Idol 14 - Brooke White

14. Brooke White

Season 7, 5th Place

Remember how I said personality doesn't really factor into my liking of an Idol? Well, after 9 seasons, I think Brooke is kind of the only exception to that for me. Ha!

I mean, how can one not help but just LOVE her personality? She's so sweet, kind and definitely one of the nicest people EVER to come on this show. Oh, and she was always so emotional when faced with elimination - or when she got bad comments or something - my heart just went out to her. Really. If you didn't feel just a little sorry for her during her elimination, you are a cold, human being! Haha.

But of course, I also like Brooke White for her musical identity. Sure, she doesn't have the best voice during Season 7 but she knew her vocal limitations and she knew how to make the songs work in her advantage - and I just love that in an Idol.

If I'm being honest though, when I first saw Brooke's audition I was not impressed. AT ALL. I mean, I still would've put her through to Hollywood, but I didn't think she was that special. Her audition was like three notes over and over again. Yes, her tone to me was pleasant, but she, to me, was just fairly average singer. Then, she got the instruments in Hollywood, and that's when the magic just started happening.

The semifinals then rolled around and I thought she performed shockingly well that I suddenly became a Brooke-man! Haha. I thought Happy Together was pretty good, I thought You're So Vain was refreshingly amazing, and her take on Pat Benatar's Love is a Battlefield was brilliant. She really grew on me and proved that she deserved a spot in the Top 12.

After the semifinals round, her performances during the Finals were extremely inconsistent. Her performances ranged from the  unbelievably gorgeous rendition of Let It Be to the disappointment that was I'm A Believer. Haha. But I know Brooke wanted so much to do well, and I could just see her heartbreak every time she got negative feedback from the judges. So, when she got the boot at Top 5 week, she was an emotional wreck. Seriously. I've never seen such a meltdown after someone got the boot like I did with her. Clearly, she had a lot invested in the competition - more than I expected. I thought most of her later performances seemed like she wasn't trying hard, but I must've been wrong. Truth be told, I felt that her elimination was a justified result, but my heart went out to the girl during that moment.

Now, as for her forgetting her lyrics and starting over a couple of songs, I didn't think it was all that bad. It was definitely not something that should've been praised - yes, Simon - but I think that she's human, and that happens. I know some of my favorites have messed up a lot, but it didn't make me like them less. So, it is what it is.

But why did she rank 14 on this countdown even if she wasn't as strong vocally as, say, Melinda Doolittle? Simple, High Hopes and Heartbreak. Her post-Idol album was absolutely fantastic. It had that genuine throwback sound and her voice was just so pure and beautiful. The fact that she didn't resort to make her voice sound too overprocessed that it becomes unrecognizable was admirable. Oh, and one thing that stood out to me was the use of back-up singers. I mean, so much of today's music is all about layering the voice of the lead singer only. Here, I really enjoyed hearing actual back-up vocals. Needless to say, I genuinely adored her album.

Favorite Performance(s): I really loved Brooke's take on Love is a Battlefield. It was such a different direction from the original and it worked beautifully. It seemed emotional, raw, heartfelt and it was very good. I don't know what Randy was smoking when he said she didn't bring anything new to the performance. Really Randy? Have you heard the original version of this song? Ugh. Of course, I loved the gorgeous Let it Be and the lovely You're So Vain. These songs really seem to be a great niche for her as an artist.

Check this out!  

Life Is Okay - Michael Johns with Brooke White

Let It Be

Love Is A Battlefield

You're So Vain

#13 - The Bottomless Diva