Just An FYI

I realize that there are 5 categories on each contestant's score sheet. Getting super Crowd Response can make up for a shortcoming in a different category, or vice versa with any category you are stronger in than another. BUT THIS IS A SINGING COMPETITION. It's called "Movin Idol" because it is modeled after AMERICAN IDOL. You're doing Karaoke, so OK, it's a "Karaoke" Competition but folks, you need to be able to sing and dazzle a room in order to place well here. Granted, I am only ONE of what is now FOUR JUDGES, and each judge has a different background. MY BACKGROUND IS IN VOCALS. I will be more critical of vocals than, say, Rachael, whose background is in DANCE. But we all have different backgrounds to enable us to be a FAIR PANEL and balance each other out. There is a category called "WOW FACTOR", and while I did NOT make up the sheets, that is the way the ball bounces. To each person, a "Wow Factor" has a different definition I'm sure, but to ME, it is if you surprise me with your TALENT.

I hope I've made this all more clear, I've been told that someone was under the impression that this was NOT a singing competition, but how on Earth could any competition called "Movin I-D-O-L" not have anything to do with how well you can sing? Granted, that isn't the whole thing and you do have to have a combination of many things down well to compete with the talent that we have seen on that stage. Your overall performance will take you far if you can combine more than one of the categories and score high in them, but come on folks... it's called... MOVIN IDOL.

Like Yo! Sunny Jo says... "I'm not sayin' - I'm just sayin'!"

Photos - Week Three

I figured I'd put up a little slideshow of the photos that Beau Quest Portrait Studio took in Week Three. Look for them EVERY Monday night, and know that THEY are putting up the 500 bucks to the winner of this whole Shindig! Enjoy - we will add more as the weeks progress (but most will probably be from my camera, which I'll have on hand from now on)

Week Three WINNER - Krista Mulpagano

Ohhhh Krista my dear. OK here let me set the tone for you if you weren't there. This chick - can't be much older than 21 - walks on stage. Quiet as a mouse, shy looking, and wearing a Victoria's Secret hoodie and jeans. It was a glittery hoodie but you get my drift. Super adorable girl, but I was pretty sure I knew what was gonna' come out of her pretty lil' mouth.

Well, I sure can be a Knowitall sometimes. I concede.

Krista is the caliber of singer that I would take with me to sing in Vegas in September. I'd be PROUD to have discovered this little girl. She can work on her Stage Presence a little, and next time I hope she dresses for it -- but when you have a voice like Krista's, your vocal scores will carry you a little bit if you falter a little on presence or attire. I'm not saying if you can sing well, you can get away with not moving at all..... she moved.... but without that superior voice she may not have beaten Mr. Cheevers. She sang "You Were Meant For Me" by Jewel, and I've said it twice and will say it again here... SHE SANG THAT SONG BETTER THAN JEWEL EVER SANG IT. Krista, we will see you at the Finals February 16th and we are all looking VERY forward to it!

Overall score (of possible 50): 47

Quality Of Voice: 9.5
Song Selection: 10
Stage Presence: 8
Audience Reaction: 10
"WOW" factor (if any): 9.5

Week Three - Brian Cheevers

Brian Cheevers could have had 90 percent of the women in the room on Monday night. He was a Repeat Performer, having sung last week as well, and we had ONLY one complaint last week - that Brian held his microphone in a CHOKE HOLD with BOTH HANDS and WHITE KNUCKES and never once let go of that mic with either hand. Well I'm happy to report that holding his mic with ONE HAND the entire song put his ass in SECOND PLACE!!! Brian, ya' damn near won the thing.

Need I mention there were perfect pitch, perfect dynamics, great emotion, great Stage Presence, and a serious "WOW" factor? Nope. Score says it all.

Overall score (of possible 50): 47

Quality Of Voice: 9
Song Selection: 10
Stage Presence: 9
Audience Reaction: 10
"WOW" factor (if any): 9

Week Three - Christopher "Big Sexy" Meade

Chris is a big dude. The title is no lie. I had never heard him sing and was surely wondering why the room was already going nuts before he opened his mouth. Then the music started to "A Country Boy Can Survive", by Hank Williams Jr..... and I was lost. This big dude's gonna' sing me some Country, right? I chuckled - and then Big Sexy SHOWED UP.

Chris has one of THE BEST singing voices we heard that night. Nearly PERFECT PITCH, and smooth as butter, he was as country as the day was long. NAILED the highest notes in the song with a VENGENCE... hit all the lows... twanged it just enough and he was VERY, very good. I would buy an album of this kid's voice, it was that good. Big Sexy came in 3rd when all was said and done -- so we know there is a chance he could place at the top of his class one of these Monday nights. I really hope to hear him again soon. THAT Country boy sure as HELL can survive!!!

Overall score (of possible 50): 43

Quality Of Voice: 9
Song Selection: 9
Stage Presence: 8
Audience Reaction: 10
"WOW" factor (if any): 7

Week Three - Amy Adkins

Amy stepped on stage with some seriously pink hair, and my first comment was, "Well if you're gonna' do Pink Hair, THAT is the way to do Pink hair." It was a perfect Highlight job. I later found out she is a Hair Stylist so now I know why :-) I was also tickled to read on her Registration that she had been in NYSSMA. I was always a big NYSSMA girl myself with the Operetta solos and whatnot.

I could tell that she had some theatrical background in her, and this girl has one HELL of an instrument. VERY powerful. I only thought this of one other contestant -- but I really think with a few professional voice lessons that Amy could knock songs out of the park. She's a star. Emotional and strong, she has a GORGEOUS voice. She could be a tad more expressive as far as her stage presence, but overall I think she has what it takes and just needs to fine tune a bit.



Overall score (of possible 50): 39

Quality Of Voice: 8
Song Selection: 8
Stage Presence: 7
Audience Reaction: 8
"WOW" factor (if any): 8

Week Three - Mary Nelson

A little bird told me that Mary drove over an hour to get to Singers for this, and I can see why. This woman had SOUL!!! I had no idea that it was coming when she started, but if Janice Joplin came back from the deal and was reincarnated, she took the shape of Mary Nelson! She pulled "Long As I Can See" by Credence Clearwater Revival out of her... well... TOES! Sultry and raspy and SOULFUL, she was perfect for this song and save for a couple of pitch variables - did a great job!

Overall score (of possible 50): 38

Quality Of Voice: 7
Song Selection: 9
Stage Presence: 8
Audience Reaction: 8
"WOW" factor (if any): 6

Week Three - Ingrid Land

Ingrid came last week as well, and she was JUST OK last week. She listened to her advice - and CAME OUT SWINGIN' this week! She sang "Come Away With Me" by Norah Jones, which was the PERFECT SONG for her voice, there was nothing too high or too low, and her pitch was good. She dressed a bit, she had all the confidence in the world, and we just loved her performance. Overall, Ingrid placed 6th of 15 people, which she should DEFINITELY be proud of!


Overall score (of possible 50): 43

Quality Of Voice: 9
Song Selection: 10
Stage Presence: 8
Audience Reaction: 8
"WOW" factor (if any): 8

Week Three - Ed Puma

We heard from Eddie last week, and I have to say - what a MARKED improvement over last week! He dressed for it, he did a song that showed off a little more vocals, and he did very well! But since Ed has come twice, it's fair game for me to critique him because without the lessons he won't win and we all want to see him advance. Ed sang "My Girl" by The Temptations - but he added about 20 extra runs. "Runs" are the vocal embellishments that singers sometimes throw on the ends of notes. Think Mariah Carey -- she throws runs in ALLLL over the place. And a lot of times, National Anthem singers put a TON of runs into that song (and piss off a lot of staunch, old school Americans!). Ed can do runs, and he put too many in his song. Aside from that, his microphone was still too close to his mouth and he came across distorted from that. Those are my only two points and I will reinforce that he was even better this week than last week, and I'd love to see Ed listen to the rest of these critiques and show BACK UP with his PUMA FAMILY SOUL!!!


Overall score (of possible 50): 37

Quality Of Voice: 7
Song Selection: 8
Stage Presence: 8
Audience Reaction: 8
"WOW" factor (if any): 6

Week Three - Elisha Dellios

First I have to mention that Elisha wrote on her Registration sheet that she thinks she should be in the running to be considered Syracuse's next Singing Sensation because it would be a great way to "prepare herself for Stardom - and meet guys." I love it! Good girl! Ha ha :-)

That being said, Miss Dellios has a VERY, VERY nice voice. Sultry, sexy, smooth, in key and on pitch. EXCELLENT voice. But Elisha threw her chance to win this when she sang nearly the whole song (The Letter - Joe Cocker) WITH HER HAND IN HER POCKET!!! Girl, I'd like to think you know better! That took her Stage Presence and "WOW Factor" down a bit but I think she has the potential to pull it all together and "Wow" an audience. I personally hope she returns to try again.

Overall score (of possible 50): 33

Quality Of Voice: 9
Song Selection: 8
Stage Presence: 5
Audience Reaction: 7
"WOW" factor (if any): 5

Week Three - Carmen Angiolillo

Carmen Angiolillo - great name. Good singer overall, OK performance. "Lonely No More" by Rob Thomas was the choice, and I think maybe next time he competes, if at all, Carmen should pick a song with a little less tempo and some longer, stronger notes. Definitely has the ability to perform, I would just like to see how well he can REALLY sing and this song wasn't really right for that. Potential does exist here......


Overall score (of possible 50): 35

Quality Of Voice: 6
Song Selection: 8
Stage Presence: 9
Audience Reaction: 7
"WOW" factor (if any): 5

Weel Three - Bob Krell

Enter Bob Krell, singing "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi. Good song for him, he has the raspy voice that makes Rockstars entertaining, his stage presence was pretty good, and he could sing pretty well. Nothing really stood out as being extra awesome, but nothing stood out as being poorly done, either. Bob was, in a word, "good".


Overall score (of possible 50): 33

Quality Of Voice: 7
Song Selection: 8
Stage Presence: 7
Audience Reaction: 7
"WOW" factor (if any): 4

Week Three - Michael David

Well I knew Michael could cook, but I didn't know he could sing! I only knew Michael as the pastry chef from the Arad Evans Inn, my favorite restaurant of all time, in Fayetteville. And lemme tell ya - the boy can sing. No doubt he can sing. He is very theatrical, and perhaps a bit showy and more suited to Broadway-esque singing, but all in all a good solid singer with a nice voice. However - Michael committed one of those 5 Dirty Sins of Singing: picked a song that had 3 or 4 notes he didn't totally have down. A song without the falsettos would have been a much better choice and I'd like to see him come back and knock this one out, because we can tell he has the ability.

Overall score (of possible 50): 34

Quality Of Voice: 7
Song Selection: 6
Stage Presence: 9
Audience Reaction: 7
"WOW" factor (if any): 5

Week Three - Stephanie Spencer

Stephanie has a very strong instrument in her throat. I think she's one of those people that singing lessons would HUGELY benefit, because some people take lessons for many years and never get much better - and others, like her, are born with a natural voice and just need some fine tuning to knock it out of the park. This was a BOLD song choice - "Just A Dream" by Carrie Underwood - and a very hard song, but Stephanie did a fair job on it and I would love to see her fine tune those notes and really shine.

Overall score (of possible 50): 29

Quality Of Voice: 7
Song Selection: 6
Stage Presence: 6
Audience Reaction: 6
"WOW" factor (if any): 4

Week Three - Dan "DNA" Fox

Well, from what I hear, this guy did Brittany Spears "Hit Me Baby One More Time" in the first week of competition -- and also from what I hear, it was pretty bad! If we're trying to make people laugh, sure, but if we're shooting to win 500 bucks... not so much. However, this week's version of "Under The Bridge" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers was pretty decent. The very beginning he tripped on the rhythm and was singing behind the beat, but when the drum kicked in he was sailing. It was good overall, and a welcome change from Brittany!


Overall score (of possible 50): 35

Quality Of Voice: 7
Song Selection: 7
Stage Presence: 9
Audience Reaction: 7
"WOW" factor (if any): 5

Week Three - Cheryle VanGorder

Cheryle did not suprise us with "Tim McGraw" by Taylor Swift! She was a sweet, cute lil' thing and that was certainly the right song for her. Although she looked scared to death for a bit, she warmed up and did pretty well. We all 4 agreed, however, that we needed some more Stage Presence, and the hand out-of-the-pocket. Randy Jackson would have said, "It was just OK for me, dawg!"


Overall score (of possible 50): 29

Quality Of Voice: 6
Song Selection: 6
Stage Presence: 7
Audience Reaction: 6
"WOW" factor (if any): 4

Week Three - Paul Garnett

Paul, Paul, Paul. Well, Paul's rendition of the G n R classic, "Patience", was good. Very good for Karaoke, not enough to win a contest though. And of course when I told Paul that his Stage Presence left much to be desired, he told us that he knew that. In fact I believe what he said was, "I have about as much stage presence here on this stage as I do when I'm asleep!" So of course our man Paul knew he wasn't gonna top out, but he was a good singer save for the standing still and covering the back of the microphone :-)

Overall score (of possible 50): 25

Quality Of Voice: 7
Song Selection: 7
Stage Presence: 3
Audience Reaction: 5
"WOW" factor (if any): 3

Top 5 Biggest Performance Mistakes

In light of Week Three and singing/performing as an art... I present the first Top 5 List of Movin Idol.


Top 5 Biggest Performing Mistakes:

5. Holding the Microphone the same Distance from your mouth through a whole song.

This is the one thing that sets apart an experienced singer from a newbie. Throughout a song, you have STRONG parts and you have SOFTER parts (well, you should anyhow). The stronger the vocals, the further away from your face the microphone should be. And for God's sake, if there is a foam screen over the mic, KEEP IT ON! It's there for a reason. It filters your sound nicely and keeps you from sounding harsh and blowing out your audience's eardrums. If you're singing SOFTLY, hold it close, almost touching your lips, or we can't hear you. If you're singing STRONG and LOUD, back it away because a microphone is designed to pick up sound from quite a distance. We will hear you, trust me - just back it off!

4. Planting your feet when you start - and never moving them again until you finish.

For the love of all that is holy and sacred... if you have ever been to a live concert, you would know that there isn't a singer or performer who stands still throughout an entire song. Even if you sing a ballad - move! Songs have rhythm - you need to feel it and move with it. Would YOU want to watch a band perform and their lead singer just stood still for hours on end, singing? I personally would want my money back. MOVE!

3. Singing with your HAND in your POCKET.

Again - you think you could go to see Heart play, and Ann Wilson would stand there singing with her hand in her pocket?!? As body language goes, hands in pockets signify BOREDOM. The audience came to hear and see a performance - give them one, don't act like you're bored. The only exception to this is if you sing Alanis Morrisette's "Hand In My Pocket". We'll let you off for that.

2. Performing with the wrong attire.

OK, no, there is no category in the Movin Idol competition on APPEARANCE (although if you enter other competitions, there usually is). But we as your audience cannot help but tie your WHOLE PERFORMANCE together as a whole, and if you show up in jeans and a hoodie, chances are it will detract from your Star Power. Put some effort into it. And look the part of whatever it is you're singing! If you're gonna rock out to AC/DC, by all means - look like a grungy rocker... but if you're gonna' belt out Madonna, skip the hoodie. Please and thank you.


And the number One Biggest Performing Mistake?

1. Singing a song where you can hit "almost all" of the notes in it.

This is a VERY VERY common mistake. I've done it myself back when I was starting out. You want to sing that Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey song SO BADLY! There's just that ONE NOTE toward the end that you can't always quite reach. Some days you hit it, other days you can't, you crack or are flat on it. DON'T SING THAT EFFING SONG!!! There is a GOOD chance that the days you can hit it are days when you're singing in your car, or shower. Add the Fear Factor of a whole room full of scrutinizing eyes... and there's no chance in hell you're going to hit that note. Why risk it? Sing a song that you have EVERY NOTE, and you have them ALL in perfect pitch. No judge will tell you that the song was "too easy". If your notes are all in tune and you express that song well - sing it. Because fudging a Money Note...... that'll cost ya'.

In the words of Yo! Sunny Jo.......

"I'm not sayin... I'm just SAYIN'................................"

Feroni - OUT!

Week Two WINNER - Amanda Lalone

When Amanda got on stage in a Cowboy hat and Uggs, she was gorgeous make no mistake, but I just assumed that was where it would end. Don't ask me why, for some reason cowboy hats get worn by every last singer-who-thinks-they-can-sing in this town. But then Amanda opened her pretty lil' mouth and WHOAAAA, NELLY! She sang "Suds in the Bucket" by Sara Evans (and for future reference, I recommend Sara Evans songs to a lot of country females for competition, her songs are usually pretty strong and not usually super high). Amanda has it all - pitch, tone, the voice itself is pretty to listen to, not overbearing, she knew when to tone it down and when to belt it out, and moved, and had great expression and presence, and Amanda Lalone took the Crown for Week Two of Movin Idol - very deservedly so.



Overall score (of possible 50): 47

Quality Of Voice: 9
Song Selection: 10
Stage Presence: 10
Audience Reaction: 9
"WOW" factor (if any): 9

Week Two - Bethany Ross

If you're gonna' sing "Before He Cheats", you have to bring your best Attitude and your biggest voice. While Bethany is a good singer, this was all wrong for her. She's a cute, sweet little girl and sang a nasty, attitude-filled song about vandalizing a cheating man's vehicle. Struck out on this song, but I have a feeling if she picked more the Alison Krauss avenue that she could knock it out of the park.

Overall score (of possible 50): 33

Quality Of Voice: 8
Song Selection: 7
Stage Presence: 7
Audience Reaction: 7
"WOW" factor (if any): 4

Week Two - Sarah Sebastian

If Sarah can up her "wow factor" and lose the nerves, she can shine. Cute girl, pretty decent vocals, and unlike a lot of people I think she close a GOOD song for her type of voice, albeit that she was way too timid up there to be singing a sexy Madonna song. Move around a little more, get into it more, and act the part and she's much better off. Pretty solid on the vocals though, especially if the nerves go away.

Overall score (of possible 50): 35.5

Quality Of Voice: 7
Song Selection: 9
Stage Presence: 8
Audience Reaction: 6
"WOW" factor (if any): 5.5

Week Two - Amanda Reed

Once again, Song Selection takes someone down. While everyone, myself included, loves "Black Horse and Cherry Tree" by K.T. Tunstall, it isn't the tune for most folks to sing in a Competition. Remember, it's a COMPETITION. Amanda has a voice and she can definitely sing, but this song sometimes made it sound otherwise especially by the end of it. I'd like to see more from her though. I believe there is more talent there than she was able to show us.


Overall score (of possible 50): 30

Quality Of Voice: 7
Song Selection: 4
Stage Presence: 8
Audience Reaction: 8
"WOW" factor (if any): 3

Week Two - Ingrid Land

I can see potential in Miss Ingrid. But when she got up for "I Wanna Come Over" by Melissa Etheridge, it was along the lines of just "OK". One of the score categories here is the "wow factor" and that hurts a lot of contestants. The song had a lot of held-out high notes that might just have been a little out of her reach, though you can tell this woman loves to sing. She needs to work more on the Performance as a whole and get those vocals up, singing probably a song with less big money notes. But I see the potential!

Overall score (of possible 50): 29

Quality Of Voice: 6
Song Selection: 6
Stage Presence: 6
Audience Reaction: 7
"WOW" factor (if any): 4

Week Two - Mark Penell

Well, Mark came out with a microphone stand. Unless you're about to blow some Whitney Houstonish vocals out of your throat, I never recommend a mic stand. Stage Presence is almost impossible with one, unless as I said, you are singing some ridiculous ballad and singing the hell out of it. His vocals were OK, the song choice was... well "I Love You" by the Climax Blues Band. Simon Cowell would have used the word "boring", I will just say - Marky Mark, ditch the mic stand and blow me away buddy.

Overall score (of possible 50): 26

Quality Of Voice: 6
Song Selection: 6
Stage Presence: 5
Audience Reaction: 6
"WOW" factor (if any): 3

Week Two - Ed Puma

Ed opened up with "All Night Long" from Lionel Ritchie's heyday - and the first thought to cross my mind was, "WILL HE DO THE CHANT???"

Well he did, and this man got the crowd GOING! Overall, the performance as a whole was very good as far as being Entertaining. Which is half the battle. But the Vocal Battle wasn't won so much on this song. Kinda ran along the lines of Randy Jackson's famous quip, "It was just OK for me, dawg". Very entertaining, vocals were decent, I'd like to see a more "vocal" song from this guy.


Overall score (of possible 50): 37

Quality Of Voice: 7
Song Selection: 9
Stage Presence: 7
Audience Reaction: 9
"WOW" factor (if any): 5

Week Two - Stacy Hover

Stacey is a rarity. This teeny little girl, 4 foot nothing, just ADORABLE, walks on stage and belts out Danzig's "Mother" like a seasoned Metal Veteran. BLEW US AWAY. Great voice, great pitch, cute as a button. Wait. OK that was where the points came off for some people. She had on a pretty little top and looked like she was going to sing "Wind Beneath My Wings". Not that a ton of points rest on your outfit, but ya' gotta' look the part of the song. I personally scored her very high based on kickass vocal ability and the song that it seems she and ONLY she can sing, as far as females go in the metal world. Very impressive - and I'd pay to see this girl live in a show.

Overall score (of possible 50): 46

Quality Of Voice: 9
Song Selection: 10
Stage Presence: 9
Audience Reaction: 9
"WOW" factor (if any): 9

Week Two - Ashley Lalone

This could be the VERY right song for someone with a huge, belting voice. But "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" has been the death of oodles of Competition Singers through the years. It's HARD. It's WHITNEY HOUSTON. My advice on Whitney is to NOT sing her songs unless you're trained to do so (or you were born with Aretha Franklinesque pipes). Ashley's downfall was her song choice. She came out lookin' a little scared, and with a song that huge you can't warm up to it because as soon as you think you're warmed up - BAM! - another huge note is here. I gotta' say she was one of the cutest girls going... and a song with less highs in it would have been much better suited. With an easier song she could have let loose a bit more and been able to enjoy it.

Overall score (of possible 50): 30

Quality Of Voice: 6
Song Selection: 5
Stage Presence: 8
Audience Reaction: 7
"WOW" factor (if any): 4

Week Two - Chaz Carter

OK. If you're gonna' enter a Vocal Competition, pick a song that shows off your Voice. It's pretty cut and dry. Although this dude moved around and was entertaining to a point, "Let's Dance" by David Bowie is kinda just a goofy anthem, not hard to sing and a little quirky. The wrong song can REALLY throw off your performance. I would like to see more from ol' Chaz, but tonight's showing was not strong enough to contend with what the other's brought.


Overall score (of possible 50): 32

Quality Of Voice: 6
Song Selection: 5
Stage Presence: 8
Audience Reaction: 8
"WOW" factor (if any): 5

Week Two - Larry Coke

If not for the Stage Presence issue, this guy coulda' taken it home. THe ONLY contestant to get a CLEAR 10 from me on VOCALS. EVERY NOTE was pitch perfect. He sang "Piano Man" and it was amazing. He has an infectious smile (similar to George Huff from Season 3 of American Idol) and the whole room was smiling by the end of the song - but he didn't move much and kinda' stood idly by. A few cute gestures during the Instrumentals - but really not anything overly entertaining. The voice was amazing though... did I mention the guy can SANG???

Overall score (of possible 50): 42

Quality Of Voice: 10
Song Selection: 9
Stage Presence: 8
Audience Reaction: 8
"WOW" factor (if any): 7

Week Two - Tracy Edghill

The psychadelic top matched with the song "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Starship was a good pair to start off. But Tracy backed it up with a solid voice and very nice tone. I was pleasantly surprised, she moved around well for the song, hit all her highs and lows... and overall just a very solid performance. I did score her a tad higher than my judgeing cohorts, based solely on her Vocal Ability being above average for a Nonprofessional singer. Impressive!


Overall score (of possible 50): 45

Quality Of Voice: 9
Song Selection: 9
Stage Presence: 9
Audience Reaction: 9
"WOW" factor (if any): 9

Week Two - Brian Cheevers

Brian, Brian, Brian. "Fast Cars and Freedom" by Rascal Flatts could NOT have been a better song choice for this guy. He could JOIN Rascal Flatts! Beautiful voice, nice looking guy (note - looks do not factor into scores here, I just thought I'd paint the mental picture for ya), and he woulda' had this bagged if not for the Stage Presence issue. He did walk into the crowd at one point, but he had a CHOKE HOLD on his microphone through the entire song. Both hands, white knuckles, and never let go once with either hand. It kinda' made him look terrified. Definitely his niche though, the Country thang.


Overall score (of possible 50): 45

Quality Of Voice: 9
Song Selection: 10
Stage Presence: 8
Audience Reaction: 9
"WOW" factor (if any): 9

Week Two - Krista Condon

As a judge, giving a score of 10 for ANYTHING doesn't happen much. If you hand out 10's, you end up scoring everyone super high and then you have a bunch of ties. We start on the notion that an 8 to a 9 is pretty amazing.

Krista Condon walks out and I'm thinkin... OK, she's cute, little hat on, almost looks shy.

WRONG AGAIN! The girl picked "All Jacked Up" by Gretchen Wilson, and from NOTE ONE we were stunned. STRONG voice, HITTING her notes, and came with more than enough attitude to support that song. It's not a tune for the shy, and this girl really showed up. The overall performance was very, very good and save for a few notes that got missed when she started traveling the room - it was damn near perfect. I'd go see her perform live. She definitely had three 10's from me. Kickass!

Overall score (of possible 50): 47

Quality Of Voice: 8
Song Selection: 10
Stage Presence: 10
Audience Reaction: 10
"WOW" factor (if any): 9

Week Two - Lincoln Darren

I start here with Week Two, because I was not on the Judging Panel on Week One. Ahem.

So I start with Lincoln Darren. And may I say... HOLY SHIT! He comes on stage with two and a half feet of blonde curls and a black rock Tshirt, and the music to "Still Of The Night" by Whitesnake cues up. We're all thinking... oh here we go. Another Rock Band Dropout. This is a HARD SONG. Tons of high notes, tons of melody.

And then he sings.

The dude could blow! Very unexpected - very impressive. And THEN he starts swingin the hair. Rachael and I got a little dizzy, I'm not gonna lie. But he was somehow able to swing the hair on 78 speed WHILE singing AND hitting the notes. Unbelievable. I would PAY to see this guy perform in a band and I hope he is in one.

Overall score (of possible 50): 46

Quality Of Voice: 8
Song Selection: 10
Stage Presence: 9
Audience Reaction: 10
"WOW" factor (if any): 9

Intro to Movin Idol....

So Movin 100.3fm hosts a Karaoke Singing Contest right now, Monday nights at Singer's Karaoke Bar in Solvay, NY. I've been asked to sit on the Judging Panel for the duration of this competition. Why? Well, I'm a singer myself. Not just a self-proclaimer, I've been singing professionally for over 15 years. I've performed locally with bands here in Syracuse, NY - and Internationally as well. I was signed to NuForm Records for 2 years, went to Italy where the label is based and recorded an album, which I also wrote entirely myself, and marketed it throughout Europe. I taught voice in college, I play piano, and generally am well suited to judge vocal and performance abilities. The great thing about this contest after my first week of judging - there were NO inherently BAD singers. That was refreshing. When you think of Karaoke, sometimes the image comes to mind of some very drunk folks grabbing a microphone and belting out horrid renditions of songs they should never be allowed to butcher. This is not your average Karaoke. These people really SING.

That being said, I will write up the results, contestant by contestant, from here on out after each round, be it for those who sang or for those who just want to know what happened. And no holds barred - this is not me stroking egos, this is my honest take on the abilities and shortcomings of the people who put themselves out there for all to judge.

And here we go.