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What ‘American Idol 6’ Contestants Need to Knowby David Bloomberg -- 02/21/2007
View Printable version of this article Since we now know who the American Idol 6 semi-finalists are, now is a good time for potential Idols to get themselves prepared for the big competition. Why do contestants need to know this? Well, on Survivor you can’t (or at least shouldn’t) go in without understanding that the basic necessity is not so much learning how to make fire but learning how to make alliances; on American Idol you need to know how to do more than just sing if you want to be the next Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, or Taylor Hicks. From what we have seen to date, the bar has been set high once again this year, which means the competition will be stiff. This season, we’ve seen at least snippets of every contestant, which puts them on a more even footing that in some previous years – though we certainly know more about some than others. Contestants need to find a way to stand out beyond just their singing. Here are some recommendations. 1) Have Some Singing and Performing Talent Yes, I know I just said that being a good singer is not enough, but first thing’s first. It is still the most important factor. You’ve obviously impressed the judges enough to get to this point, but now you have to impress the viewers – and you only have a few brief moments to do it. Make sure you practice, practice, practice. It’s more than just singing, though. In Season 4, Anwar was a good singer – he might have had the best male voice in the competition. However, he had some iffy performances, which led to his eventual ouster. Scott Savol faced a similar situation in that season, as he could have used some help with choreography to fit each song. Pure vocals are not enough, you need to perform the song. Last season gave us several examples of this both ways. Many people (myself included) felt Elliott had the best pure voice in the season. But when it came time for the final three show, he had problems with his performances. Indeed, to quote from my article, Why Elliott Lost: “Almost everybody agreed that his voice was great – but his performance was not.” The same was true when it came down to the final two last season. To quote from Why Katharine Lost: “Sometimes, Katharine did not look like she was totally comfortable in her performances. Sometimes they were entertaining, sometimes not. Taylor, on the other hand, was almost always entertaining and almost always looked like he completely owned the stage – and the audience.” Indeed, I also noted, “if you compared her singing voice to Taylor’s in some sort of objective test of whose is the best for singing, I believe she would win.” Allow me to repeat a statement from a couple paragraphs ago: “Pure vocals are not enough, you need to perform the song.” Taylor won in large part because he followed this rule. Quoting now from Why Taylor Won: “Taylor performed almost every single song he did. Often he could be seen dancing around the stage (or into the audience), showing personality and pretty much emanating fun. On those songs where he stayed center-stage, he put his whole voice into it and still managed to perform it well without bouncing around. Taylor was undoubtedly the best performer of the season.” All the Idol wannabes need to remember these key points as they start their performances. Singing is a necessity, but performing in addition to singing may very well win the competition. Also, you need to be confident when you are up there. Look like you belong there. But don’t overdo it and become overconfident, because then people will turn against you, thinking you’re egotistical. Once again, we can use Scott as an example. The week he went home was one of his best performances, but he also appeared far too confident, even making a statement on the show about how he would be sticking around. Yes, it’s a fine line, but it’s a line you must learn to walk if you want to get as many voters as possible on your side. Let’s also take this opportunity to mention karaoke – specifically, you need to avoid it at all costs. How many times did we hear the term “karaoke” from the judges over the course of the first couple seasons? They want to hear voices as good as Whitney’s. But they don’t want to hear Whitney – let alone your impersonation of her. As discussed in Rule 2, below, you may be better off singing songs that viewers are familiar with (though Ryan Starr did a good job with her “Frim Fram Sauce” number), but you have to do it in a way that does not make it look like you are just imitating the original singer. This is not easy to do – several times over the seasons, Simon seemed to contradict himself by criticizing somebody for trying to be a clone but then criticizing somebody else for essentially being too original – but if you don’t want to hear Simon call you a karaoke singer, you need to find a way to make it happen. In the semi-finals last season, both Sway and Will found this out. Sway’s second performance had Simon using the k-word, and many others agreed. And Will’s number even had Randy labeling it as such. What’s that you say? You don’t really remember Sway or Will? Exactly. With all this being said about karaoke, don’t totally destroy a good song just to be original. In the first season, Rodesia utterly ruined “Daydream Believer” and deservedly went nowhere. 2) Song Choice, Song Choice, Song Choice How many times have we heard about song choice from the judges in the first five seasons? Indeed, the producers got so sick of hearing it on finale night when the contestants didn’t have a choice other than to sing the “Idol Single,” that they commissioned a new contest to come up with a better one! 1 2 3 4 5 Next-->View Printable version of this article
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