How about a break from politics? Season 7 of American Idol is in full swing. After last night's departure of Amanda Overmeyr we are now down to the final ten.
In some ways this has been the best of seasons and the weirdest. The judges and Ryan Seacrest seem to be on speed at times. One fears that the playful infighting amongst the gang has become something of a comedy routine. At times this year it has even distracted from the performers. However much we like to make fun of Randy, Paula and Simon, they are not the reason for the show. Randy actually started this season making very insightful comments, but is now back to "Dog, that was a little pitchy at times. It started out weak but then you pulled it together at the end. So it was just alright for me." Paula seems to have smoked a bale of weed before each show. More ditzy than ever, capped off the other night when she lectured Michael Johns on how to sing with a monitor in his ear only to be told that Johns wasn't even using one. Simon, who is usually the most astute in his comments, has been off his game at times, showing that whatever talent he possesses he doesn't really know music that well.
The contestants. Two weeks of Beatles songs have been fun, but also showed us the limitations of some singers. Two of the worst offenders are gone. David Hernandez was a glorified lounge act while Amanda Overmyer had to use a "rocker chick" persona to cover up the fact that she couldn't really sing a melody. The Beatles songs also showed something that I have observed in my viewing of Idol: singers these days, weened on bad pop music and rap, don't know how to sing a good melody. Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison, not one of whom possessed a great voice (although McCartney was pretty good) all could sing popular song better than most Idol contestants, who usually possess more raw vocal talent. Just goes to show that there is a big difference between having a good voice and being a good singer.
The remaining contestants have their niches. I particularly like Brooke White and Jason Castro. I actually downloaded White's acoustic version of "Love is a Battlefield." Stooping to download an Idol song is something I've never done, but I was really impressed. Jason Castro's rendition of Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" reached #1 on itunes downloads a couple weeks ago. What makes these performers unique for Idol is their laid back folky kind of sensibility. These are singers who would fit in very well in a coffee house scene. More than most contestants, these two have taken advantage of the new rule on Idol this year allowing performers to use instruments. Unfortunately, neither of these two have the kind of commanding style and personality to make a winner. I fear they'll be voted off earlier than their talent deserves.
I also like Chikizie simply because he is fun. One thing you can say about him, he isn't boring. Carley Smithson is a major vocal talent, but has a bit of that "rocker" persona that has never succeeded on Idol. The same thing goes for David Cook. He isn't as talented vocally as Smithson, but he does the rocker thing well. He will fall by the wayside precisely because that's all he really does well. One of the upcoming genres, country, Broadway, or pop, will trip him up.
This is the year of the men, unlike last year. I suspect something like three of the next four to go will be women, including Kristie Lee Cook (our next eliminated person, I suggest), Ramiele Malubay and Syesha Mercado.
The odds on favorite to win is the wunderkind, David Archuleta. My concern at this point is that Archuleta will win more based on the fact that he is the darling of the 14 year old girls than his talent, although he is talented. But we have also seen that he is limited. Once he gets outside of the sappy ballad, he struggles a little. He is not a natural performer and he lacks the charisma to sell an up-tempo song. But this is the fun of Idol. It isn't the best music (indeed it is sometimes quite bad music), but you do get to see fairly talented people try to impress you week after week. Let's enjoy the ride.
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