It Takes Two
I forgot to mention yesterday, the most recent Carnival of the NJ Bloggers (which I contributed my Jersey rant to) is up at the Bad Hair Blog.
Moving on...
Last week I saw the American Idols Live in Reading, PA.
For all of you smart asses out there, there aren't any jokes about watching, let alone attending and paying for an American Idol concert I haven't heard before, so save it. And for others of you who are wondering why I went all the way out to Pennsylvania to see the show well, that's all together an entirely different story.
My friend whose husband had the stroke was one of the girls I was going with. Originally when the show was in NJ, she was going to be in Las Vegas on vacation. Then the stroke happened and she also recently discovered she was pregnant, too. Needless to say, she ended up not going to the concert. See? Alanis isn't the only one whose life is riddled with ironies.
But all of this is neither here nor there.
Although I attend cheesy ass shows like American Idols Live, I am the first one to join in on the mockery of such events. And events like these are often full of things to mock. My favorite moment had to be when we got on the elevator with two "effeminate" forty something men who were gushing about AI. As if attending an American Idol concert when you're over 25 without kids wasn't lame enough, they went and upped the anty.
In case you weren't sold on the whole "I am a total dork" thing I've got going on, let me tell you that this is not my first American Idol concert. This is actually my third, although not consecutive, concert. I mean seriously. Who cares about Fantasia, anyhow? Some say the third time's the charm. But for me, the third time was more like a rude awakening that I really didn't need to spend sixty something dollars.
Don't get me wrong. The concert was good. I mean everyone could sing, some better than others, but all sang well. For instance, Constantine did a kickass version of "Bohemian Rhapsody", while Carrie Underwood made me smile by singing Heart's, "Alone". But no matter how great it was to hear these songs live, it wasn't surprising considering it was exactly. what. they. sang. during. the. season.
With very few exceptions, there were no surprises. Every contestant from the top 10 had an average three songs to strut their stuff, most of them choosing 75% if not all of their material to rehash. You would think you might want to do do one song from the season, 'cause if you only get three, one would be enough. But apparently not. Who knows? This might not even be their fault. After all, they are just pawns in the American Idol game.
But one thing that did strike me was the whole approach to certain songs. For this, let me reintroduce you to the duet. A tried and true formula, yet often underrated, the duet has all but bit the dust in the land of today's pop music. So it was a pleasant suprise to see AIer's "spice" it up by throwing in a few duets.
Contestant Jessica Sierra sang "Total Eclipse of the Heart" during the season. It was, as Randy Jackson would say, aight. But on tour, Jessica sang "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with Scott "The Body" Savol. And I'll be damned, it actually worked! Later on in the show, Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood worked the same magic on "God Bless The Broken Road". And suddenly, everything old was new again.
For most people, getting the chance to see two of their favorite idols harmonize on stage would be enough. But my mind starts to wander. Whatever happened to the duet anyway? Remember great songs like Vonda Shepard and Dan Hill's "Can't We Try"? Bill Medley and Jennifer Warren's classic, "I Had The Time Of My Life"? or Kenny Rogers and well, just about anybody from the years 1972-1983?
Duets were great man. Think about it. You got two songs for the price of one, especially if you loved both artists. And even if you didn't, that unknown person singing with the famous person still must have made out on the deal. There must have been some phat residuals as a result of their being half of a one hit wonder. Half is still better than nothing at all. Just ask that dude who sang with Whitney Houston on "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful". He knows what I'm talking about.
There was another great aspect to the art of the duet and that was the inevitable "sing off". Sure, duets were all about how well the singers "complimented each other" but more often than not it became a game of "anything you can do, I can do better" type vocals. Once again, I direct you to Whitney Houston only this time substitute that dude for Mariah Carey when they teamed up on the little known hit, "When You Believe". Some people thought it was great because it was two reigning divas on one track. I thought it was great because you knew there was a serious chance somebody might actually injure themselves in that vocal Olympics of a song.
So to review, duets are gone, but not forgotten, at least not in the eyes of shows like American Idol. With shows like these, the duet torch will be carried on for at least a little while longer.
Note to Kenny Rogers: All hope is not yet lost.
Moving on...
Last week I saw the American Idols Live in Reading, PA.
For all of you smart asses out there, there aren't any jokes about watching, let alone attending and paying for an American Idol concert I haven't heard before, so save it. And for others of you who are wondering why I went all the way out to Pennsylvania to see the show well, that's all together an entirely different story.
My friend whose husband had the stroke was one of the girls I was going with. Originally when the show was in NJ, she was going to be in Las Vegas on vacation. Then the stroke happened and she also recently discovered she was pregnant, too. Needless to say, she ended up not going to the concert. See? Alanis isn't the only one whose life is riddled with ironies.
But all of this is neither here nor there.
Although I attend cheesy ass shows like American Idols Live, I am the first one to join in on the mockery of such events. And events like these are often full of things to mock. My favorite moment had to be when we got on the elevator with two "effeminate" forty something men who were gushing about AI. As if attending an American Idol concert when you're over 25 without kids wasn't lame enough, they went and upped the anty.
In case you weren't sold on the whole "I am a total dork" thing I've got going on, let me tell you that this is not my first American Idol concert. This is actually my third, although not consecutive, concert. I mean seriously. Who cares about Fantasia, anyhow? Some say the third time's the charm. But for me, the third time was more like a rude awakening that I really didn't need to spend sixty something dollars.
Don't get me wrong. The concert was good. I mean everyone could sing, some better than others, but all sang well. For instance, Constantine did a kickass version of "Bohemian Rhapsody", while Carrie Underwood made me smile by singing Heart's, "Alone". But no matter how great it was to hear these songs live, it wasn't surprising considering it was exactly. what. they. sang. during. the. season.
With very few exceptions, there were no surprises. Every contestant from the top 10 had an average three songs to strut their stuff, most of them choosing 75% if not all of their material to rehash. You would think you might want to do do one song from the season, 'cause if you only get three, one would be enough. But apparently not. Who knows? This might not even be their fault. After all, they are just pawns in the American Idol game.
But one thing that did strike me was the whole approach to certain songs. For this, let me reintroduce you to the duet. A tried and true formula, yet often underrated, the duet has all but bit the dust in the land of today's pop music. So it was a pleasant suprise to see AIer's "spice" it up by throwing in a few duets.
Contestant Jessica Sierra sang "Total Eclipse of the Heart" during the season. It was, as Randy Jackson would say, aight. But on tour, Jessica sang "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with Scott "The Body" Savol. And I'll be damned, it actually worked! Later on in the show, Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood worked the same magic on "God Bless The Broken Road". And suddenly, everything old was new again.
For most people, getting the chance to see two of their favorite idols harmonize on stage would be enough. But my mind starts to wander. Whatever happened to the duet anyway? Remember great songs like Vonda Shepard and Dan Hill's "Can't We Try"? Bill Medley and Jennifer Warren's classic, "I Had The Time Of My Life"? or Kenny Rogers and well, just about anybody from the years 1972-1983?
Duets were great man. Think about it. You got two songs for the price of one, especially if you loved both artists. And even if you didn't, that unknown person singing with the famous person still must have made out on the deal. There must have been some phat residuals as a result of their being half of a one hit wonder. Half is still better than nothing at all. Just ask that dude who sang with Whitney Houston on "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful". He knows what I'm talking about.
There was another great aspect to the art of the duet and that was the inevitable "sing off". Sure, duets were all about how well the singers "complimented each other" but more often than not it became a game of "anything you can do, I can do better" type vocals. Once again, I direct you to Whitney Houston only this time substitute that dude for Mariah Carey when they teamed up on the little known hit, "When You Believe". Some people thought it was great because it was two reigning divas on one track. I thought it was great because you knew there was a serious chance somebody might actually injure themselves in that vocal Olympics of a song.
So to review, duets are gone, but not forgotten, at least not in the eyes of shows like American Idol. With shows like these, the duet torch will be carried on for at least a little while longer.
Note to Kenny Rogers: All hope is not yet lost.
<< Home