Jacob Lusk Bites the Dust

I do not mean to be cruel but I did feel it was time for Jacob to go home this week off American Idol. When I compared his style to the other contestants that were still standing, I found that I did not like Jacob as much as I liked the other four.

When Idol first auditioned Jacob, I liked him. He was this big guy filled with exuberance and joy. When he came out of his audition, he was jumping up and down and I thought he might explode. It was as if he had such intense feelings he had to let them out or they would make him burst.

At Jimmy Iovine's urging, Jacob performed Love Hurts by Nazareth, reports USA today prior to Wednesday's show. Then following the show, in some underground news, it was rumored that Jacob felt pressured by Iovine to perform that song vs. the song Crazy, which was Jacob's first choice. At the same time, there were underground grumblings from Haley about the fact that she also felt pressure to go with an Iovine chosen song.

In the end, the Idols do have the final choice but clearly producers can make it easy or they can make it tough. I really think it is up to how the singer manages the entire situation. How they come up with their vision, how they sell it, how they design it, how they perform it. However to be fair, some of the package clips definitely can slant the viewer's opinions. For example, in Jacob's clip, the Idols all called him a Diva and even Jacob used the term. There may have been other comments but that is what we saw.

When Jacob first came on the Idol stage, he seemed full of energy and joy. I liked his first few song choices but as the weeks progressed, and we got a chance to see him rehearse and then come on stage and wow us, I felt that the wow factor waned every week. In the beginning, his voice filled the stage with passion and conviction. As he progressed, his clothes got tighter, his ego got bigger, his whining louder and it seemed that he was projecting his failure outward towards others, rather than taking what he was learning and using it to make him stronger.

Haley on the other hand, has grown. She came on the show and she was showing more cleavage than Charlie's Angles. She was singing lust songs. It was not clear whether she had talent or she was just trying to use her good looks to open doors. Week after week, she has gotten better. Her clothing is more appropriate and her song choice with the exception of the Gaga tune has been good. She is coming into her own.

Jacob seemed to come out on American Idol but in a different way. There is no doubt in my mind that he is talented and is a reckonable force. The judges compared him to Luther Van Dross, and I do think it is possible for him to fill a niche like that, but he needs to step back and take a breather. Is it opera, gospel, soul or something else that makes Jacob what he is as an entertainer? I am not sure he even knows at this point, so how could we? That lack of clarity around who he is as a performer, and song choice, in my opinion, is what cast him off the American Idol stage.

Another opinion that I would like to express right here is that Jacob should be careful about sharing his opinion's with the public. Pia Tuscano had a record deal the night she was voted off the show. Paul McDonald also had a contract. I imagine Casey Abrams also has something in the works.

Those last few minutes on Idol when you are voted off the show and the next few days, what you say when you come off the show, can make or break you because even then it is still the entire package. Producers and agents don't want to get hooked up with someone who has baggage or is not grateful for the opportunity to advance his career. After all it is the whole package they are after, someone they can work with, someone they can mold, and teach, train and coach. If a singer is not receptive or is a difficult Diva, that is reason enough to write them off. There is a fine line between collaboration and artistic license.

Source:
Fox Television, American Idol Series
Author's opinion