Reality Roundup

07:48 AM EDT on Tuesday, June 1, 2004

By BRIAN MORAN / Special to WCNC.com

Memorial Day weekend means two things in Charlotte, NC. It means the Coca-Cola 600 is in town and the accompanying festival type event uptown known as Speed Week. Both bring scores of eager race fans to the Queen City. However, neither of these occurrences evokes much emotion out of me as my Yankee roots have not permitted me to enjoy racing just yet.

I was a bit excited to see a surprise performance by the 'American Idol' contestants who were showcasing a preview piece from their upcoming tour. After refusing to write an AI article for eight weeks out of protest because I thought the show was spent and after another seven weeks writing articles confirming that fact, I was of course a little skeptical. An outdoor venue with bad acoustics didn’t seem like the ideal scenario for this group of youngsters. I was gladly proven wrong.

WCNC.com I got my picture taken with John Stevens to prove he really was in Charlotte.

Before they took the stage, I grabbed the Sinatra clone, John Stevens, and asked him some questions about the existing format of AI. I wanted to know what he thought of being forced to sing other styles of music outside his range. He said he felt it helped the watch ability of the show but hurt the competition somewhat. It was obvious he had heard that question before. I asked him if he was looking ahead to Big Band week when he got knocked out in the Gloria Estafan week. Triumphantly he replied, “Oh Yeah!” I then asked him a bit tougher question about the voting process and if it needs to be tweaked a little, possibly asking people to vote for who gets booted, instead of their favorite. He gave the political answer, “It’s not up to me.” All in all, he was just as nice in person as he appeared on screen. He was easily the most bashful of all the contestants.

On the other end of the spectrum was George Huff who was unabashed, confident and opinionated. He was actually even more likable in person than he was on the show. I asked him if what he thought about singing other styles, he said, “I love it. I loved the challenge and I loved having my range extended.” As for having people vote for their least favorite, while the other contestants dodged it, George proclaimed, “I like it, I like the idea” and gave a wink.

With that they were being ushered to the stage. I found a stoop with a nice view and prayed they gave a good performance.

On the first note of “Ain’t no mountain high enough” my uneasiness was alleviated. When they first pooled the top twelve together, I remember thinking that collectively, they were a very strong group of singers. They just didn’t have any standouts like Kelly Clarkson or Clay Aiken. Well, when you put that strong group of singers together, they can bring the noise. John Peter Lewis had an early solo and he sounded better than expected. Latoya followed and gave me chills. Jennifer did the same. They had energy and enthusiasm and seemed very excited to be there.

WCNC.com The American Idols eagerly await my next question.

As far as standouts go, I would have to pick La Toya and JPL. It’s very apparent that La Toya should have been top two and maybe even the victor. Her voice has so much behind it. As far as stage presence and likeability, JPL takes the cake. His dance solo was humorous and entertaining.

Following the song there was a grueling question and answer segment. It seemed to go on forever. Every fifth question was, “Can you sing another song?” Sadly, they only had one prepared. Most questions were directed at JPL and George. JPL was asked if he had a girlfriend and La Toya lined up a date following the event. Every time George took the mike, he gave everyone a smile.

When the inevitable question about the voting process was posed at them, Amy Adams summed it all up, “It doesn’t matter now. We are all here and that’s what’s important.” All her band mates were in agreement.

All-in-all, I was a little disappointed they only had one song ready to go, as were a lot of other people around me. But I guess as performance reviews go, they should take that as a big compliment.

Brian Moran is a freelance writer for WCNC.com. Click here to send him an email. For more Reality TV stories click here.