The Maddy Curtis Concert

Remember my blog post with video of Maddy Curtis, the 16-year-old American Idol contestant who turned out to live in the next town over from us? Well, this weekend she put on a benefit concert to raise money for Haiti at our local community arts center. My daughter and I took it in, and it was a really good show.

Maddy has a very beautiful and very mature voice. Not the typical American Idol over-the-top big voice, but one that is intense and expressive. She had great song choice, featuring bluesy classics (like “Sentimental Journey” and “Blues in the Night”) and adding in newer songs in that same tradition.

She has presence on stage, coming across as quite pleasant, down to earth, and humble. She talks easily about God and her family. She was sworn to secrecy about her fate on American Idol in the Hollywood round and respected that.

What I really respected was that in her big hometown moment she kept the focus not on herself but on the issue at hand: help for Haiti. A staff member from World Vision, the Christian humanitarian agency that the money for the concert went to, who was actually in Haiti when the earthquake hit told about her experiences there. A big screen flashed heart-rending slides of the devastation, the people of Haiti, and the relief efforts.

So, I commend Maddy Curtis to you, not just as an American Idol but as a fine young artist and an impressive Christian teenager.