Idol 64 - Kimberley Locke

64. Kimberley Locke

Season 2, 3rd Place

I wasn't particularly a Kimberley Locke fan but I found her Idol run to be pretty decent. Also, I had her a couple of songs from her debut album and she didn't sound like the diva type to me. She seemed like an averaged voiced lite adult contemporary female artist that wouldn't really appeal to me.

Now, as I've mentioned before, I was unable to watch Season 2 but I did get around to watching some performances on YouTube. I was pretty positive that Trenyce would end up being my favorite of that season - and she was for probably the first half.

But I think it was around the Top 8 or 7 that I just had to jump ships and declare myself a Locke supporter. I mean, there was just something about that tone in her voice and there was a certain part of her range, which was pure and rich. And as much as I complain about contestant's vibrato, Kimberley's is the reason why I have somehow the right to be so picky. To me, she has the PERFECT vibrato to her voice. So, when she's really belting it out and she just lets that glorious timbre in her voice do all the work.

Kimberley really didn't have any notable missteps in the competition, other than a few slightly lackluster karaoke performances, so I was very delighted when she became a bit of a dark horse. I think she absolutely could've been a contender for the title if Season 2 hadn't been such a blatant "guy season."

Obviously, there was no stopping Ruben and Clay during that season and the producers made sure of that. The same reason I am sure they were quite nervous when Kimberley Locke straightened her hair - which seemed to be the magic technique - and really started to shine.

But as far as I am concerned, Kimberley absolutely dominated the season as far as the best performances go, and she was a joy to watch.

Favorite performance(s): Her rendition of New York State of Mind was really good and this, to me, was where she became a legitimate dark horse of Season 2. The other two notable performances that I can think of are her performances of Over The Rainbow and Home.

New York State of Mind

Over The Rainbow

Home

#63 - Straight Up