Stephen Fowler | American Idol | Blind singer, piano player

Man. I'm ashamed. I can't believe I missed it. I mean, how can I look at myself in the mirror and call myself a Stephen Fowler blogger after this? What I'm talking about is the fact that I only learned recently that Stephen Fowler, that American Idol hopeful, the one who plays the piano, well, he also just happens to be freaking blind! I can't believe I missed that piece of information. And at the same time, I'm just in awe.

I mean, fine, Stephen Fowler can play the piano and sing. Great. But play the piano and sing while not being able to actually look at the ebony and ivory keys he's pounding on, all while belting the lyrics to some song? And maybe doing all that in from of a crowd? Man, that's just awesome! I mean, really it's awesome.

I wonder how he does it. And I wonder how he'll do in American Idol. Will it be different for him? Will his performance be dampened by the fact that he has three (well actually now four) judges critically judging his vocal intonations, his pipes, and how well he pounds along on the piano? If he makes it further, will he be affected by the much larger crowds? Or by the fact that he'll be performing for America on TV, and hell, probably big chunk of the globe? Or will Stephen Fowler just be able to shrug that off and perform?

At the same time, of course, the comparisons that may be made in relation to Stephen Fowler are there, and they might prove to create expectations that might just be too much for him to reach. I mean, I can think of two other great singers who also happened to be blind, and who also happened to play the piano, and those two were (well actually are, or maybe just for one of those) legends. Maybe you can throw in one other blind singer, who doesn't play the piano, but possesses one mean tenor voice, and you have the setup for great, and maybe insurmountable expectations.

So we'll see how Stephen Fowler performs. Based on his own past performances (Will he underperform? Will he rise to the challenge and take his performances to another level?) and those of past greats he might be compared to (How will he measure up?). What I do know though is that the fact that Stephen Fowler both sings and plays the piano already earns quite a lot of respect from me. And the fact that he auditioned for American Idol, and appears to have at least made it to Hollywood also bodes well for the quality of his performance.

So again, Stephen Fowler, singer, pianist, blind fellow. Respect. The next American Idol?