I watch American Idol for those magic moments when a transformation takes place, the crossroads moment, the moment when the kid on stage becomes a budding star in command of that stage.
And last night’s Idol offered up so many moments — both ill and golden — it was like watching one of those Cum-Shots-Only porn reels. I felt giddy and spent and wanted a cigarette afterwards. I was so tweaked I needed to clean myself up. The entire hour was one long clarifying moment when the gods and goddesses of Fame parted the veils and we saw right straight into the soul of each contestant. Fakers were exposed; true-blues glorified.
David Ogilvy, the godfather of Madison Avenue, would have understood the magic of last night’s show. In his seminal book On Advertising Ogilvy described how advertisements that feature before and after scenarios are always the most riveting. The public scrutinizes these ads intensely. It’s the fascination of the Cinderella story. Our curiosity about transitional moments works out of the unconscious as it tries to see into that mysterious middle space, the bardo realm, as the Buddhists call it, where magical life-change happens
If Ogilvy were watching the show with me last night, he would have marveled as I did when the frog became a prince, but also when a couple of swans turned back into ugly ducklings. Oh, I know. American Idol is just a cheesy karaoke show, but here’s the thing: This plastic pop marathon of winners and losers has actually changed the face of popular music — and popular culture. It isn’t as cheesy as it looks. In fact, it’s compelling and addictive. And most of us tune in regularly. Rabidly.
The Final Six each had their moment — of truth, yes, but not always of the pleasant sort.
Katharine McPhee, for instance. She tried to scale the heights of a Whitney Houston song. But it was as if the fallout of Houston’s ongoing cataclysm blew through the theater and shrouded the once bright aura of McPhee in its dusty, drug-flecked fog.
And so she delivered an arrogant, camera-flirting performance that was more about posture than pipes. In the end all that was left were the judge’s harsh, pinpricking opinions and the roar of shock from the rafters as the audience realized how they had been hoodwinked. Within seconds, Kat went from puffed-up to depleted. I was expecting a stretcher to carry her away before Ryan even finished ticking off the phone numbers.
Kellie Pickler’s denouement was the most sadistically satisfying of the evening. Last night proved she was just a goofy amateur — the beneficiary of a pre-pubescent voting block of little southern girls just like herself. They had secured her a spot in the competition several notches above her abilities.
Her performance was the equivalent of watching someone positioned atop a trap door that opened in excruciatingly slow motion. By the time we got around to hearing what the judges had to say (unanimous pans) all that was left of Ms. Pickler was the very tip-top of her Cameron Diaz bangs from There’s Something About Mary. The bulk of her was already gone, gone, gone; down the shoot towards obscurity. God Bless America.
Paris Bennett made a mighty mighty run at a Streisand classic but stumbled on her own youth. The performance threw into high relief Bennett’s lack of lived experience, a missing depth that limits the emotional impact of her overwrought singing. No matter how much she emotes and soul-shouts, the overall effect stays stuck at tepid levels. This tends to bring out the dreaded “pageant vibe curse.” And, well, we all know how those things turn out. (Paging Lisa Tucker.) Tonight’s vote-off, I suspect, will be Paris’ last moment on the big Idol stage. Wish her well my children.
Whenever I call my mom at work to discuss Idol, she always mentions the same news: “Everyone here is still voting for that old gray-haired guy.” I remind her that Taylor Hicks is 29-years-old. And she is always shocked: “Really?”
I suppose this is why Hicks shows up at the top of the heap week after week, according to Dial Idol — a site that eerily predicts the show’s winners and losers by tallying the number of busy signals for each contestant during the post-show voting blitz. Oldsters feel like one of their own has stormed the gates of Teenybop Land. And so they feel OK about doing something as girly as dialing the phone over and over again for their chosen Idolette.
Oh, and with Hicks, there’s also the Southern Thing. The Washington Post recently reported on The Southern Thing and its annual recurrence on Idol :
“For five years [the show has been] thoroughly, totally and completely [dominated] by kids from Southern Hicksville, USA. Seven of the eight top-two finishers in the first four years were from states that once formed the Confederacy, and five of the seven remaining finalists this season are, too.”
I guess it won’t matter that last night Taylor gave his worst performance ever. He seemed to have run out of all his tics and pre-packaged vocal gymnastics, leaving him at the mercy of just singing. And wow, a tender mercy it was not! It was a true Emperor Has No Clothes moment. (I see David Ogilvy smiling somewhere out there in the ether.) All we got was the lounge-act version of a James Ingram classic. Hicks’ rendition was bland and sedate, livened only at the very end when he upped his body spasms and started grunting and straining like a constipated bear. Cue Sweet Home Alabama … “Carry him home to see his kin…”
I was never a fan of Chris Daughtry (remember my tirade against him a couple of weeks ago?) But one of the nice things about Idol are those moments when I’m forced to reverse my opinion of a contestant, especially someone I vehemently dislike. And last night Daughtry’s take on Bryan Adams’ bizarro ballad Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman felt true, non-contrived and, more importantly, a sure sign that Daughtry was maturing into himself. He no longer seemed to be copying the affectations of his musical idols. I was impressed, dawg.
And then there was the show’s big golden moment. The one that made Paula Abdul cry and blew out the back walls of the theater when the audience started to applaud. The one that I’d been waiting for since I first glimpsed Elliott Yamin skittering around the fringes of the Hollywood tryouts where he was bookended between the horrifying Brittenum twins, yet still managed to flip skull caps with his rendition of It’s In His Kiss.
I’ve squirmed through so much with Elliot: his Amish haircuts, crooked teeth, deer-in-the-headlights stage fright, frumpy hoody attire and a nervous vibrato that sometimes sounded goaty. But last night Yamin fulfilled his three months of promise and finally delivered a showstopping performance that will secure him a spot in the show’s final top three. And he did it with an intricate, jazzy Donny Hathaway tune that the show’s teenage fans may not even recognize, no less
It wasn’t so much that his interpretation was stellar (I’d have preferred something a bit more intimate, to match the soul of the song, A Song for You, which when I listen to it with fresh ears is truly one of the greatest love songs of all time.) It was because Elliott finally crossed the line. This ugly duckling made it into Swan Lake. He went beyond American Idol, in one fell swoop. Fantastic.
The guy is cute (crooked teeth? Please! Come to England, there you can see the true meaning of “crooked teeth”), and seems sweet and talented. But the voice doesn’t do much for me; it’s not powerful enough for my taste. This guy ain’t no Fantasia, who could blow you away with just one of her “Yeah yeah yeahs”. Can’t see how this made Paula cry, it left my rather unfazed.
Thank you, thank you for sharing this info and video of Elliott Yamin’s performance. Here in europe one would never have the opportunity to see this. My first impression was overwhelming. I think he is adorable, this is subjective. At least from this video’s perspective he seems quite handsome with IT. As for the teeth!Although a New Yorker myself I lived most of my life in various countries and I think you Amis and your super perfect whiter than white teeth fettish is a severe psychological disturbance. All tied in with the deep sexual repression etc. You have lost the perspective of what is attractive as a norm to the norm being what is artificial.
This young man, if the producers and glamour fairies don’t mess him up has the makings of brilliance. I have been listening online recently to a ton of music from the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s 60’s until today. There are many talented people in the modern day but NONE of them can hold a candle to Billy Eckstein, Ella, Sarah, Dinah, Al Hibbler, Early Tony Bennet, not to mention Sinatra or even Bobby Darin, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, they could sing ka ka doo without music and we would know the voice along with numerous others up until 1970. When those people sing even if the song is totally unfamiliar one knows the voice.
In the last 20-30 years people sound more and more alike aided by tricks and gimmicks and special effects. Today you must know the song and singer as a unit. If the singer sings something not a hit one is indistinguishable from another, including all your beloved grammy winners. Johnny Cash or Patsy Cline could have sung “I’m forever blowing bubbles” without special effects and one knew their voices. There is not one today who has a unique voice and sound without the technology. NOT ONE.
If this boy is not just a one off performance than he has the makings of greatness. Whether anybody is left who understands or appreciates such things is questionable. People are so numbed by special effects and pop music coloratura that it is already a miracle that the writer of the article recognised this young man as a truly golden moment or that Elliott might come under the last three.
He has a unique Sound and for an ameteur a phrasing and interpretation that I despaired of ever experiencing again. If it is instinct and not coaching that is moving him than it is inspiring. If he loves to sing and entertain he will loosen up and look less frightened. He also has a beautiful smile. All the best to you Elliott. Hope to hear some real music from you.
Thank you again for sharing this. Made my day!
Hey, Neil. Thank you for that rundown. But we think every generation produces its great voices. Just as in the past, most of the merely pleasant voices will be forgotten.
Okay, so Britney Spears is no Lady Day. Still, you don’t have to go all the way back to Ella, Judy and Frank. Here are some post-60’s people whose voices you could pick out in the middle of a hurricane:
Patti Labelle, Mary J. Blige, Michael McDonald, Martha Wash, Dusty Springfield, Luther Vandross, Patsy Cline, Tina Turner, Diana Krall, Laura Nyro, kd lang, the artist formerly known as Whitney Houston, and — last but never least — CHER! (Yes, Cher! She has a deep, strong voice and a weird country twang that just won’t quit — Yeah-air! Cher-yeah! )
Hey, young Nightcharmers help us freshen this list with someone who is maybe under 80, please! We actually invite all our readers to add to this list. What great voices did we miss?
I’m crushed. You forgot Babs!
I know I’ll get slammed for this, but Madonna
Most of your choices are black voices or emulate the black vocabulary of vocal tics. I love Pasty Cline, that was a different choice. But for a great white-girl voice, don’t overlook Karen Carpenter.
Still don’t know what others hear in Elliot’s voice that I’m missing, but glad you realized that Chris is much more than a “two-note wonder”.
A gifted few are able to project themselves via their singing voice. Chris is one and he’s getting better while Elliot still struggles with mechanics.
I think the poster Neil said people who became famous after the 70’s. That whittles your list down to Mary J. Blige, Luther Vandross, Diana Krall, kd lang, and the afka Whitney Houston. Who else have you got?
Freddie Mercury!
If Elliot had an album out today, I’d be first in line to purchase it…. It was a master presentation that he did.
Thank you neil for proclaiming the states fetish for perfect teeth a psycological disturbance (I still become envious when I look up at the billboards of newscasters —the stright white teeth as big as refridgerators). It’s a crying shame that some people get too hung up on Elloit’s dentel features to give him the props they know he deserves.
Hmmm, cute guy. Pity he don’tknow how to put the knot in his tie.
Think he’s a good singer, but as Beejay, (and perhaps those I didn’t read) said, he hasn’t the volume. I don’t speak, probably don’t sing vrey loud either, and if I do, it sounds like an angry Frenchman. (Which sounds terrible because French is not allowing you to use angry tones and still make correct lines. Besides, it is the language of love
How extraordinary. Reflected after writing earlier today that I had written into deep space to no one and who cared anyway and then your email and all these responses. I am impressed and encouraged.
I am thrilled to have unleashed such a dialogue. Also heartened by some responses. Naturally all the names you mentioned Mr. Nightcharm I could have written. I had actually thought of Patti la belle when I thought, I must stop. JUDY I knew and she goes without saying.
For those who may think I am a stodgy middle aged man think again. Check out my site. True I am not 25. My mom was 19 when I was born after WWII and she imbued in me a love of music especially HER music. My love for classical music comes from my grandmother. My cd collection begins in the 11th century and ends with Pink.
I just returned from Lisbon again where I danced 2 to 3 days consecutively in the discos on weekends until about 7am. NO DRUGS. Just water and wonderful music, house, pop, hip-hop, reggae, etc.
What inspired me about Elliott was that he has a sound in his voice that after a few hearings becomes his mark. For all you boom box heavy base woofer big Volume people…… few of your star singers really have that power. You are all deceived through the magic of technology.
Lady day had no booming voice, but according to my mom who saw and heard Billie in a club on the famous 52nd street NY, which she sneaked into when she was 15, Billie held a standing room only audience breathless and captivated, backed only by a trio.
I like Whitney, Christina A. And some others, even Madonna at times but more for the music. But if any of them would sing 4 notes I could not tell who they were from a dozen other women, equivalent for the men. But Whitney’s auntie Dionne (before she went psychic) for example could sing 4 notes and I would know who it was immediately.
What inspired my writing! I have been downloading music covering a 70 year period, (long before I was born) including Pink — stupid girls, brilliant lyrics.
The point is that on the list many songs and singers are wrong. I download what I think will be Marvin Gaye and it is Billy Preston. How do I know???? The miracle of my near perfect musical ear. This has happed about a dozen times and each time I immediately knew. Including one time Karen Carpenter, an unmistakable voice, she began to sing, I was awaiting someone totally different. At once I KNEW. It was not a Carpenter’s hit. Toni Tennille also had a distinctive voice. OK, AND grandma Cher, better living through surgery.
There are many talented people out there but for you who don’t like or understand the magic of Elliott, it is simply that we have different criteria.
I studied every note, movement and expression today and his natural ability is clear. I don’t know the Chris some mention. As I wrote I am in Europe and we don’t receive your programs here but I wouldn’t want to compare. Maybe Chris is as good as some say. That doesn’t take away the reality that Elliott has a magic and if developed sensitively and not MARKETED he could be great. I am inspired by the responses and feel a renewed faith in the potential revival of a thinking and writing humanity.
Have a wonderful week-end. Thank you nightcharm, thank you all.
I too agree that Elliot is the most talented singer on the show, but I’m really hoping that he does NOT win. If Elliot wins, he’ll be locked into that horrible contract with the 19 production company. It’s just the worst. They will dictate the content of his CD (probably really awful mainstream pop — not Elliot’s style at all. Think about how bad Kelly Clarkson’s first album was and how they destroyed Bo Bice’s more natural country rock sound with his first release.) I would rather Elliot lost, because he’s a genuine talent who will be snatched up my some producer and label that will allow him to record the music he really excels at, more jazz flavored, soul music. That’s a CD I would look forward to buying. And will! GO ELLIOTT!!!!!!
I totally agree with Nightcharm’s response (#3) to Neil’s assesment of the lack of significant or memorable younger singers. In particular, whether you like her or not, kd lang is one of the great voices of our times, if not all times. Her contributions to a number of different styles of music are almost unparalleled. No matter where she lands the terrain is altered and something new and evocative is breathed into the landscape.
Neil said:
“There is not one today who has a unique voice and sound without the technology. NOT ONE.”
Wow Neil, that’s a pretty heavy-duty dismissal and one that makes it pretty clear that you’re making your evaluation from a planet far removed from the one on which kd lang lives and performs. Have you heard her album “Live By Request” that was recorded at City University of New York? There ain’t a whole lot of production trickery going on there - a minimalist group of musicians and backup singers and lang’s astonishing vocals spread out across a wide range of styles. It’s an album and a voice that are anything but over-produced.
Lang’s duets with Tony Bennett, her achingly beautiful Crying with Roy Orbison as well as the wildly divergent recordings of Big Boned Gal, Miss Chatelaine and Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray all point to a singer who is anything but dismissable in the pantheon of great contemporary singers. It’s an amazing set of pipes backed by extraordinary musicianship, sensitivity and vocal skill.
There are many other gifted and memorable singers in the mix today but kd lang certainly stands out as one of the most significant.
Not ONE Neil? Not ONE? Come on. Singers didn’t stop being memorable after 1970 - you just haven’t discovered them yet. It’s a brave new world out here - come and join it!
Hey David - one other thing: You forgot to mention Faith Hill in your list of singers. You’re a big fan of hers, right?
Juuuust kidding - I remember something you wrote a couple of years ago wherein you mentioned your “fondness” for Faith.
hey… about what you said about katherine… i totally disagree, cause when i watched her performances i totally heard and saw that she was also great…. and i disagree w/ the judges… and when i watched the result show, i hoped that they will take back their bad judging and opinion and they did… and i think that kath and elli will be the two fighting for the title…
I agree with NC’s comments about all the performances - it was the first time that I’d tuned in to AI this year. When I heard Elliott, I was riveted. I’d buy that guy’s first CD in a minute.
I’ll watch it again this week and hope that there is a repeat in quality.
I also agree with Marc at no.14: I hope that Elliott doesn’t win and is able to sign a recording contract with a different label.
I’m with you on Elliot, Charmer. Check out my My Big Gay Prediction: ‘Idol’ Will Go Man-on-Man, & Elliot Will Win. (link)
I hate that today’s music stardom has become less about technique, poise, and quality voices (I say QUALITY as beauty IS in the ear of the beholder) and more about the face and body the voice flies from. So the man doesn’t have perfect teeth…. So the man doesn’t fit the archetype of what we call beautiful. Mr. Yamin opened his mouth, huffed, puffed and blew all of those A.I. fools out of the water. That was the best SANGin’ I have ever heard on that god-forsaken program.
Kenneth
We very much like man-on-man around here. So I’d welcome that as well!
There seems to be a strange tideshift about this week, with lots of talk about Elliott making it in to the top 2 spots. We can only hope. Or should we? Listening to Bo Bice’s CD is enough to bring to tears to our eyes. Not for joy, but horror. The poor guy has been castrated and de-souled, thanks to 19’s horribly unattuned production and what they perceive as the “needs” of the modern music buyer. A warning to all future Idollettes.
David K.
Your Publisher
“But for a great white-girl voice, don’t overlook Karen Carpenter.”
Or for that matter, Diana Ross!
Do NOT say you hope Elliot does not win because of the contract. If he was not willing to abide by a contract, he would not be on the show. He is a phenominal, and a truly nice guy that comes across humble, instead of consited like Chris did. Chris was hot, but that is not what this is all about….IS it? Nope. It is a singing contest and Elliot is the man to beat. And as for his looks….would you slam the greatest artists of our time by the way they look? And before you judge someone on the way they look, take a good look in the mirror at your own self.