Look-back: American Idol Salutes Old Glory Note

Last week American Idol saluted Old Glory Note - that is, Broadway - and ended up reminding me of Wayne’s World instead.

Specifically, the Kenny G concert scene. As Kenny wafts magic slow-grooving sax bubbles into the air, the camera slowly pans the audience of ecstatic lovebirds. Then, right in the middle of this sea of soft cooing love waves, there’s Garth, laid out in a dentist’s chair, getting a root canal.

That’s a ringer for Simon Cowell’s reaction to last week’s playlist. And while Ben Brantley of the New York Times complained that Broadway audiences, in so many words, were being snookered by American-Idol - like glory notes, it seems clear from last week’s show that Broadway, not American Idol, invented the glory note. Is addicted to the glory note. Lives and breathes by and for the glory note.

Every show tune, whether it wanted to or not, complied with some apparently iron-clad “insert glory note here” formula.

It worked for Randy and Paula, at least, who declared that because Scott, warbling “The Impossible Dream” from Man From LaMancha, had ended with a “bang” (i.e., the mandatory Broadway big note), his performance was a success. Uh, no.

In fact, herewith I refuse to call just any big note a “glory” note. Let’s just call them “bang” notes instead. Let‘s leave the “glory” to singers, such as Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken, who can take a big note and make it actually mean something.

As I said last week, there are three general reactions to big notes, particularly on Broadway.

One, audiences like baseball, but they like home runs better.

Two, in an otherwise deadly boring/dreadful song or performance, big notes provide needed resuscitation and welcome relief.

Finally, notes that truly qualify as “glory” notes are, in fact, glorious and a glorious experience that organically flows from everything - every single thing - that the singer brings to the entire performance.

To be truly glorious, big notes must add to a performance, not substitute for one.

The problem for our AI4 finalists has been that too often their big notes have been all bang and no glory.

While I didn’t join Simon in longing for the dentist’s drill rather than listening to last week’s AI4 performances, I did wish the singers had made a better connection with their songs and the audience. A truly good singer can do that with any song, even show tunes.

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Article Author: Sticker

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