Memphis gets 'Idol' close-up
Nikki Boertman/The Commercial Appeal
By Michael Lollar
Contact
January 24, 2007
The home of the blues and the birthplace of rock and roll became a kinder, gentler version of "American Idol" Tuesday.
There were fewer of the caustic comments about the appearance of contestants and more focus on the singing talent -- or lack of it -- among "Idol" hopefuls.
The hourlong show, shorter than the two-hour "Idol" episodes from Minneapolis and Seattle, also turned into a major publicity coup for Memphis.
From the riverfront to Beale Street to Graceland, aerial and close-up shots of the city helped introduce each segment, including one in which host Ryan Seacrest declared Beale Street "home of the finest restaurants in the South."
Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau president Kevin Kane said that was "a little bit of a stretch, but we'll take it."
He called the show "a billboard for Memphis."
"We couldn't have bought that type of exposure," he said, estimating the positive references to the city made up more than two full minutes of air time and would "have cost absolutely north of a million dollars."
Memphis singers were not among the winners Tuesday, although Danielle McCulloch of Collierville graduated to Hollywood for her version of Aretha Franklin's "Baby, I Love You."
The most enthusiastic reaction was to Brentwood, Tenn., sessions singer Melinda Doolittle, 28, who sang Stevie Wonder's "For Once in My Life."
"It was brilliant. You are what it's all about," said judge Simon Cowell. Judge Randy Jackson said Doolittle had "one of the best auditions" in the show's history.
Others who made it to Hollywood included Sean Michel, 27, of Bryant, Ark., who wore a long beard and long hair, describing his look as a cross between Fidel Castro and Osama bin Laden. He sang Johnny Cash's "God's Going to Cut You Down."
Sundance Head, 27, son of singer Roy Head, of Porter, Texas, also got the go-ahead to Hollywood with Cowell telling him, "I'd be amazed if you don't make the finals." Head sang a blues song, and Jackson told him he had come to Memphis, "home of the blues, and blew the roof off."
It wasn't all so gentle. Contestant Christopher McCain of Kennesaw, Ga., was told by Cowell that his performance of "Footloose" sounded "like a wedding where someone gets drunk and gets on stage -- then falls off the stage."
At a viewing party held by MPACT Memphis at Newby's, MPACT's executive director Chris Allen said the city was "really clean, really sharp." He added: "The great thing is they really didn't make fun of the city. Not that I'm a PR machine, but that was really nice."
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