris should definitely record this one. The vocals weren’t 100% there, but
we give him a pass on this one because the total package added up to an
amazing performance that would easily fit right in on the AMAs, MTV Video
Music Awards, or Grammys. Excellent job on the stage presence, too: we were
especially impressed with the way Chris controlled, then expended his energy
in various parts of the song--Very hard to do live because of the
adrenaline, and very impressive. Gooooooo, Chris!!! Tips for success:
Continuing with great song selection and arrangements, but not letting the
vocals get away from him is key. His stage presence improves every week, and
he’s really coming into his own.
Editor's note: After performance night, there
was an uproar on the Internet by very vocal fans who remembered that this
arrangement of the song was originally done by the band Live. They came down
very hard on Chris for not mentioning this. Because in a previous show he
did mention that his Bon Jovi cover was Bon Jovi's arrangement note for
note, we'll give Chris the benefit of the doubt this time: our guess
is that nerves and not knowing how to correct the situation on live TV
probably played a role here.
We can't fault the
judges for not recognizing Live's arrangement, because rock isn't their
genre, and it wasn't a song that received a lot of national attention --hey,
we like Live and forgot about their version ourselves! Ultimate
responsibility for the omission lies
with the shows' producers,
who should have put it Seacrest's notes to mention on air. Chris and
Seacrest credited Live with the arrangement of this version during the next
performance show.
Regardless of who's at fault, this highlights the importance of remembering
to give credit, because someone is always willing to think the worst of you
if you don't. Does it take away from Chris's performance of the song? Not
really...Chris's voice has its own sound, so it sounded fresh, and sometimes
different arrangements take on a life of their own and become their
own covers.
Case in point: the Joe Cocker arrangement of the Beatles' "With a Little
Help From My Friends".--RR
Katharine McPhee: For the most part Katharine
McPhee delivered a textbook vocal on her version of Ella Fitzgerald’s “Come
Rain or Come Shine”…But that’s the problem. It’s so textbook, we’re bored,
and we don’t see a connection to the lyrics in her eyes. It was very
Telethon, and there were a couple of pitch issues on the high notes. Image
wise, much improved; we love the hair extensions! Tips for success:
Finding song lyrics you connect with is extremely important. It ain’t just
about the notes, folks: You have to make the audience believe those lyrics
really happened to you.
Taylor Hicks: Taylor Hicks’ version of Buddy
Holly’s “Not Fade Away” was delivered with an excellent vocal, but the
mildness of it was a little surprising compared to Taylor’s previous
powerhouse performances, and we felt he could have done a little more with
it. Perhaps a harder arrangement would help: we’ve seen The Stones and Bon
Jovi both do it live very well. It worked overall, though, and he had nice
styling and stage presence, too. Tips for success: Good song
selection and insisting on strong arrangements to back it up is especially
important for powerhouse soul-influenced vocalists.
Lisa Tucker: Lisa Tucker’s version of Frankie
Lymon and the Teenagers “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” was not a great song
choice, and her timing was off on the first verse. She’s so much better than
that performance, and Simon was right: It was very high school
musical-esque. The styling was a little off, too, and she looked better in
previous weeks. Tips for success: Song selection, song selection,
song selection…It’s especially important for young artists.
Kevin Covais: Kevin Covais performance of Nat King
Cole's “When I Fall in Love”
was OK…not great, but certainly not bad either. It was a
little pitchy, but he is interesting to watch, and he does have a certain
presence about him that makes you watch and listen. We liked that he started
the song sitting on the stage—it was interesting. We think Kevin could have
a really nice Broadway career. Tips for success: Song selection is
crucial, and more often than not, Kevin gets it right.
Elliott Yamin: Elliott Yamin’s version of Al
Jarreau‘s “Teach Me Tonight” was not a great song choice, and the
arrangement and performance of it was very Telethon. It was really pitchy in
places and didn’t hold our attention. Once again, our Webmaster, who’s up at
6:00AM every day, fell asleep. Tips for success: Song selection and
strong arrangements are key to counteracting what may be missing in the
stage presence department.
Kellie Pickler: We liked Kellie Pickler’s choice
of Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight,” and overall we liked her
performance of it. It’s tough to pull off Patsy Cline, and Kellie managed to
make it her own. It was a little pitchy on some of the low notes, but we’d
like to hear her do a studio version. Much improved styling from last week,
too, as well as excellent stage presence. Tips for success: Making a
song your own within your musical genre and vocal style, as Kellie does, is
vital if you want to deliver a memorable cover song performance.
Ace Young: Ace Young’s vocal delivery on his
version of “In the Still of the Night” was flat in a couple places, and we
didn’t like the arrangement. It was very Telethon and just didn’t do it for
us. Also…When did Ace Young decide he’s a jazz/R&B artist? This style
doesn’t suit his voice, and we still feel like he’s an artist searching for
an identity. Tips for success: Knowing who you really are as
an artist and being comfortable with it—as opposed to trying to be something
you want to be but aren’t—is key.
We Voted for: Chris Daughtry. Close second:
None. As a musician and performer, Chris is light years ahead of the
other contestants. He just “gets it”.
Ryan Seacrest Smart Quip of the Night: None, but
he was adorable with the 7 year old audience member, and vice versa.
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.
|
