Chikezie gets the boot on American Idol

Hey Family!

Last week I half heartedly tuned into American Idol, hoping to be dazzled by the vocal performances but unfortunately most of what I saw really looked like appearances on a high school talent show. I dunno family, perhaps it's me but very few of the finalists this year have that whole "Star Quality" thing about them. I mean the "IT" factor is pretty much what will determine how far you'll go in your career. And few of them have it this year and I don't know why that is....I really don't.

Chikezie sang a very cheesy and karaoke-ish version of the Luther Vandross classic "If Only For One Night" - Not the best version but certainly not the worst I have ever heard....he just didn't sing the hell out of it, as he should have. I think his choice of song was a bad one and if you watched any of the previous AI's, then you should know that ANY song that either Luther, Whitney or Beyonce has performed is almost always a bad choice. Unless you do something COMPLETELY different, you run the risk of being compared as a sad imitation of the original. And what generally happens is that most of the singers NEVER take the songs and make them their own - they usually just do lukewarm copies of the original version.

Chikezie's mistake in song choice reeks of the same thing that got Season 6 cutie Jared Cotter eliminated before he could seal his position in the top 12. Jared was in position 13 (I think) when he got eliminated for doing a poor man's copy of the Marvin Gaye classic "Let's Get It On",



while the song wasn't bad - it just came off really karaoke-ish and he sort of played to the crowd down front just like Chikezie did. History has shown us that for some reason, this technique just doesn't play well to tv audiences. And unfortunately, I really think that whatever "IT" is.....uh...Chikezie unfortunately, just doesn't have it.

He's an okay singer and that's pretty much about it for me.

I knew he'd be in the bottom three, but because I couldn't watch (I was doing my monthly "Soul at Ceol's" in Brooklyn on elimination night) I don't know who else was there with him. Hmmm....I am wondering if Jason Castro (the kid with the icky locks and amazing eyes) was also in the bottom three because his song was so boring he could have kicked off the "Nyquil/Sominex" tour with this boring ass song.

I actually thought he was going to be the one to go. I hear that Syesha Mercado was in the bottom three AGAIN last week and this is simply not a good sign....dang....I actually love her voice....I am not quite understanding why she isn't connecting with the voters....

Stay Tuned Family!

“This is a fault common to all singers, that among their friends they will never sing when they are asked; unasked, they will never desist.”