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| Review: Jordin Sparks, ‘Idol’ favorites wow the Valley | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| By Chris Hansen Orf, Get Out | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| July 19, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Although the two-hour concert had all the flavor of a cruise ship variety show -- with its many combinations of singers, solo spotlights, costume changes and painful stage routines (“Which side of the arena is loudest? Let’s hear it over here!”) -- Sparks and a few of her cast mates managed to stand out with commanding stage presence and arena-ready vocals (photos). The show kicked off with several of the “Idol” finalists, including Sparks, singing and rapping to the Black Eyed Peas’ hip-hop flavored “Let’s Get It Started.” It was almost comical to see mop-topped Chris Sligh, a good soul and rock singer, awkwardly throwing down rhymes with the more hip-hop-inclined beatboxer Blake Lewis. Lewis finished second to Sparks in May’s “American Idol” finale. Highlights of the evening included LaKisha Jones and Melinda Doolittle livening up classics like “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “Baby Love” in a Motown medley and Chris Richardson doing justice to Marvin Gaye’s “Heard it Through the Grapevine.” Doolittle then whipped up the Ike and Tina Turner version of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary,” and the likeable but much maligned Sanjaya Malakar joined her for the last chorus. Malakar baffled the “American Idol” judges by making the season six Top 10 despite his often off-key vocals. Malakar actually seems to have improved vocally since his ouster from the show, and the kids in the audience went nuts whenever he stepped onstage. Haley Scarnato, who was often dissed by the “AI” judges for her vocals but was complimented by judge Simon Cowell for having nice legs, proved she still had nice legs, and her solo spotlight take on Martina McBride’s “When God Fearing Women Get the Blues” proved she could sing a little bit, too. Rocker girl Gina Glocksen, voted off early in the “AI” Top 10 countdown, looked to be having a blast the whole night; her stage presence was infectious and her vocals powerful. Although “American Idol” is a singing competition, many of the “Idols” were able to display their instrumental talents to “AI” fans for the first time Wednesday night. Richardson – who shone all night and made the most stage appearances – played guitar and drums, Sligh played bass and guitar, Blake Lewis played guitar and gave an impressive beatboxing demonstration, Malakar played guitar and Phil Stacey, who did a bang-up job singing “America the Beautiful,” played piano. But it was Sparks, in front of her hometown crowd (many of whom waved homemade “I Love Jordin” signs), who impressed the most. The Glendale teenager played acoustic guitar during a duet with Richardson on Rascal Flatts’ country hit “What Hurts the Most,” and, in the final solo spotlight of the evening, belted her way through tunes such as Shirley Bassey’s “I Who Have Nothing,” Jewel’s “I Was Meant For You” (with Sparks accompanied herself on acoustic guitar) and Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker.” Before singing Martina McBride’s “Broken Wing,” the singer (perhaps foreshadowing her career path after the “American Idols Live” tour wraps up) said that “country music is something that’s close to my heart” and thanked longtime Valley country singer and former Mr. Lucky’s nightclub owner J. David Sloane for letting her sing as a kid at the now closed club. For the night’s encore, Sparks sang her first solo single, “This is My Now,” before all of the “Idols” took the stage to sing a medley of the solo spotlight tunes each performed during the evening. For many fans it will be the last time they see some of their favorite season six “Idols” live. Recent history has shown that some contestants are destined for stardom (Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood) and some will drop from the spotlight (Justin Guarini, Diana Degarmo). But judging by Wednesday night alone, one thing is for certain: Jordin Sparks, all of 17 years-old and full of vibrant talent and stage presence, will be back in the near future and filling up Jobing.com Arena by herself. Contact Chris Hansen Orf by email, or phone (480) 898-5684 |
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Reader comments (1)
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Louise7
Great new Melinda Doolittle will released her first album in fall. New website to support Melinda Career come join us Suggest removal of this commentJuly 21, 2008