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April 11th, 2006 - Tonight was Queen night and we expected and got a great no make that awesome performance from Chris. I think most were surprised by his choice of song not because it wasn't an awesome choice but because most American Idol fans probably never heard the song before. The choice tonight was the song Innuendo of course by Queen. Two things can be said about Chris Daughtry and his version of Innuendo. One, he stayed true to himself by doing a song that had never been performed live by Queen and wasn't a song everyone knew. This really let him stand as who he was rather then sound like a typical cover song. Two, he rocked his fans, the audience and the judges (of course excluding Simon). Randy stated the performance was awesome and had nothing but praise for Chris despite the fact that he started his critique with a fake out as if he was going to have something negative to say. Paula praised the performance as well giving him credit for doing something different and stating that the band (Queen) watched the performance with adoration.
Queen had huge compliments for Chris as well praising his voice and his ability to perform. It was clear that Queen themselves had the most praise for Chris out of all the performers. I would venture that they would have no problem having him on stage with them.
Even Simon had praise for the song stating, "It was definitely the best vocal of the night and the most believable vocal of the night as well" however, he criticized Chris Daughtry for not picking one of the "Great well known Queen songs". Personally we the staff of Chris Daughtry fans, loved the choice!
April 4th, 2006 - Well, well, well indeed
Chris Daughtry can "show diversity" as
he has been picked at by some for not doing in
the past. Tonight we heard Chris sing
"Making Memories of Us" originally by
Keith Urban. To me it was a great version
of the song and he really made the song his own
with his personality and his unique voice.
The judges seemed to agree, Randy and Paula were both all
praise and of course Simon had something negative to say.
Not just negative to Chris but basically saying all the performers
picked "boring songs". Same old Simon who is
really starting to get to a point where his comments are not
going to matter to anyone anymore.
In fact it was so bad that Paula put her head down on the
table exasperated and then stated, "you should hear the
double talk he does during the performances. Well Paula
don't worry we do, we hear it week in and week out. It
would seem one of our predictions from last week came to pass
when we said, "Tonight,
we saw Chris foreshadow that he would show a
"softer side" in coming weeks. I
predict next week he will do a "
ballad" or something to that effect and the contrast will be
huge and his buzz factor will skyrocket even beyond
what Hemorrhage and Higher Ground created for
him".
I can't say that is completely accurate as the performance
while excellent was not as amazing as some of his earlier
ones. Yet how could it be, to give Simon some credit the
song was pretty mellow and while I am sure it made the women
swoon there was not a ton of excitement in it. However, if
Simon really thinks "Making Memories of Us" is a
"boring song, perhaps he should ask Keith Urban just how
much money it made him and his record label when it spent many
week on the Country top ten list.
In any event Chris will certainly again be back next week, he
will probably rock his sock's off and moronic Simon will state
something to the effect of "Its good to see you back to
doing the right type of music for who you are".
Whatever Simon! Rock on Chris your fans are rooting you
on!
March 28th, 2006 - Tonight we saw Chris at
his heavy metal edge best. Unfortunately it probably
was not the best choice for a song on American
Idol. Chris rocked his die hard fans with
Creed's song "What If". The song for
those who heard the performance is a very hard song
quite far to the heavy edge of American Idol's pop
and bubblegum like center. He took some heat
from the judges specifically Simon Cowell who said,
"you can't just keep doing this same type or
music every night" and "this is American
Idol, Creed would never come on this
show".
I think Simon is about as consistent as snowfall,
just last week he commended Chris for "refusing
to compromise", now he wants him to
compromise? No one should be shocked by this
Simon has been playing this stupid game all the way
back to the days of Kelly and Justin on season
one. One week telling a person "they have
to show diversity" and the very next week
saying they made a "bad choice because they
chose the wrong type of song for who they are"
then the following week praising them for
"getting back to the right type of music for
them". How can anyone take Simon
seriously when he is this inconstant?
Now I am a die hard fan and a former long haired,
black concert shirt wearing, head banging 80's
rocker and I have to admit even I thought the song
was a bit on the edge for American Idol and not
necessarily the best song he could have
picked. Then I thought about it and realized
there is more at play here.
First - With 10 contestants still in the
game Chris knew his fan base was going to be able to
easily put him through another week. With all
the total BS over the "Walk the Line"
issue and Live the prior week I think Chris was in a
way thanking his fans. He knows many of us
love not just rock but heavy alternative rock.
I think he gave us the hardest rock every on Idol as
a gift for sticking by him during this week.
He knew to do it now while he could still do it and
sail through to the next round in the world of
bubblegum music that infests Idol.
Second - The performance was solid!
Like that type of music or not again we got to see
Chris prove that he can sing and he can
rock.
Third - The song was angry and I think it
was his way of telling his critics where they could
go. Good for him!
Fourth - Most people have been chatting
about the above three reasons but no one has
mentioned this one yet. I think this was a
brilliant piece of strategy by Chris. Tonight,
we saw Chris foreshadow that he would show a
"softer side" in coming weeks. I
predict next week he will do a "ballad" or something
to that effect and the contrast will be
huge and his buzz factor will skyrocket even beyond
what Hemorrhage and Higher Ground created for him.
One way or another we will be seeing Chris
Daughtry for a long time on Idol, his fans are with
him and we love him for who he is and for his
music. All the rumors and ill talk show how
big he really is. My father used to say,
"if no one is saying anything negative about
you, that just means you don't
matter".
We love you Chris, keep rocking
and never cave in and do any pop or bubblegum music.
March 21st, 2006 - We heard something
tonight that wasn't actually spoken. Though totally
symbolic and never verbalized it might as well have
been a loud thunderous shout from Chris Daughtry
stating, "give me any genre of music you want
and I will not be held back, no matter what I will
rock"! Again I sat a bit concerned as the
producers of American Idol forced the contestants to
choose a song from a particular niche none of them
would ever choose on their own. Last week
Stevie Wonder this week was 50's week, as in 1950's!
Out comes Chris and what artist does he
pick? Johnny Cash! What song?
"Walk the Line". So here is the deal
American Idol forces Chris into the 50's he says
fine picks an outlaw country artist and turns the
song into alternative rock and blows away the
competition once again.
While it is great that he did well again and
surely with out a doubt we will be hearing him again
next week there is something larger at play
here. Paula and Randy had their usual
compliments and stated that he, "stayed true to
who he is" but it was Simon Cowell who touched
on the real story going on here. Simon stated,
"you are the first artist we have had on
American Idol who has refused to compromise".
To me that is just the tip of the iceberg.
To me what we are seeing is the landscape of
American Idol changed by one individual. Chris
is not just a singer, he is a performer and an
writer and he is using both to his advantage.
Finding new versions of older songs or songs out
side of his realm. You are
seeing the future of the show as some this year but
the majority in the future will follow this formula
and alter music to make it fit who they are and dig
deep to find unique cover versions of these songs.
If you missed tonight's episode I think it is fair
to say you missed a tiny bit of TV history.
See if a friend taped it or download the song, I am
sure it will be on LimeWire.com in no time at all.
March 14th, 2006 - Tonight was the first
night where the producers of American Idol start
forcing a specific type of song or a song by a
particular artist on the contestants. Tonight
that choice was Stevie Wonder and I have to admit I
was a bit worried for Chris as that is just not the
type of music one would associate with the former
lead singer from Absent Element. Apparently
Chris was bit concerned as well until he found the
song Higher Ground (which had been done by both
Stevie Wonder and The Chili Peppers).
Chris truly made Higher Ground his own! Not
only did he deliver a wonderful version of the song
with extremely strong vocals, he also electrified
the stage with a high energy performance that in the
words of judge Simon Cowell, "was the only
performance of the night that would stand up in the
real world". I don't often agree with
Simon but tonight I most certainly do. Paul
Abdul and Randy Jackson also had high praise for
Daughtry's performance. I now see Chris as the
true favorite to win the entire competition.
If he can take a genre like this and make it work I
think he can pull off just about
anything.
March 8th, 2006 - Chris Daughtry in my
opinion again was the star of "Guys Night"
on Idol. To me his only real competition was
Tailor Hicks who probably had his best night so
far. Chris wowed his fans with his version of
the song "Broken" originally by Seether.
Randy Jackson had nothing but praise for Chris
stating, "you know I'm a fan of yours and I
love the way you stay true to who you
are". Paula was also very impressed and
stated, "No matter what happens in this
competition I am sure you will soon be packing and
selling out shows all over the country".
I have to agree fully with Paula, to me Chris is the
only contestant on Idol this year with the potential
to make it not just as a vocalist and on the radio
but on the road. He's the kind of artist
people will pay to see and plan to take the next day
off to recoup from the fun from the night
before.
As can be expected the only person with a
negative comment was Simon Cowell who probably had a
bad case of hemorrhoids or something.
Sometimes Simon is dead on and at others you just
wonder if he has hearing problems or simply knows
being an ass is why he is famous. Simon called
Daughtry's performance "boring" and said
he should not be "too serious" nor should
he "stick with one type of music".
My prediction is once they begin the finals and the
judges MAKE Chris sing some bubble gum music he
would never choose himself, Simon will say it was
"a bad choice".
In any event while I don't think that
"Broken" was as good as last weeks version
of Hemorrhage I still think it was the best
performance of the evening. There is certainly
no doubt that Chris will be around to compete again
next week. What I love the most about Chris is
he is exposing me to new music, I am a rocker from
the 80s and 90s who is now getting older and
listening to Country more then anything else.
At the same time Daughtry connects me with my
youthful roots and connects me with more modern
bands like Seether and Fuel. Got to love that!
March 1st, 2006 - Chris Daughtry fans were
treated to what I think was his best performance yet
as he literally stole the show from the other
remaining 9 male contestants with an amazing version
of the song Hemorrhage (originally by Fuel).
Randy Jackson put it best saying, "that could
be your song on the radio topping the charts right
now". Paula asked "do you know how
good you are". As if that were not enough
even Simon had nothing but praise stating "you
are the standard everyone else here should aspire
to". I personally thought
Chris was better then Fuel's Original Version.
Judge that for yourself you can view and hear Fuel's
original version here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K4B7s2njvo&eurl=
Feb 22nd, 2006 - Many Idol fans don't know
that Chris joined the alternative rock band Absent Element and tried his hand at writing music and
lyrics for quite a few years. He wound up dropping out, however, so he could perform on "American Idol."
And February 22nd, Daughtry "wowed" judge Paula Abdul
and most of America with his version of Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive."
Abdul gave him a standing ovation, Randy Jackson said, "You've got it," and curmudgeon Simon Cowell responded with praise. Cowell complemented Daughtry, saying he has potential and a great recording voice, but added that he needs more charisma.
Daughtry's critique turned out to be one of the best among the 12 performers
personally I think Simon was having a bad day as he
was harsh even for himself with many of the
competitors. |
