Current mood:	excited
Current music:	Let's the Make the Most of a Beautiful Thing - Erin Boheme

The Post That Almost Never Was* (Or an ode to the Great American Idol Songbook)
My sister and I have hatched a scheme for getting through the rough weeks, let alone any week. Just endure Mondays and Tuesdays in anticipation of Wednesdays (aka American Idol performance nights) and Thursdays (aka The Results Show) Before we even realize it, the week has gone by and Friday is before us, with a weekend that passes all too quickly. And so the cycle begins once more.

Obviously, this all reveals how much of an AI addict I've become. Thanks to my loving siblings, I get to watch the show--with no commercials--as I eat a late dinner. While I could try and come up with reviews like Patty does, I know my sound judgment is already clouded by my extreme love or hatred for certain contestants. It's useless for me to try. You only need to read my comments on her blog to affirm this.

Next week in particular, is all the more exciting as they'll be singing one of my favorite genre (if you could call it that) of music. The Great American Songbook. Standards. Whatever. Jazz--vocal or instrumental--as most of us have come to know it, is inextricably linked to this canon of music.

Now, of course, we know this is American Idol--the highest rating show on US television. Thus, this week's theme is inspired by the equally popular efforts of Rod Stewart in bringing this music to a contemporary mass base, and at the same time reviving his career. This actually limits the list of standards the Idols get to sing, to the tracklists of his four volumes thus far. Surely, this is no Brad Mehldau or Jane Monheit doing their version of standards, but hey, it will do.

When I first found out what the theme would be, I just knew that specific people were bound to be potetially better at this than the rest.

Elliott, with his stylistic and vocal flair, could inject his soulful balladeer touch to any song. Paris almost always gives a flawless performance, no matter the genre. Just think of her renditions of "Take Five" (during the auditions) and "Fever" on fifties night and you know she will do a jazz song justice. Then there's Katharine. If only she could pull another "Since I Fell For You", I'd root for her strongly again. When she's not straining to hit the notes, she comes across as a sultry chanteuse. There's also Taylor, who is strongly associated with a throwback style, so he should also be a contender. In fact, and as I've mulled over in the past, most contestants do better with old songs.

At the lower tier, Kellie could also channel her country origins for a playful romp of a song. Now, we come to my two least favorite people--Chris and Ace. I believe they can come up with good performances since they will apparently be forced to walk the line in terms of the arrangements. No rocking it out or mixing it up, as Chris has famously or notoriously practiced. Well, Ace could always play up the seduction factor or what he passes off for it. And Chris can actually display his melodic side. Oh the thought that he might actually make me listen.

And so, given my love for these songs and the show, I've chosen songs that I think each could sing. Think of it as my amateur take on whatever I know of this music, slash wish list to satisfy my own listening pleasure.

Let's start off with an obvious choice for Ace Young. Not that I enjoy it, but he could actually use the eye technique he has been depserately ripping off Constantine (from last season) on "I Only Have Eyes for You". I know, too cliche and literal, but the song is also suited for him. Imagine him doing his falsetto on these lines,

But they all disappear from view
And I only have eyes for you.

Another one to flirt with the camera, I would love to see Katharine McPhee do "Embraceable You" or "I've Got a Crush on You". I'm envisioning her to be like Jane Monheit vocally, even presence-wise, with such coy lilting phrases,

All the day and nighttime, hear me sigh,
I never had the least notion
That I could fall with so much emotion.

She has the mien to be wordly and innocent all at the same time. With the right outfit and arrangement, she could pull this off breathtakingly.

If Katharine will provide the sweetness, we can expect a powerful and flamboyant tone from Paris Bennett. She could do a ballad or an uptempo number with equal impact. "I've Got My Love to Keep me Warm" (as done by Lyambiko or Ella Fitzgerald). It would even be great if she could do some scatting on this and just let it rip.

Off with my overcoat, off with my glove
I need no overcoat, I'm burning with love!
My heart's on fire, the flame grows higher
So I will weather the storm!

Maybe a little out of season, but I love this song. Meanwhile, if she were to slow it done, she could easily do "I'll Be Seeing You" in the haunting style and impressive range of Sarah Vaughan.

The last of the girls, Kellie Pickler should keep it melodically simple and lighthearted. There would be humor in her singing "Manhattan", which is a love song to only one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. You can already hear her 'Big Apple' remarks and whatnot. I'd also think she could manage a bouncy and twangy "They Can't Take That Away From Me".

For Taylor Hicks, blues and soul would tinge his singing. I find that Simon's remarks of him as drunken and absurd would give him the license to sing these lines from "You Go to My Head",

You go to my head like a sip of sparkling Burgundy brew
And I find the very mention of you
Like the kicker in a julep or two

Of course, he could be his usual Ray Charles-inspired self and he could a heartfelt version of "It Had to Be You"

For nobody else gave me the thrill
With all your faults I love you still
It had to be you

There was a time before reaching the Top 12 when Chris Daughtry would actually sing. Last I remember was his Hollywood round performance of "The First Cut is the Deepest". Anyway, in another Chris's (Botti) version of "Smile", Steven Tyler (of Aerosmith) sings along to Botti's trumpet playing. Obviously, I'm going for rocker reference here, but note that Tyler did sing it in the 'standard' style. It is a simple and beautiful song, that I believe Chris (Daughtry) can put an edge too.

I've saved my favorite for last, and I have so much faith in Elliott Yamin that I know he could do wonderfully with any song. However, it would be simply divine if he would do "My One and Only Love". He should take a cue from Sting's version, and should he top it (whew!), he should be offered a record deal on the spot. He'd start it quietly and toward the end, he'd have people hanging in anticipation for an unpredictable vocal acrobatics display.

You fill my eager heart with such desire
Every kiss you give sets my soul on fire
I give myself in sweet surrender
My one and only love

Harking back to his "Teach Me Tonight" days, he could poise himself as the naive but eager lover with "I Can't Get Started". Jamie Cullum has a splendid version and I can imagine Elliott holding the note and sliding down the line oh so smoothly.

You’re so supreme
Lyrics that I write of you
Scheme, just for a sight of you
And I dream both day and night of you
And what good does it do

Finally, a third song choice--which has nothing to do with his vocal range--would be "My Heart Stood Still". I simply love this song and would only want to hear him put his own twist to it, as he sings:

I never lived at all
Until the thrill of that moment when
My heart stood still

All I pray is that he veers away from songs that have been done over so many times. Gasgas na, as we'd say--akin to an overplayed song on the radio.

That would actually be my wish for all the contestants. Give us a night we can rave about, not the so-called boredom expected by some narrow-minded viewers who don't give a damn about old songs. It's a standard not because it's average or usual, but because it sets the bar and stands the test of time as a classic.

Then again, this is all just wishful thinking. In the real world, the excessive pandering to commercial tastes and so-called safe choices would just give us bland, forgettable and horrid karaoke performances.

What a shame that would be for a week with songs of reputed 'greatness'.




*Finally, I found the inspiration for an entry. Thank God I actually had the will to type it out.