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March 22: Contestants not scared of theme weeks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘American Idol’ Contestants Say Bring On The Theme Weeks 03.21.2005 9:19 PM EST MTV.com Event can put competitors at a disadvantage, but this season’s crop claims to be ready.
BEVERLY HILLS â€â€?- As a clear-cut country singer, “American Idol” contestant Carrie Underwood should be shaking in her boots at the thought of the theme weeks ahead.
Unless she lies as well as she twangs, however, she’s not. In
“If they throw an opera theme at me, I might be a little bit scared.” â€â€? Bo Bice fact, she’s looking forward to them.
“Honestly, song choice is so hard because there’s just millions upon millions of songs out there. [With theme weeks] we have more of a direction,” Underwood explained. “And at least we’ll know what the judges are expecting to hear.”
Traditionally, the theme weeks are when the best of the contestants start to struggle. Although some, like last week’s ’60s theme, are broad enough for any singer to find a fitting tune, others are specific enough to put some contestants at a distinct disadvantage. The guys last season, for instance, had a heck of a time with Gloria Estefan week.
Theme weeks in the past have shown a wide range, from country to Motown to big band to disco, so usually the more versatile the singer, the better his or her chance of survival. In turn, niche singers, like Underwood or rockers Constantine Maroulis and Bo Bice, likely have their work cut out for them, as much as none of them will admit it.
“My whole life I grew up listening to all kinds of different music, so I look forward to all those different challenges,” Maroulis said.
“I grew up on Otis Redding, Jim Croce, James Taylor, the Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, you know, everything from the ’50s all the way up to modern day, so whatever they throw at me, I’m ready,” Bice said. “I mean, if they throw an opera theme at me, I might be a little bit scared.”
“Idol” producers aren’t announcing theme weeks in advance this season, but opera has never been a theme, and that likely won’t change. Vocal coach Michael Orland, however, hinted that there will be some new themes and that “somebody big” will be hosting a week the way Elton John did a year ago.
Whatever the themes, the singers say they’re ready.
“I’m very eclectic in what I love, so I’m not afraid of anything,” said Nadia Turner, who has stuck with R&B so far. “I listen to country music. I listen to rock. I listen to bluegrass. I listen to hip-hop. I don’t feel you can even be a singer or even be an artist without loving everything.”
The key, according to some of the contestants, is to bring their own style to the songs they sing.
“You don’t pick a Temptations song and sing like the Temptations,” Scott Savol, who has shown a flair for Motown, explained. “You don’t pick a Randy Travis song and sing it like Randy Travis. You turn a Randy Travis song into a Scott Savol song. You have to bring your own flavor to it. Originality is something that’s very important in this competition because people are going to buy records because they like how Scott sounds. They don’t want to hear Scott impersonate someone.”
“I’m not that familiar with country, but if I hear a song that I like, I’ll learn it and I’ll turn it into something that I do,” added Anwar Robinson, who surprised the judges by debuting in the semifinals with the Henry Mancini/Johnny Mercer standard “Moon River.”
Jessica Sierra, who has shown versatility by tackling songs made famous by Phil Collins, Martina McBride and Thin Lizzy in the semifinals, said she looks forward to the challenge of exploring even more genres, although there’s one she hopes to avoid.
“I hope they don’t have a hip-hop night, but if they do, I’m gonna take it and I’m gonna do my best,” she said.
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By d
March 22, 2005 01:58 PM | Link to this
Sirs:
what is american idol?
and who is Mario?
Andretti or Cuomo?
I suppose they both are, in their respective fields…