Another taste of bad news has come when it comes to American Idol. After the biggest vote in the nation, America has controversially decided that on the night of March 26, 2008, my favorite season 7 contestant Chikezie Ndubuisi Eze (more commonly known simply as Chikezie) would come to fame by arriving at 10th place on American Idol season 7. He was on the bottom three with Syesha Mercado and Jason Castro. The bottom three contestants of tonight are a mixed bag. I was rooting for Chikezie, and it is a shame that he got early elimination. The elimination song is "Celebrate Me Home", in the style of American Idol winner Ruben Studdard. It was originally recorded by Kenny Loggins.
Simon Cowell said that he chose the wrong song and that his performance was unoriginal (because he copied Ruben Studdard's take on the song). The song he chose was "If Only For One Night", which was originally recorded by Luther Vandross, and was also covered by my favorite American Idol winner Ruben Studdard. Randy Jackson said that Chikezie's performance was "very old school" and was not "hip and cool."
A typical American Idol winner is a Caucasian female. Only two American Idols are male, who are Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks. This is not the first time my favorite contestant is voted off. All too often, my favorite contestant on American Idol gets voted off early. The first time that happened with me was when Tamyra Gray got voted off. It also happened on Season 3, when Jennifer Hudson got voted off to 7th place.
Chikezie was born on September 11, 1985. The name Chikezie means "something well created by God" in Nigerian. He was born and raised in Inglewood, California. He previously auditioned for American Idol season 6, but was cut before the top 44. Before he auditioned for American Idol, he was a Transportation Security Administration screener and cashier. He also studied singing at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California.
However, there is good news, Chikezie will return for the American Idol tour this coming summer. Another good news is that American Idol castoff Josiah Lemin is getting a second chance at fame with Warner Bros. records. Maybe one day Chikezie will get a record contract too, possibly J Records under Ruben Studdard's tutelage, for winning American Idol is not everything.
On a side note, Clay Aiken is the most successful second-place finisher of American Idol.
Update:
On the following night, Fox Carolina news explained Chikezie's elimination. Simon Cowell scolded Chikezie for singing the Luther Vandross ballad "If Only for One Night", which was covered by Ruben Studdard in 2006. Chikezie told news reporters: "I already knew that [Simon Cowell] wasn't going to feel [the song] no matter what. I came in knowing that and I did the song anyway. I just had to do what I felt was right."
The tour lasted from July 1 to September 13, 2008. Chikezie is now working on his debut album, entitled Chikezie Eze.
1 comment:
"A typical American Idol winner is a Caucasian female."
Two winners (Kelly and Carrie) are white women. Fantasia and Jordin are black women and won. Ruben was a black man and Taylor was a white man. I don't see what you get "typical" from, it's all fairly even to me.
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