Smooth 'Idol' easily revs up show's fans

Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

The American Idol tour hit Denver on Tuesday night, treating a crowd at the Pepsi Center to two- plus hours of flawless, ingenious marketing.

That's not an insult; the wildly popular TV talent contest has brilliantly fused music and commerce in a way that makes the rest of the record industry kick itself for not thinking of it first. Detractors like to make fun of the show as all that's wrong with the music business, but it's one of the few things in the industry that's going right.

From the State Farm commercials for all the moms and dads in the crowd to the tour sponsorship by Pop Tarts (particularly brilliant, that one), American Idol is building a live brand to rival its stranglehold on television ratings (although those numbers don't translate live; the Pepsi Center wasn't sold out).

All the marketing in the world is useless without the goods to back it up, and AI delivers that. Despite its notion of choosing from a pool of amateurs, the top 10 winners onstage all had extensive performing experience long before hooking up with the show. The result was a polished, professional show from 10 people who genuinely can sing.

That's only half the story; the drama and the struggle is the other half. These people were unknown a year ago, and now the crowd is on a first-name basis with Bucky, Taylor, Mandisa, et al.

It didn't hurt that it was Boulder native Ace Young's homecoming performance. His performance was emotional and nuanced, feeding off the crowd's obvious delight in seeing one of their own get a shot at the big time.

Even the most jaded music fan has to admit it's an amazing phenomenon that can get 12-year-olds singing along to Midnight Train to Georgia. Tuesday night's show was a musical history lesson from Stevie Wonder to Melissa Etheridge to Led Zeppelin to Elvis Presley (let's not talk about the unfortunate detours into Styx and Bon Jovi territory).

It wasn't all about singing; Chris Daughtry and Taylor Hicks played respectable guitar, and Lisa Tucker's Elton John miniset featured her pristine piano work.

But it was the voices that brought the crowd to its feet, from Katherine McPhee's overwrought Over the Rainbow to Hicks' Jailhouse Rock. Seamlessly skipping through solo songs and a handful of duets, the 10 singers, with genuine enthusiasm that left them gasping for breath at times, kept the show moving (except for the obligatory merchandise- shifting intermission).

At family-friendly prices and starting times, this is a franchise that the creators need to be wise enough to leave alone.

American Idol Live

• When, where: Tuesday night, Pepsi Center

• Grade: B

Mark Brown is the popular music critic. Brownm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2674