In the seven seasons of American Idol, there has never been a more accomplished mentor than the one the lucky 7 finalists had the chance to work with this week. From 1990 to the present Mariah Carey has consistently written, produced and performed the songs that are at the top of the charts. She shared her experience and wisdom with the finalists as they attempted to make a selection from her songbook their own.
In 1998 Mariah was asked to join Whitney Houston for a duet of the theme song for the animated film, the Prince of Egypt. The song When You Believe ended up peaking at #15 and after Mariah and Whitney performed it at the Oscars the song took the statue for Best Original Song. David Archuleta is like two divas in one because he managed to bring his sincere persona and vocals to this song and completely make it work. All that was missing was the glamorous long gown, but he'll have plenty of time to do that in the future.
Mariah is the rare diva who writes almost all of her own material. After hitting #1 in 1992 with her cover of the Jackson 5's I'll Be There, Mariah started to include a cover version on many of her albums. On Music Box it was a cover of Nilsson's Without You. While his was a #1 smash in 1972, Mariah's peaked at #3 in 1994. Carly Smithson selected this song that allowed her to belt out some amazing big notes. She also looked much more sophisticated as her silky dress had sleeves that covered her tattoos.
After 18 years of recording amazing songs, Mariah still acknowledges Vanishing from her 1990 self-titled debut album as one of her all-time favorites. It's a uniquely "Mariah" song that is full of elaborate vocal runs and impressive high notes. Staying true to her choices so far this season, this was the clear option for Syesha Mercado to try once again to prove that she is a contender. The fact is that Syesha did a more than respectable job presenting this classic album track to a new audience. And she looked incredibly classy while while doing it.
Mariah spent four weeks at #1 in 1994 with Hero. It's one of her career defining songs that her adoring fans expected to hear at all of her concerts. It's a genuinely inspirational song about believing in one's self. Brooke White did her best expressing that sentiment to the audience as she took her comfortable place behind her piano. But as was expected, her limited vocals prevented her from elevating the song to the inspirational heights. She tried and faltered to the point of appearing nervous and awkward.
In 1996 Mariah had just set the all-time Billboard HOT 100 record for spending 16 weeks at #1 with One Sweet Day. So while Forever was never released as a single, demand was so high for Mariah that the song was in heavy rotation at radio anyway. Kristy Lee Cook has once again chosen a song that she can make her own and that directs the focus on her best qualities. She didn't need to play with the arrangement too much to turn the song into a legitimate country tune and her vocals were just as impressive as last week.
Also in 1996, Mariah spent two weeks at #1 with Always Be My Baby. In her original arrangement, it's the kind of song that the campers might sing sitting around the fire while roasting marshmallows. Like we have come to expect from David Cook, he found a way to re-invent this song and completely make it his own while staying true to its meaning. He definitely knows how to work with all of the pieces that go into making music: producers and arrangers, the live musicians in a band, and commanding the stage with his vocals and presence.
In 1991 Mariah had her fourth consecutive #1 song from her self-titled debut album, I Don't Wanna Cry. Jason Castro despite his limited vocal abilities, is still in the competition. Each week he manages to smile just right, flash his bright eyes and "sing" barely well enough to keep coming back. Somehow he should be able to do that again this week, but thankfully without the use of a ukulele. Similar to David Cook, Jason made the song fit his persona with a tropical arrangement and it was actually kinda nice.
This was easily the best week on American Idol EVER!!! In previous seasons the mentors have been incredible artists and musicians, but they have all had their hit-making success in the past. With Mariah, the lucky 7 finalists got the chance to learn from someone who is an exceptionally accomplished hit maker on the charts THIS WEEK! Her catalog of music also requires the finalists to truly step up and prove themselves. I am pleased to report that with the exception of Brooke White, they all did well. My prediction is that Brooke will be sent home with the lowest number of votes and she will be joined in the bottom three by Syesha Mercado and Carly Smithson. Both Syesha and Carly are very talented, but they don't seem to be connecting with the audience very well.
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