Katie’s Beer

American Idol contestant from Season 6, Matt Sato, is still using his beautiful voice to bless others. He was singing well before he made it to Hollywood week that season (one of the best versions of California Dreamin’, next to Dana Owens’ version in my memory) and he’s kept doing the same thing after.  I recently found these two homevideos submitted to YouTube, showcasing this young man’s beautiful voice.
Watch this video of an impromptu performance featuring Matt Sato and his fellow choir members at a restaurant called the Pizza Doctor in western Wisconsin.  The award-winning and very well known Northern Lights Show Choir from North St. Paul High School was competing at the Winter 2007 Show Choir Competition. For the 2007 season, the show choir had been to competitions around the upper midwest, and also at an international competition in London, England.  This performance (though normally accompanied by a combo, or instruments) is completely A cappella and features soloist Matt Sato, who received several “Best Soloist” awards from this song at various competitions.

Matt Sato performs a Billy Preston medley.  Performed at the La Crosse convention center in Wisconsin.Terry Boullianne and Matt Sato were the winners for Best Duet at show choir competitions in La Crosse, Wisconsin during the 2007 show choir competition season.  This was an auxiliary performance in addition to the competition procession. Winners were determined by performing in front of a judge. The main purpose of this was as a learning experience for those who sang to become improved singers.  The performance is based on a Billy Preston medley of “You’re so Unique” and “Nothing from Nothing”.

Tags: American Idol 6, matt sato by TK
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Words of wisdom from Chris Sligh to those aspiring to American Idol season 7:

So, auditions for season 7 of America’s favorite show have started up already. Crazy, right?! A year ago on July 28, I had my first audition in Birmingham, Alabama, singing “Sweet Home Alabama” 37 times (yes, the same song that later got me death threats…my stupid mouth). Anyway, it’s strange to think that someone’s Idol experience is starting before mine is even done…read his long post…I’d like to give you a list of songs not to do:

Anything by Aretha Franklin
Anything by Whitney Houston
Anything by Michael Bolton
Anything by BoyzIIMen
Anything by Mariah Carey
Anything by Celine Dion
Anything by any singer who sings better than you

Tags: Music, American Idol 6, American Idol 7, Chris Sligh by TK
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I absolutely am NOT a FANjaya. I can’t help it that there are two funny Sanjaya stories in one day! I must admit, though, that I admire his seeming maturity in the face of great ridicule and scrutiny. I never heard of the supposed trick Sanjaya played on America with the help of Will Farrell, but it is funny. Click on each photo below to read the story and follow up.

Tags: American Idol 6 by TK
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Sanjaya’s duet on the finale; who was Joe Perry REPLACING?

According to Page Six (of the New York Post):

May 30, 2007 — LEAVE it to Ozzy Osbourne to label a ridiculous pop sensation like Sanjaya Malakar “a hairstyle-challenged idiot.” An insider told Page Six Osbourne was confirmed to perform on last week’s finale of “American Idol,” but canceled at the last minute “when he learned he would have to do a duet with Sanjaya. Ozzie said he didn’t want to be onstage with that idiot.” Fox ended up pulling (Joe) Perry from Aerosmith to do the somewhat embarrassing duet with the artist with the gimmicky hair.

It’s good to know that Ozzy Osbourne can tell a good or bad hairstyle…

…when he sees one.

Tags: American Idol 6 by TK
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It’s official - American Idol has been hijacked! Did I write that last week? (Nope, I just checked) Distracted by Haley’s legs and Sanjaya’s hair, Americans are ditching the truly good and creative singers. At last Gina Glocksen is older and seems to know who she wants to be. Chris Sligh noted on his blog that he and his wife are friends with Gina and her husband and plan to vacation together. I’m not worried about Gina, but I think her departure is too early. This is where we are chant our new mantra, “It’s just a stupid reality show.”

Tags: American Idol 6 by TK
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As usual, M.J. gets it right in reviewing this week’s version of the reality show called American Idol.

…This is where I am supposed to yell at “America” for getting it wrong, but I don’t play it that way. As a long time IdolAmerican Idol is first and foremost a reality tee vee show that just-so-happens to feature some singing. Oh yeah, the singing! As much as the judges will wail on about how AI is a singing competition (they typically pull this card when they aren’t getting their way), well, we long time fans know better. watcher, I realized long ago that

I mean, I could whine that lesser singers like Haley and Sanjaya out lasted Chris–contestants who should not have even made the Top 24 let alone the Top 12 if we were to judge on purely singing ability. But it’s pointless. If AI were actually singing competition, it would run on the weekend, hardly anyone would watch it, and it would be called “Star Search.” And, I’d be off somewhere getting a life. Maybe…Read the rest at her blog.

Word is that M.J. got a life, all right. She’s traveling to hear the best live performer in recent times. In another life, I’d be here, after (of course) going here.

Tags: Music, Taylor Hicks, American Idol 6 by TK
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Chris Sligh has resumed blogging at From My Mind to Your Eyes and offers some clarification and insight into the show. He’s brutally honest and I am wondering if his post will remain up. Read it now!

In my interviews with the press today, I mentioned that I had thought about dropping out of the competition. I should clarify that the reason why I wanted to drop out was dealing with the emotions of seeing things that I thought were great universally smashed. Top 12 week, I received about 20 positive comments from band members, production staff, etc. dealing with my arrangement of “Endless Love”. Gina Glocksen cried the first time she heard my arrangement. A photographer on the set cried when she heard the arrangement of the song. I had every reason to think that the arrangement would go over well.

SIDE NOTE: For those of you who don’t realize it, when you see a 45 second pre-performance video package, usually the interview that makes those packages are 30-45 minutes of questions. So a lot gets edited out….read on...

Chris is a talented kid with God-given gifts. I intend to keep my eye on him. I purchased and downloaded his band’s CD and recommend it.  Listen to it here.
For the record, it is my opinion that American Idol’s announcement that their voting machine has been hijacked is a bit overdue. When rock and roll takes second place to shenanigans like Sanjaya and his mohawk, I’m outta there.

Tags: Music, American Idol 6 by TK
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Update: What a fantastic show! Both Peter and Lulu looked so good! And they still can sing well! I thought that they were among the best vocal coaches that AI has had so far.

Regarding the funny photo that needed an explanation, I emailed Mr. Peter Noone himself and he replied! Here’s his reply:
“It was at a school and it was a girl’s skirt from her uniform. She got expelled.”

Peter Noone wearing a skirt in concert. Why, I do not know…
Next week is British Invasion week on American Idol. It has the potential of being interesting. Peter Noone will be the guest coach. He mentions it on his blog.

Tags: American Idol 6 by TK
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Reason #5,234,789 why I left Evangelicalism
`Idol’ Contestant’s Faith Questioned

Mar 20, 2:43 PM (ET)

By MEG KINNARD

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - Chris Sligh, the “American Idol” contestant who has won fans thanks to his curly mop of hair and soulful voice, has a few people concerned with his departure from strictly Christian music.

But for most others in this city of 56,000 about 100 miles southwest of Charlotte, N.C., Sligh has become a hometown hero.

Jonathan Pait, a spokesman for fundamentalist Bob Jones University where Sligh attended for several years, said: “We really are somewhat disappointed with the direction he has gone musically.”

He nonetheless tunes in each week to monitor Sligh’s progress.

Local fans - some wearing fake glasses and curly wigs and calling themselves the “Fro Patro” - gather each week at restaurants and bars to cheer Sligh on. The local newspaper has been tracking his progress on its Web site.

Sligh, a 28-year-old son of missionaries who spent much of his childhood overseas, kept his spot among the 11 remaining finalists last week with a rendition of “Endless Love.” He’ll try to improve on that performance, deemed “unemotional” and “uninspiring” by judge Simon Cowell, this week. The show will announce results Wednesday evening.

People who know Sligh well say that he may be singing rock ‘n’ roll on television, but he’s always clear about the faith that motivates his music.

“He’s not going to back away from the fact that he’s a Christian,” said Chris Surratt, pastor of Seacoast Church, where Sligh has been music leader for more than two years. “He’s going to let that shine through in what he does.”

Hundreds of people gather each week to hear Sligh’s music at Seacoast, where his electric guitar and vocals have become an integral part of services, Surratt said. (TK says: This is NOT a good reason to go to a church.) 
Support for Sligh also is strong at North Greenville University, the small Baptist school he attended for several years after leaving Bob Jones in the late 1990s.
Cheryl Greene, the professor who helped Sligh hone his vocal talents, said just because Sligh may not be singing strictly Christian-themed songs shouldn’t reflect on the depth of his faith.

“It would be like me being in a jazz band,” Greene said. “You can be a Christian or non-Christian. It’s a style of music.”

But Greene said she still has worries over Sligh’s long-term spiritual journey.”Is he going to stand strong by his true Christian morals?” Greene said. “Christianity is a lifestyle  (TK says: Christianity is NOT a lifestyle.  Christianity is faith in Jesus Christ as savior of the world (a world of people stuck in their sins, separated from God and unable to save themselves) through His death on the cross.  Following God-given faith in Christ, a genuine change in lifestyle usually can be seen by others, but is NEVER a guarantee that a person possesses saving faith.  ) … and there are things in your life that you do need to stand for.” (TK says: Or what?  A Christian must stand for certain things or what?  It sounds like she is saying that a Christian’s true faith is judged by certain behaviors and actions.  Of course, on one hand she has a point.  A Christian probably doesn’t kill people without cause, steal repeatedly from others, etc.  But taken in the context of this article and of her full comments it seems to me she is saying that Christians act a certain way and that way determines whether or not they have faith in God.)
John Jeter, the owner of a Greenville nightclub where Sligh has performed with his band, said Sligh’s wholesome attitude and his faith come through in his music.

“It speaks well to the fact that it’s not all blood, guts and trash,” said Jeter. “Music doesn’t have to be filthy. You can have a good time in a good environment, and Chris is proof of that.”

Tags: Religion, American Idol 6 by TK
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I’ve been hearing about Chris Sligh for a while now, as I surf through various American Idol sites. Finally got to hear his voice last night and I was pleased. He sang one of my all time favorite love songs, “A Kiss from a Rose” by Seal. I later learned that Chris had an interesting road to finally making it on American Idol. Chris Sligh has auditioned several times before, but timing and image got in his way. I found his blog and read it with great interest…

Chris Sligh on the American Idol image:

“As a singer, I am not what one thinks of as a great singer. I have a good voice and I have even better tone; but my voice is not overly-different, nor is it overly-elastic…I just sing and hit every pitch I come on in key and can stay on note. As a solo artist and now with my band, I get comments constantly on how refreshing it is to hear someone who can actually sing. I mean, I’ve won national awards for both singing and songwriting, so why the freak am I not a major label artist? I have come to realize the answer is….IMAGE!!!

Chris Sligh on his many attempts to make American Idol:

Orlando, 2004:

2 years ago, I drove all night down to Orlando, where I tried out for American Idol the first time. I got in line, waited, then found out I had to wait for another line the next day. SUCK!!! I got no sleep one night and then got 4 hours the next night and chose an N*Sync song…bad idea. I sucked pretty bad. But I did learn a little about the show…namely get sleep before trying to sing. Also, I learned that the show is NOT looking for the best singers…

Chicago, 2005:

Last year, my wife and I decided to make AI a vacation. We drove up a couple of days before hand to Chicago, got a hotel, relaxed, hung out with some friends up there and showed up when I had to show up and that was it. I still didn’t get a ton of sleep, but hey I was okay. The problem this year was that the weather had said it would be sunny and 85 degrees. It ended up being rainy and 70 degrees, and we were in Soldier Field the windiest venue possible and it was freaking freezing. By the time I sang, I felt like an icycle, plus I started my song too high and cracked on the highest note. SUCK!!! I drove home defeated once again.

Memphis, 2006:

Nigel looked at me, looked down and then went into it: “Well, Chris, you don’t have a bad voice at all…in fact, you might have one of the best voices I’ve heard today…but your performace just…isn’t there. You have to get out of yourself and use your space. It just wasn’t good enough.” If he hadn’t been right, I would have argued, but he was actually right. So I walked out defeated.

Birmingham, 2006:

As I walked in, Nigel looked at me and said, “Haven’t we seen you before? You’re going to fall down and your glasses and wig fall off?”

“Um, no, my hair’s real,” I said, pulling on it to demonstrate its veracity. “I did sing for you in Memphis though, and I had a question about that. I sang ‘Kiss from a Rose’ before and I’d really like to sing it again.” “I didn’t put you through with that song did I?”, said Nigel.

“Well, actually you acted like you liked that song, but I sucked up the Elvis song pretty bad. Remember, I had my words written on my hand and you had me hold my hand up to the camera?” He smiled and leaned back with a contented look on his face, “Ah, yes, now I remember. I guess you can sing the song again, but it’d better be good.”

I gathered myself and started singing and got through the first verse and chorus. I started the song very low and it definitely hampered my ability to wail on some of the higher notes, but I just tried to hit every note well. It seemed like he enjoyed but he asked for a 2nd song. I chose “Trouble” again and I nailed it. I mean really. By the 2nd line of the chorus, I saw it in his face that I was going through to the next round. I finished and he waved his hand. “Well, that was nice wasn’t it…get your ticket.”

I think Chris is one to watch!

On a less serious note, I think Chris (or one of his friends) will be good at self-promotion.  He has already announced that he wants his fans to call themselves “Fro Patrol” (showing more of a sense of humor than seriousness) and someone named Wacky Wade has already created a “Chris is my Idol” t-shirt.  I didn’t check to see how many had sold.  Heck, I haven’t even bought a Taylor Hicks t-shirt yet and I’m the biggest fan I know of.  I did, however, spend $60 bucks on a U.S. Pond Hockey sweatshirt for my son two weekends ago.  I do have my priorities in order!

Tags: American Idol 6 by TK
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