What do 'Idol's' David Archuleta and this Remote Access blogger have in common?
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- May
- 13
We both sang the national anthem at a Utah Jazz game. Now you know.
Yes, back when I was about David Archuleta’s age (he’s 17; I was 18), I was with my college a cappella group, the Boston College Acoustics, touring the greater Salt Lake City area. It was a really fun trip, complete with skiing (or, in my case, attempting to ski), watching the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform; and meeting and performing for the late Gordon Hinckley, who at the time was president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
We also got to sing the national anthem before a regular-season Jazz game at what was then the Delta Center, now known as EnergySolutions Arena. I think we were mistakenly identified on the public address system as the Boston Acoustics, but no matter. It was a thrill. And during the game, I spent some quality time with the team mascot, Jazz Bear. Total rock star.
That said, the Acoustics didn’t have 30 million people watching us, let alone voting on whose performance was best. Tonight we’ll see how the fans in the arena respond to Archie and his “American Idol” competitors, Syesha Mercado, who had the same national anthem honor for a Tampa Bay Rays game, and David Cook, who sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at a Kansas City Royals game.
As you might have guessed by now, the remaining “Idol” contestants headed to their home states for parades, mini-concerts and celebrations. They were “celebrated home,” if you will. And excluding the sports facility songs, they’ll be singing three songs apiece tonight, including one of their choice.
After the break, quick rankings of the Top 3 and thoughts on two key “Idol” news updates involving Archuleta’s dad and thoughts of lowering(!) the minimum age for contestants in Season 8.
David Archuleta’s dad, Jeff Archuleta, was banned from dress rehearsals for allegedly being too much of a pest and for encouraging his son to crowbar lyrics of Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls” into his performance of “Stand By Me” without first consulting “Idol” producers. That cost the show money because those rights had not been cleared. D’oh.
While I’m just as wary of stage-parent syndrome as most normal people are, it seems a bit disingenuous on “Idol’s” part to give Jeff the boot but allow judges to use dress rehearsal performances as source material for on-air commentary. Yes, I’m still bitter.
Despite Papa Archuleta’s alleged wrongdoings, the “Idol” bigwigs seem to be enamored with the response to David Archuleta. It—and the volume of the intolerable tweens who squeeeee everytime he takes the stage—have reached such a fever pitch that Simon Cowell believes the show might have to lower the minimum age to 14, according to Digital Spy.
Yes, we’re in a music era that has seen the rise of Miley Cyrus and “High School Musical,” but this younger “Idol” format crashed and burned when it was called “American Juniors.” And while there might be a nominal boost in young viewership, I’m strongly convinced that viewers older than 21 would tune out within weeks. Younger talent almost always means less talent. I can’t think of a single person who was a better singer at 14 than when he/she was at 16. For that very reason, raising the minimum age to 18, as Entertainment Weekly suggests, is really the better idea.
Onto the rankings prior to tonight’s performances:
1. David Cook (pictured middle)—Not great last week, but the season’s most consistent and talked-about performer. Needs to step it up tonight, though.
2. Syseha Mercado (right)—She went from early favorite (at least by my standards) to underachiever to overachiever over the span of the season. Even her three best performances of the season won’t extend her stay, however. Especially if the judges have anything to say about it.
3. David Archuleta (left)—A shoo-in for the finale. But will this guy really sell records?
Photo of Archuleta and group shot by Frank Micelotta; photo of Mercado by Ray Mickshaw; photo of Cook by Michael Becker/FOX.)
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at 12:07 pm by Chris Serico.
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