Casey & Jennifer, losing at Idol

There was no sense of feeling bad about the results because there was nothing we could have done about it anyway. This is because only residents of the US are allowed to vote for their favorites in the reality show American Idol (AI). We get to watch it but we have no say on who wins. Still, a lot of people took the time to express their disappointment that it was Casey Abrams who was sent packing last week.

Abrams, a 20-year-old music major from the University of Colorado, was the most talented contestant ever to grace the Idol stage. He was fearless in his choice of materials and performing style. He almost did not make it to the finals. Hospitalized during the Top 24 competition and then almost booted out early in the game but saved by the judges, he contributed a lot towards making Season 10 of the show truly exciting. Viewers waited to see what he would do every week. But somebody had to go and it was Casey.

Maybe he pushed the envelope, too, far by choosing to do Hi De Ho (That Sweet Old Roll) by Blood, Sweat and Tears, instead of something safe like It’s Too Late during the Carole King night by the Top 6 contestants. Maybe he had been so good the past weeks that his fans became complacent. No way he could be booted out, they probably thought. Or maybe, he was really too edgy and stubborn to be Idol material. Anyway, I am sure that with all the exposure his talent got, he is now on his way to a successful music career. I will not be surprised if he had already been signed up to a record deal by this time.

So Idol 10 is now left with rocking screamer James Durbin; 17-year-old country baritone Scotty McCreery; country rocker Lauren Alaina; the sexy, bluesy Haley Reinhart; and powerhouse balladeer Jacob Lusk. I like Scotty and Haley best. They are good singers with unique styles and lots of marketability. Like I would not know how to market James, Lauren or Jacob as unique. But it is really anybody’s ballgame from now on. It is just too bad they lost Casey.

If it is any consolation for Casey, it is already a fact that one need not win the American Idol title to be a success. And the best example that talent will out if given the chance is Jennifer Hudson. Sent home with a scathing critique by Simon Cowell in 2004, she bounced back with the lead role in Dream Girls and went on to win an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, plus other honors, for her performance. She returned to the Idol stage as a guest in triumph.

That moment of sweet revenge was still no reason for Hudson to stop her self-improvement program. She next tackled her looks and once more reaped success. She recently emerged with a new stunning figure to promote her second album I Remember Me. I do not know how she did it, but the sight of her singing new songs and looking fantastic made me doubly curious about what she has to offer in her new CD.

She could have chosen better songs but Hudson’s vocals are so incredible, she can make singing the dictionary sound good. I can already see aspiring divas learning every pause, every intake of breath, every thrill that Jennifer makes in I Remember Me. Where You At is the first single off the album, but I like the softer Still Here best. For vocal exercises, there are I Got This, Why Is It So Hard and the inspiring Believe.

Incidentally, the De Luxe edition of the CD, which is available locally, comes with a bonus DVD about the making of I Remember Me and some bonus songs. These are Love Is Your Color with Leona Lewis; Spotlight; What You Think; Where You At (Dave Aude Mix) and the best of the lot, the Star Spangled Banner. This is the American National Anthem as performed by Hudson in a magnificent voice. This alone is already reason enough to buy the album.

The tale of Jennifer Hudson is what could happen to an Idol cast-off with talent and determination. Let us now wait and see what will happen to Casey in the next year or two. Truth to tell, I am already excited about what he will have in his first album.