For reasons I will never understand, that style of, ummm, singing -- complete with way too many runs, trills and screechs -- seems to be very popular in the black music world. So is that very high, pseudo falsetto style that both Nikko and Anwar have. Nadia's natural style is similar to Fantasia, I think.
What ever happened to melodic singers like Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr. (in his earlier days), and so many other superb examples? Sigh.
The screeching, caterwauling, and rythmic speech (rap) that passes for black "music" these days is, frankly, an insult to the great contribution so many earlier black singers and musicians made to American popular music.
Absolutely! Fantasia, at her core, is a fine singer. She doesn't need to ham it up the way she did tonight. This was amateur stuff. For anybody that had never heard her sing before, they're probably scratching their heads wondering how she won. "Act ugly" indeed.
There's always Vonzelle... I think some people are dismissing her too easily...