‘American Idol XIV’ video: Stephanie Gummelt auditions to ‘A Case of You’

We’ve done quite a few of these “American Idol XIV” spotlight articles now, but we feel pretty confident in saying that Stephanie Gummelt may be the most enigmatic person we’ve heard perform to date. We’re being honest when we say that we have heard better singers so far for this upcoming season, but at the same time there’s an earthy soul about her that is hard to place, and it makes us interested in hearing more from here. There’s an emotional quality that has us wishing that we had much more than 40 seconds to watch.

Before we dive in here, just a quick reminder to head over here if you want to watch some of the other videos that we’ve discussed in this series so far. We’ll have one every day leading up to the season premiere Wednesday.

Song Choice – “A Case of You” by Joni Mitchell. Love the song. Love the meaning behind it. James Wolpert from “The Voice” probably holds the title of best cover of this song that we’ve heard, and we’re mostly shocked that more people haven’t done this song. It has a good vocal range to it, and lyrics that good artists can connect to.

The performance – Stephanie has a shaky vocal at times, and cuts off some of the longer notes a little earlier than we would have liked. Range-wise, she is reminiscent almost of Lucy Spraggan from the British “X Factor” in that she’s not going to win based off of pure vocal theatrics, but she has a natural storytelling quality to her voice. We believe her when she sings, and given how many winners of this show have just been good singers and nothing more, we’re glad to see something different.

Our verdict – This could be a toss-up for the judges depending on what they are looking for. If they’re interested in having a ton of belters, she could be in trouble. Personally, we’d prefer having her make it a little further, just to see if her interpretation of lyrics is always this strong.

What do you think about Gummelt’s audition for “American Idol”? Let us know in the comments! Also, head over here to get some other TV news and updates worth singing about, courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Fox.)