The Binary Circumstance

This video of Paul Potts, a shy, unconfident car phone salesman singing opera (Nessun Dorma) on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent, brought me to tears the first time I saw it.

The fact that he went on to win the contest shows that some things are right in the world, along with that no-talent Paris Hilton being in jail and the crooked DA Mike Nifong being disbarred.

Here’s the direct link, which is sometimes faster.

Too bad there’s no talent like this on the American version of the show which just sucks so far this season.

Melinda Doolittle, who was easily the most polished and consistent singer on this season’s American Idol got voted off tonight, leaving Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis to duke it out in the final.

Melinda’s got a great career ahead of her even though she didn’t win. People might have been reacting against Simon’s obvious love of her by voting for the other candidates instead. Since many people probably expected that she would be in the finale, they may have concentrated their votes on the person they wanted to compete against her. That would have given a lot of votes to Jordin and Blake and left Melinda high and dry.

In my perfect world, Melinda and Blake would have been the finalists, but this was not to be. Now I think the finale will be a bore.

The good news is that Blake’s chances of winning the contest just went up with Melinda out of the picture. And as I said before, Blake is an original and also a polished performer. I don’t think Jordin can beat him, although there are some who think that those who voted for Melinda are more likely to vote for Jordin at the finale. I can see that logic because I thought that Blake would be booted off this week because LaKisha’s voters would be more likely to vote for Melinda and Jordin this week, but that didn’t happen.

If Blake can pull off some eye-catching numbers at the finale, he will stand out and Jordin will be just another female singer with a great voice, and the field is already so crowded with them.

Paula Abdul certainly got it wrong when she said that Seattle had the “best delusional” singers. (She appeared to be under the influence of something when she said it.) Both Sanjaya and Blake are from the Seattle area and they both did well. Now, I’ll be surprised if Blake doesn’t win.

Check out the Seattle-PI article on Blake’s rise to the top. They also point out that both Jordin and Blake auditioned in Seattle.

This evening I had the pleasure of seeing Nashville-based, singer-songwriter Amelia White do a small, intimate show for a couple of hours at Pegasus Coffee House on Bainbridge.

For much of the evening there were only about a dozen people there which is kind of sad. There is so little to do in the way of entertainment on Bainbridge and Amelia White is a real talent who was playing for tips! I knew that Pegasus had regular music shows but I never expected anybody of this caliber.

With over 20,000 people on this island, and several thousand within an easy walk to Pegasus, I would think that more than a handful would be interested in seeing good talent at a bargain price. But, well, this is Bainbridge. The big snooze. The three other people in my party all came over from Seattle on the ferry, which means a significant percentage of the small audience wasn’t from the island!

Amelia sat down with my party during the break and it turns out she lived on Bainbridge when she was in high school and is fond of returning for visits. It is a beautiful place. After seeing her perform and meeting her, it seems unfortunate that she left. But Nashville is the place for up and coming songwriters and I don’t think it’s going to be too long before Amelia White starts seeing a larger measure of success.

Musically, she reminded me of Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin, but happy. She was relaxed and congenial as she moved from song to song, joked and chatted with the audience, playing both acoustic and electric guitars as well as harmonica. She showed herself to be an accomplished musician, songwriter and singer throughout, even open tuning her guitar in mid-set which always brings Joni Mitchell to mind.

Even her name reminded me of the cut “Amelia” from Mitchell’s Hejira album.

She’s in the middle of a five week tour, so catch her if you can.

Yesterday morning I heard that top-three American Idol contestant Blake Lewis was giving a short performance at Westlake Center, a plaza in the downtown shopping district, at noon. I had to be in the city yesterday anyway for a doctor’s appointment so I decided to check it out.

Blake is from the Seattle area.

I got there early and was pretty close to the stage. I wish I’d remembered to take my camera because I could have gotten some great pictures of him to post her.

Unfortunately, Blake didn’t show up until around 12:10 and then announced that he was waiting for some equipment. He didn’t get started until around 12:20.

I was disappointed that I was only able to see about 15 minutes of his show before I had to leave. He was backed by a band and did some of his trademark beatboxing. He also used some electronic equipment that allows him to add all kinds of special effects like echo and reverb to his vocals. He not only make percussion sounds with his voice but can also sound like a bass guitar or a Jimi Hendrix guitar riff. What he demonstrated in the few minutes that I watched him was far beyond anything that he’s been able to do on American Idol.

Blake is a genuine and unique talent and I’d like to see him win American Idol because with the right people around him, he could take pop music in new directions. He could quickly develop into a great entertainer with a very unique style, like Michael Jackson, David Bowie or Jimi Hendrix.

Don’t we already have an oversupply of women on the scene who can belt out generic pop tunes? I came of age in the 60’s when each band or performer had a trademark sound and style of performing. I miss that. Terribly.

Of the three remained contestants, Melinda Doolittle and Jordin Sparks have better voices–for singing. I don’t think that Melinda, who is an experienced backup singer, has missed a single note the entire time she has been on the show. She’s perfect. Jordon, who is much younger and less experienced, has a powerhouse voice but lacks Melinda’s professional veneer.

LaKisha also has a powerhouse voice. Her problem was that she knocked a home run out of the park with “I Am Telling You (I’m Not Leaving)” from “Dreamgirls” early in the competition and was never able top herself.

Blake is weaker when it comes to straight singing, but he does things with his voice that nobody else on American Idol has ever done or it likely to do in the near future. In that respect, as a vocalist, he is lightyears ahead of the competition. He doesn’t sing in the same way as Melinda, or Jordin, or LaKisha or any of the other male singers that have been on the show. He’s in a different league. He’s a maverick, an inventor, and an explorer. Because he doesn’t have a voice like your standard American Idol contestant, he’s had to learn to use his voice in new ways. And that’s the reason he should win–and the reason he probably won’t.

I should also point out that Blake’s singing voice sounded better in person than on TV. He was more relaxed in front of the live audience and that came across in the quality of his voice.

There are always surprises on American Idol, but Blake has been near the bottom of the vote tally more than once. I’m not sure if he can make it into the top two. People who voted for LaKisha last week are more likely to vote for Melinda or Jordan in the next round. I doubt Blake is their cup of tea. I only wish that the TV audience could see what he does in person.