 Tamara and I watch American Idol, and far and away, the one to beat, despite Simon's assertions otherwise, is David Cook. It's not because David is the best vocalist - he's not. It's because he knows what he does best and he chooses songs that can be performed his way and he rarely does the song like the original. He niches himself very, very well. I'd eagerly listen to his music because it's unique and well done. He surprises me, and I look forward to the surprise he brings. In fact, if it wasn't for him, I'm not sure that I'd want to watch the show.
The "one to beat," as Simon puts it, is David Archuletta, who is an exceptional vocalist, but with the exception of his version of Imagine earlier in the season, I'd never run to the store to get anything he does. As they say about Enya, you can start anywhere with any song and it sounds exactly like the same song every time. There's no surprise. He delivers a few nice runs in any song that will sound pretty much like the original version, but nothing else. The person I want to do well is Carly. Tamara too... we both like her and want her to do well. The problem? She never makes it her own. She picks songs she can sing well - and sing well she can. But like Syesha and little David, it sounds like the original. Which is disappointing. She has more passion than all of the others combined, and that's what is carrying her through right now. Which says a lot about passion... Jason Castro? Initially, I didn't really like him, but as he gains confidence in knowing what it is that he does well and executes that - kind of a lighter version of David Cook's originality - he's growing on me. It's how he makes the songs his own that pulls him through. You don't have to be the best at what you do technically. But you do have to know what you do well and do it in a unique way - a way that makes it memorable. If it looks like everyone else, you're wallpaper. How can you be pleasantly surprising? Catchy? Infectious? How can you make people eagerly anticipate what you the niche of what you do? It starts with the willingness to take a risk. The safe way is doing things like everyone else did them successfully. Best practice, they call it. That's crap. It's just one way of doing it. I read something yesterday while preparing for a meeting. "What is an employee's purpose? Most would say, 'To help the company achieve its purpose.' But they would be wrong. That is certainly part of the employee's role, but an employee's primary purpose is to become the-best-version-of-himself or -herself." That's pretty provocative. In fact, it caught me by surprise. Think that over... because I think that statement is breathtakingly spot on. | 
