Didi Benami
23 – Hollywood, CA
Didi’s backstory is that her best friend passed away 4 years ago and she was a singer also.
Audition Song – Hey Jude
Hollywood Week Round 1 Song – Terrified (co-written by Kara DioGuardi)
Hollywood Week Group Song – not shown
Hollywood Week Round 3 Song – Angel
Semi-final Week 1 Song – “The Way I Am” by Ingrid Michaelson
Semi-final Week 2 Song – “Lean On Me” by Bill Withers
Semi-final Week 3 Song – “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac
Rigelseven’s Take:
Didi came into the semi-finals with good buzz both for her performances and for the fact she is hot. She also had some controversy as she has ties to people in the music business since she has been in LA for years trying to be a singer. Apparently her connections were not as close to American Idol management as last season’s disqualified contestant Joanna Pacitti as Didi is still in the competition. Didi is rumored to be friends with Jason Reeves who co-wrote the song “Terrified” with Idol judge Kara DioGuardi. Didi’s performance of “Terrified” during Hollywood week was a big reason for the positive buzz she entered the semi-finals with. Unfortunately for Didi, she lost any momentum she had with her first two semi-final performances. Her performance of “The Way I Am” by Ingrid Michaelson seemed like a good choice to me as her style is similar to Michaelson’s, but the judges criticized it. I wonder if the judges were even familiar with the song. She followed this up with “Lean On Me” in week two and almost everyone agrees this was a bad song choice and her performance suffered. In week 3 she brought her guitar back out and did a nice take on “Rhiannon” and salvaged her spot in the top 12. I would put her in the middle of the pack at this point, but if she keeps improving she might go further. The fact that she is a very attractive blonde won’t hurt either, although that wasn’t enough to get Katelyn Epperly in the top 12.
Chindi’s Take:
Didi had all the momentum in the world when the semi-finals started, and she almost seemed to start losing ground immediately once they began. I liked her first performance, really didn’t like her second performance and thought her third was good, but that it put her in a little danger. The question that Didi has to answer is who is she? Is she the girl who gave us moving, heartfelt renditions of ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘Terrified’? Or is she the girl who lost all track of the song in ‘Lean on Me’? She has a little time to gain some footing while the easy votes go, but it would be a mistake for her to think that she has all the time in the world. More than anything else American Idol voters like to be told a story: Here’s Fantasia and her baby and her church; Here’s Jordan Sparks she’s so young but can you believe her voice; Here’s David Cook and the things he can do to songs he’s already a star. Even Jordan, who wasn’t initially ‘in the hunt’ started on the rise early in the finals until she officially threw her hat in the ring with ‘I Love You’.
Didi is great, but if she doesn’t come out with her best performances in these next few weeks, she’s not going to make it many weeks beyond that.
Semi-final Preview Projected Finish - Top 6 (RigelSeven) Top 2 (Chindi)
Updated Projected Finish – 8th (Rigelseven) 7th (Chindi)
