Lazaro Arbos - Close to You - American Idol 12... by IdolxMuzic
"That is horrible", "It's not the right song for you", and "He can't sing" are few common responses to this embarrassing performance. Randy Jackson pointed out that this type of performance typically occurred during audition round. While we can blame the judges and the whole show for letting the contestant to advance to later rounds, here are possible issues surrounding this particular performance:
- The Wrong Key: In order to choose the right key, singers need to understand the concept of key signature. A key signature refers to pattern of flats or sharps of a musical scale. Determining at which points are sharp or flats requires trial and error. Getting to the right notes and suitable transitions would still need further fine tuning. Lazaro indicated that he had gone through different keys that were too high and too low for the song, but he still struggled.
- Lack of Mastery: It would be easier to assume that the song was not right for him. Whether or not a better one should be chosen, it all comes down to preparation. Besides choosing the right key, other considerations that come into play involve choosing a sweet spot of vocal range, understanding song lyrics, and recognizing singer's vocal potential. After going through all of these, it is not unusual for a contestant to decide on another song at the last minutes. Proceeding with a song, Mariah Carey mentioned that a singer needs to own the song, to express it, and to have greater comfort in performing it.
- Misguided Messages: Each American Idol contestant has his/her opportunity to rehearse a chosen song with musical instruments accompaniment. During this time, a sample of audience that usually involves producers, vocal coaches, and stage managers, could offer feedback and provide constructive criticism on various aspects like song choice, pitch issue, and singer's movement. While any criticism or feedback should ideally lead to an optimum live performance, some contestants might have been misguided by mixed messages. Mixed messages have often occurred with the judges when one tells a contestant to focus on playing the piano while another encourages on dominating the stage, for example. This might have confused Lazaro as he tried to improve his vocal chops with his performance.
- Singer's Issues: A confident and proficient singer would not be swayed by judges' or producers' lack of clear directions. While it was revealed that Lazaro never had any musical training and vocal coaching prior to his audition, lots of better singers that went further in the competition did not get prior experience either. It was also discovered that he was not familiar with many well known songs from the past, which could make it more difficult. This means that Lazaro really needs more time to understand a song and extensive vocal coaching to improve his singing proficiency, which may not be available each week. Based on all factors mentioned so far, it was safe to assume that Lazaro Arbos was not ready for prime time.
- Manipulated Reality: The judges were not fooled by his voice in the audition round and Lazaro's talent seemed promising. He was shown to be stuttering when he talked, but could sing gracefully without any stuttering. Taking advantage on his speech struggle, the producers dramatized his story so the contestant's courage could touch many viewers, gain support from similar handicapped community, and possibly improve television ratings. Working with the judges, the producers might also have set up a strategy of favoring mediocre male contestants in order to boost female contestants' chances of winning the 2013 American Idol. Whether or not it was a real strategy, the show was left with five female singers when Lazaro Arbos, the last man standing, was eliminated from the singing competition.
The difficulty of choosing a key or flowing along with key changes was not the only issue. When the judges and the producers committed him to go further in the competition, Lazaro Arbos either did not get adequate support or the expectations were too high for him. Still, he managed to get votes or support from community that shared the same struggle, or from tweenies that focused on his cuteness or from Cuban community that would like to see him longer in the competition. It was unfortunate that he left the competition with the worst performance or one of the worst performances. Hopefully, Lazaro would seek further vocal coaching and other support to continue singing gracefully.
