I've had a lot of feelings and emotions over the years as I've watched
Barry perform, but tonight what I was feeling was pride.
At the early show, the American Idol contestants were in the audience.
We had heard through the grapevine that part of the reason they were
there was to see how Barry performs a song. Our man outdid himself. I
hope the AI kids were paying attention. Barry consistently nailed every
song. Every performance was one of the strongest I've seen. I'm
surprised he had anything left for the late show (but he did!).
Mandy/Could It Be Magic was again very passionate and emotional,
definitely deserving of a standing ovation. He followed with I Made It
Through the Rain. It seemed to be a very good choice considering who
was in the audience.
On the Dew Drop side he performed Studio Musician, another good choice
for the evening.
A huge and welcome surprise was Debra Byrd. When Barry started talking
about her, I was hoping she would perform and I was hoping the song
would be I'll Never Love This Way Again. It was one of the most
exciting moments of the show for me.
He ended the early show with his new medley. And again, I think it was
a good choice for the AI contestants.
