Reconsidering American Idol's Reuben Studdard

[Carnac the Magnificent!]

I love the man and his terrific success but, Lord, everytime I hear him singing on television, he is so off-key as to defy imagination. Great vocals, great Motown sound, but the Velvet Teddybear just can't carry a tune. What most recently comes to mind is the Fox Christmas special. (I'll also note that Clay Aiken is, IMO, rapidly developing a signature for singing third-rate songs, "Troubled Water" notwithstanding.)

Is this something new, something I'm imagining, or was he doing this throughout his faceoff with Clay Aiken?

[RickJay]

He started to lose his voice about three shows from the end.

They've both regressed quite visibly; Aiken is back to his old twitchy-kitschy Branson-warmup-act thing, and Ruben's voice never has come back.

[Carnac the Magnificent!]

Originally posted by RickJay
He started to lose his voice about three shows from the end.

They've both regressed quite visibly; Aiken is back to his old twitchy-kitschy Branson-warmup-act thing, and Ruben's voice never has come back.

LOL. I'm afraid you're right. Aiken has a lovely (though perhaps not a "great") voice, but he's also got questionable taste in his music selection and he seems programmed to automatically default to a Wayne Newton-Barry Manilow-Tom Jones cheese shtick.

I think Aiken has a promising (and lucrative) career ahead of him in Vegas, but as a major recording star, I think his luminescence will slowly dim. Forty years ago, he might have gone the distance.

'Course, what the hell do I know. Explain Britney, Madonna or a few hundred other major recording stars.

[ISiddiqui]

I'll also note that Clay Aiken is, IMO, rapidly developing a signature for singing third-rate songs

I can only hope Ruben picks better songs for his album... though I agree he's regressed as well. I never noticed the 'voice' thing before.

[capacitor]

Reuben also had terrible songs to work with at the end. "Flying Withiout Wings"? Ugh.

Barry Manilow is not that bad a choice when it comes to picking songs to sing. "Mandy", for example, is an undeniable masterpiece. Clay is however picking some of the worst songs in the songbook.

[Dung Beetle]

I wonder if this will happen to all the AI winners. They go through this huge ordeal, having to turn out all these incredible performances in all these different genres of music to prove what amazing talents they are, then it's all over and they have to record some wishy-washy pop dreck that will be played on the radio. Kelly could certainly have done better material.

[astorian]

I've seen exactly one episode on "American Idol," and that was in the first season. So, I'm not qualified to judge whether Reuben and Clay sound worse than they did on the TV show.

But it seemed pretty clear to me that the format of the show was BOUND to produce pleasantly mediocre singers. The way to win on that show is NOT to sing magnificently, but to avoid being the worst singer of any particular genre on any particluar week.

Think of your favorite singer. It doesn't matter whether you name Kathleen Battle, Garth Brooks, Aretha Franklin, Robert Plant or Enya or anyone else. Chances are, your favorite singer couldn't possibly win on "American Idol." Kathleen Battle may sing opera brilliantly, but she'd be booted off after being forced to sing something from the Rolling Stones' catalogue. Robert Plant would be booted off after having to sing Broadway show tunes. Aretha would be toast on Country Music night.

And after all those genuinely talented singers were booted off, who would we be left with? The Clays and Reubens, who had pleasant but unspectacular voices, and who gave decent but uninspired performances, week in and week out.

"American Idol" doesn't produce singers who are (necessarily) destined for greatness. It produces, essentially, great karaoke singers. People who can sing almost any song without completely embarrassing themselves... but who don't add anything special to the songs they sing.

[Carnac the Magnificent!]

Originally posted by astorian
"American Idol" doesn't produce singers who are (necessarily) destined for greatness. It produces, essentially, great karaoke singers. People who can sing almost any song without completely embarrassing themselves... but who don't add anything special to the songs they sing.

Your points have been expressed before, but they're well taken.

Most any major singing star of the last 40 years wouldn't stand a chance on American Idol.

[beajerry]

Reuben's singing is mediocre.
The only good thing worth watching that show for are the bad singers in the beginning. The finalist shows are boring as hell.