The San Francisco auditions … blather, blather … a slew of good singers … yadda, yadda, yadda …the usual mix of motorheads and jokesters.
All right. Enough already. We get it. We know. We saw, we heard, we were there. Let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this American Idol episode and cut through all the chaff, ‘kay?
James Durbin. Helluva singer.
He also happens to be a Tourette’s suffer. And has Asperger’s. Plus he’s a put-upon father. Lost his own father when he was a kid, too. (The trappings of a rock and roll lifestyle led to his father overdosing on drugs.) On the surface, it appears just another sob-story tale for the Idol Powers That Be to feast upon.
But that’s not the worst part of it. All that’s come before just might be behind him. You see, the real nitty gritty is this:
James Durbin is going to have to suffer the stigma of being compared to Adam “Screaming Mimi” Lambert for as long as he hangs around on this season of Idol. And folks? That appears to be a very, very long time indeed.
Can you imagine having come into your own, with all the adversity this dude’s been put through, only to possibly wind up being compared day in and day out to Adam Lambert during the rest of the season? Almost makes Tourette’s and Asperger’s seem like a cake walk.
In my opinion, this guy is his own person. He’s got his own style. He’s got his own voice, one that’s not only powerful but, in many ways, incomparable with Lambert’s. And with nary a falsetto. What we heard during his audition was a tool filled with strength and conviction, not wailing ala The Screaming Mimi.
I’ll be watching James Durbin with interest. He’ll get pretty far in the scheme of things on Idol.
But if this seemingly spiffy contestant gets snuffed out of the running, it just might be from the weight of the inevitable comparisons to Lambert.
Mark my words.
Clacked by Michael Noble 
on Feb 10, 2011 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
I’ve watched all of 20 minutes thus far this season.
In short…I LIKE this kid. I am really hoping the little bubble gum generation stop this nonsense of voting for the “cute” one…this kid has talent.
Way to go! I’m no Idol fan, but I might watch this guy, and you’re exactly on point, everyone is an individual and he’ll stand on his own two feet.
Do we know who this kids father was? I know it showed some film clips and I thought I noticed a Led Zepplin sign in one of the clips….Was his dad from one of the bands from the day? Just curious.
I do not see Adam Lambert here, I like this guy and I never liked Adam….just saying
I really liked this guy a lot! He and the young man from Kent, which is in my neck o’da woods were the 2 that really stood out for me. Oh and the young lady with the interesting voice…I think we’ll see plenty of them during hollywood week!
I think with a little coaching, he can beat the comparison and come into his own. I liked his story and the only ‘Adam-like’ quality I saw was a little screaming towards the end of the first song. Nice voice though. I think he will have his work cut out for him. I hope he has the focus, the drive and the determination he’s going to need. Hollywood week is hard on anyone, I can only imagine what it will be like for someone who faces the challenges that he does. Not that I don’t think he can manage it. I’m rooting for this guy all the way.