Post by Inside Australian Idol on Sept 16, 2003 0:23:19 GMT 10
Idol deals wildcards
By Toby Forage
September 15, 2003
WILD can only begin to describe proceedings at last night's closing Australian Idol semi-final, which offered 10 wild cards a second tilt at fame and fortune.
It was a jester's cap for Liban last night.
While some revelled in the opportunity, there were arguably more jokers than aces in this last chance pack, and it shuffled at times between the sublime and the ridiculous. (Vote for your favourite wildcard)
For Liban Aden - the Somalian refugee who won hearts some weeks back with a native African folk song at his first audition - it was somewhat sadly the jester's slippers and cap that fitted.
Just days after it was revealed he will appear in court on October 7 to face serious assault charges relating to an incident at Geelong station last February, three judges of a different kind pronounced him guilty of lacking the necessary talent to impress them.
He had just stuttered through Donell Jones's Where I Wanna Be, serving up a performance peppered with forgotten lines, a loose grip on the English language, and a sour taste that left Australia cringing.
Mark Holden was blamed for the fiasco, and duly apologised. He had actively campaigned to bring Liban "back from the dead" in the words of fellow judge Ian Dickson, after the hopeful had failed to make the original semi-final cut.
One could only speculate as to what those semi-finalists not given a wild card were thinking as Liban laboured on stage.
Others to disappoint the panel included Elie Diache, whose resonant voice somewhat ambled through Bachelor Girl's Permission To Shine.
Axle Whitehead and Yolande Jackson, both of whom can undoubtedly hold a tune, also failed to conjure up enough pizzazz to put smiles on the judges' faces.
Stu Campbell, who had promised last week to show his versatility, cranked out a version of Whisper Your Name by Harry Connick Jr, yet still managed to sound like some sort of genetic experiment to match the vocal chords of Tom Jones and Jimmy Barnes.
One person that did manage to get the feet tapping under the judging bench was Sydney drag queen Courtney Act, who almost blew the stage apart with his vibrant performance of You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC.
Courtney's ability to remain on two feet while perched atop six-inch stilettos was a marvel of human physics and perhaps more impressive than his singing. A return for the finals is a real possibility.
It is too for Rebekah LaVauney, who changed her name to Bek for the evening so as not to be confused with Rebecca Tapia, who will have also left last night's show with high hopes after her energetic wiggle through Jennifer Lopez's Let's Get Loud.
The only problem was that during the chorus, Rebecca was so consumed with her hip movements that her singing proved a little less than loud.
Bek, though, has been a faultless performer throughout the Australian Idol process and if the public do not vote her through this week after another impeccable showing, be sure the judges will.
Cosima De Vito will give her a close run, though. She sang Delta Goodrem's Predictable with gusto, and left all three judges in raptures.
www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7269472%255E28477,00.html
By Toby Forage
September 15, 2003
WILD can only begin to describe proceedings at last night's closing Australian Idol semi-final, which offered 10 wild cards a second tilt at fame and fortune.
It was a jester's cap for Liban last night.
While some revelled in the opportunity, there were arguably more jokers than aces in this last chance pack, and it shuffled at times between the sublime and the ridiculous. (Vote for your favourite wildcard)
For Liban Aden - the Somalian refugee who won hearts some weeks back with a native African folk song at his first audition - it was somewhat sadly the jester's slippers and cap that fitted.
Just days after it was revealed he will appear in court on October 7 to face serious assault charges relating to an incident at Geelong station last February, three judges of a different kind pronounced him guilty of lacking the necessary talent to impress them.
He had just stuttered through Donell Jones's Where I Wanna Be, serving up a performance peppered with forgotten lines, a loose grip on the English language, and a sour taste that left Australia cringing.
Mark Holden was blamed for the fiasco, and duly apologised. He had actively campaigned to bring Liban "back from the dead" in the words of fellow judge Ian Dickson, after the hopeful had failed to make the original semi-final cut.
One could only speculate as to what those semi-finalists not given a wild card were thinking as Liban laboured on stage.
Others to disappoint the panel included Elie Diache, whose resonant voice somewhat ambled through Bachelor Girl's Permission To Shine.
Axle Whitehead and Yolande Jackson, both of whom can undoubtedly hold a tune, also failed to conjure up enough pizzazz to put smiles on the judges' faces.
Stu Campbell, who had promised last week to show his versatility, cranked out a version of Whisper Your Name by Harry Connick Jr, yet still managed to sound like some sort of genetic experiment to match the vocal chords of Tom Jones and Jimmy Barnes.
One person that did manage to get the feet tapping under the judging bench was Sydney drag queen Courtney Act, who almost blew the stage apart with his vibrant performance of You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC.
Courtney's ability to remain on two feet while perched atop six-inch stilettos was a marvel of human physics and perhaps more impressive than his singing. A return for the finals is a real possibility.
It is too for Rebekah LaVauney, who changed her name to Bek for the evening so as not to be confused with Rebecca Tapia, who will have also left last night's show with high hopes after her energetic wiggle through Jennifer Lopez's Let's Get Loud.
The only problem was that during the chorus, Rebecca was so consumed with her hip movements that her singing proved a little less than loud.
Bek, though, has been a faultless performer throughout the Australian Idol process and if the public do not vote her through this week after another impeccable showing, be sure the judges will.
Cosima De Vito will give her a close run, though. She sang Delta Goodrem's Predictable with gusto, and left all three judges in raptures.
www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7269472%255E28477,00.html