One of my husband and my favourite pastimes is thinking of songs that we think would guarantee you a spot on “American Idol” if you nail them in auditions. My top contender at this point is “Sara Smile” by Hall & Oates. You nail the first part of that song, where Daryl effortlessly sings all over the scale, and you’re in, in my opinion.
Other selections for “American Idol” sure-things? My criteria would be it has to have a challenging vocal lead, not be too obscure, and not be way over-done on AI already (so that pretty much kicks all Whitney, Mariah, and Celine out of the running. )
That is a very good question, and one of the problems with the singers as the show progresses…a lot of those kids don’t seem to have a clue what to sing.
As far as an audition that would wow the judges? Probably something by Queen, as Freddie had a pretty incredible range. Or take some standard and put your own spin on it…it has been done with Over The Rainbow or some Motown hits. I think some of the girls should reach back to Billie Holiday or Patsy Kline and do a newer version…and the guys could take a Sinatra or Hank Williams song and do their version. I think the trick is to do a song that has been out there for ages, but make it seem new and fresh…in other words, go back - go way back - and surprise people with your version of a song they already like.
As one of Simon’s favourite songs, I would be sorely tempted to sing it particularly badly.
Re-visiting a classic would probably be a good bet too, DMark. I have noticed that these kids seem to have extremely limited song choices; I think pulling an old favourite out and making it new would get you a pass just out of gratitude from the judges for not having to hear “My Heart Will Go On” one more time.
Anything where a black guy or girl gets to do the wavering voice thing for 5 minutes? I’m just sayin’, every performance like that I’ve seen on Idol has had all 3 judges impressed.
I was watching with my parents the other week, when bald-man-that-I-love-but-can’t-remember-his-name sang “Hemmorage” and I came up with this theory:
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[li]Sing a rock song where the frontman is a frontman, and not a singer.[/li]The lead singer of Fuel does not have a polished voice, but bald-man does. It’s a surefire way to sound better than the real thing.
[li]Don’t touch Barbara, Celine, or Stevie.[/li]Just… don’t. They have very distinctive voices and you will always be compared to the original.
[li]Sing something originally sung by someone of the opposite gender.[/li]You’ll seem like “you’re doin’ your own thing dawg!” and you’ll avoid the aforementioned comparisons of death.
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