MOST 'IDOLS' SHINE IN SUNRISE SHOW
Forget that whole men-are-from-Mars, women-are-from-Venus thing. And toss out
those ancient rivalries that split sports fans into two camps: Gators vs.
Seminoles, Mets vs. Yankees.
When you get right down to it, there are only two kinds of people in this
world.
Kelly people. And Justin people.
And both had reason to cheer Thursday night at the Office Depot Center.
The occasion was the South Florida arrival of the American Idol tour, the
concert version of the hit TV show that pitted 10 young singers against each
other. At stake during the summer program: lots of money and a small slice of
fame.
Of course, concertgoers already knew the winner: Kelly Clarkson, the plucky
Texan who seemed determined to prove that soul didn't stop with Aretha Franklin.
And they knew the runner-up: Justin Guarini, the Pennysylvania kid with the
attitude - and the hair that took over the planet. Both were selected by
viewers, who called in their votes each week.
But for fans of the show, who filled the Sunrise arena to near capacity and
snatched up $30 American Idol
T-shirts like they were discount-rack deals, Thursday's concert was a chance to
relive the battle. And they were plenty vocal about their particular idols.
Bev Hopwood, 15, of Coral Springs was a member of the Justin camp. "He
has the best voice, he has the best stage presence," she said. When asked
if she voted for him during the series' run, she replied, "Yeah, like 600
times."
On the other hand, Amanda Goss, 14, of Weston was in the Kelly fan club.
"She sounds like Mariah Carey," she said. "She knows how to -
what's that word? - belt."
Even the youngest followers of the show had pretty strong opinions. Ryann
Jennifer Werner, a Miami 9-year-old, wasn't a Kelly supporter, but she still had
some choice things to say about Justin. "I think he has spaghetti
hair," she declared.
For the record, the tensions didn't spread over to the stage. The two-hour
concert presented the 10 singers as one big happy family, letting them introduce
each other with breathless enthusiasm as they took solo turns. Most also made
note that Broward County is the hometown of Christina Christian, an Idol hopeful
who lasted about halfway through the competition.
And when she arrived on stage, the slinky Christian positively beamed. "I
am so happy to be home," she said.
But it was still Clarkson and Guarini who garnered the most applause, perhaps
deservedly so. Clarkson's covers of two Aretha Franklin standards, Respect
and A Natural Woman, found her in explosive voice. Guarini, however, proved
himself to be more the energetic performer, racing up and down the stage's
staircase like he was powered by a motor.
But not all was necessarily well with the members of the group, who also
performed several numbers together, including a Motown medley. Some of the
lesser-known singers showed why they didn't make the cut into the final rounds.
When Jim Verraros sang Lionel Richie's Easy, he made the song sound anything
but. And Nikki McKibbon, who established herself as the most rock-oriented of
the bunch, didn't exactly erase the memory of Janis Joplin in her version of
Piece of My Heart.
Such performances left a few concertgoers wondering if the magic of American
Idol stops with the TV show.
"They were really up for the contest," said Pam Altman, a Cooper City
mother accompanying her 9-year-old daughter. "Now, they're just taking it
easy."