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Posts Tagged ‘American Idol’

The fifth season of American Idol is underway, and the media is doing what the media does best: simplifying everything, and, thus, making everything stupid. Business as usual. So, one of this year’s standout performers is the charming Kellie Pickler. Last year’s winner, of course, was the very talented Carrie Underwood. Both of these young ladies are blonde, female southerners with a penchant for country tunes, and, all over the web and mainstream media we’re seeing the headlines which draw excessive similarities between these two very different singers.

Strangely enough, it’s really a form of racism and stereotyping, though, I haven’t seen anyone make this argument. Could you imagine, though, for a moment, that these two women were of African American heritage, instead, and all of the comparisons were being made. I guarantee that there would be many a critic crying foul: “You’re all a bunch of narrow minded racists! Just because they’re both black females, they have to be clones of each other?”

But, it’s really just that type of thinking at work. Kellie Pickler and Carrie Underwood are like night and day. And, in my humble opinion, Kellie is preferable in respect to disposition, personality, and, yes, talent. Let’s take a closer look at these two women and perhaps you’ll agree.

As indicated, Carrie is a talented star. There’s no doubt of that: she’s sold over two million copies of her debut effort “Some Hearts.” Underwood is from Checotah, Oklahoma, where she was born and raised on a farm. She attended Northwestern State University; her major was mass communication. And, it came as no surprise to me when I learned that while at Northeastern, Underwood was a member of the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority and competing in beauty pageants in her spare time.

Underwood is basically a country singer; though, she admits to have been influenced by pop music also. Her musical talent is vast and includes the guitar, piano, and yodeling. She first entered the public spotlight in early 2005, as she auditioned for the fourth season of Fox’s spectacular hit American Idol. Simon, Paula, and Randy were quite impressed and Carrie went on to roar through the competition to victory.

The viewing audience was treated to Carrie’s performances of “Could’ve Been,” “Piece Of My Heart,” “Because You Love Me,” “When Will I Be Loved,” “Alone,” “Independence Day,” “Hello Young Lovers,” “Love Is A Battlefield,” “MacArthur Park,” “When God Fearin’ Women Get The Blues,” “Trouble,” “Bless The Broken Road,” “Sin Wagon,” “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” “Crying,” “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All,” “Man! I Feel Like A Woman,” “Inside Your Heaven,” “Angels Brought Me Here,” and “Up Where We Belong.” I include the full song list to provide a bit of the Carrie flavor. As mentioned, she’s a southern, country girl.

Much of the American viewing audience was pretty dazzled by Carrie, and, she has the distinction of not once appearing in the bottom three. The votes rolled in, and, her performances were nearly flawless. But, that was also the problem, almost, for some. Something about Carrie seemed a little too mechanical and rehearsed. Her life seemed a little too perfect. She couldn’t help but project a certain snobbish persona. At times, on stage, her nose crinkled-up, she appeared slightly offended, as if someone had just cut the cheese, and the vapors were sullying her pristine air space.

Carrie seemed like an individual who had never been touched by tragedy. The notes were all correct, and the execution was like text book science…but, what about that intangible thing that makes the heart zing? What about that quality that you just can’t name, but, when it’s there, oh, you know it! Soul…what about soul? Sadly, that was always lacking with Carrie, and, many noticed and opted for the deeper, more complex alternative, Bo Bice, who lost the competition by a mere 134 votes!

Do you understand what that means? You see, I didn’t vote at all during the finale. But, had I picked up my cell phone and punched Bo’s number for two hours, he’d currently be wearing the Idol crown! So, although Carrie is the official winner, understand, her majority was thin, and many weren’t taken in by the whole soft-spoken, seemingly na

American Idol is getting stronger and this season has got to its most serious part. There are only four contestants left trying to achieve a goal that will change their lives. Fame and money will come along with the chance of developing what they like to do most: singing. The fifth season of American Idol began on January 17th, 2006.

Auditions for this season took place in Boston, Austin, Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, Greensboro, North Carolina and Las Vegas. Memphis auditions were cancelled due to Hurricane Katrina. 12 men and 12 women were selected as semi-finalists. American Idol’s fifth season has been noted for the diversity among its participants.

At the beginning, the favorite picks to become the new American Idol were: Paris Bennett, Kellie Pickler, Taylor Hicks, Chris Daughtry, Katharine McPhee and Mandisa Hundley. But at the end there are four contestants: Chris Daughtry, Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee and Elliott Yamin.

Chris Daughtry is an intense and charismatic rocker.

Taylor Hicks, the gray-haired who knows how to entertain the audience has a very strong talent.

Katharine McPhee, the only girl left in the American Idol’s contest. Besides her ability to sing and stage presence she has her look on her side.

Elliott Yamin has a soft voice and a good personality. Plus, one of the judges: Paula Abdul said he was most consistent than any of the finalists.

Some analysts believe Katherine McPhee will be the first one to leave the foursome and then Elliot Yamin even though he has a refreshing personality and a smooth voice he has been victim of a bad selection of songs. And there would be just Chris Daughtry and Elliot Yamin running towards becoming the next American Idol. Tonight’s decision will depend on Elvis Presley’s songs, since they have a different style every week. The American Idol contestants have performed songs with themes like: 1950’s, the Billboard charts, country, Queen, The Great American Songbook, Stevie Wonder, Classic Love Songs and the 21st century.

If you’re going to stand the slightest chance of getting into an audition for The X-Factor, or American Idol, you’re going to need to know a little about the tools you’re going to need in order to get yourself noticed ahead of tens of thousands of other would-be pop stars.

Attitude!

Having a good, balanced attitude towards your end-objective is possibly the most important asset you can have in your quest to become wealthy and famous. Don’t make the fatal mistake of getting it into your head that “you’re a natural star” meaning, “you’re guaranteed to succeed.” If that’s your attitude, then you’re heading for a fall, before you even begin to become a contender.

Humility!

It’s always worth remembering that there are going to be thousands of people who are much better than you. Musically they’re better accomplished, Physically they look better; but what 99% of these would-be hopefully lack is “HUMILITY!” Yes, that’s right. Ask youself a question: Do YOU like people who are full of their own self-importance?” No? well that’s a good start. Nobody likes a smart-ass who thinks thay are streets ahead of the competition. 9 out of 10 people who think this way are infact hiding behind a veil that masks their insecurities. In short, it’s a put-on, bravado, call it what you will. It definately pays to be humble. So, on to the next required quality:

Understand your Capabilities and just be yourself!

Understanding your capabilities is important. There are many people whom wish to aspire to great heights, in the same way as their own pop idol, be it - Britney Spears, Barry Manilow, Justin Timberlake, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, the list is endless. What’s important for you to come to terms with right now, is the fact that these already pop stars, icons, super stars, call them what you will, are doing what they’re doing un a fairly unique way. In other words, “Just being themself!” They’re not pretending to be YOU when they sing; so don’t you pretend to be them by emulating their style. Talent show scouts won’t give you a second glance of you sound-like, or sing in the style of an already established pop figurehead. Here’s something that will shed more light on what I mean.

We’ve all, at sometime or another been to a Karaoke evening. Right? For those of you reading this whom haven’t, I will enlighten you. Karaoke is a modern-day equivalent of what was considered a recreational activity of ’singing around the Piano” a popular activity from the 1900’s to approximately mid 1970’s. Karaoke hailed from Japan, the idea being that anybody could get up and sing to a pre-recorded music track that had the lyrics embedded, meaning that the singer would sing along to the pre-produced karaoke tracks, reading the words displayed on a television screen to complement the vocal performance. For the better part, Karaoke is fun, it encourages people to get on their feet and sing to an assembled audience, - often in public houses, whom wouldn’t normally have the courage to do so, apart from singing in the bath. However, on the one hand it’s fair to say that Karaoke is a good source of musical recreation; the down-side is that Karaoke events have also become responsible for creating a plethora of “would-be pop idols” that in reality have no greater chance of becoming the pop idol they are emulating, as I have taking the Pope out to a Rave party. And this is my point. Karaoke is great for practicing your vocal technique, - But that’s all. Again, you MUST be yourself!

Up to now, you have learned some important factors, which I hope will stand you well in your quest to win the x-factor, or american idol. Here’s a summary:

Attitude - adopt a good attitude before you begin your quest for stardom

Humility - nobody likes a smart-ass. People warm to those who are humble about their talent

Understand your capabilities and just be yourself - This speaks for itself!

The final chapter:

Remember, it doesn’t matter whether you’re overweight, wear spectacles, have spots, or even a bad hair do. What IS important at this stage, is that you have the determination to succeed. Don’t expect doors to be opened for you, and things to just fall into place, because they wont.

You need to stay focussed, work hard on developing a unique style to demonstrate your vocal capability. I know I keep saying this, but DON’T try to emulate the original artiste of the song you hope to perform at your audition. If you do, all the advice i’ve given so far is going to be a waste of time. Pick a song that fits your personality, that says something about you. Then, practice the song time and time again until you feel totally comfortable with the vocal range of the song (the low notes and the high notes), If you find that you can’t sing the low, or high notes with clarity and definition, - move on to another song. And I mean move on to another song! Ok, the song that’s most suitable might not be your first, and popular choice, but it’s more likely to do you justice when you need it. Ok, let’s assume you’ve chosen the best song for you. Now, you need to be thinking about YOU, and your IMAGE.

Again, please don’t fall into the trap of emulating the style and dress sense of your own pop idol. Remember: They are unique in what they do and in the manner in which they style themselves. You MUST do as they did, - create your own individual style and dress code. Slightly understated is always good. Definately nothing too O.T.T. (over the top) You want to be remembered for your Good attitude, your unique vocal ability, and your impecable styling.

I hope you are successful in your quest to get on TV and win The X-factor, or American Idol. Please let me know if the information i’ve given had helped you on the road to stardom.

Good Luck!

Tony West