Gabby Barrett is one of the youngest contestants on American Idol who’s made it to the Top 7. (She and Catie Turner are both 18!) For the May 6 episode of American Idol, all seven singers perform both a song from the year they were born (2000 for Gabby and Catie) and a song from the massive Prince catalog. Prince produced 39 studio albums of his own, but he also wrote songs for others and lent songs to other artists including Alicia Keys. Gabby owned the Prince song “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore,” made popular by Alicia Keys in 2001 — what a great choice for her.
[Note: Prince wrote the original song in 1982 — when Alicia Keys was one year old! Damn, Prince! Alicia Keys’ cover of the song is on her debut album Songs in A Minor (2001).]
“How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore” is a song about longing to be with a lover. The lyrics include the desperate lines: “Ah, yeah, sometimes it feels like I’m gonna die/ If you don’t call me, you gotta try/ Down on my knees begging you please, please.” In Prince’s version he inserts a “mama”; in Alicia Keys’ version it’s “papa.” Gabby is known to show a lot of emotion on stage. But for this Prince song, Gabby dug deep and revealed real desperation. American Idol airs Sundays at 8pm on ABC.
