Despite popularity, `Idols' still a work in progress
WORCESTER -- The "American Idol" franchise continues to grow, spinning off tours in the midst of the runaway success of the Fox television series. Last night's show was at the Worcester Centrum Centre, and while the machine is certainly well oiled, its future remains unclear.
If nothing else, it recalled the heyday of 1970s television variety shows, with just the right balance of ethnicities and wardrobe styles to fit all. Yet whereas last year's finalists, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, amiably shared the spotlight with the other Idols, this year's edition is more akin to the "Sonny and Cher Show," with finalist Diana DeGarmo and winner Fantasia Barrino commanding the lion's share of the spotlight.
Barrino is a true diva, changing costumes more than many of the other cast members combined, and delivering her numbers with an over-the-top drama that grew grating. "I Believe" was performed as though she were at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater instead of in front of a crowd of Central Massachusetts middle-schoolers and their parents.
DeGarmo fares better, maximizing her sunny girl-next-door charm while warily avoiding stepping on Barrino's feet. Much of DeGarmo's stage time was devoted to inciting the youthful crowd to show enthusiasm, despite a scream level that without prompting recalled the Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
Perhaps it is the familiarity of the material that inspires such devotion, with virtually every song being a traditional classic of the variety most frequently found at wedding receptions and bar mitzvahs. It is when the cast attempts to tackle more contemporary material that things get dicey.
It has been said that there was little during his lifetime that could make Queen frontman Freddie Mercury cringe, yet the schmaltzy version of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" that John Stevens delivered would have done the job. This followed a cast-wide tribute to Prince that included a version of "Kiss" that distinguished itself only by the fact that virtually every person clutching a microphone was off key.
However, the troupe's pairing of OutKast's "Hey Ya!" and the Darkness hit "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" took the prize for worst interpretations. "Hey Ya!" began with an introduction that recalled gospel, before the cast's resident jock-type, Jon Peter Lewis, simply butchered it. This was followed by George Huff's reinterpretation of the normally hard-rocking Darkness track as a slow ballad. Ouch.
Among the most discouraging aspects of the Idols on tour is watching young artists seemingly aiming for careers in Las Vegas or on cruise ships, a destination once reserved for the twilight of a singer's career.
