American Idol's Entertaining Finale
Published May 26, 2007
As to the actual purpose of the show - the contest results: Jordin Sparks is very good, indeed and deserving of the title. It is difficult to realize that she has spent only 17 tender years drawing breath on this planet. She has great range, control, and depth. She can sing big, only occasionally going shrill - which should pass assuming some vocal maturation and proper training and maintenance of her instrument - and she can pull it in and be intimate. She is a very attractive young lady who should become a star, and will likely make a great deal of money for herself, and probably even more for others.
I don't know what to say about Blake Lewis. He obviously has an interesting facility in doing vocal percussion, and his voice is decent. I don't know that he has real star quality, but I suppose that will work its way out in the coming months and years for good or ill.
My true favorite in the competition was Melinda Doolittle. She is downright great! She can absolutely nail a song, very much in the Gladys Knight tradition. I truly hope that she gets the right handling and goes on to be successful. She is cute, almost demure, and yet, when belting out a big song, she can rock the house.
LaKisha Jones also should have a bright future. She, too, can belt out a song with the best of them.
There are a handful of others who could make some noise in the business. Names that come to mind include Stephanie Edwards, Gina Glocksen, Chris Sligh, and unfortunately, Sanjaya. He is very weak vocally, but obviously appeals to thirteen-year-old girls. There is something about Sanjaya that I think might be cause for the pre-pubescent girls to be ultimately disappointed. Overall, the guys in the competition were much weaker than most of the girls this time around.
Haley Scarnato may also make a bit of a splash, but not so much for her singing. She's got a good face and a fairly great body. They might earn her a dollar or two. We'll see.
In a final note, it appears that the ratings for the finale were down considerably from last year. Critics reporting in USA Today gave the show a "1" on a 1 to 4 rating scale - 4 being the highest or best. That is unfortunate in that the talent level of virtually all the dozen or so finalists was, overall, much better this year than any of the previous competitions. There were a considerable number of really good performances throughout the competition with far fewer of the painful renditions that often prevailed in the past even in the late rounds.
Nevertheless, congrats to Jordin Sparks. Sing!
- American Idol's Entertaining Finale
- Published: May 26, 2007
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Music: Pop, Video: Music, Video: Reality TV, Video: Television
- Writer: Baritone
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Comments on this articleComments
Nikitta,
Obviously, I beg to differ. But it's all a matter of perception isn't it?
Thanks for referring to me as a journalist, though. That's never happened before.
I hope Sanjaya fulfills your every dream.
Baritone
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I especially enjoyed AI's bringing back the former winners. It's a joy to see how they have matured as performers. Kelly C rocks, Rueben seduces, Carrie thrills and Taylor blows the roof off!
You overlooked Phil and Chris in your assessment and I believe that both have potential in some corner of the music universe. I also believe that Blake will find his niche in music production not performing. He seems more technical.
I'm also not sure if you picked up on the comment Ryan made that Bette Midler is slated to backfill for Celine when she leaves her Vegas show. If that's true then Bette has some work to do.
Regarding Sanjaya, I'm just glad he did not last until the end.
I am a big Bette Midler fan, I have been sense I was almost a year old. There is a reason for her being so flat and so off tone that night. She was getting over a cold. If she still had, I am not sure, but I have heard her sing with a cold before, and she does sound awful. Perhaps her cold was a factor. She still sounds GREAT and she can still work a stage even at 61. She does have work to do before Vegas, and she knows that, as for her performance on Idol, I do believe the cold was a factor.
Grandpa,
You may be right about the others. It's really anybody's guess. Some will make it, some won't. It's the nature of the beast.
I have nothing against Sanjaya personally. I just don't care for his performances. I was, frankly surprised that he lasted as long as he did. Better performers were voted off prior to his exit. I just didn't figure on the power of the pre-teen vote.
Wendy,
Don't get me wrong. I have always liked Bette Midler. However, cold or not, even the recording of 'Wind Beneath My Wings' is flat. It's the way the song was written. It just has too many opportunities to slide up to notes. Unfortunately, all too often, Bette doesn't slide quite far enough. Nevertheless, Bette is a hoot.
I am not a big Celine fan. While it's doubtful that I will make it out to Vegas any time soon, I would certainly take an opportunity to see Bette Midler long before I'd shell out big bucks to see Celine Dion.
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Firstly, Sanjaya has a strong vocal and owned the show with Joe Peryy, if you failed to notice. Unfortenatly, journalist like you just jump on the Sanjaya hate bandwagon but he is a star already and a good vocalist, whether you like it or not. Melinda and Jordin are avarage vocalists at best...please Jordin butchered Chrisina's Fighter and Melinda bombed Whitney's and Tina's song, that is why she is back-up..jeez..there are good yes but great, no.