Follow Up: Branding of a Star – Angie Miller

Recently I wrote a post on my personal blog PR-defied titled "The Branding of a Star". I was lucky enough to have the Patch share this blog post, but if you haven't read it I would suggest you read that post first.  This is a follow up that builds upon my  Beverly’s own Angie Miller and her rise to fame on American Idol. 

I still believe Angie is going to win the Idol competition.  My prediction has slightly changed as the competition has rolled out.  I now think top 5 belong to the ladies.  I love Lazaro and know he has a very strong base of followers, but when compared to the 5 vocal powerhouses on stage with him the writing is on the wall.

In “The Branding of a Star”, I talked how Angie is perfectly branding herself against the competition, and I still stand by that.  If you think about the top 5 ladies, you have two country artists and two R&B/soul singers.  Then you have Angie, the odd lady out with her rocker-edge, religious-base and sit-at-the-piano to deliver powerful vocals.  She is so different from any of the others on that stage.  I honestly think that they all will be “winners”, but for American Idol, Angie has it in her back pocket.

Yet Angie had a little stumbling block two weeks ago when she sang “Shop Around” by The Miracles, written by guest coach Smokey Robinson.  She didn’t receive the praises from the judges as she is accustomed to.  Her #Dreamers did come through and kept her out of the bottom three.  The girl took a chance.  She tried to change up her repertoire and have fun on stage.  But Angie spoiled the judges and America with her original song “You Set Me Free” during Hollywood week.  The bar has been set.  Often contestants are told to venture out and try something new, but America and the judges still want Angie singing her heart out at the piano.

One other comment before I get to my point.  If you watch the show, you often hear pageant-like comments on her looks not her voice.  This stems from the Ryan Seacrest and the judges commenting on her hair wardrobe and then on her performance.  If you read the comments from my post “The Branding of a Star” you will see some concerns over Angie selling herself short, dressing inappropriately, etc.  My opinion is that she is a teenage girl with a stylist and a limitless wardrobe.  I would do the same thing.  However, it is important for everyone to remember that this is a vocal competition and not a pageant. Granted, to be a star you need to be the full “package” and honestly, we live in a world where everyone judges books by their covers.  However, emphasize needs to lie with the voice and not the style.

Now to get to my point – I want to focus on Angie’s performance last week.

She returned to the stage and got herself back on track.  Notice the curls returned, the outfit was less revealing and she was at the piano.  Then she stood up and did her thing.  She compromised, “yes (judges) you want the piano – here it is.”  Then she stood up, walked to a platform in the middle of the stage and did HER thing.  What she wanted to do – the confidence and voice were there to blow everyone away.

Angie is a very smart girl.  She knows how to deliver and stay true to herself.  She is beautiful, she can’t hide that; she can’t control what people (judges) say.  But she knows what it takes to win this competition.  Just look at this picture above.  She already is a star.