The hottest ticket in town on Sunday August 4, 2013 was to the American Idol 2013 Gwinnett Center Arena concert tour. Fans were lined up in huge numbers at each door of the arena waiting to gain admission. American Idol is in its 12th season, because of its loyal fans who refuse to turn the channel. We’re either laughing during the auditions or amazed at the skills of the young people coming from all over the United States to have their chance to hear: “You’re going to Hollywood!” I would honestly have to say that this year has been one of the best seasons that I’ve watched and I’ve been a consistent viewer for a long time. I thoroughly enjoy “true talent and the gift of singing.” Whenever you hear a judge tell a contestant that they’re capable of singing the yellow pages; this means they have serious vocal skills. Often times, people forget about the real reason why American Idol was created, so please allow me to refresh the memory. American Idol was created to display true vocal talent for a solo recording artist. Of course it’s important that each contestant has a good personality, appearance and integrity in order to build their fan base.
Those that compete should be able to sing “all types of music”. The age requirement to participate is 15-28 years of age and you must be a citizen of the United States. All contestants who audition are required to sing a cappella without any music or instruments in order to allow the judges to hear the quality of their voice. Now I’m sure that we’ll agree that often times some contestants have made it through to Hollywood who really should not have. (smiles) However this year’s contestants contained a lot of talented young people and the top 11 finalists were: Candice Glover – age 23 (2013 American Idol Winner from St. Helena Island, SC), Kree Harrison (Runner up) age 22 – Woodville, TX., Angie Miller age 18 – Beverly, MA., Amber Holcomb age 18 – Houston, TX., Janelle Arthur age 23 – Oliver Springs, TN., Lazaro Arbos age 21 – Naples, FL., Burnell Taylor age 19 – New Orleans, LA., Devin Velez age 18 – Chicago, IL, Paul Jolley age 22 – Palmersville, TN., Curtis Finch, Jr. age 24 – St. Louis, MO., Aubrey Cleland age 18 – West Linn, OR.
The opening song that the top finalists came on stage singing and dancing to was “Wings Are Meant To Fly”. This was a great song to open up with, because the lyrics speak about following your dreams which was the story of all of the contestants up on stage. Many had auditioned several times over the years and persistence finally paid off for them to be selected for the 12th season of American Idol. Now being a lady myself, I will admit that I was so happy to see the six finalist for this season to be all women. There had not been a female winner since “Season 6 with Jordan Sparks”. So, this was truly our year. (smiles) One of the things that I enjoy about the concerts, is being able to hear the contestants sing some of the songs that they sung during the season. It is always amazing to hear how much their voices have matured vocally. I am definitely a person that enjoys watching people, so I’m always looking around the audience to see who’s getting up to dance and sing along with their favorite Idol contestant. Georgia showed a lot of love to each of the contestants as they came on stage to perform solo, duet or trio. American Idol’s season 12 winner – Candice Glover graced the stage to share with us some of her songs that are on her new cd coming out soon entitled “Music Speaks”. She began with her song that crowned her the 2013 winner which was “I Am Beautiful”. This song speaks to females who have suffered from low self esteem to encourage them to feel good about themselves no matter what. Candice shared with fans that this song inspired her to realize the beauty within herself. Candice was one of my favorites during the entire 12th season, because of her beautiful voice that was so pleasant to the ears. She was one of the contestants frequently told that she could sing the yellow pages and her vocal talent is what earned her the right to win American Idol 2013. I always enjoy watching the close bond that the various contestants form with each other during the season and I’m sure that many friendships that have been established will remain for many years to come.
If you’ve never had an American Idol concert tour experience, then you still have time for one this year. The 30 show tour began on July 19th and will run until August 31st in Nashville, TN. So, try not to put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Log onto www.americanidol.com for a concert close to you. If your area has already been apart of the concert tour, there’s always next year. “You’ll come away from the show feeling that this was time well spent, because you were apart of the American Idol concert tour experience!”
