American Idol, Eddie Kendricks, Usher, and Ellen D.

I admit that I am now a fan of American Idol and have been watching for most of this season. I used to only watch some of the preliminary auditions simply because it was amazing that people were so deluded as to believe that they have talent when in fact many have less than the average shower singer. It was hilarious in a sad, somewhat voyeuristic way to watch these folks make complete fools of themselves. This year I started watching the real competition and have found some of the performers quite good and well worth watching and rooting for. I am not sure who will be the winner this season but there are probably three or four contestants that have a pretty good shot. All of them that are still left on stage have at least enough talent to make a decent living in the music industry. This show has actually been instrumental (no pun) in changing the lives of quite a number of people.





One of the celebrity guests was the performer Usher and I was totally blown away by his performance of "OMG." He obviously has been influenced greatly by Michael Jackson and his performance is every bit as good as a Jackson show minus the ridiculous freakishness. Usher's silky smooth singing voice reminds me of soul singer Eddie Kendricks (RIP) and the backup dancers and musicians are spot on. I wish when I was younger I would have learned some moves like I saw the two male dancers make on the stage. I would have parleyed those cool moves into some nookie at the clubs. I shit you not. Incidentally the dancer on the right (Usher's left) looks a lot like a guy named James Greer I used to work with in a small industrial coatings plant. Didn't know James had so much talent. That was a good job as I remember but it was dangerous and I got tired of my wife hounding me about the dangers and the relatively low pay. I quit and went to work with a freight broker for quite a bit of money but was miserable. The boss was obviously a homosexual and that is not a big deal but he apparently could or would not admit this fact to himself. His issues caused a good deal of problems in office. But I digress. This is another story for another time perhaps (but probably not).

I DVR'd the Ellen D show the next day and watched Usher perform the same number with almost the same dance routine. It too was exceptional.

At any rate I purchased the new CD by Usher and am enjoying it. That says quite a lot as I am a fan of real rock (the harder the better) and generally discount pop music. Music is good for the soul I believe.