Give that girl a contract [updated]

First off, yes, I watch Amer­i­can Idol and like it. It is the quin­tes­sen­tial guilty plea­sure. But enough about me.

Last night, one of the con­tes­tants, Fan­ta­sia Bar­rino, sang Gershwin’s Sum­mer­time and it was amaz­ing. After the show (after watch­ing her sing it twice, thanks to the won­ders of TiVo) we went down­stairs and lis­tened to our copy of Ella and Louis doing the same song. Also good, but Fantasia’s ver­sion was some­thing stellar.

Where Ella’s voice is but­tery and smooth, Fantasia’s was soul­ful and real. The Ella and Louis ver­sion evokes in me images of slow sum­mer, warm, lan­guid, with peo­ple in sun hats and Sun­day dress. Fantasia’s ver­sion made me think of Brook­lyn brown­stones and hot days, sum­mer with a lit­tle grit of sand and sweat. It was a fresh, orig­i­nal take on the song, and now that I have found it online, you can enjoy it, too.

Fan­ta­sia Bar­rino singing Summertime