Its not often that a
person's passion for not only motorcycles but also good
old fashioned rock and roll are featured on a primetime
show.
That all changed when
Amanda Overmyer, a Harley riding nurse from Indiana made
it from the mass audition process, onto Hollywood and
through the twelve finalists on American Idol.
Because of her amazing
spirit, love to ride and of course singing the heck out
of any song put in front of her, Clutch and Chrome
endorsed Amanda as the official contestant to win the
Fox talent show.
If you miss
Amanda, here are links to her songs performed on American
Idol;
March 18th
Amanda Overmyer was still
in her element as the talent contest decided to keep the
Beatles songbook for another week. She chose 'Back in the
USSR' for its blues element and during the short video
interview before her performance Amanda promised to make it
'hard-driving and entertaining'.
With the confidence she
surely shows while riding her Harley-Davidson Sportster the
Indiana nurse
strutted about the stage, enjoying every moment. Out of all
the contestants on this season of American Idol, Amanda Overmyer appears the most at home on the brightly lit
American Idol stage and the studio audience always rewards her
with screams and applause after every song.
Randy enjoyed the
performance and although he felt Amanda was 'pitchy' in the
beginning, still gave her a seven out of ten.
Even though Paula noted
Amanda
was a little ahead of the beat, "When you connect you
are a quintessential authentic...who you are, and that is
something we're looking for in this competition!"
The first real negative
comment came from Simon calling Amanda's performance,
"Predictable, a mess in parts, just the same thing week
after week." He agreed with Paula when she said Amanda
should consider singing a ballad one week. Otherwise he
noted, 'you might become a bit boring.'
March 11th
Her choice was 'Can't do that', one of the Beatles early
numbers but dressed up with rock rhythms and some scat.
Amanda's performance was absolutely on fire with so much
energy, it felt as if she should be hooked up to a power
grid to light up a city.
Randy felt she brought a Southern bar feel to the song
and "Rocked it out."
"You are a star up there," Paula exclaimed, "I'm blown
away!"
Although Simon didn't feel the performance was as good
as the week before, he felt Amanda "was a very good
thing. You're like a breath of fresh air!" he said.
March 6th
The theme, the eighties and a perfect era to make a big
musical misstep, but not so with with everyone's
favorite Sportster rider.
Amanda came out singing her version of Joan Jet and the
Blackheart's 'I hate myself for loving you'. The
performance pulled in the Idol studio, male contestants
and audience alike stood and clapped in time to the
thundering beat when led by Ms. Overmyer, with her many
years of fronting local rock bands becoming obvious.
Esthetically, Amanda reverted back to a more tame
hairstyle but her vocals belted out with a strength not
heard during the previous weeks.
Being the first judge up with his comments, Randy said
"That's the Amanda the we loved when we first saw her.
She's the bluesy rocker chick."
"We're still in love with you," exclaimed Paula.
Collective breaths were held in the studio when Ryan
Seacrest motioned to Simon for his remarks.
"If I'm being honest," Simon started tentatively, "It
was fantastic. It was was one of my favorite girl
performances of this competition."
Even with such glowing accolades, Amanda had to be
prompted by Simon, Ryan and the entire studio audience
to smile.
February 28th
Like going into a corner too fast, this motorcycle
loving rocker knew she wasn't hitting the right notes
for the American Idol competition.
Last night's American Idol was based on a 70's theme,
with all the female contestants following in the musical
notes of their male-counterparts the night before.
Wearing a new hairstyle and some sexy white snakeskin
pants, Amanda Overmyer sang Carry On Wayward Son by
Kansas, seemingly stretching in a few places, with the
song relying on the chorus for substance.
Although Randy loved the group Kansas, he felt, "there
were too many instrumental breaks for a singer [trying
to show her stuff]."
"You're a brilliant artist, but it wasn't the right
song," was Paula's opinion.
Simon said it was an indulgent choice, calling it "an
ugly song and he didn't get it."
Randy joined in a chorus of helpful hints after the
official judges comments advising Amanda she was a
bluesy rock person. It was her bag.
