Brooke White's Performance on American Idol March 25th: So Close, but No Cigar

Brooke White's Performance on American Idol March 25th: So Close, but No Cigar

By Kathryn Funderburk, published Mar 25, 2008

According to judges Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell, Brooke White's version of "Every Breath You Take" on the March 25th episode of American Idol started out very well but lost much of its appeal in the middle of the song when the tempo picked up and a band started playing.

White, one of the few contestants to provide accompaniment for herself, sat and played the piano while singing a much gentler version of the Sting original. I agree with the judges that this part of the song was done particularly well. While the original version of "Every Breath You Take" sometimes creeps me out, in much the same way a stalker would ("Every step you take, I'll be watching you"), White gave the song a much more caring, almost maternal feel, taking out the aggression that perhaps is the reason for my apprehension when listening to the original performance by The Police.

In the middle of the song, Brooke picked up the beat and a band joined the piano in playing the song. For Simon and Randy, this is when Brooke's originality was lost, and she fell into the trap of trying to recreate the original hit.

I disagree. I felt that the increased tempo put more of a "punch" into the piece... The rest is here: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/677001/brooke_whites_performance_on_american.html