Not all 'Idol' finalists are treated equally

A FEW WEEKS ago, I was asked an interesting question: "How much coaching do each of the contestants get on 'American Idol'?"

Truth be told, not a whole lot — at least not during Season 2 when I performed. The kinks were still being ironed out. And the small amount of coaching we did receive was not evenly distributed.

I only received minimal vocal coaching from "American Idol" voice instructor Debra Byrd. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of times I actually received applicable, specific advice from her. Most of the time, it was, "You sound good. Just do your thing." Or, "You need to work on your high notes."

One day, as I was waiting downstairs for my private singing lesson, Clay Aiken was in the music room. I could hear him going over and over his song, dissecting it.

Finally, after about 30 minutes, the door opened. It was my turn. I walked in and sang my song about three times before being dismissed. Hardly the personal one-on-one attention Aiken had just received.

After that, I was at a point to spend more time working with someone who was focused on helping me. That's when I began calling Utah vocal coach Dean Kaelin more frequently.

With him, we took my song line by line, and I leaned how to really sell it — not just sing it.

As far as our wardrobes, we basically went shopping on our own and then had the stylists approve our outfits. Meaning that, unless it was absolutely hideous, we could wear whatever we wanted.

Wait — a few of my outfits were absolutely hideous, so scratch that comment.

My mom arranged for a friend of a friend to help me select clothes, and those outfits usually turned out fine.

This year, there have been several comments on outfits. (Remember Carly Smithson a few weeks back? Simon said she needed to "have a talk with whoever is dressing you" compared to the "You look like a star!" comment that was given to Kristy Lee Cook?)

What an artist wears says a lot about who he or she is. It creates a marketable image that viewers either like or forget. I would guess that this season, the contestants are given a lot more help than we were in creating and maintaining a specific image. After all, they represent the show as well as themselves, and the show is bigger than ever.

But perhaps more than wardrobe or vocal coaching, performance coaching was the one thing we needed the most — and received the least. Besides performing for my mom or in front of the mirror, I wasn't given any outside perspective on what does and does not come across well on camera.