About Masterclass Lady
Rosanne (Giallonardo) Simunovic began her musical career in Timmins, Ontario. She studied piano with Anne Pizzale and later, at an advanced level, with Soeur Anita Vaugeois (Sister Cecile of Les Soeurs De L’Assomption in Timmins). Her vocal and accompaniment skills were nurtured by her aunt, the late Dorothea Mascioli.
When Rosanne graduated from O’Gorman High School, she moved on to the University of Toronto where she continued her piano and vocal studies while attaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She was hired as a piano accompanist for several musical companies, most notably, the National Ballet Of Canada. She presently holds an A.R.C.T. Teacher’s Diploma in Voice from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Rosanne has studied choral conducting with numerous well known Canadian Conductors, including Wayne Riddell of Montreal, Quebec and the internationally renowned Dr. Elmer Iseler.
She has been a founding member of numerous community-based arts organizations: the Timmins Arts Council, later known as Arts & Culture Timmins, the Timmins Symphony Orchestra, and, the Timmins Youth Singers…as well as the TYS Alumnus choir, the Timmins Concert Singers. In 1987, she was also selected to be the conductor of the Timmins Board Of Education Choir, comprised of talented students from Grades 5 to 8.
In 1988, she was elected to the Board Of Directors of the Ontario Choral Federation (now known as Choirs Ontario), where she served as Chair of the Festivals Committee for six consecutive seasons. In 1996, in honour of the Ontario Choral Federation’s 25th Anniversary, Rosanne was selected as one of 25 recipients of the OCF’s Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contribution to the choral art. The ceremony was presided by Lieutenant Governor, Hal Jackman.
In November 1997, Rosanne Simunovic was selected by the Rotary Club Of Timmins to receive the prestigious Paul Harris Award for her years of dedication to the artistic development of young musical talent in Timmins.
In August of 2002, Rosanne Simunovic was selected by the Board Of Directors of Choirs Ontario to serve as Conductor of both the Provincial Junior and Teen Choir Camps, now renamed in honour of the Camp Benefactors, Don and Lillian Wright.
In November 2002, Rosanne was the one of the recipients of the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, honouring her work in the development of the arts in Timmins.
Under Rosanne Simunovic’s direction, the Timmins Youth Singers and the Timmins Concert Singers have been featured in numerous choral festivals and performing opportunities outside of Timmins. In 1985, they were selected to partici
As long as my hometown girl Angie, makes it into the finale, it doesn’t matter to me who goes home. I thought all three gave solid performance. All three are very good vocalists. To me Angie has the best performance skills, has shown the most growth and is a star.
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Allfour judges out for next year!!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/09/randy-jackson-leaving-american-idol_n_3248299.html
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I’m in shock. I kept hearing over and over that Angie had such a huge fan base that I was certain she would be in the finals. And after reading lots of articles today, I sure wasn’t the only person who thought that. Congratulations to Candice and Kree–I’m really looking forward to the finale!!!
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OMG!! I’m so thrilled Candice is in the Finale! TEARS!! Everyone’s excitement when Ryan said her name was fabulous. I’m disappointed and rather surprised that Angie didn’t make it to, but Kree is certainly a sweet, talented young lady with a lovely voice. So, it’s OK! The most important one for me was Candice. That girl deserves this more than anyone!
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So happy for Candice and Kree…
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So happy for Candice and sad for Angie because she deserved to be there beside Candice. Kree is a lovely young lady but Angie really worked very hard. Made smart decisions.
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Rosanne-I noticed that Kree felt so bad she bad it in instead of Angie. Yes, I agree with you that Angie did deserve it more, but those three girls are beautiful inside and out! I just know Angie’s going to do very well for herself. She’s incredibly talented! I’m holding out hope that she will record her original song she sang during Hollywood Week!
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randy is out as a judge, that is official. one can’t believe ‘rumors’ about the rest all out. i saw harry connick jr on ellen. she asked him about being a judge. he said he was never asked. he said his wife said to him ‘you’re in talks with idol?’ because she read about it, and he told his wife ‘no one is talking to me’. rumor rumor rumor until we see it with our own eyes and it is an actuality.
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what on earth was that video of mariah???? i felt like throwing up. she didn’t really sing, she didn’t dance, she stood in front of a fan doing the same thing over and over in her fake breast glory. it looked like soft porn. it was absolutely terrible. i think of all the little girls who idolize her doing those same moves. and little boys…what will they be doing? and she’s teaching the idols to have control of their videos? those three kids, doing moves like that would certainly not be watched or listened to for their singing. it was TERRIBLE!!!
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Anita – I think that Kree is a beautiful person. Of that, there is no doubt. And I am sure that she realized how incredibly hard Angie worked to get to this point. I am more excited to see Candice in the Finale. That was my first wish and she and Kree will create a beautiful, memorable Final 2. Kudos to all three ladies.
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Vonnie – thanks for the link. Interesting. Randy is gone. However, the problem lay not with the judges but with the show’s format. Tired themes and songs, lack of mentors, lack of singing diversity in the contestants and, no TOP 24 semi-finals. Correct all these elements and the show will be back on track.
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Rosanne-The judges sure looked shocked when Ryan said Kree’s name! I think most people were. Even though, I’m looking so forward to next week. Candice and Kree will both surely sing their hearts out. I’m just over the moon about Candy Girl making it! CANDICE FOR THE WIN!!!!
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I am so happy for Candice and Kree! This is going to be so exciting! Angie will still have a successful career. It will end well for all three girls.
It is better for Randy to leave on his own. I just don’t want Keith to leave. Lots of changes needed, but I still want themes!
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I read an interesting article this morning which mentioned that they showed the hometown visits for the first time ever during the last performance show. The person writing the article thought that the visits had influenced the voting. I think he might be on to something . . .
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Louise-You are right on! I read a couple articles Mark Franklin wrote last night. I believe they manipulated things to make sure Candice made it to the Finale, and try to keep Angie out of it,because they saw her as Candice’s biggest threat. I think it’s disgusting. I also agree with Mark that Ken and Nigel should be fired. Those two have found different ways to send this show downhill for quite some time, and it’s high time Simon Fuller sent those two out the door!!! People can think what they want about Angie, but those producers ROBBED her of the Finale!!!
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Vonnie
I wasn’t expecting that Randy news that you dropped but I can’t say that I am totally surprised, even the news about the other judges. They just announced it on NBC news this morning. . Its what I’ve been saying all season though.
This show is pretty much done. And if Kree wins it will just confirm it. Not that I don’t think that Kree is a good singer. Shes alright. Its just the country thing. Lovers of other genres who are not into that kind of thing are not just going to hang on watching performers win who don;t even sing music that they like. The same style of music over and over.The same songs. It just gets old. Even if Candice wins , which I doubt, the strong Idol audience that supports that kind of music left years ago. I doubt seriously if they will come back. The judges were right t that article. The show has lost its core audience.
Between the two, I’d like Candice to win. But I just don’t think so. Kree’s performances in the last 3 weeks , good but no where near as good as they were earlier in the season. She doesn’t even appear as confident since those negative critiques but the country fan base in Idol is still bigger and they are showing their loyalty and thats why shes there. I’ve said year ago, this show is not about the best talent. its about the style of music the Idol fan base likes best and its not R&B. A couple of my favorite singers in this competition this season were guys and they left long time ago and instead the kids kept voting for Lazaro. Seriously? Wow. That alone proves its not about talent. Unbelievable !
The best singer didn’t win last year either. The guy with the biggest fan base did.
If Kree wins not only will Randy be gone it will be my last season too
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Well Brotherkarl…I have been saying since top ten that Kree was going to win and that it was going to be a Kree/Candice finish!!!
I hope that Candice wins…but I like Kree too, so for me it is a win/win!!!
With Randy out…possibly the other three out…Idol better hope they have the best of the best sitting at that table next year!!!
Now we get to build our fantasy four, LOL…Here’s Mine:
Prince
Elton John or Paul McCartney
Stevie Nicks
Nora Jones
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Great predicting skills, Vonnie!!! Every time you mentioned that, I always thought NEVER!!! I was shocked when Angie was voted off and I think many other people were shocked too! Who are you predicting for the win next week?
Very interesting set of fantasy judges! Whoever they choose, I hope they go back to only three judges. I’ll have to give some thought to who my favorites might be. Off the top of my head, I’d love to see Josh Groban. And what about someone who really knows talent like David Foster?!? And how about Darius Rucker who has been rock and country? And I’d love to see Alecia Keys–she’s well-spoken which is something sorely needed from some of the judges.
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OOOhh! Louise…I love Darius Rucker…that’s a good choice, current and talented to boot!!! Alicia Keys would be a good one too! Love Josh Groban
What about Michael Buble…
As much as I love Candice and would love for her to get that confetti bath…I think that it is going to be Kree!!!
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I agree with you, Vonnie. Candice is my first choice, but I think Kree will probably win.
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Louise…I think Kree already has Country Producers lining up to sign her!!! Which is not a bad thing, I think she will do great things, Idol will promote her either way!
Candice is going to be okay too win or not, I think she will go on a make great records, Oh how I would love to see that girl win this thing!!!
Let’s see this week they sing the dumb song (other than Phillip Phillips, his was great) one that they have done before and then what do they sing?
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Honestly – Kree is a lovely girl and all but I just do not get the appeal except for the fact that she is a lovely person. No marketability IMHO. But the country folks will figure something out! Lol
I am tired of country people winning this thing. It is ridiculous.
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Rosanne-I would have much rather seen Kree get into the Finale with Candice on viewers votes alone, than on the producer’s crappy manipulations! It’s unfair to the viewers and also those three girls!
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Anita – they did manipulate the Finale by showing those homecoming visits on Performance Night. Kree’s backstory was emphasized in a big way during her hometown visit and pretty much ruined it for Angie who worked her little butt off to make it this far.
The judges were very happy when Angie was eliminated – they couldn’t hide their glee. It was very unfair.
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Rosanne-You’re right! At first I thought the judges looked shocked about it, but I’ve watched it again, and it surely wasn’t a look of shock. Which has me thinking, perhaps you’ve been on point all along that both the judges and producers have been wanting a Kree win! You aure were on point when saying almost all of Season 10 that Scotty and Lauren would be in the Finale, and of course that were, so……
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The best judge of the season, Keith Urban. He spoke always about the singer, the song, the connection of the two which brought it all together for the viewer. I will miss him and his sweet caring, but very accurate critique of the contestants. Idol has lost their way, first year in 4 that I will not be attending the tour. Where was the chemistry this year. Ryan did an exceptional job with only leftovers from past years.
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Oh yes. Anita. The Scotty – Lauren agenda. I saw it from the earliest auditions and everyone thought I was crazy when I predicted that Final 2. Haha
Kree is a ringer. She was planted in this Top 10 on purpose. She has strong connections with the Country Music industry and Idol was merely a platform for her. Plus she has a strong backstory.
This show has little appeal for me right now. Either a country singer wins or a white guy with guitar wins. They need to eliminate country singers from this show next year, similar to what they did with the guys this year.
I would be extremely happy if Candice wins. It would reinstate my faith in this show.
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I haven’t commented here in a while, but this insanity called American Idol did me in this week. I’m sure Kree is a lovely person and I’m sorry she lost her parents at a young age, but she is not the only one in the world this has happened to. And I don’t feel Idol needed to remind us of this Every week. The audience was played for sure with the Home Town visits shown with the performances. It’s odd how the only contestant whose judges’ choice song corresponded to the visit video was Kree.
I write a blog about David Archuleta and have also been reviewing Idol for the past couple of seasons. I went back in my notes today to see what I first thought of these girls during the initial appearances and found that we were told on the Jan 16 NYC audition episode that Angie has 40 % hearing loss in her left ear and 20 % loss in her right ear. I don’t think we have ever heard mention of this fact on the show since that episode. To me, this is so much more incredible for a singer to endure than the fact poor Kree has lost her parents.
Angie will be fine and this might actually be better than “winning.” Maybe she won’t have to sign with Jimmy, but can shop around for the right fit for her.
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PandasMama – I have refrained from expressing myself about Kree’s journey here on Idol but thank you for taking every word out of my mouth. I absolutely agree with you on every point.
Also, somewhere I did read, in an article where Angie talked about the 25 things we don’t know about her, that she is legally blind. I guess she wears contacts. My word. Hearing loss and vision loss? That is an amazing story and I give her so much More credit for all she has achieved on this show.
She was robbed of the Finale experience and the everyone on Idol – from the judges, to the producers, to the country connection people, milked this show for a Kree win.
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Rosanne-OMG!!! I knew about Angie’s hearing loss, but not that she is legally blind!!! I think I need to go out for awhile now so I can cool off, because I’m getting angrier and angrier, and am about to blow!!!
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Anita – I am going out too to let off some steam. Haha. Here is the link. http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/angie-miller-25-things-you-dont-know-about-me-2013105
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I think Kree has a lovely voice…she reminds me alot of Martina McBride!
Any one who has lost a parent knows how hard this is at any age, let alone to be a young child…she grew up and had to experience things with out her parents, this has to be extremely hard, think of her wedding day, graduation day, standing on the idol stage…just losing a parent myself, I completely understand how hard it is to do things and not have them there with you!!!
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I don’t kno why my posts aren’t getting through. I’ll see if this one does and say more if it does.
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Hey Vonnie.
I’ve been right there with you all along regarding Kree and Candice. It was almost a no brainer from day one as , Kree almost always got the most votes and Candace almost always got raving reviews from the judges. While I;m not a Kree fan as I almost always pretty much have said , I pegged her the winner day one even though Candice has always been my favorite this season.
Rosanne
You are almost speaking my exact same sentiments regarding Kree. I , like you, just have never gotten the fascination with her but I would imagine you have to really like that country style to appreciate her. I think people feel the same about her the way I felt about Jessica and Joshua last year. I’m a big R&Ber and I thought they were awesome but a lot of folks just couldn’t get with their voices … and I get that. Not their style. Thats how I feel about Kree. I’m just not into that . But shes got some people that love her and I think they are going to put her through. Just not my thing.
I’l also like you in that , if Candice wins , my faith will be renewed in the show as that would prove my theory wrong about Idol. I’d love that … then I’d have to come up with some other “know it all ” crap (LOL).
Love the idea of “one season with no country”. That way some of the other styles will have a greater shot at winning.
I don’t necessarily believe all the scamming that a lot folks say is going on. I just believe country has a bigger fan base in Idol and thats why I believe Angie is gone. Thats just my take on it. Who the judges have raved about continuously and given several standing ovations to … is Candice. I believe they prefer her over Kree . If Candice won then I would probably give a little creditability to the rumors of scams ….because I don’t believe Idol has a large enough R&B audience to put Candice to winner. If judges had their way, she would win but I just don’t think she will …which would put a lot of the scam talk to rest. The judges have not always given Kree rave reviews yet she is still there. If they could control it I;d think she;d been gone a while back. Shes not their favorite, but she will win.
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Brotherkarl…LOL Yes! You and I have been sayin’ Kree and Candice (Candice and Kree) all the long.
I think idol just can’t deny the Country Train…brings them too much attention to not have a country singer on each year!!!
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In reading Brother Karl’s comments, the voting issue reminds me of the last presidential election when many people were sure that Romney was going to win, and were shocked to see him lose to Obama. I guess we overestimated how many viewers there are who would vote for the white pop princess, just as it was overestimated how many people would vote for Romney. It certainly does seem that country music has taken over and become much more mainstream than ever before. I actually even like some of it myself, although I’d never purchase it or purposely listen to it on the radio.
I think Kree has a fine voice, but I wouldn’t purchase her music, just as I wouldn’t purchase Angie’s music. I prefer Candice when she puts a jazzy spin on her songs–the first time I heard her she sang a John Legend song and I absolutely loved it. I’d like to see her do more of that kind of music. But as far as betting who will win next week–I’ll be shocked once again if Candice wins. I agree with Brother Karl that the winner will be Kree.
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For some reason I can’t seem to get through. If this does, what was the great lasting legacy of Season 12? Imagine how many girls, maybe boys also, are going to learn the joy of the piano because of Angie Miller.
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Louise
I’m like both of you guys. I really would like to see Candice win. One of the things I like about Candice is her lower registers. Many artist, and I don’t mean just on this show but most artist are very good at belting out the high notes. Audiences love it too. But the lower the notes are the more difficult it seems to be for them to reach and often seem rough to sing. 99% of the time Candice hits them very smoothly. Whenever she sings I look to hear her sing in her lowest registers much more then I like her high notes. To me she is the most professional among all of this years contestants.
Kree is good too. I just can;t get into it. Its like Carrie Underwood. She can definitely sing and the records sells proves shes liked but I would never buy her records …and like you … I can;t imagine ever listening to a country music station unless I was in steak house or something like that, that played. No disrespect meant to the genre or the singers but to me its just …. ewuuuee. Its like gospel music. Its not a style that a lot can stomach. Karen Clark Sheard is one of the most famous gospel singers ever but I know people who shriek when they hear her. Most fans of gospel music love her. I happen to be a big fan, but apart from my very close friends …. nobody I know listens to her, would buy her CDs or would think of going to a gospel concert or watching a gospel show. Thats how I am about country. I just can’t do it
Candice however does have a voice that I might consider buying a CD from.
Anyway enough of my blah blah blah.
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Vonnie-You were saying that Kree sounds like Martina McBride to you. I have to, from the very first time I heard Kree sing, I thought of Martina. I’ve always loved the quality of Kree’s voice. I just feel Angie has shown so much more “star” ” power in her performances. My hope for Kree is that theree will be people who can really work with her on that, and help her grow as an artist in every way possible. She certainly has potential. I know that Angie and Kree are the best of friends, and really respect each other’s talents. That group hug after Angie was finished singing Thursday night really did me in!
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Anita…I have no worries about Angie and think as horrible as this may sound that she is better off not winning if she wants to sing Contemporary Christian music…that is what I listen to, so I am certain if that is the route she chooses I will be hearing alot from her. Her tone for my ears is like MCL says is Bright…she can sing and has so much talent…she is going to be just fine…but if she chooses to go the pop route, I think she has a large fan base waiting for her!!!
Kree will also be fine, I think she already has backing in the country industry…Candice is the one that I worry about…producers are going to have to let her be the one who picks her songs…I’m like brotherkarl,her lower register is flawless, and Oh My how I would love to hear her do a Jazz album…the song choices for her last week were all big powerful songs…they should have dug around in the old Jazz Standards for her songs!
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Vonnie-I’m more concerned about Candice too. I agree, let her pick her own songs, and she needs a team that will promote her big time to radio, T.V., etc. There are certainly a ton of R&B fans out there, and despite what some people may think, I don’t believe it’s a dying genre. Candice has such an outragrous talent that it would be a travesty if she doesn’t become a big star! Angieto me has the strongest chance of being a huge star. She’s already got such a big fanbase, tremendously talented, and the most marketable of the three. I know people thought she would be going the Christian Music route, but she’s already stated the she doesn’t want to go that route. Kree needs a team that will help her bring out the passion in her singing and performances.
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When you judge a plant, usually there is a number for the flower, a number for the plant habit, and an overall combined number. It’s usually on a scale of five for each category with five as the best and 3 as slightly above average. A 5/5/5 plant is great and a 3/3/3 plant is slightly above average. A 5/2/3 plant is always problematic because the flower is so beautiful but the plant is so deficient. In AI performances I evaluate in a similar way, for voice, for performance, and overall. Typically the judges have chosen a group with above average voices (3 to 5 ranking). Because of lack of stage experience the performance range is typically a 2 to 4 ranking. Most overall rankings come to 3 to 3 1/2. Above that consistently, you have the top three or four. People who watch AI evaluate the same way although they don’t realize it. So if a vocal is terrific but performance is not we are automatically in the 5/2/3 category but the final overall number is highly weighted toward the sub-category the fan puts as most important. Candice and Kree performances typically fall in the 4-5/2-3/3.5-4 category. They are highly deficient in stage presence. Angie was polarizing to most viewers, but in reality her performance category was 3.5 – 4 on most nights, a point above the other two. In the long term that means Candice and Kree have a very difficult road ahead professionally because of their performance deficiency. They will not generate increasing fan loyalty which means low sales and low performance attendance.
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I am a big Candi Staton fan.
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Hi, DonB,
What you say makes sense, except for the fact that Carrie Underwood had very low performance skills when she was on American Idol, and it certainly has not hurt her record sales. If a person has the “voice” and the will to succeed, it seems to me that they can improve if they have the right help.
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Hello everyone. Nice to read your comments and keep them coming.
And, as Louise said, Carrie was extremely deficient in her performing skills while on AI and for many years after but look at her now. No one can doubt her success.
The difference between her and Kree however is vast because Carrie with her amazing charisma was and is extremely marketable. A PR dream machine.
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Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers who read this blog! Hope you have a great day!
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Happy Mother’s Day to you too Louise…!!! 🙂
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Louise,
Thanks for pointing that out. I would only say Carrie Underwood was in the voting audience’s wheelhouse. I don’t think Candice or Kree has Carries’ characteristics. That’s just a personal opinion and I am more than willing to see if time proves me wrong and to admit that I am wrong.
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DonB and MCL made some good points about Carrie. Hopefully whoever wins will have the support of Idol. They don’t always seem to support the winner. I honestly never knew the background to Carrie’s success, but I always figured it was because she had the support of people who produce country music too.
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It really is Candice who is the better singer AND she needs this Idol win more than Kree does. Kree has a great country background having been singing as a back-up singer for several Country acts. She is friends with Kellie Pickler and will easily get a recording contract. I have been posting with Candice for 16 months and hope she takes the whole thing! There is no doubt that Angie will succeed. She is friends with Coltong Dixon and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them tour together.
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I too hope that Candice wins…fingers and toes crossed!!! 🙂
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Candy girl for the win. Kree already has connections and is merely using Idol as a platform to further her success in the country music industry.
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MCL…this is what our Candy Girl needs to sing!!!
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OMGosh! Do I ever love Big Maybelle’s voice…it is voices like this, Etta James, Billie Holiday…that makes me love Candice’s voice so much!!!
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Or this
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Don B…I like that too….
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I hope it’s a great night for both girls tonight, but Candice should be the American Idol! So I’m hoping realllllly hard, and am voting my fingers off! As long as I can stay awake that is, LOL!!!
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