American Idol - Tamyra Gray - Minnie The Moocher

[@Boytoy26]

i was in the audience for this episode.. They were all awesome wiht the big band night.. I think Idol should do it again...

[@jerrywh1]

I'm 69 yrs. old and think Cab Colloway is super, but this is the best I've ever heard. The voice is great, but the non-verbal communication is even better, such as her over all body language, and especially the way she uses her eyes. That's showmanship!

[@tomasjephersin844]

She SLAYED!!!! One Of Her Best

[@joseespinal912]

Amazing im still listing to this in 2013. I love You Tamyra Gray.

[@1l2a3s4h5a6]

still listening in 2014

[@Mehapes7777]

Still listening in 2015

[@abi_w02]

2018 :P lmao

[@paulyv777]

2023

[@pghfanjohn5171]

I'm rediscovering her! She was one of the best ever on Idol!!

[@JenniHayward]

This is awesome! It takes guts to do Cab Calloway's signature song, and she totally pulls it off - and she looks great! I love the outfit!

[@Merrida100]

Wow, she's awesome! Great voice and great stage presence. Very nice!

[@HollandGreco]

that was obviously incredible. this girl is mad gifted.

[@mhmred]

Still watching in 2019 U ROCK AND U WERE ROB 📺🎬🤗🤗🤗🤗😍🥰

[@valedictorian2004]

I have no idea what everyone else is hearing, but that was one HELL OF A PERFORMANCE. Her vocals with awesome and those scats, superb!!!! Here a fact, she is NOT Cab Calloway, she's Tamyra Gray and she performed the song her way which is simply EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think you all need to get a grip on reality and just appreciate talent when you see it!!!

[@joseespinal9492]

Wow After so many years Tamyra Gray still brings me to see her past performances. Love her and her Cd was amazing Americans don't know what real music is anymore. They are tone Death at times lol.

[@chris1978nl]

What an incredible voice. And what a party animal. Holland may have got Talant, but America has an idol.... What a diva , bravooo

[@HO-os8ry]

one my fav songs and she killed it ...she did cab props

[@dylansaunders4211]

i think she did awesome considering its American Idol and they rush through EVERYTHING.. she was given this music this tempo and had to make it work.. she did the damn thing :) ♥

[@MrTrasherton]

Absolutely flawless. Loved it and I love her. Yes tamyra....sing about that moocher

[@cripplermaximus]

2024 and this is the first time I’ve seen this. Neat.

[@latinahoney123]

When I clicked on this I didnt think it would be good because usually when you try to copy originals as good as cabs was it doesnt turn out good, but I gotta give her props she really knocked it out good job!

[@healthhavencom]

one of the best performances ever on idol

[@jannordlund7250]

This perormance was the one that made me really take notice of her.

[@21BiscuitStreet]

on eof my favortie performances on american idol everrr

[@idiotbunnyproduction]

oh god i love this song, and i believe she does it justice and she looks absolutely stunning.

[@skkygirl]

I love her and Kelly. They are the most fantastic.

[@Macedon51]

Fantastic!

[@ZeNoodle]

Its nice to see they're doing a song more then a year old. Hopefully this got some idol fans interested in Cab Calloway! :D

[@Sinic818]

good job, great tune. good looking woman too.

[@Hegenberg95]

this vid is the best i ever had seen ..

[@Pinkyfreaky987654321]

just fantastic ..

[@healthhavencom]

86 people need an audiologist, stat

[@fradgers1237]

Max Freedom 92

[@Macedon51]

Beautiful !!!

[@romas1995]

its very good ! i like it !!

[@snood2311]

i loved this

[@Neopreacher]

@immoralq Makes total sense. This song is written from the perspective of a man reflecting on the woman that walked out of his life. Furthermore, this version is not the one that Cab Calloway performed... seeing that it is short 2 verses, and the closing of the song is not in the Calloway version.

[@Ailesh]

It was this song that originally got me into Idol :)

[@mhmred]

Still watching the VERY BEST OF 2002 1st American idol THIS IS A TRUE WINNER 😍😘😘😘😘😘

[@mhmred]

2017 Still love her🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗

[@Runmaister]

She is singing POP man!!!! Nothing same between this and BLues or JAzz!!!!

[@marktarimo-weir7156]

Freaking AMAZING!!! xXx

[@SunnyHappyPiglet]

Totally agree! Mr. Calloway OWNS that song.

[@Randalina1]

they said she was great and that she fit into every genre perfectly

[@ashcroft8]

She's Great !!!

[@decolady2]

@ex59neo53 if you'd heard all of cab calloway's versions, you would have realized that the some of his original versions were ever faster than this one. i'm assuming you've only heard him do it on the blues brother's movie.

[@hermanglimsher]

@SEXYboydx55 Thanks for your reply. I was curious because that was a song you either liked or didn't. There doesn't seem to a middle ground on this number

[@ianpearce2]

THIS IS GREATTTT!!!

[@bindiyay]

She's good at doing the tongue-twisters, I'll give her that.

[@calientechic08]

Tamyra was THE best. She should have stayed on longer than what she did.

[@shewolfish]

I agree with the last comment...this is really a song for a man to sing...but she does a terrific job!!!

[@Kinokisings]

Yes

[@2Greenhill]

She does a nice job. There was the time restraint issue and the fact that they edit out about a guy named Smokey who was "cokey" and going to China Town and " kicking the gong around" smoking opium. As for the tempo, in later years Cab Calloway took it at a much faster tempo. Blues Brothers director John Landis got him to slow it back down to the strut tempo he used in the 1930s.

[@Notawesomeatall7]

Ohh she's talented and this song is very fun, good for her. She picked a classy piece.

[@yourticketstogo]

one of my favorites, what ever happened with her ?

[@hermanglimsher]

I would have loved to have heard what the judges said about this song.

[@maryjaneplus]

I wanna know the commentaries of the judges?! someone have? or know what they said about?

[@maxculley6339]

1:11 - 1:18 DAMN SHES GOOD

[@KXGAN]

not really

[@sultan1122]

You people are horrible! This girl has done her best singing this song and she has put every ounce of soul in this song she can possibly can! I know that the actual singer sang it MUCH better than her, but no one can sing it better than him so thats not fair! She did all she can with it, not her best performance but its not "horrible". I wouldn't even call Nikki mcgibbin horrible.

[@GermanE92]

heyheyhey. kelly's great. tamyra too.

[@twixxal]

i think cab is the best, but i also like her interpretation of it!! its young and fresh... its new! it's jazz it's her personalitiy!

[@beardown2489]

She was the best pure singer/entertainer the show's had. I know Kelly is really good but she's shouldn't have even won which is crazy. Kelly could have been forgotten

[@babo85]

wow! Did I make a fool of myself :p all this time I've been getting people to say hoochiecoo :D oh well.. no harm done I suppose ;)

[@ManuelaOliveiraMusic]

first time Hound Dog was recorded it was by a woman. it was originally recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton

[@skateralexl33t]

hard to find a good sounding version.. here it is..

[@johncwifey4sho]

omg! she ripped it! she really shld have won!

[@tommymiller66]

American Idol's Best Carrie Underwood Tamyra Grey Chris Daughtry Kelly Clarkston in that order after that, they're not worth mentioning!

[@paidmeat]

I thought she was terriffic. Hell, I can't sing for nothing but she can. I never watch A.I. In fact never even seen it before but she seems very talented.

[@Schrepdaddy]

fucking karaoke night in here. i wanna perform there

[@ThatguyZim]

this was good but I like Cab Calloway's better, btw, what did the judges think of this???

[@MacRief]

@clashmidi orly?!

[@dlhaney1973]

Check under CAB CALLOWAY.... Minnie The Moocher.

[@beczkabeczka]

what did you overdose? :o

[@isislaz]

I'm still a @tamyragray fan

[@21BiscuitStreet]

a woman ORIGINALLY sang hound dog actually. elvis covered it

[@qg6ff]

ain't it funny i also realized that when syesha did hers...it was also number one and same night (top 6)

[@jax191]

cab calloway sang the song tons of different ways i think sheacually did the song a good bit of justice

[@boneradius]

cool

[@BlakeGreenFilms]

thanks a lot you turned a great jazz song into pop shame shame

[@TheXander360]

no gongs getting kicked around? Like anyone (who would get offended) would know what that even means

[@aquastar66]

Michael Reeves It means snorting coke in the 20s

[@mrstep2me]

aquastar66 It actually means smoking opium.

[@doctorj5009]

Michael Reeves opium

[@oldfriendofmine]

Love the yoddler who hollers back at 1:08.

[@uhohlookwhoshere]

lmao I'd think so! I'd be rolling in my grave too

[@qg6ff]

sigh, just like syesha's performance... both AMAZING

[@RomZomCom]

@immoralq It does, but I dunno, she puts a bit of sultry into it - even Cab made his versions smooth after a while.

[@yigsstarhouse]

Im definitly one that always thought she should have gotten further then#4 if not of won the whole thing that year... sigh

[@ossus1977]

Only beef I have with it is that it lacks the randomousity that a scat singer would have. While it is a familiar version, since the blues brothers made those particular auditories memorable, like most music, scat is alive. And that's what draws you in, because you have to follow the singer. You can't ever assume the next line of scat. But eh.

[@gannybun]

bring her to glee!!!

[@temporaryguy]

What the christ this is actually a song

[@Black2295]

You ppl must not realize how hard it is to scat

[@lilgiggler35]

she was doing good and had a week where i think she was sick and her performance was off and the fans didnt give her the votes. even simon said he didnt agree with her being kicked off that week but they had to go by the votes and she got the least amount

[@anthonyfranco88]

Uh... they have to condense the song to fit in all the good parts. They usually have to keep the song under 2 minutes.

[@radio8]

She's no Cab Calloway but damn she is quite good

[@cetko13]

the actual song is a bit(mean a lot) slower but good interpretation

[@ohmydarlingclem]

@MrAzcatfan97 they had to finish their songs in under 2 minutes, she really couldn't do anything about it...

[@joseespinal9492]

Don't get me wrong she is not Kelly Clarkson. But the girl can sing.

[@ex59neo53]

The point is : with this voice ,the rythm is too fast ... better idea would have been to keep original speed

[@scrateshooter]

She is HOT!

[@MrProdigy555]

No she didnt!!!! I dont know what you are talking about!

[@JGAN96]

yea cab's voice is a lot better, plus his physical expressions and funky conduction is awesome.

[@dylansaunders4211]

Betty Boop!

[@realdoomerhours]

This was like waiting for death.

[@srshani]

just re-watching this at the very end 1:37 she messed up the "poor Min, poor Min" part she was late.

[@PrincessFiana]

this song is amazing, but i guess i'm just old fashioned...i prefer hearing the artists like danny kaye and judy garland perform this.

[@dradeel]

Haha, yeah. They left it out. I guess they cut out "indecent" stuff to make the version short enough and proper for Idol. Sad... A decent performance though. She has a good voice. A dull voice perhaps, but good.

[@KaydeyRai]

The song's awesome (Listen to the Cab Calloway version)....its just that she's not soulful enough to sing it, she's an American Idol contestant for god sake

[@soocool78]

i'd agree but i think alot of it has to do with the show and time constraints, not the singer's choice