The capacity crowd of 6,000 or so who gathered for the scheduled last stop for the "American Idols" tour roared from the beloved 9 Jessica, Anwar, Constantine, Nikko, Scott, Nadia, Anthony, Vonzell & season 4 winner Carrie. All of the finalists showed why they made it to the finals of this year's version of the wildly popular Fox TV show. And the fans, little kids to old folks & just about every age in between, displayed the affection that comes from investing a whole season of TV watching in the singers. They loved the solo songs, the duets & the big group finale.
Then there was an added treat. Long haired rock singer Bice, the runner up to blonde country diva Underwood, had been missing from the tour for almost 3 weeks. He left to have intestinal surgery & was expected to miss the rest of the tour. However, when the Idol crew announced tonight's special benefit show, with every penny proceeds going to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, the crew said Bice would return on Sunday.
But in the worst-kept secret of the night - Savol & Turner both told the crowd that their missing friend was in the house - Bice walked slowly from the wings with the help of a cane. He quickly tossed the cane, kicked off his flip-flops & delivered a dynamic performance of the rock song "Vehicle," the 1970 hit by the Ides of March. Bice oozed every bit of the rock star charisma that made loads of folks scream he was robbed when Underwood beat him to earn the Idol title.
Underwood followed Bice with glitter sparkling around her eyes & the country voice for stardom, belting out Martina McBride's "Independence Day." Who knows how long their fame will last, but every finalist was on his or her game.
Maroulis & Turner showed power & personality to make it big with "Bohemian Rhapsody" & "Try a Little Tenderness," Savol, Robinson & Fedorov stood out with ballads, Smith soared with R&B, Sierra rocked out & Solomon hit the roof with vocal power.
But Bice got the biggest cheer. And he made friends too, pitching the importance of tonight's benefit. He invited anybody to go down south with him Sept 22 & 23, when he's going to "stick my hands in the mud" to help. Fans may see him up close before that. "I bought 100 tickets myself for Sunday's concert & I'm going to find a place to give them out here in Syracuse," Bice said. Mark B
back