American Idol: Final 2
I am not going to bother with a detailed song-by-song review of the Final 2 performances. Both Carrie and Bo were obviously unwell, making for a very lacklustre final. I would give the edge to Bo, but that's mainly because he has better performance skills (although it was getting repetitive) and I much prefer the tone of his voice to Carrie's, which was back to sounding strained and reminding me of injured vocal chords.
I think both sung well below par and worst of all, were saddled with two horrendous songs. These songs were truly bad; terrible lyrics, run-of-the-mill melodies and utterly BORING. I thought that "I Believe" from last year's final could not be topped for sheer banality, but they managed to do it. These songs made the Singapore Idol winner's single, "I Dream" (which is as forgettable a song as you can get), sound like Mozart. After a whole season of them singing some good, even great, songs from old and new catalogues, having these songs in the finale was anti-climactic.
Carrie won, and I really could not care less. I believe Bo is both a better musician and a better performer than she will ever be, but winning the AI title is as much a curse as it is a blessing. Much as I dislike Corey Clarke and his sleaze-bag revelations, I think the aftermath of his allegations did surface a few salient points about how the AI machinery shackles the contracted contestants and performers. I hope Bo will find a way to parlay his exposure on the show into a meaningful long-term musical career, away from 19E and the AI. It's telling that the two most successful AI alumni, Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken, have fought their way out of their contracts with 19E. American Idol is reality TV; there is a winner each season who gets his or her 15 minutes with the media circus. That's what Carrie has "won". Beyond that, the winner needs to be judged as a singer competing with other artistes outside of the insular AI hot-house. That's what Carrie, Bo, Vonzell and all the rest of them, would need to do.
Labels: American Idol