Word over on the AI boards is that Carrie's been sick lately and that she's had to cancel some appearances. I think the pace and pressure in the last few weeks of AI competition gets to a lot of contestants. It seems to be common for many of them to get sick either toward the end of a season or immediately afterward.
I'm skeptical about this next bit of info from the AI boards, but will pass it along anyway. Supposedly, Bo's single broke onto the Billboard charts at #60 and Carrie's at #63. The reason I'm skeptical is that Billboard uses actual sales numbers from Nielsen's Soundscan as well as HDD's raw final numbers that come out each Tuesday.
The reason I can't verify this info either way is beause you need to be a Billboard subscriber to see their complete charts. You can only see the top half of their charts on their public website.
I'm not here to tell you that America got it wrong, because in the context of what AI is all about, Carrie did deserve to win. However, what I am here to tell you -- now that I've been able to listen to that performance numerous times on a little cassette tape -- is that Bo's performance of "In a Dream" was literally great. Surpassingly great. By now you all know I'm a big Kelly Clarkson fan, but I have to say that Bo's performance was so far superior to anything ever sung on AI that there's no comparison. It's like me trying to sing opera in competition with with Pavarotti.
There's a gritty quality to Bo's voice and pronunciation that tends to somewhat veil his power and vocal range. But he has power, range, control and superb phrasing. The song is deceptively simple, but it's actually tough to sing -- especially a cappella. It runs through several octacves. I'm not good at judging key (key of B, key of G, etc.), but the melody has a passage sung in the flat version of the key (e.g., B flat or G flat).
But far more than his technical brilliance and vocal power, Bo brought an emotional power to that song that -- at least for me -- echos in the heart long after the last note is sung. It certainly leaves me wanting more.
In an era in which performers get standing O's just for showing up, Bo moved that large audience in a way I haven't heard in a long, long, long time. He did it just standing there with no fancy clothing, no fancy band or backup or staging. Just a spotlight, some grungy every-day jeans and a shirt, a microphone, his voice and his heart.
In an era in which young people think rap is great music (Gwen Stefani's rap song "Hollaback Girl" is currently the #1 single), I honestly don't think many of AI's target audience got that performance.
If the data is correct, then next week they 'should' move up into the top 50 (theoretically) so that they can be seen.
As you said earlier, music affects different people differently. I didn't care for that song at all. I found it boring.
Carrie had an earache, apparently.
Do you think that is going to hurt her any?
I have been listening to Bo without watching him and I am finding that he is more enjoyable to me without having to watch him cart that microphone stand around. That really turned me off to him.
I'm also finding that Constantine sounds great if you don't have to watch him. :-)
(nothing helps Mikalah though)