American Idol's top five
By ANN MARIE CHANDYTonight American Idol features the Top 5 contestants who have out-sung everyone else – Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, Scott Savol, Vonzell Solomon and Anthony Fedorov – over the last 15 weeks. Well, maybe didn’t quite out-sing the likes of Mario Vasquez, Nadia Turner, Anwar Robinson, Jessica Sierra or Constantine Maroulis. But they are still on stage and will battle it out for a place in the finals on May 25.
While the reality programme has lost some of its bite this time round, and the contestants seem somewhat mild compared to last year’s batch (unforgettable performances by Fantasia and LaToya still linger), the producers of the show have managed to enliven things with the neat commercial breaks (you know the ones in which the contestants help advertise sponsors like Ford), and have even come up with some savvy marketing strategies like including footage of the contestants’ families and friends to add a personal touch and let viewers develop a “bond” with the contestants.
Special guests such as Daryl Hall, John Oates, Clay Aiken, Pamela Anderson and Heather Locklear all spice things up too. It’s nice to think that they are American Idol fans too ? just like us. All of this is coupled with pretty clever themes – Songs from the Year the Contestants Were Born In was one of my favourites. And, of course, the off-stage drama gives fans something to talk about during their lunch breaks.
This year everything from Paula Abdul’s hit-and-run case, to investigation about claims by booted American Idol 2 contestant Corey Clark that he had sex with judge Paula while he was still in competition, to host Ryan Seacrest winning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, to why contestant Mario Vasquez had opted out of the competition all provided fodder for the gossip hungry tabloids.
Here’s a look at the Top 5, in no particular order:
Carrie Underwood, 21
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Carrie Underwood |
2. Carrie is a big sports fan and played softball for eight years before it took a back seat to music.
3. She loves horror movies and pizza.
4. It’s hard to believe but she was an honour student at Checotah High School in Checotah, Oklahoma.
5. She is the very first and only American Idol contestant who wasn’t born in a hospital, according to online encyclopaedia Wikipedia.org. (We suspect she was born in a barn ? just kidding).
Songs she has sung so far: When God Fearin’ Women Get the Blues, MacArthur Park, Love Is a Battlefield, Hello Young Lovers, Independence Day, Alone, When Will I Be Loved, Because You Love Me, Piece of My Heart and Could’ve Been.
Pros: From her initial audition, Carrie proved without a doubt that she had the pipes for the job.
Cons: Carrie has an almost non-existent personality. She also exudes an air of stupidity every time she is asked a question. She can’t dance. And her fashion sense leaves a lot to be desired. Simon hit the nail on the head with his description: Barbie meets the Stepford Wives.
Scott Savol, 28
1. Scott has a four-year-old son.
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Scott Savol |
3. Scott was once arrested (disorderly conduct which involved hitting his girlfriend at that time) and also has a misdemeanour trespass charge to his “credit”. (You can read all about it at www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0331051_american_idol_scott_1.html)
4. Scott plays the trumpet.
5. You can actually buy a Scott Savol pillow case from ebay.com for US$9.99 (RM38); there’s a lot more merchandise where that came from too.
Songs he has sung so far: Dance with My Father, Everlasting Love, She’s Gone, The Impossible Dream, One Last Cry, Against All Odds, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg, I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch), Never Too Much and You Are My Lady.
Pros: He gives the Average Joe of America something to cheer about. He makes his parents proud. Awww.
Cons: He has such a smug look on his face each time he gets through. He also looks as if his fuse could blow at any moment – whip out an AK-47 and shoot everyone in the audience.
Vonzell Solomon, 21
1. If she couldn’t sing, Vonzell would have liked to be an artist and paint beautiful pictures.
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Vonzell Solomon |
3. She holds a black belt in sembact martial arts (sembact is a combination of karate, jujitsu and tae kwon do); her father, Larry Goethie, is a martial arts instructor.
4. Solomon is Vonzell’s mother’s maiden name.
5. In April 2004, Solomon released a demo CD, My Struggle and she has also sung with local bands in southwest Florida.
Songs she has sung so far: I Turn to You, I’m Every Woman, Let’s Hear it for the Boy, People, I Have Nothing, Best of My Love, Anyone Who Had a Heart, Respect, If I Ain’t Got You and Heatwave (Your Love Is Like A)
Pros: Baby V (as she is fondly called) has an infectious smile, and a happy-go-lucky attitude. She dresses well and pushes herself in terms of performance and choice of song week after week.
Cons: Vonzell doesn’t always hit all the right notes...but who does, anyway?
Anthony Fedorov, 19
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Anthony Fedorov |
2. At the Cleveland auditions, when Anthony got his gold ticket he came out and tripped on the carpet. Ha ha.
3. Simon Cowell is Anthony’s favourite judge because he knows what he wants and doesn’t settle for anything less.
4. Anthony was born in the Ukraine, but moved to the United States in 1994. He lives in Pennsylvania.
5. Anthony had a tracheotomy as a child and his scar is still quite visible.
Songs he has sung so far: I Surrender, Don’t Take Away the Music, Every Time You Go Away, Climb Every Mountain, Something about the Way You Look Tonight, I Knew You Were Waiting for Me, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, I’ve Got You, I Want to Know What Love Is and Hold on to the Nights
Pros: Anthony has a good attitude, and hardly ever gets on your nerves when he opens his mouth to speak (when he sings, however, that’s a different story).
Cons: His song choices have mostly been truly cringe worthy.
Bo Bice, 29
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Bo Bice |
2. The rocker loves to cook!
3. He was nicknamed Bogart as a child by his family, and it was later shortened to Bo. His real name is Harold Edmin Bice.
4. Bo used to belong to a group called Purge, and has a fan group called the Bice Squad (you can check it out at www.bicesquad.com). His current band is called SugarMoney (www.sugarmoney.net).
5. Bo’s mum, Nancy Giddens-Downes, and her cousins Evie, Linda, and Rhea were in a Southern gospel quartet called The Singing Jays that travelled, sang, and recorded together in the late 1960s and early 70s.
Songs he has sung so far: I Don’t Want to Be, Vehicle, Free Bird, Corner of the Sky, Remedy, Time in a Bottle, Spinning Wheel, I’ll Be, Whipping Post and Drift Away.
Pros: His confidence on stage, mike stand wielding skills, silky soft hair, his mean sense of fashion (that dashiki really blew us away) and...of course his abounding humility.
Cons: The little goatee is sometimes a turn-off.
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