If I didn’t have incontrovertible evidence, courtesy of Digital Video Recording, I would still be questioning my visual faculties. If you watched the March 28, 2006 edition of American Idol, you saw it, too.
In the space of one hour, Taylor Hicks and Elliott Yamin pulled off a body swap.
It is not unusual for people who spend large chunks of time together to assume each other’s language and idiosyncrasies. But this – this was more like identity theft. Yaminesque, Taylor stood relatively motionless at the microphone stand, pouring himself soulfully into an unfamiliar song, Trouble by Ray LaMontagne. He remained stationary and uncharacteristically subdued as the judges assessed his performance.
As Taylor did on Stevie Wonder night, Elliott entered dancing from the band side of the stage. His delight in performing I Don’t Wanna Be was transparent and contagious – one of those moments of perfect joy when he was obviously in love with the world and everything in it. He reacted to the judges’ varying degrees of praise by laughing heartily, spinning and bouncing – a self-effacing variation of the Hicks Snoopy dance.
I may be one of the few regular AI commentators not whining about Tuesday’s show. What that tells me is that the others’ favorites performed less than spectacularly this week. I completely enjoyed Taylor Hicks, Elliott Yamin and any combination thereof. T-H-E-Y are my top two from season five, not necessarily in that order.
Taylor seems like the least likely AI contestant ever – the anti-Idol, in fact – but is the most likely to win this season, provided that his enormous fan base votes consistently. He is like pure, unfiltered sunshine – or moonshine, if that’s how you get your kicks. His irresistible appeal is that of an overgrown, unspoiled boy with an old white man’s hair and an old black man’s mojo for music. He is the Steve Martin happy feet skit sprung to life.
One week he sat down on Stevie Wonder’s piano bench and said, “It’s nice to see you.” An awkward pause followed. The next week he walked into rehearsal, greeting Barry Manilow with a Mandy serenade.
Undoubtedly it helped Taylor to show this week that he is a serious singer who can control his rubbery limbs when necessary. Almost certainly Elliott had to prove that he is more than a bashful crooner of jazzy, complex ballads from a bygone era. Missions accomplished.
Elliott dared to select a song the audience closely identifies with the ever-popular Bo Bice, scrubbed away the pretty soft-rock veneer and uncovered the raw funkiness underneath. While displaying more versatility than any other contestant this season with the exception of Paris Bennett, who was equally impressive on Tuesday, he conquered yet another intricate melody, this one testing the bottom of his range and his falsetto. As he roller boogied across the stage on invisible skates without losing his pitch or his nerve, he looked the part of a crowd-pleasing idol for the first time since If You Really Love Me.
Elliott took a huge risk, leaping out of his comfort zone with no guarantee of a soft landing. Miss Pickler, this is what a ballsy looks like. Instead of choosing a 21st century composition that he could retrofit into his niche of classic R&B, he used the theme to modernize his image and tweak audience expectations. In return, Elliott was rewarded with the so-called pimp spot, the final showcase of the evening under star-maker lighting just as voters are picking up their phones. He also earned his most flattering reviews since shocking us with the unsurpassed musicality of Moody’s Mood for Love.
Growing legions of Yaminiacs, Yaminions, and E-Train passengers swoon over his every note and move. Someday his sweat towels will fetch big bucks on the internet. I write proudly as one of the Yamin-obsessed. Regardless of our age, gender or religion, we are all his Jewish mothers. [For the record, I am not Jewish. However, during my first marriage, I was Jewish by injection.]
We kvetch on message boards when our boy is criticized or under appreciated. We rack our fixated brains to find just the right song for him to fit each theme. We are impatient for Tuesday to arrive and, when it does, we await his turn with hope and high anxiety. We vote with the zeal of true believers and fret when his phone line isn’t busy enough. Then we form a prayer circle to get through Wednesdays until we know that he is safe for another week.
We consider Elliott a prodigious vocalist, perhaps the most naturally gifted in American Idol history. We note that the perceived AI5 frontrunners benefit from advantages that Elliott does not – formal training, industry contacts, onstage experience, superficial beauty. We understand that he may be a long shot and worry that he needs more AI exposure to secure a recording contract. We want the fairy tale to come true for our Cinderfella.
This week Taylor Hicks and Elliott Yamin proved how much they want to win this competition – not for the sake of victory or celebrity or the perks of success, but because they were born to sing. After T-H-E-Y zap themselves back into their respective bodies, please pass the magic wand.
If only for one very special episode of American Idol, I would like Taylor and Simon Cowell to switch places. Just imagine Simon doing Taylor's signature dance, the Diddley Squat! Now that would be a show sure to please everyone.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Sunday, March 26, 2006
“Unhappy Days” Starring Paula Abdul
The chemistry between Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul has become toxic to the American Idol talent pool. Too often this season, and especially last Tuesday during 1950s night, the focus is diverted from the talent onstage to the HazMat emergency at front row center.
Just as the audience began to applaud Elliott Yamin’s masterful rendition of Teach Me Tonight, the microphone picked up the male judges’ initial reaction. “Fabulous, fabulous,” muttered Cowell, who had been nodding his head approvingly throughout the song, grooving to the beat.
Randy praised Yamin’s complex, ambitious, well-modulated performance. As Paula Abdul rambled on about her goosebumps and how much Elliott is loved, Simon mocked her openly. Then Simon and Paula continued their pointless debate about dancing interspersed with tiresome insults.
Responding more to Paula than to Elliott, Simon concluded archly, “Since this is a singing competition, allow me to judge your singing. It was fantastic.”
To recap, Simon was preparing to pay an extraordinary compliment to Elliott Yamin, a contestant who would surely benefit from the coveted Cowell Seal of Approval on any given Tuesday, particularly during the week when Dial Idol predicted Elliott's departure. Instead the compliment got mired in the feud with Paula and was used as a back-handed slap at her. As Idol faded into a commercial break, what do you think viewers remembered – the awesome performance or the awful judges?
Well, excu-u-use me, but this isn’t a judging competition, either. If it were, I would have to rate it as something that rhymes with pitchy. Simon and Paula offered some words of clarity and insight Tuesday evening, but those are not the moments that linger in our collective memory. As disrespectful and disturbing as their friction is to the audience, it must feel discordant to the contestants who share their environment.
Only four days earlier on Larry King Live, Simon described how Abdul serves as a sort of perverse muse.
It just works? I’m sorry, but I will need a real judge’s ruling on this.
In the next issue of Rolling Stone featuring the AI trio on the cover, Cowell admits to interviewer Erik Hedegaard that he abandons his famous bluntness on occasion.
So, did Simon lie to Larry King about Paula? Whenever the truth is in doubt, we can always count on our own lying eyes. Even Stevie Wonder can see that the Simon-Paula relationship is not working.
Paula gave her own bizarre interview to Rolling Stone. This week Us Weekly reports that American Idol producers considered firing Abdul earlier this month. According to their source, Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears are potential replacements. I guess that means they won’t be revising the job description.
If the AI crew cannot control their unruly judges, and we know that they will not remove Simon Cowell, they must replace Paula Abdul with someone more knowledgeable and articulate who can shake the male panelists out of their complacency. The female candidates who come to mind include Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos, and Cyndi Lauper.
On American Idol as on the U.S. Supreme Court, sometimes the best woman for the job is a man. I nominate Stevie Wonder. Like other professionals who mentor the AI contestants, such as Barry Manilow and Elton John, Wonder offered truly constructive advice and the kind of encouragement that inspires great performances. Stevie's blindness would balance a panel too often distracted by physical appearance - which is only one reason that a blonde bimbo does not belong in the chair next to Simon - and equalize treatment of gifted singers who otherwise might stagnate from neglect. Remember Jennifer Hudson from season three? Sir Elton recognized her talent when the judges ignored her out of deference to their favorites. Now she will be starring in the film version of Dreamgirls - and Stevie is starring in my fantasy of an idyllic American Idol that will never be.
Realistically now, I think Mark McGrath, a guest judge during the AI4 auditions (and was that his audition?), is uniquely qualified for the position and may even be available to start right away. He is well versed in the history of pop music and is better informed about contemporary music than Simon and even Randy. He would have recognized that Chris Daughtry’s alt-rock take on I Walk the Line originated with the band Live. Fortunately for Chris, the judges really liked it. Generally, though, Simon and Randy tend to critique a performance more sharply when they are unfamiliar with the song or unhappy with the genre.
Two seminal rock’n’roll songs were performed Tuesday evening, a fact completely ignored by the judges. What is the value of theme nights with songs that are foreign to half the audience if the host or judges do not place them in their historical context?
Taylor Hicks selected Not Fade Away, Buddy Holly’s rockabilly tribute to the style of Bo Diddley which has influenced every generation of rock musicians since the 1950s. Younger viewers can find Bo's distinctive rhythm in the songs I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow and Desire by U2. I really didn't like Barry Manilow's yakety sax arrangement at all when the song cries out for a bluesy guitar and harmonica. Undaunted, Taylor showed us his trademark knee-bending, hip-pivoting dance known hereafter as the Diddley Squat.
Lisa Tucker gave a lively, pitch perfect performance of Why Do Fools Fall in Love by Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. Despite its happy, bouncy spirit, the song is technically challenging with multiple chord changes. As one of the earliest rock’n’roll recordings, it created the framework for Motown, particularly the Jackson Five, and Phil Spector’s girl groups of the early 1960s. When it became a hit in 1956, Lymon was only 13 years old. He died tragically of a heroin overdose at the age of 25.
Most contestants can only do as well as the material they select. Mandisa is the exception to that rule. I believe she can take any song and make it instantly memorable. I Don’t Hurt Anymore is not the catchiest Dinah Washington tune, but Mandisa powered it up several notches. Simon commented on her sexiness and said it was a great stripper song. Simon, please, keep your private life private.
Kellie Pickler impersonated Patsy Cline – that is, if Cline were a streetwalker instead of a heartbroken woman walking the streets, searching for her man. Her exaggerated enunciation on Walking after Midnight seemed artificial. Still, it was an improvement for her over Wonder week.
Paris Bennett is another dynamo, reprising Peggy Lee’s Fever from her auditions. Unlike Mandisa, Paris turns it off and on to dramatic effect.
Like Elliott, Katharine McPhee tackles challenging songs every week. Ella Fitzgerald is probably the most talented female vocalist ever and Katharine did just fine on her Come Rain or Come Shine.
Elliott was at the top of his game from the charming conversation he had with Ryan Seacrest – in which he declared himself a converted Barry Fanilow – to the way he sold the song Teach Me Tonight, Al Jarreau style. His phrasing also reminded me of Frank Sinatra.
Ace Young picked the classic In the Still of the Night. At the end of each line, he had to hold the note for two or three counts, which emphasized a nasal tone I don’t remember hearing before. Was it the weather or does he always sound so stuffy? I’m not certain this was the right song for him. To regain his momentum, he needs to select the right songs every week and rise to the challenge.
I am certain that Barry Manilow’s arrangement of Oh Boy was the wrong choice for Bucky Covington. Plus, Bucky sang above the melody line as if the key were wrong for him, too. I like Bucky, but he is very lucky to be in the top 10.
Kevin Covais didn’t reach the top 10 and won’t be back for the summer tour. He is young enough to improve as a performer if he applies himself.
Chris Daughtry has gotten nothing but glowing reviews from judges, but the blogosphere and some mainstream media outlets aren’t as kind. Last week he gave attribution to the Red Hot Chili Peppers when he performed their alternative version of Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground. This week he copied Live’s arrangement of I Walk the Line. Maybe viewers truly object to Chris getting so much credit for an original rendition when it really wasn’t, but it was the judges making that claim, not Daughtry.
Chris risks becoming the one-trick pony some are calling him unless he dramatically steps out of his comfort zone. I liked how much more controlled he was on the first verse of I Walk the Line. I wouldn’t say it was soft exactly, but it was more intimate. He dedicated the song, which deals with temptation and fidelity, to his wife.
If Chris continues on the same musical path made only of hard rock, we may look back at this performance and think, “Yep, that’s when he jumped the shark.” I suspect there is a backlash against Chris for being so obviously the judges’, especially Simon’s, favorite. Did Chris ask to be the favorite? Has he brought any undue attention to himself? Does he mug for the camera? I think not.
All of the top 24 contestants are young people living their dreams in front of three dysfunctional judges and millions of self-styled critics at home. As Marty Casey wrote, “It’s a combination for disaster.” Against all odds, it has been a recipe for magical entertainment that we will feast upon greedily for nine more weeks – as long as the judges don’t spoil it.
Just as the audience began to applaud Elliott Yamin’s masterful rendition of Teach Me Tonight, the microphone picked up the male judges’ initial reaction. “Fabulous, fabulous,” muttered Cowell, who had been nodding his head approvingly throughout the song, grooving to the beat.
Randy praised Yamin’s complex, ambitious, well-modulated performance. As Paula Abdul rambled on about her goosebumps and how much Elliott is loved, Simon mocked her openly. Then Simon and Paula continued their pointless debate about dancing interspersed with tiresome insults.
Responding more to Paula than to Elliott, Simon concluded archly, “Since this is a singing competition, allow me to judge your singing. It was fantastic.”
To recap, Simon was preparing to pay an extraordinary compliment to Elliott Yamin, a contestant who would surely benefit from the coveted Cowell Seal of Approval on any given Tuesday, particularly during the week when Dial Idol predicted Elliott's departure. Instead the compliment got mired in the feud with Paula and was used as a back-handed slap at her. As Idol faded into a commercial break, what do you think viewers remembered – the awesome performance or the awful judges?
Well, excu-u-use me, but this isn’t a judging competition, either. If it were, I would have to rate it as something that rhymes with pitchy. Simon and Paula offered some words of clarity and insight Tuesday evening, but those are not the moments that linger in our collective memory. As disrespectful and disturbing as their friction is to the audience, it must feel discordant to the contestants who share their environment.
Only four days earlier on Larry King Live, Simon described how Abdul serves as a sort of perverse muse.
KING: Do you have a problem with Paula Abdul?
S. COWELL: I love her.
KING: Then what are all these stories about?
S. COWELL: Well, we bicker but I don't know about you but if I'm comfortable with somebody I'll argue with them. If I hate you, I'm icily polite. So, it must mean that I like her because she is -- she annoys me. She irritates me but I couldn't do the show without her, couldn't do it.
KING: Really?
S. COWELL: No, honestly, I genuinely couldn't because when you're sitting there thinking now what am I going to say to this performance, Paula says something. You're like thank you. Now I've got something to say. It makes it because we're such polar opposites. It just works.
It just works? I’m sorry, but I will need a real judge’s ruling on this.
In the next issue of Rolling Stone featuring the AI trio on the cover, Cowell admits to interviewer Erik Hedegaard that he abandons his famous bluntness on occasion.
HEDEGAARD: If you were to lie about something personal, what would you lie about?
COWELL: I lie about whatever is appropriate at the time.
HEDEGAARD: You don't have a problem with lying?
COWELL: No! If it gets me out of trouble or makes a situation easier. Absolutely! And it's a fairly continuous thing, I would say.
So, did Simon lie to Larry King about Paula? Whenever the truth is in doubt, we can always count on our own lying eyes. Even Stevie Wonder can see that the Simon-Paula relationship is not working.
Paula gave her own bizarre interview to Rolling Stone. This week Us Weekly reports that American Idol producers considered firing Abdul earlier this month. According to their source, Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears are potential replacements. I guess that means they won’t be revising the job description.
If the AI crew cannot control their unruly judges, and we know that they will not remove Simon Cowell, they must replace Paula Abdul with someone more knowledgeable and articulate who can shake the male panelists out of their complacency. The female candidates who come to mind include Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos, and Cyndi Lauper.
On American Idol as on the U.S. Supreme Court, sometimes the best woman for the job is a man. I nominate Stevie Wonder. Like other professionals who mentor the AI contestants, such as Barry Manilow and Elton John, Wonder offered truly constructive advice and the kind of encouragement that inspires great performances. Stevie's blindness would balance a panel too often distracted by physical appearance - which is only one reason that a blonde bimbo does not belong in the chair next to Simon - and equalize treatment of gifted singers who otherwise might stagnate from neglect. Remember Jennifer Hudson from season three? Sir Elton recognized her talent when the judges ignored her out of deference to their favorites. Now she will be starring in the film version of Dreamgirls - and Stevie is starring in my fantasy of an idyllic American Idol that will never be.
Realistically now, I think Mark McGrath, a guest judge during the AI4 auditions (and was that his audition?), is uniquely qualified for the position and may even be available to start right away. He is well versed in the history of pop music and is better informed about contemporary music than Simon and even Randy. He would have recognized that Chris Daughtry’s alt-rock take on I Walk the Line originated with the band Live. Fortunately for Chris, the judges really liked it. Generally, though, Simon and Randy tend to critique a performance more sharply when they are unfamiliar with the song or unhappy with the genre.
Two seminal rock’n’roll songs were performed Tuesday evening, a fact completely ignored by the judges. What is the value of theme nights with songs that are foreign to half the audience if the host or judges do not place them in their historical context?
Taylor Hicks selected Not Fade Away, Buddy Holly’s rockabilly tribute to the style of Bo Diddley which has influenced every generation of rock musicians since the 1950s. Younger viewers can find Bo's distinctive rhythm in the songs I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow and Desire by U2. I really didn't like Barry Manilow's yakety sax arrangement at all when the song cries out for a bluesy guitar and harmonica. Undaunted, Taylor showed us his trademark knee-bending, hip-pivoting dance known hereafter as the Diddley Squat.
Lisa Tucker gave a lively, pitch perfect performance of Why Do Fools Fall in Love by Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. Despite its happy, bouncy spirit, the song is technically challenging with multiple chord changes. As one of the earliest rock’n’roll recordings, it created the framework for Motown, particularly the Jackson Five, and Phil Spector’s girl groups of the early 1960s. When it became a hit in 1956, Lymon was only 13 years old. He died tragically of a heroin overdose at the age of 25.
Most contestants can only do as well as the material they select. Mandisa is the exception to that rule. I believe she can take any song and make it instantly memorable. I Don’t Hurt Anymore is not the catchiest Dinah Washington tune, but Mandisa powered it up several notches. Simon commented on her sexiness and said it was a great stripper song. Simon, please, keep your private life private.
Kellie Pickler impersonated Patsy Cline – that is, if Cline were a streetwalker instead of a heartbroken woman walking the streets, searching for her man. Her exaggerated enunciation on Walking after Midnight seemed artificial. Still, it was an improvement for her over Wonder week.
Paris Bennett is another dynamo, reprising Peggy Lee’s Fever from her auditions. Unlike Mandisa, Paris turns it off and on to dramatic effect.
Like Elliott, Katharine McPhee tackles challenging songs every week. Ella Fitzgerald is probably the most talented female vocalist ever and Katharine did just fine on her Come Rain or Come Shine.
Elliott was at the top of his game from the charming conversation he had with Ryan Seacrest – in which he declared himself a converted Barry Fanilow – to the way he sold the song Teach Me Tonight, Al Jarreau style. His phrasing also reminded me of Frank Sinatra.
Ace Young picked the classic In the Still of the Night. At the end of each line, he had to hold the note for two or three counts, which emphasized a nasal tone I don’t remember hearing before. Was it the weather or does he always sound so stuffy? I’m not certain this was the right song for him. To regain his momentum, he needs to select the right songs every week and rise to the challenge.
I am certain that Barry Manilow’s arrangement of Oh Boy was the wrong choice for Bucky Covington. Plus, Bucky sang above the melody line as if the key were wrong for him, too. I like Bucky, but he is very lucky to be in the top 10.
Kevin Covais didn’t reach the top 10 and won’t be back for the summer tour. He is young enough to improve as a performer if he applies himself.
Chris Daughtry has gotten nothing but glowing reviews from judges, but the blogosphere and some mainstream media outlets aren’t as kind. Last week he gave attribution to the Red Hot Chili Peppers when he performed their alternative version of Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground. This week he copied Live’s arrangement of I Walk the Line. Maybe viewers truly object to Chris getting so much credit for an original rendition when it really wasn’t, but it was the judges making that claim, not Daughtry.
Chris risks becoming the one-trick pony some are calling him unless he dramatically steps out of his comfort zone. I liked how much more controlled he was on the first verse of I Walk the Line. I wouldn’t say it was soft exactly, but it was more intimate. He dedicated the song, which deals with temptation and fidelity, to his wife.
If Chris continues on the same musical path made only of hard rock, we may look back at this performance and think, “Yep, that’s when he jumped the shark.” I suspect there is a backlash against Chris for being so obviously the judges’, especially Simon’s, favorite. Did Chris ask to be the favorite? Has he brought any undue attention to himself? Does he mug for the camera? I think not.
All of the top 24 contestants are young people living their dreams in front of three dysfunctional judges and millions of self-styled critics at home. As Marty Casey wrote, “It’s a combination for disaster.” Against all odds, it has been a recipe for magical entertainment that we will feast upon greedily for nine more weeks – as long as the judges don’t spoil it.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Two for the Show
Congratulations to two of my favorite American Idol contestants ever - Elliott Yamin, the most naturally gifted vocalist to grace the AI stage, and Taylor Hicks, the most compelling performer! With the other talented top 10 contestants, their tour is shaping up to be one of the summer's hottest tickets.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Warbling in a Winter Wonderland
If you asked me last week, I’d have said it would be a cold day in Hollywood when Bucky Covington outperforms Ace Young on an R&B-themed episode of American Idol. And it was. Over the past several chilly days, snow fell on the desert sands near Palm Springs, blanketed the southern California mountain ranges, and even lightly coated the hilltops of the O.C., my home county.
Stevie Wonder has been an American idol for 40 years, but you wouldn’t know that by asking newbies Bucky or Kellie Pickler. Their prior unfamiliarity with Stevie’s extensive body of work is mirrored in the American Idol audience, where the cultural gap is also generational.
My son, now a college student, has been exposed to a wide variety of popular music all his life. Chris’s personal tastes range from Pantera to Japanese soundtracks, but he is an American Idol fan rooting this season for Paris Bennett and Taylor Hicks. The other day I was driving my four-wheeled stereo around town and Chris was a captive passenger. I had been listening to my favorite Stevie Wonder CDs ever since Ryan Seacrest announced this week’s theme.
Suddenly Chris asked me, “Why do people think Stevie Wonder is so great?”
I paused before I answered – only because I was singing along passionately to Songs in the Key of Life. My family teases me about being like that annoying character, Brenda, from Scary Movie who instantly stops whatever she is doing to shriek, “That’s my song!”
Anyway, Chris knows full well what to expect when he asks me leading questions, so he got what he deserved: a music history lesson. Then the distinctive opening strains of the next track began to play and I shut up, proving that music does speak louder than words. Pastime Paradise is Wonder’s 1976 composition filched by Coolio for his monster hit from 1995, Gangsta’s Paradise. With a look of recognition and surprise, Chris observed, “Hey, isn’t that Amish Paradise by Weird Al Yankovic?”
Motown, we have a problem.
Stevie Wonder is the quintessential singer’s songwriter, not to mention a gifted singer himself, a record producer, and a versatile musician who played nearly all the instruments on his album Music of My Mind. Some songs that showcase a vocalist’s power feature a well-placed glory note. Stevie’s entire catalog is glorious – but melodically complex even for the most proficient singer. He is one of the few so-called pop geniuses from the 1960s who not only survived but thrived in succeeding decades, dominating and innovating R&B in the 1970s.
As if having to master Stevie’s masterpieces wasn’t challenge enough, this week the top 12 performed for the first time on the full-sized stage before a regular, noisy, intimidating audience. So – which of the American Idol contestants passed the Stevie Wonder test, who fell short, and who copped out?
Greatest Hits
Elliott Yamin knocks me off my feet – and, according to my traffic meter, I am not alone. What a faithful tribute to the joyfulness of Stevie Wonder and what an appealing introduction for new listeners. Elliott’s talent and humility give me goose bumps. When he was wiping away tears of happiness at meeting his idol, Stevie, I was crying, too.
Over four American Idol appearances, Elliott has performed two of my Stevie Wonder favorites with awe and tender loving care, starting with If You Really Love Me. Elliott's performance this week was the one I anticipated with the most excitement. I hoped he would sing Knocks Me Off My Feet, a gorgeous love song with special meaning for my husband and me. It was a dream come true for me and obviously even more so for Elliott. We already know that Elliott is technically adept, the best among the top 12. So I think he was smart to select a song that, while by no means easy to sing, displayed his warmth and emotion, as well as his skill. The payoff was the most intimate performance of the evening.
Taylor Hicks was, as usual, the most compelling entertainer. The stage may have gotten bigger, but it was still not big enough to contain Taylor’s free spirit. If I ruled the world, the AI5 finalists would be Taylor and Elliott and they would have their own weekly two-hour show. Taylor is such a throwback to the wonderful soul greats of my childhood that, watching him Tuesday, I wished my sister were still alive to see him.
Like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, Taylor has his own unique phrasing, the mark of a confident, naturally gifted singer. My favorite line from his Living for the City: “His parents give him love and a-ffec-tion.” He did superb justice to Stevie’s gritty tale of racial injustice. Plus, he can really dance. Seriously.
Paris Bennett showed off her eye-catching moves, adorable spunk and authentic soulfulness. I expected her to choose one of Stevie’s bouncy hits like Isn’t She Lovely or Sir Duke. Performing the relatively unknown All I Do was a bold risk that worked spectacularly. I felt like I was watching the opening number on the Paris Bennett world tour.
Katharine McPhee more than met the challenge of Until You Come Back to Me, immortalized by Aretha Franklin. In fact, she was flat out awesome. Despite a bit of shouting at the top of her register, her pitch and tone were just lovely, especially in her clean, silky ending. Normally Katharine smiles and flirts with the camera even when delivering the saddest lyrics. Her coy self-consciousness wasn’t as distracting this week.
Lisa Tucker has been stuck in a rut of seamless ballads, none of which I can recall right now. She tends to be smooth and professional to the point of blandness. On Signed, Sealed, Delivered, she displayed some welcome energy and dynamics. She even stole a “whoo” from Taylor’s repertoire. Let’s hope being in the bottom three this week shakes this talented contestant out of her bad-choice complacency.
Bucky Covington was my happiest surprise of the evening. His voice isn’t the most flexible, but he packs a lot of blue-eyed soul into his growl. I give him maximum credit for venturing outside his comfort zone and not copping out. Considering that he never heard Superstition before, Bucky offered a credible version that compares favorably to Stevie Ray Vaughan’s.
Songs in the Key of Ouch
Mandisa picked the wrong song, Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing, and the wrong key. I bet that never happens again. After struggling with her lower register through the first verse, she raised the melody an octave and then lowered it, trying to salvage the song. And yet she still outsang five other contestants. Just imagine what she could have done with Golden Lady or Superwoman - with gender modifications, of course. Sigh.
Kellie Pickler was about as far out of her element as she could get. Her bare bones performance of Blame It on the Sun was subdued, but her tone was winsome. Apparently, Simon missed her trademark shimmy shake and disparaged her outfit, a very flattering yet fairly modest dress. Kellie, just ignore Simon and his bipolar sadism. But pay attention to the vocal coaches.
Kevin Covais. I remember Nikko Smith. Nikko Smith knows how to sing Part Time Lover. Kevin Covais is no Nikko Smith. What happened to our sweet little Kevin? Chicken Little has become the cock o’ the walk.
Melissa McGhee started Lately lost and shaky, forgot the lyrics, recovered for a gutsy finish, and won’t be back next week.
Ace Young was first to perform and first to disappoint. Ace did an okay version of Do I Do, but Mario Vasquez sang the stuffing out of it last year (see Covais, Kevin). Ace is a tenor with a sensual breathiness and a pleasing falsetto. If he had chosen one of Stevie’s lush, romantic songs, like Creepin’, he might be on top of the world instead of in the bottom three.
Chris Daughtry was the pre-ordained showstopper – not by Broadway standards, but of the theme park variety where the grand finale is accompanied by deafeningly loud music and blindingly bright lights. Chris was my biggest disappointment of the night. Higher Ground was the most predictable, safest choice of the night. He was out of his depth and he knew it. He was lucky to get a glowing review from the judges – and he knew it. He hit a hideous clunker on the line “Sleepers just stop sleeping.” Check it out.
Like Ace, Chris squandered the opportunity to perform a song that would have won new fans and cemented his base. Chris has the potential to be another Aaron Lewis of Staind, one of the most powerful rock singers of the post-modern era. Chris could have taken a hauntingly beautiful Stevie song like Visions with its stripped down arrangement and blown Wonderland away. Instead we have to closely watch the Ford commercials to spot his softer side on Toad the Wet Sprocket’s All I Want [note to self: dig out those Toad/Glen Phillips CDs].
Shame on the judges for damning Elliott with faint praise. I have been a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan since the days of Hillel Slovak. Anthony Kiedis is a highly quotable front man, but he’s no singing idol.
As long as American Idol is a singing competition, I will take “just a good Stevie Wonder rendition" over a louder, shinier Anthony Kiedis every time.
Stevie Wonder has been an American idol for 40 years, but you wouldn’t know that by asking newbies Bucky or Kellie Pickler. Their prior unfamiliarity with Stevie’s extensive body of work is mirrored in the American Idol audience, where the cultural gap is also generational.
My son, now a college student, has been exposed to a wide variety of popular music all his life. Chris’s personal tastes range from Pantera to Japanese soundtracks, but he is an American Idol fan rooting this season for Paris Bennett and Taylor Hicks. The other day I was driving my four-wheeled stereo around town and Chris was a captive passenger. I had been listening to my favorite Stevie Wonder CDs ever since Ryan Seacrest announced this week’s theme.
Suddenly Chris asked me, “Why do people think Stevie Wonder is so great?”
I paused before I answered – only because I was singing along passionately to Songs in the Key of Life. My family teases me about being like that annoying character, Brenda, from Scary Movie who instantly stops whatever she is doing to shriek, “That’s my song!”
Anyway, Chris knows full well what to expect when he asks me leading questions, so he got what he deserved: a music history lesson. Then the distinctive opening strains of the next track began to play and I shut up, proving that music does speak louder than words. Pastime Paradise is Wonder’s 1976 composition filched by Coolio for his monster hit from 1995, Gangsta’s Paradise. With a look of recognition and surprise, Chris observed, “Hey, isn’t that Amish Paradise by Weird Al Yankovic?”
Motown, we have a problem.
Stevie Wonder is the quintessential singer’s songwriter, not to mention a gifted singer himself, a record producer, and a versatile musician who played nearly all the instruments on his album Music of My Mind. Some songs that showcase a vocalist’s power feature a well-placed glory note. Stevie’s entire catalog is glorious – but melodically complex even for the most proficient singer. He is one of the few so-called pop geniuses from the 1960s who not only survived but thrived in succeeding decades, dominating and innovating R&B in the 1970s.
As if having to master Stevie’s masterpieces wasn’t challenge enough, this week the top 12 performed for the first time on the full-sized stage before a regular, noisy, intimidating audience. So – which of the American Idol contestants passed the Stevie Wonder test, who fell short, and who copped out?
Greatest Hits
Elliott Yamin knocks me off my feet – and, according to my traffic meter, I am not alone. What a faithful tribute to the joyfulness of Stevie Wonder and what an appealing introduction for new listeners. Elliott’s talent and humility give me goose bumps. When he was wiping away tears of happiness at meeting his idol, Stevie, I was crying, too.
Over four American Idol appearances, Elliott has performed two of my Stevie Wonder favorites with awe and tender loving care, starting with If You Really Love Me. Elliott's performance this week was the one I anticipated with the most excitement. I hoped he would sing Knocks Me Off My Feet, a gorgeous love song with special meaning for my husband and me. It was a dream come true for me and obviously even more so for Elliott. We already know that Elliott is technically adept, the best among the top 12. So I think he was smart to select a song that, while by no means easy to sing, displayed his warmth and emotion, as well as his skill. The payoff was the most intimate performance of the evening.
Taylor Hicks was, as usual, the most compelling entertainer. The stage may have gotten bigger, but it was still not big enough to contain Taylor’s free spirit. If I ruled the world, the AI5 finalists would be Taylor and Elliott and they would have their own weekly two-hour show. Taylor is such a throwback to the wonderful soul greats of my childhood that, watching him Tuesday, I wished my sister were still alive to see him.
Like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, Taylor has his own unique phrasing, the mark of a confident, naturally gifted singer. My favorite line from his Living for the City: “His parents give him love and a-ffec-tion.” He did superb justice to Stevie’s gritty tale of racial injustice. Plus, he can really dance. Seriously.
Paris Bennett showed off her eye-catching moves, adorable spunk and authentic soulfulness. I expected her to choose one of Stevie’s bouncy hits like Isn’t She Lovely or Sir Duke. Performing the relatively unknown All I Do was a bold risk that worked spectacularly. I felt like I was watching the opening number on the Paris Bennett world tour.
Katharine McPhee more than met the challenge of Until You Come Back to Me, immortalized by Aretha Franklin. In fact, she was flat out awesome. Despite a bit of shouting at the top of her register, her pitch and tone were just lovely, especially in her clean, silky ending. Normally Katharine smiles and flirts with the camera even when delivering the saddest lyrics. Her coy self-consciousness wasn’t as distracting this week.
Lisa Tucker has been stuck in a rut of seamless ballads, none of which I can recall right now. She tends to be smooth and professional to the point of blandness. On Signed, Sealed, Delivered, she displayed some welcome energy and dynamics. She even stole a “whoo” from Taylor’s repertoire. Let’s hope being in the bottom three this week shakes this talented contestant out of her bad-choice complacency.
Bucky Covington was my happiest surprise of the evening. His voice isn’t the most flexible, but he packs a lot of blue-eyed soul into his growl. I give him maximum credit for venturing outside his comfort zone and not copping out. Considering that he never heard Superstition before, Bucky offered a credible version that compares favorably to Stevie Ray Vaughan’s.
Songs in the Key of Ouch
Mandisa picked the wrong song, Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing, and the wrong key. I bet that never happens again. After struggling with her lower register through the first verse, she raised the melody an octave and then lowered it, trying to salvage the song. And yet she still outsang five other contestants. Just imagine what she could have done with Golden Lady or Superwoman - with gender modifications, of course. Sigh.
Kellie Pickler was about as far out of her element as she could get. Her bare bones performance of Blame It on the Sun was subdued, but her tone was winsome. Apparently, Simon missed her trademark shimmy shake and disparaged her outfit, a very flattering yet fairly modest dress. Kellie, just ignore Simon and his bipolar sadism. But pay attention to the vocal coaches.
Kevin Covais. I remember Nikko Smith. Nikko Smith knows how to sing Part Time Lover. Kevin Covais is no Nikko Smith. What happened to our sweet little Kevin? Chicken Little has become the cock o’ the walk.
Melissa McGhee started Lately lost and shaky, forgot the lyrics, recovered for a gutsy finish, and won’t be back next week.
Ace Young was first to perform and first to disappoint. Ace did an okay version of Do I Do, but Mario Vasquez sang the stuffing out of it last year (see Covais, Kevin). Ace is a tenor with a sensual breathiness and a pleasing falsetto. If he had chosen one of Stevie’s lush, romantic songs, like Creepin’, he might be on top of the world instead of in the bottom three.
Chris Daughtry was the pre-ordained showstopper – not by Broadway standards, but of the theme park variety where the grand finale is accompanied by deafeningly loud music and blindingly bright lights. Chris was my biggest disappointment of the night. Higher Ground was the most predictable, safest choice of the night. He was out of his depth and he knew it. He was lucky to get a glowing review from the judges – and he knew it. He hit a hideous clunker on the line “Sleepers just stop sleeping.” Check it out.
Like Ace, Chris squandered the opportunity to perform a song that would have won new fans and cemented his base. Chris has the potential to be another Aaron Lewis of Staind, one of the most powerful rock singers of the post-modern era. Chris could have taken a hauntingly beautiful Stevie song like Visions with its stripped down arrangement and blown Wonderland away. Instead we have to closely watch the Ford commercials to spot his softer side on Toad the Wet Sprocket’s All I Want [note to self: dig out those Toad/Glen Phillips CDs].
Shame on the judges for damning Elliott with faint praise. I have been a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan since the days of Hillel Slovak. Anthony Kiedis is a highly quotable front man, but he’s no singing idol.
As long as American Idol is a singing competition, I will take “just a good Stevie Wonder rendition" over a louder, shinier Anthony Kiedis every time.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Savor the Final Flavor
An All-Day Marathon Precedes Tonight’s Series Finale
When we first saw the advance previews for the VH1 series The Flavor of Love, I flippantly remarked to my husband, “That’s another stupid reality show I’ll never see.” One more lousy prediction down the drain.
My husband had been a fan of Public Enemy, the influential rap group that unleashed Flavor Flav on the world. I never really paid any attention to Flav’s career until he became a cast member of Surreal Life 3, another stupid but perversely addictive reality show I did watch - and where he made an improbable match with Brigitte Nielsen. Their spinoff, Strange Love, was too excruciatingly awful to watch and their strange love – or whatever strange excuse brought them together – burned out quickly.
Nielsen is a magnet for cameras, men and trouble. Without her sucking most of the oxygen out of any given room and contaminating the rest with ever present cigarette smoke, Flavor Flav – with his crunk, Viking helmets and billowy costumes – seems like the lovable pimp next door.
And that would make his Flavor of Love harem of hopefuls . . . the ones who put the ho in hopeful. To protect their real identities or perhaps their families, Flav gave them nicknames to help him tell them apart, no doubt.
The show’s premise is similar to The Bachelor, but then it goes hilariously off kilter. A bevy of lovely ladies move in with Flav and must compete to prove which one loves him the best. Instead of a perfect rose, the women he selects to return for another episode receive a trademark Flavor Flav clock to wear around their necks as he tells each one, “You know what time it is.”
The challenges by which they are judged include baby-sitting bratty children, cooking his favorite meal of fried chicken, going to church and dinner with his mother, and taking a polygraph test supervised by Brigitte Nielsen. Goldie, the sweet and zaftig country girl, was the only contestant to pass the polygraph. She survived until the final four, when she balked at intimacies with Flav that we saw him enjoy with other ho-ho-hopefuls. That makes Goldie a winner in my estimation.
His ultimate choice is between Hoopz and New York. Hoopz is the prettier, younger, more fit, easier to like of the two. Mama Flav gave Hoopz her stamp of approval and Brigitte seemed threatened by her. Hoopz’s hot single mother made her own icky, inappropriate play for Flav. Hoopz says she is falling for Flav, but her wide eyes and barely concealed laughter when she first spies him in one of his usual unusual getups belie those words.
Pumkin, who spat at New York on her way out the door at the dramatic climax of the last elimination show, shares Brigitte’s Nordic facial features and her obsession with appearing on TV. Like Nielsen, New York is totally nuts – and Flavor Flav seems to go for that. We discovered why she is such a needy drama queen when her vicious, controlling mother arrived from hell via Syracuse, N.Y.
New York appears to be the behind-the-scenes favorite. By far, she has amassed the most camera time of anyone, including the prize bachelor himself. Mostly we see New York telling the camera how much she loves Flav. She is the most obnoxious contestant, although she had plenty of competition in that category. She cannot get along with the other girls. In fact, she barely gets along with Flav. He looks at her in the same scared way that Hoopz looks at him.
Whomever he picks, I am sure their love will last until the batteries on those clock necklaces wear out. They should stay together long enough at least to film The Aftertaste of Affection or Affectation or whatever they decide to call Strange Love 2. And then Flav will move on to his next VH1 project.
I don’t think this is the last we will see of New York. If she isn’t cast in the reality TV show version of Fatal Attraction, I expect her to star in Surreal Life 8 with J.D. Fortune of Rock Star INXS, Brenna Gethers of American Idol 5, Jeff Conaway of Celebrity Fit Club 3, Kristy Swanson of Skating with Celebrities, and Wilder Valderrama.
When we first saw the advance previews for the VH1 series The Flavor of Love, I flippantly remarked to my husband, “That’s another stupid reality show I’ll never see.” One more lousy prediction down the drain.
My husband had been a fan of Public Enemy, the influential rap group that unleashed Flavor Flav on the world. I never really paid any attention to Flav’s career until he became a cast member of Surreal Life 3, another stupid but perversely addictive reality show I did watch - and where he made an improbable match with Brigitte Nielsen. Their spinoff, Strange Love, was too excruciatingly awful to watch and their strange love – or whatever strange excuse brought them together – burned out quickly.
Nielsen is a magnet for cameras, men and trouble. Without her sucking most of the oxygen out of any given room and contaminating the rest with ever present cigarette smoke, Flavor Flav – with his crunk, Viking helmets and billowy costumes – seems like the lovable pimp next door.
And that would make his Flavor of Love harem of hopefuls . . . the ones who put the ho in hopeful. To protect their real identities or perhaps their families, Flav gave them nicknames to help him tell them apart, no doubt.
The show’s premise is similar to The Bachelor, but then it goes hilariously off kilter. A bevy of lovely ladies move in with Flav and must compete to prove which one loves him the best. Instead of a perfect rose, the women he selects to return for another episode receive a trademark Flavor Flav clock to wear around their necks as he tells each one, “You know what time it is.”
The challenges by which they are judged include baby-sitting bratty children, cooking his favorite meal of fried chicken, going to church and dinner with his mother, and taking a polygraph test supervised by Brigitte Nielsen. Goldie, the sweet and zaftig country girl, was the only contestant to pass the polygraph. She survived until the final four, when she balked at intimacies with Flav that we saw him enjoy with other ho-ho-hopefuls. That makes Goldie a winner in my estimation.
His ultimate choice is between Hoopz and New York. Hoopz is the prettier, younger, more fit, easier to like of the two. Mama Flav gave Hoopz her stamp of approval and Brigitte seemed threatened by her. Hoopz’s hot single mother made her own icky, inappropriate play for Flav. Hoopz says she is falling for Flav, but her wide eyes and barely concealed laughter when she first spies him in one of his usual unusual getups belie those words.
Pumkin, who spat at New York on her way out the door at the dramatic climax of the last elimination show, shares Brigitte’s Nordic facial features and her obsession with appearing on TV. Like Nielsen, New York is totally nuts – and Flavor Flav seems to go for that. We discovered why she is such a needy drama queen when her vicious, controlling mother arrived from hell via Syracuse, N.Y.
New York appears to be the behind-the-scenes favorite. By far, she has amassed the most camera time of anyone, including the prize bachelor himself. Mostly we see New York telling the camera how much she loves Flav. She is the most obnoxious contestant, although she had plenty of competition in that category. She cannot get along with the other girls. In fact, she barely gets along with Flav. He looks at her in the same scared way that Hoopz looks at him.
Whomever he picks, I am sure their love will last until the batteries on those clock necklaces wear out. They should stay together long enough at least to film The Aftertaste of Affection or Affectation or whatever they decide to call Strange Love 2. And then Flav will move on to his next VH1 project.
I don’t think this is the last we will see of New York. If she isn’t cast in the reality TV show version of Fatal Attraction, I expect her to star in Surreal Life 8 with J.D. Fortune of Rock Star INXS, Brenna Gethers of American Idol 5, Jeff Conaway of Celebrity Fit Club 3, Kristy Swanson of Skating with Celebrities, and Wilder Valderrama.
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