Posted on 05/13/2003 7:10:42 PM PDT by TommyDale
Ordinarily, it is difficult to get through for a while, since everyone calls starting at 9:00 pm. Tonight, there was no dial tone in parts of the Raleigh, NC area. Well after 60 minutes, there is a "quick busy", meaning the telephone system is not working correctly. I continually received busy signals even after only dialing the '1'. How can the voting be tabulated fairly if people in the home city of Clay Aiken can't even cast their votes??
Hate to say this, but there is nothing particularly innovative or original about the singing of Clay Aiken or Reuben Studdard. Make no mistake--both are very talented vocalists, and they'll enjoy a lot of success as recording artists. But establishing yourself as a true idol means breaking the mold, not conforming to it. By that definition, Sinatra was an idol; so were Elvis, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Hank Williams, Sr., Duke Ellington, and Bill Monroe, to name a few.
The real challenge for Aiken and Studdard, IMO, is to break out of the pop star stereotype and find material that challenges them, and their audience. It's a risky--and sometimes unprofitable--gamble, and it be interesting to see if any of them takes that dare.....
"...Sinatra was an idol; so were Elvis, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Hank Williams, Sr., Duke Ellington, and Bill Monroe..."
Notice how far back you had to reach to find people who fit your own definition of a "true idol"? That's because a performer does not have to be a good singer to be a singing idol today. Aiken is a throwback to the days when singers were judged by their voice, not by how they looked on video, and his instrument is beyond reproach. I see him as an original.
Good luck to him.
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