megstar's Full Review: American Idol: Greatest Moments
So, here we are again. Preparing for another season of the hit show American Idol and the producers are apparently aware that within minutes of the finale show last season, many of us were already beginning to wonder why we were so interested in the first place to something so unspectacular. Since then they’ve made “changes” - or so they say. They apparently attempted to get another judge for the panel and after asking a few people, came up with Angie Martinez. Then she quit. So, we’re still stuck with just Simon, Paula, and Randy. We’ve also been hearing for a couple of months now about how the performers and music chosen will be more interesting and diverse - gee, that oughta’ be difficult. I only watched bits and pieces of them narrowing the competition to ten, because my attention span just couldn’t take the torture. I mean those were some boring bits and pieces, in my opinion. So, of course when I “tuned in” to the first show showcasing the last ten standing, some of the ones still there were just “blah”, for lack of a better word. Okay, maybe not. Yeah, “blah” is just fine.
This album is compiled of what some, whoever some is, thought were the greatest moments from those top ten contestants. Kelly “cool beans” Clarkson, starts the album off with her performances of RESPECT and Natural Woman . Yes, she has a powerful voice. But each night, the judges repeated over and over not to sound like karaoke. Yet, somehow when karaoke queen does it, it’s wonderful to them. She knows how to add power and volume, literally, but there’s still too much technique in place of actual emotion And, no, breaking down into tears while singing doesn’t count. Sweet moment for the show and all, but no.
Next up is Justin Guarini with two of his performance choices: For Once In My Life and Get Here . Ya know, the guy can sing and his vocals are smooth, but listening to this album only tends to remind you of how irritating he was to watch. If you didn’t watch him making an a*s out of himself (ex: even attempting to dance or playing it up for every camera in the room - just to name a couple) then you should enjoy his tracks. If I’d closed my eyes as he performed and muted the moments where he talked, I may have even enjoyed him more on the show.
Which brings us to Nikki, Nikki, Nikki Mckibbin and I’m sorry America, but I thought she rocked. On this album, she can be heard singing Piece of My Heart and no, her voice is not as smooth as some others, but since when is raspy a bad thing? She wasn’t trying to do the Kelly Clarkson doing the Celine thing and frankly, I’m glad. She had some really great performances and while it was “the thing” to find something wrong about them, to me the girl had style, beauty, talent, charisma...and I’m glad she made it as far as she did. Ahhh, there I said it. Anyway, she shines in her rendition of Piece of My Heart and just like on the show, is one of the few interesting voices heard on this album. For those that doubted her abilities, take a listen.
Tamyra Gray contributes with her performance of A House Is Not a Home and I don’t get it? Could somebody please explain to me why this girl getting voted off justified the reaction that it got? Yeah, she has a decent voice and the stage presence to deliver it, but nothing worth going to war over. Talk about some people getting way too caught up in a forgettable moment. She smoothly and soulfully delivers A House is Not a Home but some of her glow gets lost when placed in a studio, instead of on a stage. In other words, she’s a stage performer, when you listen to her on an album, you realize yes, she’s got a voice, but not really an interesting one.
RJ Helton performing Lately . Not sure which one was RJ? He’s the one that was just barely chosen (literally) to be in the final ten, and then when voted off, he whined and insulted Simon. When someone got voted off, usually they blamed it on Simon for liking them too much or not liking them enough, as if he was controlling the way all voters thought. But Simon’s “dislike” for RJ dated back to the very beginning and it’s one of the few things I thought made Simon look like he had a clue. He once told RJ that if he moved on any further in the competition then they would have failed at their mission to find the most talented. Cold? Yes. The truth? Yes. RJ has talent, he can sing, but he should consider himself extremely lucky to have made it as far as he did. Christina Christian was my second favorite to win the competition and her losing to RJ was probably one of the biggest “shocks”. On this album, her contribution is Ain’t No Sunshine which was one of, if not the, best performance piece from her. If you liked her performances, you’ll love her track on this album.
If You Really Love Me is the next track, being performed by Ryan Starr. Ryan is another one that never impressed me. Other than dressing like Britney Spears, I never really got how she made it as far as she did because her voice lacks a little bit of everything. It’s deep with no depth, no emotion, no range, nothing interesting or original. And so Ryan begins what is the last of the contestants, otherwise known as the ones that got voted off before we really had a chance to pay any attention to them. AJ Gill singing My Cherie Amour (Stevie and Celine should really thank American Idol for the added promotion) Ejay Day performs I’ll Be and the last place finalist Jim Verraros adds his rendition of Easy by the Commodores. All of these are bland and unless you were a fan of the contestants who perform each track, then it will more than likely be the time when you most feel like you wasted your money or time.
All of the finalists can be heard on California Dreamin’ but of all the songs that they could have performed together, this was not the best choice. The bonus tracks are Kelly Clarkson performing A Moment Like This and Before Your Love which basically sound like the same song. They were released as singles almost simultaneously and so easily confusing, except for the fact that “A Moment Like This” did so well and “Before Your Love” had an even cheesier video than the other.
If you were a dedicated fan of the television show then you probably want to get this album, if you haven’t already. If you were only a casual fan with one or two favorites then you truly would be wasting your time and money. I personally thought there were "greater moments" then the ones offered here. So, when asked how I recommend it, I’m saying “yes” but that’s just based on what kind of “fan” you were/are. I think anyone who “loved” American Idol and anything Justin, Kelly, and Tamyra did will love this album. If you’re sitting there going who was Tamyra? Was Kelly the hot chick with red hair? Then, I say you can safely show this album the same interest you did in the show.
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