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The phenomenon that is "American Idol" returned to the Giant Center last night, proving that reruns are a hit in something other than television.
Two months after the American Idols Live Tour last visited Hershey, another sellout crowd packed the arena.
If you happened to attend both shows, you were probably experiencing some serious deja vu. With only the slightest of alterations, it was the same people singing the same songs. But it seemed to matter not -- the Idol worshippers roared.
Chris Daughtry was clearly a favorite, drawing loud cheers anytime his image came up on the video screens. When he led off the second half of the show with Led Zepplin's "Whole Lotta Love," the sound level went up to new decibel levels.
Then America's newest celebrity of the moment, "Idol" winner Taylor Hicks, came running down an aisle singing "Jailhouse Rock."
The magnetic figure whipped the crowd into a frenzy through Bob Seger's "Hollywood Nights," Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City," his own single "Do I Make You Proud" and the Doobie Brothers' "Takin' It to the Streets."
Some of his tourmates and "Idol" rivals provided compelling and odd moments: like Daughtry, Elliott Yamin, Bucky Covington and Ace Young doing an acoustic, harmonized version of Guns N' Roses' "Patience." Somewhere Axl Rose is getting angrier.
Katharine McPhee, however, did a nice cover of K.T. Tunstall's "Black Horse and Cherry Tree" and a beautiful version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
Over-the-top backing vocals overwhelmed much of R&B diva Mandisa's vocal skills on her show-opening set of Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman" and Alicia Keys' "If I Was Your Woman."
Next up, Young delivered a decent take on George Michael's "Father Figure" but a paper-thin cover of Maroon 5's "Harder to Breathe."
Lisa Tucker belted out soulless, overwrought versions of Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed Delivered" and Elton John's "Your Song" and "Someone Saved My Life Tonight," and a bland take on TLC's "Waterfalls" in a duet with Paris Bennett.
Bennett more than recovered with an inspired, almost spiritual take on Gladys Knight & The Pips' "Midnight Train to Georgia."
Covington's white bread and mayonnaise cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" was less believable. Bill Withers' "Give Me the Beat Boys" was more within Covington's range.
Kellie Pickler's powerful cover of Melissa Etheridge's "I'm the Only One" ended the opening half of the show on a high note.
BARRY FOX: 255-8225 or bfox@patriot-news.com
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