American Idol (Results Show): (Weds) 19 May 2004
Fox jam-packed tonight's hour long results show with lots of video clips and notable performances from 'Australian Idol' Guy Sebastian and Season One's beautiful 4th placer Tamyra Gray.
Tamyra's continuing success must be a good omen for this year's 4th placer La Toya London! She is releasing her CD "The Dreamer" on the 25th May and it's packed with her own compositions. Tamyra sang "Star", a nice number which was chosen tonight due to it's apt title. We didn't see too much of Tamyra singing though, the producers mainly used her as background for an Idol retrospective video.
Guy followed up with a big voice and some big hair!. He was really good on World Idol last Christmas and gave another great showing tonight. He sang "Angels Brought Me Here", it was his first single and can be found on his album "Just As I Am".
Fox prolonged the tension by showing lots of video segments detailing Jasmine, Fantasia and Diana on their home visits. They are all lucky to enjoy tremendous local support.
In the midst of all this Tamyra re-emerged to chat to Ryan Seacrest. She revealed that she's co-written this year's winner's song. It's called "I Believe" and is all about coming to terms with the whole fairytale Idol experience.
Next we had another taste of Tamyra, she sang "Raindrops Will Fall" a great soulful track from "The Dreamer". We got to see more of her on camera this time around, and hear more of that great voice she's got.
This week's comedy clip was very funny, showing the Idols being hounded by the paparazzi. Seems like they were getting some training for what life will be like when they leave the cocoon of their Hollywood home!
Entertaining as all this was, fifty minutes into the show and no result ... I hollered at the TV but still had to wait! However it was almost worth it just to hear Simon in genial mood. He congratulated the girls for giving a great show yesterday!
Eventually the moment arrived. Leaving American Idol tonight would be...Jasmine Trias.
Jasmine left the show on a high note. She smiled graciously when she heard the result and received warm hugs from her fellow contestants Fantasia and Diana.
It's been a roller-coaster week for Jasmine's emotions. Tears last Tuesday after hearing Simon's too-harsh words. Elation mixed with disbelief last Wednesday, after being kept in. Yesterday, having enjoyed a happy weekend back in Hawaii, she returned to the Idol stage and faced a mixed set of reviews.
Jasmine may not have made American Idol but she seems to have Hawai'ian Idol cracked and as her 'Aloha' to America she gave a great performance of "Inseperable".
Her departure leaves Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo to face-off in the season 3 finale. It promises much; both girls have incredible vocals and very different styles.
Diana is little miss dynamite. She has power and energy but can also mix it up and has shown great versatility. Her cheerful and lively side comes over when she performs numbers like "Get Happy" and "This Is It".
What's really impressive, considering her younger years, is the sensitive treatment Diana gives to the grown up ballads such as "My Heart Will Go On". She doesn't simply blast them out, she really knows how to interpret a song.
Simon eventually admitted that she is not too young for the competition. When he refers to her as an 'old soul' it's no criticism, merely testament to her strength of character and emotional maturity.
Fantasia has a very distinctive soulful sound. She may have been favorably compared to Macy Gray and Aretha Franklin, but first and foremost she is "'Tasia".
What comes over when Fantasia performs is her love of the music, she doesn't sing a song she jumps right into it. Emotion channels through her and can hit you when you least expect it. Paula felt it when Fantasia sang "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?" and Fantasia lifted Randy right off his seat when she sang "Summertime".
Like Diana, she's extremely versatile and she has energized the auditorium with uptempo numbers like "It's A Miracle" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered".
Fantasia? Diana? Who's going to win? It looks like it will be a close run thing and could well be down to how the girls perform on the night. Roll on next week...I can't wait!