Season 4 review LINKBy Jillian Kuras
Season four saw Carrie Underwood crowned this year's American Idol. Her career as a country pop star is well underway.
The season wasn't all sunshine and roses though.
It had its equal share of ups and downs. And what would American Idol be without controversy? I do think that some of the controversy can be avoided next year if a few slight changes are made to the program.
First of all, I think it is necessary that the screening process of the contestants be a little more thorough. And if they feel that the process is complete enough, perhaps they need to give it another look.
I think that if a person has a criminal past, violent or not, they should not be allowed to audition for American Idol.
Second of all, something seriously needs to be done about the voting process. I've always hated that people were allowed to vote as many times as they like; especially when some vote hundreds and hundreds of times. This season it seemed to be especially out of control. Limiting the voting is the only way to fix this problem.
I'm not saying everyone should only get one vote. I know that would be difficult in the early rounds when some viewers like to vote for more than one person. But setting a limit, maybe five times per phone line, definitely seems necessary. Online voting would also be a nice addition.
Another topic related to this situation is giving the judges the option to contribute to who goes home. I know a lot of people like the Star Search method of having the judges' count for 50% and American count for 50%. I've been thinking about this though and I have another idea.
Why not let America vote like always, and have Ryan pull out the bottom three. After a little added drama, Ryan can tell the third place contestant that they are safe. Then, the judges can choose between the remaining two and send one of them home. Then at the finale, let the voting be 100% based on America. So technically, it is still America's Idol.
Whatever they decide to do, they need to do something. Prior to the finale, I saw a live red carpet interview with producers Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller. They were asked if they thought any of the contestants were wrongly booted this season. After dancing around the question a bit, then never did really answer it.
They did however say that there were some contestants that they were happy to finally see leave. They said that after awhile, it became embarrassing and that they breathed a sigh of relief when a certain contestant was finally voted out. One can only assume they were referring to Scott Savol. The fact that they recognize there is a problem is encouraging.
Best Performances of Season 4 5th Place- Sin Wagon by Carrie Underwood
Carrie sang this song during country week so it seemed a given she would do well. However, while most were probably expected a country pop ballad, Carrie rocked the house with her rendition of Sin Wagon. Her personality shined through during this performance and Simon said it was the equivalent of her singing in the shower. In other words, it was effortless and perfectly Carrie.
4th Place- Try a Little Tenderness by Nadia Turner
This was performed in the early rounds (the top 16). At this time, I thought Nadia was simply cementing her spot in the competition. However, once she made the top 12 a series of bad songs combined with the female curse ultimately cost Nadia the title. This was one performance though that I will never forget.
Bronze Medal- I Have Nothing by Vonzell Solomon
Vonzell's strength will always be in her ability to sing and perform up beat pop songs. However, it was her performance of I Have Nothing that made me realize for the first time just how great of singer she really is. We always knew she could light up the stage, but this was the night I thought, wow this girl can sing!
Silver Medal- In A Dream by Bo Bice
This song is probably on everyone's favorite performance list. Bo's a cappella version of In A Dream was daring, gutsy, and overall perfect. No other contestant in the history of AI has ever sung a cappella, other than the auditions of course. If Bo had sung this on the night of finale, I think we might have had a different outcome the following night.
Gold Medal- Angels Brought Me Here by Carrie Underwood
Again, an obvious choice. This is essentially the song that won Carrie the title of American Idol. It was by far the most emotion she showed all season. Carrie's problem was never in her voice. Vocally, she was consistently great every week. It wasn't until this performance that America was completely convinced Carrie could conquer her nerves and deliver an emotion filled performance.
Worst Performances of Season 4 5th Place- I Think I Love You by Constantine Maroulis
When Constantine first started on AI he tried to convince America that he was a rocker. But his song choices never reflected that and eventually he was seen for the true pop star that he really was. When he sang this song, he was still trying to convince America that he was a rocker. This Partridge Family cover was laughable, ridiculous, and I was just annoyed overall. Simon put it best after this performance by saying that it was like ordering a guard dog for your home and instead getting a poodle in a leather jacket - it's not the same thing.
4th Place- I Believe I Can Fly by Anwar Robinson
When Anwar started out I actually really liked him. I thought he had a cool, smooth vibe to him. But all of a sudden he started picking these syrupy sweet ballads and he lost all that coolness. This song is an example of that.
Bronze Medal- Dance With My Father by Scott Savol
I always thought this song was an odd choice since Luther wrote it for his father who had passed away. It's such an emotion filled song, something that Scott knows nothing about. Scott was a big thuggish looking guy who would stand completely still and show no emotion while singing these heart-wrenching ballads. Why he finished 5th is something I'll never understand.
Silver Medal- Love Will Lead You Back by Mikalah Gordon
I was never a fan of Mikalah's, mainly because I felt like she was more concerned with her performance than of her actual singing talent (which she didn't have much of). But at least when she was doing upbeat pop songs she was being true to who she really was. These types of ballads proved nothing except that she really could not sing at all. Her personality was really the only entertaining thing about her.
Gold Medal- Everytime You Go Away by Scott Savol
Much like every other time Scott sang a ballad, this was completely emotionless and dull as ever. It was actually his comments after this song though that put me over the edge. First he interrupted Paula's comments to say that he wanted to prove Simon wrong after Simon said he should be gone by now. Then after Simon gave his comments, Ryan asked Scott what he thought would happen on the results show the next night. Scott replied that he would be choosing his song for the next week. There's a fine line between confidence and conceit and in my opinion Scott crossed that line far too often. For those of you who may not remember, Scott was eliminated the next night.
All in all it was an exciting year of highs and lows. I personally believe that Carrie one hundred percent deserves the title of American Idol. She is actually the only contestant I consistently voted for this season. She was the only contestant to never be in the bottom three which proves she has a dedicated fan base.
Only two other idol contestants were never in the bottom group- Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken. And those two are easily the most successful idols in terms of record sales and radio play. I think this is mainly because they have established, dedicated fan bases who are true to them and their music. They also know how to give their fans exactly what they want.