American Idol--Season 4 heats up

The nine finalists of American Idol 4

With just seven more weeks to go,American Idol's4th season is heating up. As the nine finalists duke it out to win the audiences' hearts, America is getting ready to hail its new idol.

The show that originated in U.K as Pop Idol became not only an instant hit in 2002, but one of the most watched shows in American television history. Last year, over 340 million viewers voted throughout the contest to select their American Idol, Fantasia Barrino. This year, over 100,000 optimistic singers auditioned in seven cities in the US.

The three judges of the show Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson are all renowned in their fields. Simon Cowell, infamous for reducing a line of wannabe singers to tears with his brutally honest remarks, is one of the creators of the show. Surprisingly enough, the contestants say that Simon is their favourite judge. Who doesn't know Paula Abdul, the vivacious, beautiful pop-star who is rightfully America's sweetheart? The third judge Randy Jackson is an eminent music producer who has worked with big names like Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and such. Lastly, we cannot forget the host of the show, Ryan Seacrest, who has become a household name now, all thanks to the huge success of the show.

The theme of this week's episode was classic show tunes and 28-year-old Scott Savol from Ohio commenced the show with a rendition of The Impossible. Randy remarked that Scott had problems with the pitch. Paula said that the performance was heartfelt, while Simon in his jaded style said that it was more of a 'tap than a bang'.

Vonzell Solomon, 21, from Florida performed a very charged People, made famous by none other than Barbra Streisand. An exhilarated Randy said "You just keep getting better every week." Paula praised Vonzell saying "Even Barbra never tries to hit the high note that you successfully executed." Simon said "The performance was very clinical, cold and mechanical."

The youngest finalist of all, 19- year- old Anthony Fedorov from Pennsylvania, sang Climb Every Mountain. A disappointed Randy remarked "Not good, flat all around", Paula as usual didn't have anything negative to say and commented "It was different, sounds like a pop song" and Simon bluntly disapproved of the performance, saying "Hideous, everything about the song was horrible."

22- year- old Nikko Smith from Missouri rendered One Hand, One Heart and somehow managed to give it a flair of R&B. Randy said, "You keep it contemporary." Paula remarked, "You are a true R&B singer", while an eternally bored Simon said, "The first part of the song was boring."

The last performer, 28- year-old Nadia Turner from Florida, sang As Long As He Needs Me. One could see the reflections of a certain Miss Ross in Nadia's performance. This diva in the making, managed to charm both the judges and the audience present at the set.

So, can this year's American Idol present an artiste that can match the superlative skills of last year's Idol, Fantasia Barrino? You'll have to watch the show on Star World, every Wednesday and Thursday at 8:30 pm to get that answer.