I am an American Idol fan. I can't help it. In fact, I tried really hard in the beginning to hate the show!I only watched a couple episodes of the first season, but not because I made any special effort to tune in. I didn't even get that familiar with Kelly Clarkson until her sophomore album, Breakaway, came out. Of course, now I'm a loyal Kelly Clarkson fan!
I didn't watch any of the 2nd season. To this day, I think I've only ever heard one or two Ruben Studdard songs. And then there's Clay Aiken, who has certainly made a much more successful career for himself despite coming in 2nd to Ruben. I tried so hard to hate Clay because I thought it was creepy to sing a song about being invisible so he could watch a girl in her room. Then, my mom convinced me to listen to him, and I fell in love with his music... and maybe a little bit with him, too (yes, yes, yes - I know he's gay... and... Sorry, Tim, but we are still allowed our Top 5 Celebrity Crushes right? ;-). I've seen him in concert twice, met him once, I would love both to see him in concert AND meet him again.
Then, came the season of Carrie Underwood - Season 4. I would argue that Season 4 was the best season of American Idol to date! I mean, let's face it... No other American Idol winner has as much star power and star quality as Carrie Underwood! She's an amazing talent! She's down-to-earth, which makes her accessible to her fans! And she is an amazing role model. I own all 3 of her albums, and I can't wait to buy her 4th album when it comes out next Tuesday!
Some good artists have come out of the next few seasons... We have Kellie Pickler and Daughtry from Season 5... Jordin Sparks who won Season 6... David Cook - Season 7 winner... Kris Allen and Adam Lambert - Season 8 winner and runner up, respectively... and Crystal Bowersox from Season 9... Of these, Kellie Pickler and Daughtry still seem to be running full-steam ahead! But the rest have been a little slower out of the gate. They haven't done much, and some of what they have done may not be widely recognized. It seemed that maybe the efforts of Randy, Paula, and Simon to turn out superstars started to lose momentum.
Then, came the announcement that both Paula and Simon were leaving the show! Oh no! What's going to happen to American Idol? How are they going to replace the lovable, cheerleader, quirkiness of Paula Abdul? And the often witty, but still surly critiques of Simon Cowell? (His absolute best line EVER was, "You sucked .................................... the soul out of that song!")
So anyway, enter Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler to join Randy at the judge's table. I wasn't sure what to think. I know Jennifer Lopez is a successful actress, singer, and business woman, but does she have enough musical knowledge to be a useful judge on AI? Same with Steven Tyler. Sure, he has what... 40 years?... of experience in the biz, but he's a rocker. What does he know about pop music? Does that matter? Well, it turns out, at least IMHO, that Jennifer Lopez has been a mostly fantastic addition to the show. She gives very constructive criticism. She's good at finding redeeming qualities in just about every performance, but she's also not afraid to be brutally honest. Steven Tyler, is certainly filling an important role on the show, as well. He's more the Paula Abdul of the show these days. Most of his commentary, whether positive or negative, is so tied up in nonsense metaphors that you have no idea what he's trying to say... I guess it wouldn't be American Idol without some nonsense. :-)
The new group of judges proved successful in Season 10 bringing us the likes of Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, and James Durbin. Scotty McCreery, with his boyish looks and shockingly deep, Josh Turner-esque bass voice, has released some good stuff so far. Lauren Alaina's power house voice is great on her first album, "Wildflower". And James Durbin showed off his rock sound last week to much deserved applause.
This season is shaping up to be an exciting one, as well! Some amazing singers and artists are on the show this season. Except for one, my favorites are still holding on! Colton was shockingly voted off the show last week. It was sad to see him go, but I am confident that he has a big career ahead of him, with his Coldplay-meets-OneRepublic alternative sound. Finally we have arrived at this week. Top 6.
After watching last night's Top 6 performance show, here is my prediction for American Idol:
6. Phillip Phillips (I'm convinced he's still around for his quirkiness on stage more than his voice)
5. Elise Testone (Good singer, but every time she's in the Bottom 3, she becomes more and more of a sour-puss)
4. Hollie Cavanaugh (amazing voice, just needs to get comfortable in her skin, and get some more performance experience)
3. Jessica Sanchez (another amazing voice, but sometimes she oversings)
2. Joshua Ledet (good voice when he's not screaming, which doesn't happen very often)
1. Skylar Laine (my absolute favorite this season!)
Here are some of my thoughts on last night's Top 6 performance show:
1. The judges have been known to show favoritism toward certain contestants this season. J.Lo was all about D'Andre until he finally got voted off. Well, they're doing it again. Now they're favoring Phillip. Don't get me wrong. Phillip has a certain very likable quirkiness on stage. But he's certainly not the strongest voice in the Season 11 pool of talent. And most of his performances sound exactly the same. But for some reason the judges have chosen him to latch onto. In last night's first round, Phillip's rendition of "Fat Bottomed Girls", while not bad, was also certainly not pitch-perfect...Then, Hollie comes on stage and sings "Save Me". She missed 1 or 2 notes throughout the whole song, and while she still needs to find her comfort on stage, it was certainly one of her strongest performances to date. She was criticized for not being perfect, when she was much closer to perfect, at least from a musical perspective, than Phillip was. Then, in the 2nd round they told Elise that she had to sing more familiar/recognizable songs. She sang Jimi Hendrix "Bold as Love". That song was familiar to me. John Mayer covered it on his Continuum album. Then, Phillip came on stage and sang an obscure Dave Matthews song... I had never heard it before... but yet he was given praise for taking a risk and being true to Phillip... Favoritism toward Phillip, plain and simple...
2. Hollie has an incredible voice. She's got a lot of power in that voice of her. But she's been struggling to have a moment on stage all season. Last night, she FINALLY had her moment!! She closed out the show with Miley Cyrus' "The Climb". She meant every word she sang. She believed it. And she brought the show home all on her own, when she got her first standing ovation from the judges! She brought tears to my eyes, and she definitely gave me "goosies" (aka goosebumps, for us normal people). I'm very proud of this young, inexperienced, but immensely talented singer.
3. Everyone is always raving about how great Joshua is. I think he's good when he's not screaming into the microphone, which doesn't happen very often. Something about him just rubs me the wrong way... I'm seriously hoping he doesn't win the whole competition. Not much more to say about him...
4. Skylar is my absolute favorite, and my vote for this season's American Idol! It's time for a girl to bring it home anyway (a girl hasn't won in 5 seasons!) She is an amazing vocalist, a fantastic performer, and just the consummate professional when it comes to accepting praise, criticism, advice, help, etc.... Whichever form her feedback comes in... She's just so likeable. I don't know - to me, she's a shoe-in for the title. But even if she doesn't win, I believe she's got an amazing career in front of her!
Anyway, I guess this is a good place to close it out for the night. Since the results are starting to come in.
I will close it out with my homage to Hollie and her moment. Here she is singing Miley Cyrus' "The Climb. Enjoy!
