|
| |
American Idol: Taylor Hicks Wins
25-May-2006
Written by: Jennifer O'Reilly
Taylor Hicks is the new American Idol.
There were a lot of shocks and surprises last night on the season finale of American Idol but Taylor Hicks winning the crown was not one of them. In retrospect, it seems that Taylor locked up the American Idol title the moment that Chris Daughtry got voted off. So when Ryan called Taylor’s name in the very last minutes of the epic show it may have been the most anticlimactic moment in Idol finale history.
Luckily for viewers, last night’s two hours was also chock full of musical numbers, entertaining skits, surprise guest stars, and trips down memory lane. In fact, in music content, it was probably the best finale ever. During the portion in which each of the contestants had their moments singing with pop stars (Paris with Al Jarreau, Elliott with Mary J., etc.) I couldn’t help think back to last year’s finale in which Carrie Underwood sang “God Bless the Broken Road” with Rascal Flatts. No matter how spectacular her previous performances had been, this was the real moment that Carrie emerged as being as poised, beautiful, and talented as any other artist in mainstream music today. I believe that this is true test of an American Idol. In some sense, the finale is where the competition really begins – when Fox put these nobodies who’ve been plucked out of obscurity into real life performance situations with tried and true pop stars to see how they compare.
If anyone had a Carrie Underwood moment last night, it was Chris Daughtry. His performance of “Mystery” was far, far better than any performance any Idol so far this season. Even though there’s no precedent for a fourth place finisher with a major record, I’ll be shocked if it doesn’t happen in this case.
I couldn’t help but wonder as we were paraded down the Top Twelve memory lane how the winner this season could have been different if the early rounds had not gone as they did. I imagined a finale featuring Paris Bennett and Mandisa, or one with Mandisa and Chris Daughtry. Even the much predicted Taylor v. Chris Daughtry would have been better than Katherine McPhee v. Taylor Hicks.
Many critics have asked if coming in second on American Idol permanently handicaps your career. The inevitable Clay Aiken example is given (always with the exclusion of Justin Guarini, Diana DeGarmo, and Bo Bice all whose albums sold considerably less than their first place counterparts) as reason to explain that you can have a career while still finishing second. However, my question for this season is this – Can someone with absolutely no mainstream marketability go on to have a career rivaling that of Kelly Clarkson? This is the question that Taylor Hicks should be asking himself right now, because we all know from the case of Ruben Stubbard that being the winner does not equal becoming a star. The title will only prove its usefulness (or futility) months from now when Taylor puts out his first album, long after the last streamer has been cleared out from the Kodak Theatre.
Just a few more notes on the performance/entertainment aspect of last night’s show. I loved when Clay Aiken came out (no pun intended) with his crazy bangs, rocking look alike Michael Sandeki to his very core with “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” I hated every moment that Meatloaf was on stage. I loved the cheesy little sentimental awards they gave, especially the one for Proudest Family Moment to Elliott Yamin’s mom. I hated and also was deeply offended by Taylor and Toni Braxton’s performance of “In the Ghetto” which somehow cheapened one of the most sacred songs in the American cannon of music into a flirty free for all. I loved that American Idol is a big enough show that even Prince, a man whose ego is bigger than spelling out his name with letters (those pedestrian units!), would deem it worthy of an appearance.
American Idol this season concluded with its largest vote ever – 65 million which is, as Ryan Seacrest pointed out, more votes than any American president ever has received. The winner is a grey haired, freak dancing, slightly pudgy kid from Alabama who somewhere along the way got the delusion that he’s Ray Charles. Idol’s previous winners have been a 300 lb R&B singer, a farmgirl, a single mom, and rock princess. How can you beat that?
For those nursing Idol hangovers today, just remember that there’s a whole life out there without Idol. And for those that can’t imagine that life, there’s always next season.
Talk to other readers about this story.
|
|
|
|
|
