Kelly. Carrie.
Those are the two of 13 American Idol winners that can be classified as superstars. You could almost add Phillip to that list, but whether or not he’ll have staying power is yet to be seen. Those two names alone, drive our final installment of What We Want To See In Season 14. We want to see a new superstar win American Idol 2015. It’s that simple.
Before I get into this season, I’m going to have to back up and defend my statement that only two of the 13 winners are superstars. Yes, I know that other winners have had great hits. And Fantasia has done great things. And Taylor has the Soul Patrol. And when I can remember she exists, I guess Jordin Sparks has done a few good things. But you have to admit, none of them are currently superstars. Phillip Phillips definitely has potential, but I don’t know if it’ll really be a thing that happens.
And sure we’ve had other contestants make it big: Jennifer Hudson, Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry. And that’s great. But those three people probably should have won their season. So that brings me to my major point about what we want to see out of the Season 14 winner…
Don’t get it wrong, America.
After the auditions and Hollywood Week, you’re the judge. You have one job. So don’t muck it up. Pay attention to the vocals. Pay attention to how they carry themselves and whether or not they have the confidence of a superstar. Just vote wisely. Let’s find the next superstar.
That being said, I don’t want a person that’s superstar-ready. I want someone WHO CAN SING and who just never knew how to make it work. I want someone with a guitar or a piano to become a superstar before our eyes. Just like Kelly and Carrie did. I don’t want to see a bunch of people who had three recording contracts that fell through. I don’t want to see someone who is going to need auto tuning but might look great on a stage.
So far the checklist is a good singer and an everyday person with the right spark. What else? How about someone with some charisma. No offense to any Candice Glover or Lee DeWyze fans out there, but they displayed almost no personality on their seasons and they still won. Let’s look for someone with a strong personality. Someone that will be good in interviews and good with audience banter. A superstar has to possess all of those things. We need to look for the complete package. Let’s just hope producers and the judges give us a proper batch to sort through.
American Idol 2015 premieres tonight on Fox. What do you want to see in season 14?