American Idol Spoiler Watch: Country Singer Aaron Kelly
His Versatile Style May Make Him a Favorite
American Idol starts up another exciting season of its hit show on Tuesday, January 12, 2010. The ninth season of Idol is no different in that there are lots of spoilers from fans who post nuggets of contestant information on the web. Aaron Kelly looks to be a good candidate to fill up the spot of male country singer for American Idol 9.
Aaron has a very versatile voice. According to the Aaron Kelly YouTube channel, he is now 16 and describes himself as a country singer. But Aaron is clearly not just a country singer. He has a pop voice, as well. Sure, he can give a solid performance of "Broken Road" or other country hits, but Kelly also does a competent job on pop hits like "You Are So Beautiful." This kind of versatility can work great on American Idol because of all the different theme weeks and genres forced on the contestants. Aaron has the kind of nice tone that makes him a potential crossover artist.
Most pop country solo artists tend to be female, and Aaron is interesting in that respect. He is similar to Carrie Underwood in that his voice is diverse enough to cross over. That's not to say he has the same talent as Carrie, who won American Idol 4, but it's a good quality to have on a multi-genre TV singing contest and a fantastic quality for the country music business.
Aaron is likely to make it to the voting rounds because he fits so nicely into that role of young and cute country singer. Even Garrett Johnson, the young cowboy from a few seasons ago, was featured heavily despite having poor vocals. Aaron is Garrett but with lots of actual talent.
Out of all the spoiler contestants I have seen, Aaron is my top pick as the one most likely to at least make it past the judges to the voting rounds. That's not to say that he is the most talented or most likely to win, but he will likely have much less competition than others to fill his role on the show.
A few things suggest that Aaron can go deep but will fall short of becoming the eventual champion on American Idol. The first of these is the fact that no male country singer has ever won. Carrie is country and has been the most successful Idol in the real world, but no male country contestant has won. The second point is his age. Jordin Sparks did win when she was 17, but that was arguably the weakest overall year in the history of Idol (season 6). No 16-year-old contestant has ever won. Aaron also seems to stick to softer songs. It is not clear that he can produce enough edge in his voice to tackle a genre like soul or rock.
Considering everything, Aaron Kelly will likely be an early American Idol favorite. The producers and judges will push him as a favorite, and plenty of voters will vote for the young, cute guy who can sing "so good." Of course, time will tell when his fan base will no longer be able to support his goal of rising to the top. But he will likely eventually lose steam after reaching the Top 12 and lose out to a more experienced, older singer who is more prepared to successfully launch a recording career.
