Let’s get this out of the way right at the top. Candice Glover is going to be the American Idol Season 12 winner. No offense to runnerup Kree Harrison, but America’s voters aren’t that stupid… are they?

Wednesday night both took the stage to sing a trio of songs. The first five efforts didn’t matter much. But when Candice concluded the evening with “I Who Have Nothing” (first recorded 50 years ago by Ben. E. King) … not that it wasn’t sealed already, but that one cemented the deal. No contest. End of discussion…

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So the curtain will come down Thursday night on the 12^th season of Idol and the show will never be the same. To that I say – good. The judges will change, the format will be altered, the set will probably be revamped. The only constant will be announcer Ryan Seacrest and that is a very good thing since he
is the glue that holds this once-juggernaut of a production together.

Now, here is the key to any future success Idol might have – singing. What in the name of Nat King Cole has happened to good old-fashioned singing. Got to thinking more and more about that on Thursday morning after reading George Varga’s (hint: read anything this guy writes cause you will learn something) piece in UT San Diego on-line on Tony Bennett.

Mr. Bennett is a singer – period. He doesn’t dance around, he isn’t flamboyant, he carries himself with grace and style. And most of all he doesn’t scream, I mean SCREAM, at any point in a song. That’s what I hear all too often from all Idol contestants and that’s not what I need to hear.

And all of this is coming from a blogger who can barely whistle. But it’s true. For a show that billed itself as a “singing” competition it is the single biggest change that can be made next season. Put the emphasis back on square one – singing – which is where it belongs.

The best concert I ever saw? Simon & Garfunkel at the then San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Why? Because all they did was sing.

Good luck, Candice.