5 Do's and Don'ts for American Idol and The Voice Contestants

There are few songs contestants on American Idol and The Voice should never choose. And there is one good reason contestants should never sign up for such shows.

1. American Idol contestants absolutely cannot sing Maroon 5 songs. Phil Phillips sang one tonight and got dogged by the judges, except Steven Tyler. Adam, Maroon 5’s lead singer, judges competing voice talent search on NBC, The Voice. Consequently, super judges Lopez and Randy snubbed Phillips' performance. The song didn't take them there. A polite snub on the Maroon 5 record and the adorable Adam, even though Phillips' performance was really good.

2. Do not sing an Adele song. No matter how dire, don't do it. For sure, singing an Adele song when a contestant's television livelihood depends on it is a definite and absolute no no. American Idol judges made that clear early in the competition when they were weeding out the top 24 to showcase the big voice females. As sure as contestants were warned not to sing an Adele song, a contestant sang one of Adele's many popular songs. This contestant was from New Jersey and was abruptly sent home, not because there are far too many Jersey girls on television, but because she sang an Adele song.

Last night on The Voice, the big voice Kim Yarborough did an Adele song because judge Adam (Maroon 5 Adam) allowed it. Few people, maybe that African American 12-year-old in the commercial on the city bus with her friends, capably pull off an Adele song. The little girl on the bus slams it, but she’s twelve. And she’s not singing in a prime time talent show.

3. Don’t sign up for either show if you’ve not been rehearsing in the mirror for years or if you have not been singing with a real live band in your spare time. Stage performing amateurs are quickly weeded out. Last night on The Voice, Cee-Lo dumped Erin. Adam saved a singer whose voice is okay, but she struts the stage like twelve-year-olds filming Grammy winning performances for a YouTube video. Or a woman who;s been rehearsing in the mirror as a professional singer since childhood.

American Idol’s Hollie Cavanaugh keeps getting kicked in the shins by judges because she’s unable to bring the drama to her voice and her songs that girls who’ve been rehearsing in the mirror for ages, like Skylar Laine and Jessica Sanchez, have done for all their lives.

4. Do Rock it Up. American Idol’s Elise Testone doesn’t have the glam factor that many of the other American Idol girls do. In fact, she did Lady Gaga’s “You and I” tonight on American Idol. The judges loved it. Two weeks ago, she took American Idol to a whole new place when she did Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.”

Last night, a rocker for Team Cee Lo did The Police’s “Roxanne.” Although it was scratchy, irritating, annoying and a sad tribute to the original record, the judges loved it. And that rocker, Juliet, stays.

5. The Voice contestants should never, ever sing songs from winners or contestants of previous American Idol shows. There’s a serious conflict of interest there that the judges don’t appreciate.

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