American Idol 2019 - Alejandro Arando

[John Adams]

Posted: 5/13/19 at 9:56am

I haven't watched Idol in many, many years, but I found this year's crop of potentials to be pretty interesting. I thought this was an extremely talented bunch.

The one who sticks out for me, and has kept me watching the entire season is Alejandro Aranda (aka, ScaryPoolParty). If his music were to be categorized, I'd say he's a jazz artist. I think that's a first for Idol, where the contestants have traditionally been pop, rock, or country.

Aranda's strongest performances have been when he performs his own compositions. I wasn't nearly as impressed with his covers, except for his duet of Mrs. Robinson with Walker Burroughs.

His online presence as ScaryPoolParty contains only a handful of original work. At this point, Idol has carefully paced his performances so that the last of his online compositions was performed last night (the finale is next Sunday).

What makes Aranda so amazing for me is his INCREDIBLE musicianship, and especially his technical skills on guitar and piano. (Well, that, and his consistently genuine humility.) Look at his audition performance of Out Loud:

Those are some MAD skills!

I've been waiting for a performance of Blesser, which he performed last night:

I don't really care if he wins Idol or not. It's never been a necessity that a contestant win to have a successful career. I'm just looking forward to a professionally produced album of his work (the online videos are interesting, but aren't the best medium to really hear his work).

[javero]

Posted: 5/13/19 at 8:26pm

Haven't watched Idol in years.  Dude's quite the revelation.  Hate to see how the recording industry makes him over if he's signed to a major label. Thanks for sharing!

[John Adams]

Posted: 5/14/19 at 11:14am

javero said: "Hate to see how the recording industry makes him over if he's signed to a major label."

i'd like to have professionally produced recordings of his work, but I think it's too soon for him to sign with a major label.

In his interview segments on Idol, Aranda has described himself as self-taught. If you look at all of what he's posted online as ScaryPoolParty, you can see how abundantly gifted he is (personally, I agree with the judges when they consistently describe him as a genius), but you can also see how raw those gifts are right now.

For example, if you listen to all his piano work, you can see how often he relies on the use of arpeggios to create fullness. I wonder if his reliance on a single technique is due to the limitations of being self-taught, and what kind of additional creativity he might display if say, he were to be connected with a mentor at Juillard, for example. Someone who could 'fill in the blanks' at an educational level, beyond what he's taught himself.

Also, I don't think he's the best vocal frontman for his own work. Aranda brilliantly produces inventive variances in rhythm, harmony, dynamics and tone color using only a guitar. He's not able to provide that same effect with his voice. Although the genres are completely different, and regardless of whether/not anyone finds the genre of the Carpenters' music to be appealing, I find a lot of similarity between Aranda and Richard Carpenter. 

I would love to see Aranda become a Richard Carpenter, with his own band, in his own genre, with his own compositions. And also, with a frontman (or woman) who can provide the kind of vocals that match the quality of his instrumentals. 

PS: I also would hope that, no matter what direction he goes in terms of band or solo artist, he ditches the "ScaryPoolParty" moniker.

Instead, I hope he'll call himself (or a band) "Aranda". I like the grounded symmetry of the spelling, and the vocal rhythm of the name. It seems a better fit for his personality, and the style of his music.

Updated On: 5/14/19 at 11:14 AM

[javero]

Posted: 5/14/19 at 12:43pm

I corrected the spelling of his last name in the subject line.  Agree with 99% of what you wrote, but his last name is tricky from a branding perspective.  It has a connotation of someone who is "plowing a field" in Spanish.  His musicality is even more impressive considering that he's an autodidact.  Arguably, some formal training would be icing on the cake.  Regarding his singing voice, I'll simply categorize him as a "song stylist" and keep it moving.  I wish him the best.