Carey was a guest mentor on "American Idol" in 2008, and she did an excellent job. I see I wrote: "Kudos to Mariah for doing the show the Barry Manilow way." The link goes to a post of mine that criticizes Dolly Parton for not guest-mentoring the Barry Manilow way. Here's the really old post, from 2006, praising Barry Manilow:
I just want to say how much I like Barry Manilow. Not his music, which isn't to my taste, but him as a person. Unlike Stevie Wonder and various other guests, he did not do the show to get the kids to sing his songs, and he took his role as a music teacher seriously. He really analyzed each performance and came up with concrete help and never seemed to be at all about self-promotion. I know you could say that this nice-guy thing is just his gimmick, but if it is, it works well, and maybe more people ought to try it.I don't know who the third judge is going to be in the new "American Idol," but I'd be perfectly happy to have Barry Manilow.
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... but I'd be perfectly happy to have Barry Manilow.
Whatabout the wardrobe.
This show is so past its prime.
Manilow is a great, great master. If he had never had a single hit as a vocalist, he would still be a legend as a jingle writer.
"Like a good neighbor, State Farm is There,"
"I'm a Pepper, he's a Pepper, she's a Pepper, wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too. ...Be a Pepper, drink Dr. Pepper..."
He is the Mozart of commercial jingles... and you could have built a hit song around any of his themes when they came out.
He was an outstanding session pianist and accompanist before anyone knew him as a ballad singer. A total pro. Anyone ought to jump at a chance to get some coaching from Barry Manilow.
Ah, I almost forgot. Remember "I'm stuck on Band-Aids, 'cause Band-Aids stick on me?"
That was Manilow.
A damned fine producer, orchestrator, and touring musical director in his day, as well.
Actually, Manilow didn't write the Dr. Pepper jingle; he just sang it. (He also only sang the KFC, McDonald's and Pepsi jingles.)
Here seems to be a list of Manilow commercial jingles: http://www.barrynethomepage.com/commercialjingles.html
This show is so past its prime.
It only clobbers its competition.
...And I could get behind Barry Manilow too, as a judge, especially if he could prevail upon the Divine Miss M to guest mentor.
Used to be a huge Manilow fan in my younger days, until I realized that every song he did was arranged the exact same way:
Soft, slow start. Key change and soaring finish, holding the last note to a fade out.
Can still listen to him a little and don't hate him as a person, but was a little disappointed that he became so one tracked.
People still watch American Idol?
care.
I liked Harry Connick Jr. when he was on American Idol, helping out contestants. He was helpful with his critiques but also silly.
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