No heart, less soul

TAMPA - After throngs of people cheered on their favorite crooners all season, more than 30-million American Idol fans watched in May to see who would be crowned the winner. Wednesday night, 9,832 Idol worshipers came to the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa for a 21/2-hour revue loaded with medleys, misfires and actual talent.

Sponsored by Pop-Tarts, the American Idols Live! tour exhibited what's problematic about the American Idol phenomenon. There's nothing wrong, in theory, with a contest to propel the talented; Star Search did it years before. But the show, so laced with cross-promotions and unsatisfying spinoffs like American Juniors, just denigrates the sagging music industry with its spawn of prefab pop singers. The American Idol singers are an inauthentic, disposable bunch.

The evening began with solo spots from nine of the final ten Idols in the order they departed; contestant Joshua Gracin is in the Marines, so he could not join the tour. Contestants were introduced through video clips reminding the crowd of their televised glories.

But ponder this: America said "No" to eight.

Lowlights included Julia DeMato's tepid reading of Christina Aguilera's Beautiful and Rickey Smith's shrill take on Michael Jackson's bouncy The Way You Make Me Feel. Did Smith inhale a helium balloon before his performance? Sure sounded like it.

Things improved, as expected, and Trenyce gave Tina Turner's Proud Mary a robust shot. And thank goodness for Kimberley Locke. She was feisty and had the pipes to match, unveiling a full-bodied alto that roused the crowd to ovation.

Screams were deafening as runner-up Clay Aiken hit the high note in his soaring This is the Night. Aiken, dressed in a dapper suit, can handle the multioctave songs, singing like a Broadway belter.

Winner Ruben Studdard preferred the subdued approach. His voice is rich and doesn't skimp on soul. Never Too Much was supple and funky but Studdard occasionally oversang. Ruben, just because you can ho-oh-oh-ld (yea, oh, yea!) every note doesn't mean you should.

The second half was dominated by medleys galore. Men and women squared off for an insipid duel; the men performed The Lady is a Tramp and the women writhed to Bootylicious. Smith's high pitch was helpful in Stayin Alive, part of a fast-paced Bee Gees medley misstep, though Studdard sounded strong on the group's Nights on Broadway.

Too bad he followed that with the plodding Can I Get Your Attention, a mess of hip-hop beats and breathy vocals. Even the crowd looked nonplussed, not responding to his frequent cries of "come on Tampa."

Locke fared much better; her version of Inseparable was easily one of the show's highlights. Aiken even delivered the typically mawkish Can You Feel the Love Tonight? with sincerity and showmanship.

- To contact Brian Orloff, e-mail borloff@sptimes.com