Thu 5 Jul 2007
American Idol Recap and Review 3-29-06? Will they Improve?
The 3-29-06 week’s show of American Idol was very much less than great. Compared with last week’s, Wednesday’s performances by the 10 contestants were uninspiring.
A number of the songs, personally chosen by the singers, did not come across as memorable. Wrong choices simply mean diminished chances of making the cut.
Lisa Tucker was the third casualty after Melissa McGhee and Kevin Covais. I don’t think too many people shed tears over Lisa’s departure. From the previous two weeks when Lisa was among the bottom three, third time in the same group proved to be unlucky for her.
The killer news to me was Katharine McPhee being in the bottom three. America, what 
were you thinking? My heart missed two beats. Don’t do this to me, please.
American Idol Season 5 is proving to be a race filled with no clear front-runner. Last year, we had Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood going neck and neck down the last lap.
This time, it’s harder to tell. Chris Daughtry shows promise. So does Paris Bennett, Katharine and Mandisa. At this stage of the contest in the last season, the same thing was said about Constantine Maroulis, until he got booted out, much to everyone’s surprise.
What sets American Idol apart from all the other Idol contests around the world is that the United States has a bigger share of good singers and a large number of oddballs. Here, I am talking about the early auditions. Some of them made it to the last 12, namely Kevin and Taylor.
As for Taylor, my comments about him could trigger an avalanche of hate e-mails. I understand that Taylor is popular even among Malaysians. His grey hair has set him apart from the others. His harmonica skills also make him an interesting character.
At the beginning, he was that stranger who sang and moved a bit like Ray Charles. In recent weeks, he has become an endearing character. Taylor’s performance this week was slightly above par. I am beginning to like him. For some time now, my feelings towards Taylor were ambivalent.
He hasn’t got a great voice. He has an interesting way of delivering the tunes. The odd way he tilts his head and jerks his leg, sometimes right, at other times left. Not very professional but cool, as the younger generation would put it.
Last night’s show was special because of Shakira. She’s the only Columbian I know and I think she’s genuine in most ways. She dances with an abandon that is shocking to people laden with too many moral restrictions. Her hair is tousled. Her face has the words “born free” written all over it. Without a doubt, Shakira is the Columbian Idol.
Fox Network ought to be congratulated for inviting her to spice up the evening when the results were announced. If for the coming weeks, the producers of the show invite interesting celebrities like Shakira, all of us will be in for a treat.
Even though Kellie Pickler is Simon’s erstwhile darling, she’s proving to be someone that a number of people love to hate. Some have made snide remarks that she’s so contrived. 
And that her country accent is fake.
Personally, I like her hillbilly ways. This week, something happened to Kellie. She seemed to have done something to her eyebrows. Perhaps she just had them waxed and arched. Beautifully done, I must say.
Kellie’s song Suds in the Bucket suited her. I was impressed even if Simon wasn’t. That no-holds-barred judge said Kellie has picked a gimmicky and lasso-y song. Kellie reminds viewers like me of that girl in an old TV show, Beverly Hillbillies, called Ellie Mae.
If Kellie continues to pick the right songs and sings well, she may just spring a couple of surprises before long.
The crowd’s favourite, and mine as well, is Katharine. Her rendition this week of Christina Aquilera’s The Voice Within was expertly delivered. Not beautifully sang, as should have been the case. Nevertheless, McPhee sang her way into the hearts of the three judges. It was one of the few rare moments in the show when the trio agreed on anything. Usually, Paula Abdul would be hitting Simon’s arm and Randy Jackson raising his hands in a show of disbelief.
This week’s segment of the American Idol was slightly boring, mainly because I couldn’t reconcile myself with a number of the songs. I recognised the tunes but they simply didn’t ring the chimes in my system.
If everyone had expected Mandisa to come up with another winner, they were a little disappointed. Mandisa’s soaring vocals on Wanna Praise You was verging on shrill.
Many of us, I am sure, are not very accustomed to this kind of musical delivery. Her performance was too high, too loud, and a tad too evangelistic. Personally, I think Mandisa can out-sing most of the contestants but this is the American Idol contest. The best singer need not necessarily win.
Lest we forget, the voters, not the judges, are the arbiters of everyone’s fate. If we leave the judging to the professionals, the experts in the music industry and the top TV executives, all the fun of watching this show will fly out the window.
That is why this show is so entertaining. There’s a degree of unpredictability. TV viewers, by the millions, make American Idol the greatest show in America every week. And as the people would put it  “we are the paying voters, and don’t you forget it.” That’s show business, ya’hear!
Source: http://www.nst.com.my PHILIP LIM
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.