http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/6523868.htm Idol' Tour Better the Second Time Around BY HOWARD COHEN Seems South Florida hasn't had its fill of American Idol. On Tuesday night, plenty of families turned Sunrise's Office Depot Center into a screamfest (but not sell-out) for the good-natured American Idols Live! Tour 2003, the second tour spawned from the popular television show that manufactures instant idols. If the decibel level on the applause meter could be converted into CD sales, runner-up and clear fan favorite Clay Aiken could retire a wealthy man about now. This makes sense, too. Clay is Idol's find. He's the one with the most talent, the surest voice, the most presence. His song choices could be schmaltzy (Elton John's Can You Feel the Love Tonight) but his charisma cuts through. By comparison, the portly Ruben Studdard, who won the Idol title, has a good -- but not especially versatile -- voice. With its sameness of tone on tunes such as Luther Vandross' Never Too Much (the artist to whom he's most compared) and Leon Russell's Superstar, he frequently was drowned out by backing vocalists. Ruben also has the personality of a boulder, his size limits his movement, and his attempts at modernizing his material with hip-hop elements came across as calculated and false. Idols Live!, sponsored by -- this is no lie -- Pop-Tarts (gotta give 'em credit for a sense of humor), works hard to duplicate the TV show. A glitzy set with pyrotechnics and video screens flashing clips acts as the kids' playground. The accompanying dancers were dreadful and should sue their choreographer for defamation of character. The show was structured in the same manner as last year's Idols Live! but was slightly better, owing to the fact that a good half of this bunch can sing circles around most of the first season's cast. The first half of the show offers the nine finalists each singing a familiar pop song in the order in which they were eliminated on TV. Charles Grigsby was first up and seems a nice kid. Nice guys finish last. He has no voice. Carmen Rasmussen and Julia DeMato, both lousy on television, were the surprises. While neither has a killer voice, both had poise and flair on the arena stage. Carmen's take on Shania Twain's cute Up!, in particular, was a smart match of singer and song. Mono-named Trenyce handily outsang her female counterparts all through the night -- on a fiery Proud Mary early on and a powerful I Have Nothing later. But Trenyce becomes the artists whom she's performing (Tina Turner, Whitney Houston) through her mannered choreography and delivery and so it's hard to discover who she really is. But Trencye has potent pipes. Kimberley Locke, who finished just behind Clay and Ruben on Idol's voting, was as inconsistent live as she proved on TV. Like last year's winner, Kelly Clarkson, Kimberley too often mistakes yelling for singing with passion. Only her soulful rendition of Over the Rainbow worked. The show's second half -- after a wasteful 20-minute intermission in which fans endured commercials for maxipads, Pop-Tarts and pink razors -- was split between solos and several awkward medleys. Money went into this production, but the whole thing is glorified karaoke with cheese piled higher than in a Wisconsin factory. A Bee Gees medley by the entire cast was an enjoyable highlight. Clay and Ruben, taking Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney's parts, respectively, on the sappy The Girl Is Mine, was somewhat hard to take. Worse yet: Rickey Smith and Charles Grigsby's shrill Let's Go Crazy and the women trying to rock out, and stubbing their toes, on Pink's new Charlie's Angels tune, Feel Good Time. Bosley, yank 'em. Still, these kids are so obviously thrilled to be here -- and, face it, most you'll never see again -- so it's churlish to be too hard on them. We'll leave the Simon-izing for the TV show. posted by Yee 10:03 PM . . .
