Idols worshipped at Glendale Arena
By THOMAS BOND
Get Out
April 2, 2004

It's good to be an idol.

“American Idol” TV singing contest stars Kelly Clarkson (winner of the first season) and Clay Aiken (runner-up of the second edition) were the subjects of much adoration by a crowd of approximately 10,000 fans at Glendale Arena. Both stars responded with strong vocal performances if less than exciting stage shows.

Aiken took the stage first in an untucked, dark blue shirt and loosened necktie with gray pants and sneakers singing Mr. Mister's “Kyrie,” followed by “Perfect Day” and “I Will Carry You.”

He seemed comfortably at ease onstage, acknowledging the signs of fans including one that read, “Save a marriage — hug my wife!” which he did. His southern drawl and unassuming nature seemed to connect with the crowd.

Vocally, he was in fine form. With a full set of songs to sing instead of one to make-it-or-break-it with on television, he rarely over-emoted and found the nuances in the tunes to lay back or hit hard.

“I thought he was a lot better in person than he was on TV,” said Kasandra Merrill, 27, of Mesa, who brought her daughter Jensynn, 7, to the show.

Backed by five musicians and three backup singers all clad entirely in white, Aiken performed the majority of his 3 million-sold-and-counting debut album, “Measure of a Man.” After a strong “I Survived You,” he gathered the backup vocalists, guitarist and keyboard player for an acoustic medley of tunes that included Sting's “Fields of Gold” and a nod to his roots with “Carolina On My Mind.”

He wrapped up the segment with an a capella intro to Prince's “When Doves Cry” — less than 48 hours since the Purple One had performed it in the same building — that segued into an electric finish. At one point he even got a bit frisky, going pelvis to pelvis with a female backup singer. Aiken closed his set with “The Way”

After a short intermission, Clarkson began her set playing acoustic guitar on “Low.”

Dressed in a black tank top with torn jeans that soon gave way to black jogging pants, she performed her set barefoot. She was backed by the same musicians and singers who had all changed into black clothing.

Where Aiken was low-key and sauntered around the stage when he moved at all, Clarkson was perky and playful throughout her set, though it came across somewhat forced. Her material, including “Bounce” and “Miss Independent,” was considerably more upbeat and the singer showed off a few rudimentary dance moves.

She performed the majority of her own debut album, “Thankful,” and signed multiple autographs while she sang. While the crowd's response was warm, it was noticeably more so for Aiken.

Clarkson concluded her set with “A Moment Like This” and the lights went dark for just a moment before she started singing Journey's “Open Arms.” When Aiken returned to the stage singing the second verse, the crowd greeted him with a grand ovation and the pair finished the song as a duet. Though their voices blended pleasantly, there didn't appear to be much chemistry between them and after a quick half-hug they exited on opposite sides of the stage to end the show.

With the venue only half-full and literally nothing in the form of stage production for the entire night, the concert had the definite feel of a State Fair show.

“It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad,” said Sari Lin, 14, of Scottsdale. “I've been to better concerts.”

While Aiken and Clarkson have fine voices and seem genuinely personable, both are painfully lacking in stage presence, especially for an arena show. Even more especially for a music writer who'd seen Prince and Rod Stewart — two tremendously engaging entertainers — in the same place within the same week as this show.

Clay Aiken set
Kyrie
Perfect Day
I Will Carry You
Love, All About Love
No More Sad Songs
When You Say You Love Me
Without You
Invisible
I Survived You
medley: Measure of a Man/Fields of Gold/When I Need You/Carolina on My Mind
When Doves Cry
The Way

Kelly Clarkson set
Low
What's Up Lonely
The Trouble with Love Is
Just Missed the Train
Beautiful Disaster
Stuff Like That There
You Thought Wrong
Why Haven't I Heart from You?
Bounce
Timeless
Anytime
Thankful
Miss Independent
A Moment Like This

Joint encore
Open Arms