Last year I got hooked when Bo performed "Whipping Post" by The Allman Brothers, the biggest never-expected-to-hear-that-on-Idol moment to that date. Bo continued to be the most interesting twist on the show's formula but lost to sweet-innocent Country singer Carrie Underwood, a talented singer but the most bland choice "America" had crowned so far.
That kind of took the oomph out of my willingness to invest my rooting interest, and I didn't watch this year, although I did hear good things about Chris, the bald rocker.
The fact is I was set up for a fall last season because the previous season is unlikely to ever be topped. The winner, Fantasia Barrino, was Gospel-trained single mom who sang like a more rebellious Aretha Franklin and advised the following season's contestants to "Get out there and get uuuug-ly!" right after taking one of the pop-safe engineered Idol-written songs and climaxing it with the most beautifully ugly screams and howls ever heard on the show.
A couple weeks ago the Hollywood trades reported that her NY Times bestselling dictated autobiography, Life is Not a Fairy Tale, which covers the poverty, sexual humiliation and illiteracy in her life, will be made into a Lifetime cable network movie where she'll be playing herself. (Who else could?)
From her first audition Fantasia was the real deal, with real depths of emotion and real talent. Her rendition of George Gershwin's "Summertime" is legendary; she brought herself and everyone watching in the theater and at home to tears, a song she had never heard of before that rehearsal week, but which she said spoke directly to her.
Her win was a real triumph and while I never bought her first Idol Factory album, I'm hoping that sometime soon she breaks away like Kelly Clarkson did, but comes out with an album that is anything but teenybopper pop.
Fantasia has it in her; just you watch.
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