American Idol 2013

[ISCAT4HALEY]

It is hard to be away from this site for a few days. I went to the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival to mainly see the One O’Clock Lab Band from the University of North Texas. My nephew majors in music there, not in jazz, mainly in the Wind Symphony and Concert Band. If you enjoy big band jazz and get a chance, check out the One O’Clock band on Youtube. They are really good and have been nominated for several Grammys.

Boy did a lot happen: With Haley in Jakarta and her performances (I agree with all the comments-Haley gets better and better on stage), the MacArthur Park and Tom22’s other discussions and now Haley’s vocal range, it was a lot to catch up on. Very insightful and interesting but beyond my knowledge.

One more time with Maynard Ferguson and dead horses. I love his trumpet playing. Those high notes are unbelievable and his orchestra was incredible. That arrangement of “MacArthur Park” is amazing. When I became aware of the video with Haley and the Wheeling High School Jazz Band 1 performing “Night and Day” and “Hey Jude”, I noticed the arrangement of “Hey Jude” was the same as what Maynard Ferguson and his band played so I looked it up. The arranger for “Hey Jude” and “MacArthur Park” as well as others is Adrian Drover.

From the internet: http://www.adiosmusic.com/adrian-drover/
“Adrian Drover is a world renowned arranger/composer and shot to fame when he joined the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra in 1974 and his arrangements of MacArthur Park, Spinning Wheel, Eli’s Coming and Hey Jude became hits on Maynard’s M.F Horn series of albums.

Adrian was born in London during the height of the blitz. This was his first encounter with loud, explosive things made of brass. The second was the cornet. In his early childhood, he received instruction on this instrument from his father, a long-serving soldier-musician in the Grenadier Guards.

Bass trombone became his primary instrument in 1970 when he joined the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra and his arrangements became a hit for Maynard and the band. In 1974, he joined the BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra as bass trombonist and arranger.”

Maynard Ferguson’s music is available as sheet music and is used by many school bands.

I have to admit I liked the Wheeling High School Jazz Band better since Maynard Ferguson didn’t have Haley and her high notes at the end of the song. Her vocal range is more than good enough for me.

I apologize for being late and getting off topic. I’m looking forward to American Idol tonight. The song choices should be interesting.

[mercfan3]

woot HALEY!

I really hope she performs tomorrow.

[My Alter Ego]

Back to the top 4 discussion...Kree lacks charisma. Great voice with no vocal imperfections but she doesn't make me smile, doesn't make me say "wow", and doesn't leave me with any wishes to rewatch the performance.

My eyes prefer watching Amber,
My ears prefer listening to Kree,
My mind prefers studying Angie,
My heart prefers pounding for Candice.

Sir Himm2, I like your analysis in a poetic sense. Personally, I truly just want Angie gone. (I don't find her interesting.) I know it won't happen. In fact, I won't be surprised if she wins. But I would be resentful, when that does come to pass.

[mercfan3]

Really, Angie has honestly grown on me lately. Although I preferred her first performance to her second one.

edit: I want a Kree, Candice, Angie final 3. They do this to me every year... I never like the contestant they pimp to high heavens.

[My Alter Ego]

Really, Angie has honestly grown on me lately. Although I preferred her first performance to her second one.

edit: I want a Kree, Candice, Angie final 3. They do this to me every year... I never like the contestant they pimp to high heavens.

Generally, I don't either, but then there was Joshua (and, I knew that Joshua would lose because of it) .... Angie isn't growing on me.

There's no doubt that she's good. In fact, technically, she may be the best, but, to me, she's "always" playing to the camera. The only thing sincere about her (to me) is her determination and desperation to win.

P.S. She's probably a perfectly nice "girl"/young woman -- but there's just something that doesn't work for me.

[mercfan3]

My guess is she doesn't connect to what she's singing. The only time she does is when it's a dramatic song at the piano...and she doesn't care what she looks like or the performance she's giving.

I don't think the personality edits have been particularly good to her. She doesn't come off as likeable, imo.

But I've thought, for the past two weeks, she's very good.

[Babbs234]

Ok let's see.... I like Kree, but agree with Himm. Great voice, but missing something. She's just not having fun onstage like Haley does. Angie, also very good voice but I can't get past her big white teeth. (Sorry, I had to say it ). She's not my favorite.

Amber has improved every week. She's young and and seems to be blossoming.

Candice seems to have a natural gift for making songs she sings her own. She seems humble and genuinely nice. Has a beautiful voice. Reminds me of Jennifer Hudson. She is still my favorite, with Amber coming up behind her.

I don't know much about music technicalities, so I can't really comment on that. Only what sounds good to my ears, and what my gut is telling me.

[Tom22]

Harry Connick summed up the whole season explaining Stormy Weather to Kree..

I'm not picking on Kree as I think she had a realtivly good night and while she screwed up in places her first 2 notes of Stormy weather were great. There still were some dumb runs in the wrong places without any real logic to why that run belonged other than she thought it made the song sound bluesy/country... I guess if you go into a french restauraunt and throw hay on the floor that looks country .

The same criticisms could apply to all the other girls including Candice(some weeks ! tonight's worked for me pretty well.. at parts super well) despite Candices muchher greater control over the precision of the runs she comits to. Her bigger problem is loosing the heart to songs by letting key words and notes drop off and emphasizing others for no particular reason other than her voice sounded good at that part. I say all because Amber and Angie have their own ways of gratuitous flourishes... Amber lately more about making too many notes glory notes at odd sports and Angie sort of fitting runs an flourishes sensibly in order and proportion that while logical musically just end up distracting the flow like putting too much lace on a dress even with the lace on in neatly and in proportion.

Harry really just put all the stuff I felt like a sour crank trying to put into words into music. When he sat down at the piano and showed how the wrong runs make a song meaningless. He also mentioned...gratioutous appeals contestants had been making to the audience (he was talking generally about both kree and the others clearly) and some other things to the other contestants including explaining why Amber not only didn't understand My Funny Valentine, she had no business singing a song that so clearly was didn't relate to her (insecure about her looks ? and she'd make it to a short list on callbacks casting a femal adonis even if she wouldn't make the first cut as a greek female traditional statue with wide hips and sloped shoulders)).

I don't want to be a sour puss but I really feel so many contestants in the singing shows that make it to the end usually have found styles that are coherent or have found songs that made it clearer to them what to do. I will say Idol has cut back on the hair pulling melisma from the Years of Archiletto and before...but random runs seem to be the new disease.

Wouldn't it have been wonderful to hear Haley get up there and sing Stormy Weather?

Musically ignorant music fans/viewer would probably go point fingers saying ... "look at all the runs she's doing" and not have a clue that Haley was putting them alongside the flow of the song, not changing the song with them (heck I don't have the right words for that... where's Harry)

Its actually quite frustrating for me on forums when people say stuff like look at all the emotion he/she put in and admire senseless acrobatics.

I don't even think they should need an ear for Jazz. If they've listened to Beyonce for instance they should have developed and ear for when and when not a run adds something.

I'd be very currious to hear Harry take Joshua Ledet through the songs he sung start to finish and see if Harry thought joshuas were as gratuitous and flow changing as I did or if its just my personal taste calling out faulty use of conventions when they're just fine.

I've felt like a cranky guy last year with Joshua.

[john]

MAY 1, 2013 07:20 PM PDT
American Idol Top 4 (Redux) Performance Recap: Standards Operating Procedure [Updated]
BY MICHAEL SLEZAK

It’s no secret that American Idol‘s ratings have slipped in Season 12, and tonight — despite some stellar performances by the Top 4 ladies — we witnessed several moments where you could practically feel the Nielsen numbers dropping by tenths....

http://tvline.com/2013/05/01/american-id...p-4-redux/

---

[Tom22]

Fourth edit... Canice's voice is beautiful here.. all the "but" below shouldn't take away from how good it is for a talent contestant at the start , not the end of her journey...

...(qualifications above appling) Candice's performance is almost too beautiful and elegant for the message of the song ! sublime in one way . Listen to Harry at the pregnant pauses he emphasizes between the verses in a way that sort of sharpens the contrast between the thoughts flowing. Not just a rest, but holding the audience an extra sixteenth of a beat even which changes the candence of the following ones a bit to to fit in the measure.

Haley really knows how to bring techniques like that to songs.

I really enjoyed hearing Harry sing even the small snippets that he did --- hearing him at it as part of the coaching trains my ear to appreciate differences that much more ... I suppose to pin point what it is I like which while not necessary to like the music is another indulgence of it's own.