American Idol Finally Has Some Value

You probably have your favorite singers who have run the gauntlet that is American Idol, and most of them might have made it pretty far.  Some of them have albums, and some of them turn up in other places.  My favorite person who was ever involved with American Idol never really made it to the show.

Josiah Leming was on the most recent season, and he even made it to Hollywood.  His first shot was great, and his second effort caused Simon to say that it was the audition he was going to remember.  The judges didn't like his third and final effort, and before you knew what happened, he was off the show.

Stephanie Lysaght of the L.A. Times reports that according to Josiah the problem had more to do with producers not liking him than his efforts on stage.

According to that story, Josiah went home and pretty much figured that was the end of things.  He didn't expect the show would feature him at all.

Apparently, the producers who didn't like him didn't mind milking his difficult and emotional time on the show.  Lucky for him.

Before long, he had calls from everywhere.  He managed to meet up with an agent while in L.A. appearing on Ellen, and the next thing you know he had a deal with Warner Bros.

His EP is available now at iTunes (and I suppose at record stores or something for those that do that sort of thing), and I believe it came out yesterday, and his album is due out in January.  See clips and other links below.

I'm not really a fan of American Idol, but I can't pretend I don't watch it.  I have to sit through a lot of people I never want to hear again in order to get to some interesting performances, but ultimately I find it's worth listening to a few people big industry is trying to milk if once in a while I get to hear Blake Lewis do Bon Jovi.  (Sorry Blake, I don't love your album)

So, I watch it, and it's a bit of fun, but let's face it... the show is ridiculous.  Yeah, some talent has come out of the show, and (the only thing worth anything for my money) some of them might never have been discovered otherwise.  Still, a "season" ought to have three more weeks of watching idiots try out, and ten less weeks of pretending one of the people left has a shot in hell of winning.  But, we have to milk that bad boy, because we can't hardly have people showing up to the tour not knowing who the other seven people are.

So, yes, I admit some of the singers to come through it all are pretty good.  But, I'll tell you this --- excluding only Blake Lewis and David Cook (both I hold out future hopes for), all of them put together aren't worth one Josiah Leming.  Here's the thing really, no matter how much Simon wants to repeat, "This is a singing competition," the ability to sing is overrated... at least given the definition American Idol supports.  Jessica Simpson can sing pretty well actually, I'm not too cool to admit that, but she can't tie her shoes, and I don't ever want to actually listen to her sing.  On the other hand, I can sing better than Tom Waits and Warren Zevon, and arguably even Brad Roberts (Crash Test Dummies), and I suck, but I'd listen to them all day.

Having a pretty voice, and even knowing how to use it, doesn't make you a singer.  Make no mistake though, Josiah has a great voice.  Is it really pretty and all Danny Noriega (sorry... I just swore I'd use his name for no real reason)...?  No, it isn't.  It is, however, the "best," and most interesting voice to ever come out of that show.

I was pretty upset at the beginning of last season, and the whole rest of the season was pretty pointless for me.  Until about the last four weeks when Cook actually got interesting.  See, I watch the show, but I'm acidly cynical about the whole stupid thing.  (I like Simon though, in much the same way that I like Gordon Ramsay.)

So, it's the start of the season, and here comes Josiah.  His voice was soulful, he had a bit of character going on, like maybe he had some depth somewhere, his auditions were awesome, and he knew MIKA.  Damn, thinks I, something might happen this season.

Well, it finally works out after all... it just wasn't part of the show.  Check out a whole bunch of stuff below, and give him a listen.

Josiah doing MIKA during American Idol auditions---

Josiah on Ellen ---

A seemingly impromptu performance of Angels Undercover from his new EP brought to you by MTV apparently.  **Minor Update**  You can get to several of his videos from the player below.

Josiah's MySpace page, where you can listen to some of the songs from his EP through MySpace Music.

The images associated with this article are taken from Josiah's MySpace page.

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About Marc Eastman

Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.

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