Bianca Rocks

August 18, 2006

Remember "Star Search"? Those adorable young moppets, all decked out in sequins? Ed McMahon and those blessedly silent judges?

Well, NBC has combined it with American Idol and called it “America’s Got Talent.” It’s just the kind of mindless summer TV that we love. The best that can be said for it was the Time Magazine Review which referred to the show as: “America Can Balance a Sword On It’s Face.”

Well, last night’s big sweeping finale crushed some dreams, notably the fiddling family band known as “Celtic Spring” and a yodeling little girl whose coach is straight out of Dollywood’s talent department. The big winner was Bianca Ryan, singing, of all things, Janis Joplin. Her rendition of ''Piece of My Heart'' earned her some serious cred, and she won a million dollars!

Bianca has that special something in a package that isn’t defined by current show biz norms. She’s not a Beyonce, or a Lee Ann Rimes or even a budding Lindsay Lohan. She’s awkward and more like the clumsy kid next door.

It’s gonna be tough. But we have faith in our Bianca and hope she doesn’t change too much. With a voice like that, they’ll be creating stuff uniquely fit just for her.

Congrats, kiddo!