Despite criticism, White brought refreshing flavor to ‘American Idol’

By Matthew B. Zeidman

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 5/1/08 – In yet another miscarriage of televised voting justice, Arizona-born pianist Brooke White was eliminated from “American Idol” Wednesday night, thinning the contestant pool and removing one of the last remaining challengers of flavor from the competition. Certainly her performance of Neil Diamond’s “I’m a Believer” wasn’t her finest hour, but her departure leaves the “Idol” quilt missing its most colorful patch.

What made White stand out from her fellow competitors wasn’t just her beauty and her bizarre admission that she had never seen an R-rated film. She brought an introspective style to the stage, the purity of her talent bubbling to the surface each time she sat behind the ivory keys.

Though her penultimate song choice may have been her undoing, she always gave her all and never settled for second best, even risking elimination by starting over twice during the contest.

Her fervence for music was never in question, and while she was often scrutinized for wearing her emotions on her sleeve and taking every negative judge’s comment like a dagger through the heart, this endeared her to the audience and gave her a realness and vulnerability about her that the remaining contestants lack.

She wasn’t perfect, and maybe her skin wasn’t thick enough at times, but if White had won, she would have been the everyday person’s champion—the populist American idol, if you will—a soulful contender, whose down-to-earth demeanor and determination to win would have made her a unique addition to the pantheon of past “Idol” victors.

Carry on, Brooke. Carry on.