|
|
American Idol 6: Why Brandon Lostby David Bloomberg -- 03/15/2007
View Printable version of this article Alas, poor Brandon. We didn’t know him well, but we did at least know he was better than Sanjaya. Well, apparently some of us knew this, while others actually voted for Sanjaya to stick around. But believe it or not, there actually were some good reasons for Brandon to leave us. What were they? Why did Brandon lose? With the semi-finals over and the final 12 (now 11) here, we still handle the voting results each week in the same way – by using What ‘American Idol 6’ Contestants Need to Know as a guide to identify what contestants did right and where they went wrong enough to hear Chris Daughtry’s “Home” played while their Idol life flashes before their eyes. 
First and foremost, contestants need to sing and perform well. I don’t think anybody who watched and listened to the top 12 show could say with a straight face that Brandon did either of these. Judge Randy Jackson didn’t like the performance. Simon Cowell thought it was predictable, unoriginal, and a letdown. Even Paula Abdul couldn’t find anything nice to say about it! Yikes. Then again, as recapper Jenn noted, “it also doesn’t help that he forgets the words at one point.” What was worse was how obvious it was that he forgot. What did the We’ll Be the Judge of That! panel have to say? All of them commented on him forgetting the words, of course. Sandy said he needed more energy in his voice and looked stiff. Tyler said this performance was leading Brandon to “becoming the most mediocre contestant in Idol history.” Bruce commented on his voice cracking. Kathy continued declaring her love for Brandon, but knew it was “no way to kick off the final round.” And I combined the comments of both Bruce and Tyler, noting the cracks and generic performance. Nobody absolutely hated Brandon’s performance. But nobody loved it either. Sometimes, that can actually be worse than a totally horrible night. When you do well, fans rush to the phone in appreciation. When you do horribly, fans will often rush to the phone to try to save you (which is what I’m sure happened with Haley – she forgot the words too, but positively pulled sympathy out of viewers). When you are mediocre, viewers yawn and there is little in the way of dialing. The second rule talks about song choice. This is a tough one here. On the one hand, Brandon picked a song he supposedly knew since childhood (yet couldn’t recall the words). On the other hand, I think he would have been better off singing a song that had not been remade by a male vocalist (Phil Collins). It’s more difficult to compare a male and female singer than it is to compare two males. Brandon may have set himself up for that very comparison, and he was not likely to come out ahead. The third rule is what really got Brandon in trouble. It says contestants need to be consistent. Brandon’s first week in the semi-finals was okay, but not great. Same with the second week. The third week brought hurrahs from some and yawns from others. And of course this week we’ve already discussed. I suppose we could say, therefore, that Brandon was consistent – consistently mediocre. But that’s not exactly what this rule is about. As the rule says, “Be excellent every time.” Even if people liked one or two of Brandon’s performances more than the judges, I doubt very many people at all thought all of them were excellent. The fourth rule tells Idol wannabes they need to be unique and stand out. I think Brandon had some trouble with this early on, but by the final 12, he certainly was recognizable apart from the others. If nothing else, he was the only African-American guy in the finals (not exactly something he could plan, obviously). But Brandon did not set himself apart with his singing, performing, or personality. As we’ve noted, his performances were mediocre and generic. The whole point of standing out and being unique is pretty much the opposite of “generic.” And while I wouldn’t say Brandon was forgettable, I wouldn’t say he was exactly memorable either – which is a problem for the fifth rule. What were people you know talking about on Wednesday? Well, there was the good: LaKisha’s performance, Melinda’s performance, and Jordin’s performance. The bad: Haley’s performance and crying, and the way Chris Sligh and Blake were pummeled by the judges for changing up the songs. And the ugly: Sanjaya’s performance. What’s missing? For one thing, Brandon. Heck, even the fact that he forgot the words was somewhat forgotten because Haley forgot them too and gained a lot of sympathy because of it! 
The sixth rule tells contestants they need to do more than just sing, but put themselves forward as a complete package. What do we really know about Brandon? Let’s see. He was a backup singer (and likely will be again). He played piano. And… that’s about it. He failed to convey his personality and his story to us. Brandon did fine with the seventh rule, about not arguing with the judges. So we’re moving straight to number eight. Did Brandon do a good job of creating a fan base? Obviously not! To find out why, just go back a few paragraphs to what I was saying about mediocre performances. Being generic does not win fans. Brandon had something of a fan base going into the semi-finals – and they carried him through this far. But he needed to do something to attract more, and he failed every time out. Brandon was not the worst singer in the top 12. He was not the most forgettable going into the finals. It didn’t seem like he would really be in danger for at least another couple weeks. But Brandon managed to combine bad points from each of these areas. He gave us mediocrity on a weekly basis, failed to show us who the real Brandon was, and topped it off with forgetting the words. Brandon simply did not give viewers a reason to vote for him. That is why Brandon lost. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent articles on Foxes On Idol:
David Bloomberg is the Editor of Foxes On Idol, and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com. Be sure to sign up for the RealityNewsOnline/FoxesOnIdol e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on both sites! For all of our articles, check out our sections on American Idol, American Juniors, Nashville Star, and Canadian Idol. Also make sure to check out RealityNewsOnline for recaps and articles covering other reality TV shows. For even more news about reality TV, be sure to check SirLinksALot: American Idol and Reality TV Fever! View Printable version of this article
| Follow us on Twitter and on Facebook! On Twitter, get up to the minute notifications on article postings and other reality TV news. And become a fan on Facebook, join discussions, and more! |
and 
and you can also 
