If Von Smith seemed familiar to you on last night’s American Idol, you’re not crazy. Von Smith, the guy with the silly hat and the big, high voice, is a ringer. Kind of. In 2007, when Rosie O’Donnell was still acting as The View’s resident Jabba, she saw Von Smith singing on YouTube. She was so, so impressed, that she invited the then 20-year-old lad to come on The View and perform. And perform he did, with all the subtlety of a beached whale’s death rattles. Von Smith loves his voice, and he’s doubtless received far too much positive reinforcement from his loved ones, because his style of singing would kindly be described as over-the-top. Below, we not only have his performance from The View, we have a clip of Joel McHale from The Soup making fun of his performance on The View. Plus, in case you’ve received a massive head wound in the last 16 hours, we have Von’s audition from last night’s American Idol.
First, take a gander at his performance on The View.
Before we critique Von’s style of singing, here is Joel McHale’s rebuttal.
OK. I’m sure there are some of you out there who thorough enjoy Von’s particularly ribald style of singing. I found his performance of “I’m Telling You” excruciating. Props where props are due: Von has a great voice, a voice that can go places that most voices cannot. He has a ton of potential. But the way he utilizes that voice reeks of uncompromising douchebaggery. Rein it in, Von. We get that you have crazy range. Quiet it down, sing some soft notes, learn how to actually sing.
It’s sad that a song as great as “I’m Telling You,” a song that was so remarkably performed by Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls has been reduced to a venue for horrifying amateur performances. And, shame on you, Rosie O’Donnell, for encouraging such abrasive singing from a young man. An ego boost was not what Von needed. I fear that Von will make it to the semi-finals and become this season’s version of David Archuleta (insomuch as I will hate him no matter what he does, often ignoring a good performance here or there).
If you haven’t had enough, here is Von’s performance from last night’s American Idol.
Von Smith Audition
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
