Posts Tagged ‘American Idol’
Step Aside, A.I., Arlington’s Got a New Idol In Town
Posted by Lorin Drinkard / Monday, July 25th, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Photo Courtesy of Signature Theatre
Several hundred visitors packed into Signature Theatre’s MAX Theatre on Saturday evening as the lights were dimmed and Signature Idol’s finalists took the stage. After reviewing the video auditions that poured in from around the DMV area in search for Signature Theatre’s newest Idol, eight finalists were chosen and had their chance to belt it out and prove why they deserved to move on to the final round of Signature Theatre’s second annual competition (only seven finalists performed though; the eighth didn’t make an appearance, due to a bad case of strep throat/stage fright, we’re assuming).
Hosted by Fred Shiffman & sponsored by yours truly [NoVA Mag], the Signature Theatre in Shirlington Village secured three musical theatre gurus to decide who would be “going to Hollywood” aka performing later that night in the Broadway on the Plaza concert. Grand prize: the opportunity to be cast in future shows with the Theatre.
The Idol Competition’s three critics were Signature Theatre’s Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer, Broadway star Hunter Foster and radio personality Robert Aubry Davis, each channeling their best AI judges’ personas: Paula, Randy and Simon, respectively.
After each contestant performed and received instant feedback from the trio of judges, they narrowed it down to just three contestants: Jordan Smilan-Goldstein, Chelsea Pedano and Julia Farina.
And we’ve got the scoop on the final two.
Signature Idol Finalists, Chelsea Pedano & Jordan Smilan-Goldstein (Photo by Rebekah Lowe)
Finalist Jordan Smilan-Goldstein, a George Washington University student from North Potomac, Md., crooned to the emotional, Off-Broadway ballad “Maybe I Like It This Way” from The Wild Party. Evoking deep pain and with an intensity in her voice, she gave a moving performance that had the audience listening intently and feeling along with her as she expressed her internal struggle to the sounds of a tinkering piano. Here are some of the judges’ remarks:
Hunter Foster: “Great song … performed that well. It’s tough … don’t play the victim.”
Robert Aubry Davis: “Very strong instrument … very good articulation when singing soft … try it when singing loud.”
Eric Schaeffer: “It’s sad and great and fits great with your voice.”
Belting out the four octave-range, novelty-style song “The Girl in 14 G,” made popular by Kristen Chenoweth, finalist Chelsea Pedanoa, a recent high school graduate from New Jersey, showed off what she had stocked in her musical repertoire. The catchy tune featured jazz, Broadway and operatic styles and she had the audience laughing throughout her whimsical performance. Here are some of the judges’ remarks:
Eric: “Really hard song … just for attempting that … bravo. You have the notes. Enjoy it, honey!”
Robert: “The operatic voice is so different from belting … I was impressed.”
Hunter: “Really skillfully done … you’ve got the moves, the sound.”
So which finalist became the next Signature Idol and performed in Saturday’s finale concert? Was it Jordan or Chelsea? Check out the Culture Column in our September issue for a full-length Q & A with the winning performer.
- Lorin Drinkard
Sarah and Samy’s Scoop on “The X Factor” Auditions
Posted by Rebekah Lowe / Friday, May 6th, 2011
Image courtesy of www.myfoxdc.com.
Next week, a few of Northern Virginia’s favorite things will be coming together for an entertainment extravaganza when Hot 99.5 and Fox 5 bring you “The X Factor Audition Pass Contest.” Eight lucky NoVA singers have been selected via their video entries by a panel of celebrity judges to compete for a guaranteed audition for “The X Factor,” Simon Cowell’s singing competition to find America’s next superstar. The final eight will compete on the nine o’clock hour of Fox 5 Morning News next week. Four of the contestants will win an audition pass to get them to the front of the line in Dallas and $750 in travel expenses.
The judging panel includes Grammy-nominated artist Raheem DeVaughn, Grammy-nominated producer Chucky Thompson and radio personalities Samy K and Sarah Fraser from Hot 99.5.
“It’s a very diverse group of judges,” says Samy, “so we can all focus on different aspects to find who that true ‘X Factor’ is. Raheem will bring that producer perspective; Chucky will bring the artist perspective. Sarah will be watching ‘The X Factor’ and buying songs from it on iTunes, so she will be asking herself, ‘Do I like it?’ and I will be looking at what it takes to get a song on the radio.”
The judges have been busy narrowing down the audition videos to the top eight this week. Sarah named her picks by closing her eyes and listening for someone who seemed to have a wide range of talent and lots of potential. “I’ve been a diamond in the rough before,” she says, “so I think I can recognize a diamond in the rough.”
Samy says, “It’s been tough. I was hoping for a lot of train wrecks. I was actually quite surprised.”
It often flies under the radar that Samy has a background in music outside of radio. He plays guitar, bass, piano, violin and sings. He’s also not afraid to rock “The Kane Show” boat with a comment on his co-star’s singing skills—or lack thereof.
“Sarah’s new favorite song is ‘Rolling in the Deep’ by Adele,” he says. “She’s been singing it nonstop lately. It’s gotten so bad that I keep my headphones on when we are on break during ‘The Kane Show.’”
Sarah’s retort: “If Samy wants to talk about my singing, then let’s have a trend-off. I dare him to find the hottest shoe trend for summer 2011. He may have me beat on the voice, but I’ve got him beat on trends.”
Sarah admits that as someone who is all about trends, she’s a sucker for a clever marketing strategy, and that’s exactly what she will be looking for next week.
“I always want what’s hot right now, so I think I’m looking for someone who can be a trendsetter. Because I do so much with social media and branding for ‘The Kane Show,’ I think to be successful now you have to be able to utilize lots of tools in media. You can’t be one dimensional. I’m going to look more outside the box for all-around talent.”
As usual, Samy plans to be “the funny one” on the show, but he will be on the lookout for a singer with a big personality, too.
“Are you going to be some boring interview when you become famous? When I ask you questions after you sing, do you sound nervous or completely confident? 50 Cent is one of the coolest interviews I’ve ever done. He’s really social and that’s part of being the ‘X Factor.’ I want to see, how does your singing make me feel?”
Samy predicts what Sarah’s ‘X Factor’ will be. “Sarah is going to go straight for looks. I think she’s going to be deciding who’s the hottest guy there.”
Sarah doesn’t deny it. “Who doesn’t like a cute guy,” she says. “Let’s be honest.”
It’s fairly safe to say that Samy wouldn’t deny a cute girl a few extra points either. “No!” he responds. “OK, I’d be completely lying if I said that. I think the cute girls are going to sit there and try to flirt with me, but when it comes down to it, I’m there to be honest. Your grandma could be the most talented person ever, but you would never want to buy her CD. Basically, I’m going to make sure that your look ties into your sound.” OK, Samy. We’ll leave it at that.
Samy, known for his colorful comments such as these, hopes he won’t have to tone down his humor too much for the morning news hour.
“That’s the one thing I’m worried about more than anything,” he says. “I’m so trained to not swear when I have headphones on, but when I take them off, I all of the sudden sound like a sailor who just gave birth.”
So, how does Judge Samy plan to walk that fine line between tact and honesty? “Screw tact!” he says. “If you aren’t good, the best thing someone can do for you is tell you that you aren’t. Someone told me in eighth grade, ‘I know you like basketball, but you suck.’ Thank God he told me that because it got me into theater, and here I am today!”
Sarah sees a potential babysitting job lining up for her next week. “I don’t really want to sit next to Samy,” she says. “Whoever does is going to be on damage control.”
Samy’s not taking judging advice from anyone, not even the American Idol crew. “The last thing I want to do is walk in there like I’m 60 years old with a pink scarf; I don’t want to be Stephen Tyler. I’m not as good looking as J-Lo. I can’t be Simon; I don’t have a British accent. I can’t be Randy; I’ve never played in Journey. I’m just going to be myself, I guess.”
Sarah, on the other hand, says, “I’m a combination of Simon and Paula. I get bored easily, so I can relate to Simon. You better catch my attention fast. Like Paula, I can usually find something good about everyone and I always love when people put themselves out there, so it will be hard to pick.”
Sarah and Samy will be taping “The X Factor Audition Pass Contest” next week after “The Kane Show” and “The Sarah Show” air, so have no fear—your regularly scheduled morning radio laughs will not be interrupted. (That is, as long as this article doesn’t cause a fight.) And, Samy, here’s a hint for your upcoming trend-off—‘flatforms’ are in this season!
-Rebekah Lowe
Samy K (Photography by Jonathan Timmes)
Sarah Fraser ( Photography by Jonathan Timmes)
Seacrest’s Much Buzzed About Shirt
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
Hi there, shoppers! To help you break up your workday, I thought I’d turn your thoughts to American Idol‘s stylish host, the one and only Ryan Seacrest, for a sec. Love him or hate him, you’ve got to give it to the guy; he works about 23 hours a day — or at least it seems so — and it seems he’s a fan of local comical t-shirt company Crooked Monkey.
I was actually listening to his show on Hot 99.5 yesterday afternoon — on my way back from dropping off piles o’ magazines at the Dulles Expo Center for this weekend’s Women’s Show of Northern Virginia — when I heard him talking about it on air. He (or his coworker) even posted a photo of the shirt on his Twitter page as well as on ryanseacreast.com! It looks like you better place those orders for super-soft, super-funny Ts now — before the company can’t keep up with demand.
Speaking of Idol fashion, what did you think of Allison’s punk look this week? Think it was appropriate for a No Doubt song or ridiculous any way you look at it?
