It’s down to the wire on Australian Idol. Either Anthony Callea or Casey Donovan will walk away with the title after Courntey Murphy was eliminated last night.
Not that I care too much for any of them (*See Disclosure Statement below!). Neither of them are very exciting, very different or anything other than pretty good singers. Their styles are no different to the countless singers and bands that clog the commercial radio stations and CD stands. That’s probably why they’ll be successful… for a fleeting moment in time anyway. Neither of them have shown any signs of enduring star quality.
I was thinking about it today, making the inevitable comparison between Idol finalists 2004 and the 2003 pair of Guy Sebastian and Shannon Noll. The difference is easy to spot; Sebastian and Noll had (have) great stories, fascinating stories to tell; Callea and Murphy don’t.
Sebastian was the shy, unasuming church going, Sunday School teaching boy from Adelaide who was still a virgin. Noll had an amazing tale to tell about how he was signing to make a living because is farm was drought-affected and his family struggled to make ends meet after the death of his father in a farming accident.
These stories helped to flesh out their personas beyond being good singers in TV contest. They are interesting, compelling people. Their stories helped to establish- dare I say it- their brand. Which is just as important to being a good singer as singing is.
Ever seen the Steven Spielberg movie Armistad? It’s about a mutiny on an American slave ship with Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins. Anyway, during one seen Hopkins (playing former US President John Adams) says to Freeman (as Theodore Joadson, a black abolitionist lawyer):
“Early in my career, I learned that he who has the best story wins. What’s your story?”
It’s a great quote. I have heard many people refer to it (even Tom!).
But based on that, the Australian Idol final could be a nil-all draw.
(* Disclosure Statement: I don’t watch Australian Idol. But you’d need to be on another planet not to know what is going on!)
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