It's the show we've all been waiting for! Finally after a great season we will find out who the American Idol of Season 8 is! YAY! Here's my play by play and reactions from moments throughout the show.
I LOVED the intros of the judges! These people have one of the best jobs on the planet so they deserve to be put on blast every once in a while. What did you say? Sweetie, for me for you it was exuberant brilliance! :-) LOVE IT.
Next up is a group performance, and can I just say THANK GOD they did not lip sync it! The top 13 perform Pink's "So What" dressed in all white. Basically it can't get any better than this for me because its my favorite musical artist and my favorite TV meshed into one faboosh performance! :-) I do have to say that these group numbers sound like "Kids Bop" sometimes... but they are still fun.
Then, last year's winner David Cook performs. To be honest, I fast forwarded through this performance (love me some DVR!) He's aight for me dawg... but I was more interested in Kris/Adam. I do think it showed some strength for him to perform so soon after his brother passed away... and its cool that the proceeds from the song will go to cancer research. David always has been a nice guy.
Ryan then introduces the Golden Idol Awards. At first I rolled my eyes because in year's past this whole award thing has been a useless filler in the show... but this time I have to say that I actually enjoyed the awards. This first one, for Outstanding Male went to Nick Mitchell/Normund Gentle... and I have to say that I totally got played by him. When he came up there in an American Eagle sweatshirt and jeans I immediately commented on his outfit, finding it ridiculous tha the would wear that sort of outfit on the show. But that tricky Nick was one step ahead of us, ripping off the street clothes to perform his memorable song. Although he has deifnitely sounded better, I'm glad that they gave Nick some camera time. He was a fun addition to this year's season.
The first "celebrity" performance of the night features one of my favorites... Queen Latifa! She is awesome! I love that she's a big girl and she was ROCKIN' that skin tight outfit. I'm sure there will be criticism... but I give her mad props. I don't give mad props for the song choice. Never heard of this "Cue the Rain". I'm not the only one, am I? Plus, Lil Rounds... well meh. I'm over her. Still.
Next up is Jason Mraz! Awesome! a Jason Mraz and Kris Allen duet is perfect! They've been calling Kris "Jason-Mrazy" all season... so we finally get to see them together!!! YAY! ..... ummm .... wait. Is that Anoop? And Alexis? No Kris? What? I'm confused. You brought Jason Mraz on the show for a performance with Anoop and Alexis?!?! Sheesh Idol. So far this show has been great... but this is strike one.
Next up we see Kris's back story and then he comes out to duet with country star Keith Urban! They perform Keith's new single called "Kiss a Girl" This duet REALLY worked. Kris did a great job at sliding from the low register up to high notes as Keith Urban does often on his songs. Listening to this performance made me think that Kris could release a mainstream pop version of this country tune and it could be very successful for him. It's a great fit for him! I've always said that Adam could sing any song that the other contestants performed and do it better... but I think my theory was finally proven incorrect. Something about Adam performing "Kiss a Girl" just doesn't sound like a good idea. :-)
When the five girls came out next and performed "Glamorous" I thought they looked like the Pussycat Dolls up there! Maybe they should have performed "When I Grow Up"! This performance definitely reminds us all why Megan and Jamsine got voted out... (yikes). Then Fergie emerges to sing "Big Girls Don't Cry" and she reminds us why she too isn't a contestant on American Idol (that was a low blow... sorry Fergie...). Then I think there was some performance by the Black Eyed Peas singing some song called "Boom Boom Pow" or something like that. I wasn't really paying attention to the performing because I was too distracted by the human-like beings in black and white that were dancing around the stage. Ummm... WTF?!? Cool outfits! I couldn't stop looking at them. Although at one point I did enjoy watching Fergie almost trip and fall in those 12.5" heels!
More Golden Idol Awards... for this one its "Best Attitude" and of course our winner is Katrina Darrell, a.k.a. "Bikini Girl". In my opinion, this part of the show gave us two of my favorite moments of the entire night! First of all, as Bikini Girl walks on stage we can all see that she has had some "enhancements" since her first appearance on the show... and to this Ryan says "I was going to ask you 'What's New' but I'm pretty sure I already know the answer". GENIUS! Thank you Ryan! :-) The next memorable moment is when Katrina takes the stage to sing her song, and she is horrible (as expected). Part way through Kara comes out from behind and totally upstages her! The looks on Katrina's face were priceless! I thought we were going to see a bitchslap right then and there. Then, Kara totally takes me by surprise and rips off her dress! Now Kara is not only upstaging Katrina with her voice but also with her body! SHE LOOKED GOOD! :-) Way to go Kara. You earned major cool points from me for not being afraid to do this on live TV.
Following the bikini maddness, Allison Iraheta performs with Cyndi Lauper! At first I thought that "Time After Time" was a little too slow and I would have much enjoyed her rocking out... but towards the end, I appreciated the performance because it really did showcase Allison's vocal talent. The girl can sing, and I hope that she gets some opportunities out of this experience to do some awesome stuff!
Next up is the contestant I was waiting all night for!!!! Danny Gokey!!!! PSYCHE! :-P Danny takes the stage to perform "Hello" and all I can think is that David Cook owned this song last year and Danny has no business singing it. Then... (*gasp*) Lionel Richie is actually there and comes out to perform some song that I don't know. I'm asuming its Lionel's new sing that he is pimping on the show to hopefully get a download or two on iTunes. Then... thankfully...the duo breaks out some "All Night Long". I'm surprised at how great Lionel still sounds! I guess he isn't that old... but it just seems like artists who go away for a bit always seem to sound a bit rough when they come back... and he didn't sound rough at all. You go on Lionel!
Next up, Adam appears on the mini-stage behind the judges and he is is glam-rocked out! He's got on some ridiculously-high heeled boots, a lot of leather, and some interesting shell/wing things on his shoulders. He's got on the guyliner, the sparkles, the whole nine. He performs the KISS ballad "Beth" and I'm thinking in my head "is KISS really going to be here?" To me, that just seems un-doable... to get KISS to agree to be on American Idol. But then again, Gene Simmons did guest host a couple seasons ago. Sure enough... "Beth" ends and "Detroit Rock City" begins as KISS is lowered to the floor on a platform with fireworks a blazing! Adam and Kiss perform that song and "Rock and Roll All Night", and it was PHENOMENAL! I literally said "Who cares if he even wins now?"... he has totally stolen the show. That is a performance that people are going to be talking about. It was a perfect fit for Adam, as he has always liked to mix audio and visual to make a great performance. Who better to do that with than KISS? That was one of the best moments in Idol history!
Next, Carlos Santana takes the stage to perform "Black Magic Woman" with Matt Giraud starting out on the main vocals (and sounding a bit rough... which I hate to say because I love Matt). Then the rest of the finalists join him on stage in black and red and perform "Smooth". I almost forgot about Scott McIntyre until I saw him out there dancing with the other contestants... you GO Scott. In the great words of Paula Abdul... you go "dance like there's no tomorrow". :-)
Ryan introduces the last Ford music video of the year featuring the song "I Will Remember You". Where is this download?!? The song sounded great and I would love to have the Kris/Adam duet! Pretty awesome. Then David Cook shows up to "surprise" the finalists with cars. I wasn't surprised that they got cars... but I was surprised that they chose to do this again this year. On Survivor Ford usually gives away a vehicle but they didn't this year because they were afraid how the public would percieve them for giving away vehicles when Ford is in such trouble nowadays. Why wouldn't this apply to Idol too?
Who knew that Steve Martin played the banjo or had an album coming out? That's craziness. At first I thought they were setting us up for a bad joke. The only thing worth laughing at was Megan Joy's singing! Poor Michael Sarver that his moment in the spotlight was shared with someone who cannot harmonize if her life depended on it.
Next, all the male contestants take the stage in suits and sing "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?". To answer that for a couple of you... YES! :-) Then, Rod Stewart comes out and sings "Maggie May". For the first time all season I think someone on the show was mre drunk than Paula! Rod was totally sauced and you all know it. The way he was slurring his words and stumbling around. Sheesh Rod!
Then we have our final Golden Idol Award for Outstanding Female. As soon as Ryan reads the category, I start clapping and chanting "Tatiana!" You knew it was going to be her. And I also said "I hope she sings Saving All My Love AGAIN"... and she did! LOL. I love that she made fun of herself saying "C'mon Simon, I know you want to hear this song for a FOURTH time"!!! Honestly, props to her for making fun of herself in this segment.
Finally! The duet we've been waiting all night for!!!! Adam and Kris singing together. There are so many songs that would be awesome for them together... and what do they choose? "We Are the Champions"! GREAT CHOICE! The song was a great fit for both their voices. As they walked back to the mainstage and the lights came up on the band members from Queen, by reaction was "Get the F*CK out!" Seriously? Queen? That is just amazing. What a fantastic moment! This finale has been jampacked with such great collaborations and moments. Without a doubt, hands down, this has been the best American Idol Finale that there has been in all 8 seasons. And we haven't even gotten to the results yet!
After a commercial break, we return to Ryan and the accountant letting us know that there were 100 MILLION VOTES! That's pretty awesome! There is no mention of how many votes separated the contestants though... which makes me question... what it not as close as I thought it would be? If it was hella close you KNOW they would have said something about it... hmmm...
Then Ryan makes the announcement... and the winner is.... KRIS! WOW!!!!!! Kris's immediate reaction of his jaw dropping is probably the same reaction of many people around the country. The underdog actually pulled this one off! I really am happy for him... and his cute wife and family.
I do have to say that I was a little underwhelmed by Kris's reaction to the news... I would have thought he would have been a bit more expressive. All he could say was "are you friggen kidding me?".... and saying that "It should be Adam". C'mon dude! I want more from you than that. I wish they would have brought his wife up sooner... because those final few seconds of the show where we saw them hugging and Kris showing a little bit of emotion is all I needed. I guess that not all finals can have emotional results like Kelly, Carrie, and Jordin. But even last year David Cook shed a tear or two! C'mon Kris! It was pretty anti-climatic for me.
So there you have it folks... the recap of the finale show. Later today I'll post more of my reaction to the win. Come back to read more later!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
I'm having second thoughts...
Gosh people...
I just don't know...
The more I think about it, the more I think Kris really MIGHT pull this one out! I'm not trying to play the "on the fence" role... I am just honestly having difficulty feeling confident in a prediction. I said Adam, but a lot of people are behind Kris. I think he's just the likeable, easy choice.
I'm seriously on pins and needles waiting for the finale! T-minus 2 hours and 51 minutes til it starts... and T-minus 5 hours before the result is actually read. I may get an ulcer.
I just don't know...
The more I think about it, the more I think Kris really MIGHT pull this one out! I'm not trying to play the "on the fence" role... I am just honestly having difficulty feeling confident in a prediction. I said Adam, but a lot of people are behind Kris. I think he's just the likeable, easy choice.
I'm seriously on pins and needles waiting for the finale! T-minus 2 hours and 51 minutes til it starts... and T-minus 5 hours before the result is actually read. I may get an ulcer.
More ramblings about the final two...
So, as you'd expect, my mind keeps over analyzing the finale tonight. There are so many ways this could go! (well... actually only two. I'm an idiot.) Honestly, I think Ryan will tell us tonight that this is one of the closest finals in Idol history (if not THE closest). I can't wait to hear how many votes separated Adam and Kris.
The day after I always like to check out dialidol.com and "the buzzmeter" at latimes.com to see what other people are thinking. Both of these websites show virtual dead heats with the two contestants. Dialidol is showing a miniscule lead by Kris... and the experts at the LA Times have voted 10-8 in favor of Adam. It's just too close to call.
Here are a few concepts that have been rolling around in my brain:
1. Kris is what this competition is really all about. Let's face it. American Idol works in the first place because its a competition to discover America's undiscovered musical talent. The entire success of the show is based on Kelly Clarkson winning season one and going from a girl that used to scoop ice cream to being a superstar. You can tell from the audition clips of Kris that he was just a small town guy that had a good voice and was probably encouraged by friends and family to try out. He didn't have the confidence to be a superstar, and he needed an experience like this to build his confidence. In terms of the most heart-warming story, Kris wins hands down. He's a humble guy who found success through this show... and THAT is the original intention of American Idol in the first place.
2. Kris NEEDS to win more than Adam. I think no matter what the result is, Adam will move on to do something in entertainment. To him this was probably a great platform to move his career in the direction he wanted. Adam could move on to do more theatre, acting, hosting, etc... He's more "iconic" and recognizeable. If Adam is runner-up tonight, I think tomorrow he will look at all of his options and make the most of what he can for his career. Now if Kris is the runner-up tonight, I think once gets off his ride on the Idol Machine that he will go "holy crap... what do I do now?". This guy was just chillin with his new wife in Conway, AR a few months ago... not assuming he'd be anywhere near this type of celebrity status and it will be difficult for him. For these reasons, I think Kris needs to win, because he will need the help and assistance from 19 Entertainment to lead him in the proper direction and start a viable career.
3. Adam is a producer's nightmare and dream come true all in one. If I were a producer of Idol, I would be scared to have Adam as a winner representing the show... because you know that once this show is over and he is protected 24/7 by Idol "handlers" that he is going to get EATEN ALIVE by the paparazzi! They are going to attack him relentlessly until we know every ounce of his personal life. Being the first gay idol would be cause for them to pull out all the stops on him. It's dumb to me... but having picture of Adam kissing another guy seem to be news to many. It's not like they are publicizing picture of Kris kissing his wife. Oh well. For a young person who was basically an unknown to the world 6 months ago, I hope that Adam will be strong enough to deal with the instant celebrity that comes along with American Idol. The TMZ's and Perez Hilton's will pull up every ounce of dirt they can on him. He'll have to watch his every step. On the flipside of that... there is the saying that "even bad PR is still PR", so having an icon like Adam just brings more notice to the American Idol brand.
4. Will the contestants' hometowns force the "Katharine McPhee Effect" on Adam? I think Kris has an advantage over Adam in terms of where they are coming from. Kris is from a smaller town in central Arkansas and Adam is from Hollywood/San Diego. No offense to Arkansas, but Kris Allen has GOT to be the hottest most note-worthy thing to happen there in quite sometime. I'm sure everyone knows about Kris and everyone there is rooting for him. Adam, on the contrary, being from Southern California will not have the hometown pride effect going on. It reminds me of season 5 when we saw Katharine McPhee and Taylor Hicks in the final. Taylor was from Alabama and he had billboards, banners, special TV segments, EVERYTHING possible that Alabama could do for him. He came home to Birmingham to a champion's welcome. Katharine McPhee, on the other hand, went home to.... Sherman Oaks, CA (*imagine the losing horns from The Price Is Right here). To those of you unaware, its a suburb of LA, just to the north. She had a welcome party at her old high school and it paled in comparison to Taylor's welcome back. I'm wondering if Adam will suffer from this same type of situation. His trip back to San Diego seemed cool on the clips... but when you think of rousing the entire city to support you, I doubt that ALL of San Diego is behind Adam. It's just too hard to do. But I guarantee you that ALL of Conway, AR and the surrounding cities are behind Kris. After all... its the midwest, and they love rising-to-success stories in the midwest. I guess we'll see tonight with the results.
That's all... enough ramblings for the moment. :-) Maybe more later!
The day after I always like to check out dialidol.com and "the buzzmeter" at latimes.com to see what other people are thinking. Both of these websites show virtual dead heats with the two contestants. Dialidol is showing a miniscule lead by Kris... and the experts at the LA Times have voted 10-8 in favor of Adam. It's just too close to call.
Here are a few concepts that have been rolling around in my brain:
1. Kris is what this competition is really all about. Let's face it. American Idol works in the first place because its a competition to discover America's undiscovered musical talent. The entire success of the show is based on Kelly Clarkson winning season one and going from a girl that used to scoop ice cream to being a superstar. You can tell from the audition clips of Kris that he was just a small town guy that had a good voice and was probably encouraged by friends and family to try out. He didn't have the confidence to be a superstar, and he needed an experience like this to build his confidence. In terms of the most heart-warming story, Kris wins hands down. He's a humble guy who found success through this show... and THAT is the original intention of American Idol in the first place.
2. Kris NEEDS to win more than Adam. I think no matter what the result is, Adam will move on to do something in entertainment. To him this was probably a great platform to move his career in the direction he wanted. Adam could move on to do more theatre, acting, hosting, etc... He's more "iconic" and recognizeable. If Adam is runner-up tonight, I think tomorrow he will look at all of his options and make the most of what he can for his career. Now if Kris is the runner-up tonight, I think once gets off his ride on the Idol Machine that he will go "holy crap... what do I do now?". This guy was just chillin with his new wife in Conway, AR a few months ago... not assuming he'd be anywhere near this type of celebrity status and it will be difficult for him. For these reasons, I think Kris needs to win, because he will need the help and assistance from 19 Entertainment to lead him in the proper direction and start a viable career.
3. Adam is a producer's nightmare and dream come true all in one. If I were a producer of Idol, I would be scared to have Adam as a winner representing the show... because you know that once this show is over and he is protected 24/7 by Idol "handlers" that he is going to get EATEN ALIVE by the paparazzi! They are going to attack him relentlessly until we know every ounce of his personal life. Being the first gay idol would be cause for them to pull out all the stops on him. It's dumb to me... but having picture of Adam kissing another guy seem to be news to many. It's not like they are publicizing picture of Kris kissing his wife. Oh well. For a young person who was basically an unknown to the world 6 months ago, I hope that Adam will be strong enough to deal with the instant celebrity that comes along with American Idol. The TMZ's and Perez Hilton's will pull up every ounce of dirt they can on him. He'll have to watch his every step. On the flipside of that... there is the saying that "even bad PR is still PR", so having an icon like Adam just brings more notice to the American Idol brand.
4. Will the contestants' hometowns force the "Katharine McPhee Effect" on Adam? I think Kris has an advantage over Adam in terms of where they are coming from. Kris is from a smaller town in central Arkansas and Adam is from Hollywood/San Diego. No offense to Arkansas, but Kris Allen has GOT to be the hottest most note-worthy thing to happen there in quite sometime. I'm sure everyone knows about Kris and everyone there is rooting for him. Adam, on the contrary, being from Southern California will not have the hometown pride effect going on. It reminds me of season 5 when we saw Katharine McPhee and Taylor Hicks in the final. Taylor was from Alabama and he had billboards, banners, special TV segments, EVERYTHING possible that Alabama could do for him. He came home to Birmingham to a champion's welcome. Katharine McPhee, on the other hand, went home to.... Sherman Oaks, CA (*imagine the losing horns from The Price Is Right here). To those of you unaware, its a suburb of LA, just to the north. She had a welcome party at her old high school and it paled in comparison to Taylor's welcome back. I'm wondering if Adam will suffer from this same type of situation. His trip back to San Diego seemed cool on the clips... but when you think of rousing the entire city to support you, I doubt that ALL of San Diego is behind Adam. It's just too hard to do. But I guarantee you that ALL of Conway, AR and the surrounding cities are behind Kris. After all... its the midwest, and they love rising-to-success stories in the midwest. I guess we'll see tonight with the results.
That's all... enough ramblings for the moment. :-) Maybe more later!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
THE FINALS! Top 2 Performances
This season has FLOWN BY! I can't believe that in 26 hours from now we will have a winner and have to wait 7+ months before Idol is back on TV! I'm already starting to get a little bit sad about it.
I do have to say that in 8 seasons of Idol, there have been very few finals where I would be happy if either contestant won. Tonight is one of those finals. I of course have LOVED Adam the entire season and think that he has mad skills. At the same time I think Kris is the perfect underdog story... not being featured in any audition shows, and then working his way, very creatively, all the way to the finals. Both are great candidates, and I can't wait to see what they have in store for us for their final performances.
(And can I just add how ECSTATIC I am that Danny is NOT in the final two! YAY!)
All week, people have been asking me who I think is going to win this thing. Especially since I've been touting my perfect prediction record. All I've said is that I need to watch the performances before I make any prediction. As much as everyone has been saying that Adam is a shoe-in, I think this thing is a lot closer than anyone expects... It all comes down to the final performances and who has those "moments". I can't wait to watch and find out! Let's get this review started!
The all important coin-flip and Kris wins... chooses to go second. SMART choice!
And Ryan.... thanks for the heads up that the show will go long.... we know you won't announce the winner until a minute and a half before the show is over, so thanks for making sure we don't miss it. :-)
Adam Lambert- "Mad World"
Good choice for the repeat song... although deep down I really was hoping for "Tracks of My Tears" I really think THAT song was the turning point where the majority of America started to realize what an amazing singer he is. For me, I almost think that the first time he sang it was better... and not because there was much difference in the vocal performances, but rather the production of it. The first time with the beaming blue light with Adam seated in that chair was just so haunting and memorable. I agree with Simon that the coat and dry ice was just a little too much... a little theatrical. Still good though... but we knew it'd be good.
Kris Allen- "Ain't No Sunshine"
This is a GREAT song choice for Kris. The week he performed this was a standout performance for him for sure. Choosing to be on stage alone with the piano instead of with the other accompaniment like last time was a SMART choice. It put the focus on him, and really showed what an artist he is. I'm not sure what was different about it tonight, but when the camera first panned to him sitting at the piano I thought "he's an ARTIST". He really has come far. On the finale show when you sing a song you've already done, its hard to stand out... but I think he really did. It was better than before.
Round one goes to KRIS. (BTW... I typed this statement before Simon said it... LOL)
Now its on to Simon Fuller's choice...
Adam Lambert- "A Change Is Gonna Come"
Very interesting song for Adam. It's bluesy and when I think of the blues, I don't think of Adam. He's too happy to sing the blues. This song was weird for me. Maybe its because I'm not used to hearing this song performed in this slow bluesy-rock kind of way... and I'm only used to hearing it performed by R&B soul singers. Plus, I don't know if many people will recognize it performed in this fashion. I completely disagree with Kara's and Paula's comments that it was his best performance ever. I've heard much better weeks by him. I think they were just saying it to say it. Better than "Tracks of My Tears"? Better than "Whole Lotta Love"? I don't think so. The judges comment that I do agree with is Randy when he says that Adam can "sing his face off". That he can. And he proved he could with this song.
Kris Allen- "What's Goin' On"
What better song for an acoustic rock/pop artist to sing? Kris rocked out this performance if you ask me. It's CRAZY... because again, this performance really made me think that Kris is a credible artist with a career ahead of him. It finally has clicked for me tonight. With these two performances, I think people will connect more with this performance versus Adam, kind of like they connected with "Heartless" last week. It was fun and catchy... Clearly the judges didn't agree...
Round two is a draw for me.
Now it's time for the this year's single. "No Boundaries", co-written by Kara (surprise! not....) I've said in several reviews this season that if Adam would have sang a song by another contestant that he would have blown the other person out of the water. Well know, with Adam singing the same song as another contestant we will put that theory to the test. Going into this I am already a little nervous for Kris because we know that Adam can sing things flawlessly. It all depends on the song.
Adam Lambert- "No Boundaries"
I can't really comment on the performance until after I hear Kris sing it... I will say about the judges comments that Randy was right (there were some pitchy moments), Kara wouldn't say anything bad about it (because its her song), Paula says there aren't adjectives and then uses forty of them to describe Adam, and Simon puts it into perspective bringing up the entire season and that Adam has brought a lot to the show.
Kris Allen- "No Boundaries"
I will say this about Kris... you could tell in his eyes that he was giving everything in his being to sing the crap out of that song. Unfortunately I think it was this forcefulness that caused some super sour notes in the performance. I agree with Randy saying that the song fits Kris more than it fits Adam. With Kris it felt more natural. Adam's performance was too theatrical (surprise!) and after-school-specialish. Judging the two performances side-by-side, you have to give this round to Adam though. Kris's performance was just too strained which caused too many sour notes.
Round three goes to Adam.
SO.... recapping.... one round goes to Kris, one round to Adam and one is a tie. GREAT! This makes my prediction really easy.
Realistically... I think if Kris was going to win, he needed to come out and win all three rounds tonight. He needed to sway any voters who were on the fence that he is THE choice. I don't think he came out strong enough to do that. Plus with all of Danny's votes up for grabs this week, he needed to draw people in enough to make them pick up the phone for him instead of Danny. I think there is no question that Danny getting eliminated was the best thing that could happen for Kris. As my previous post with the voting maps showed, Kris is going to pull in all the conservative votes that may have been split between him and Danny in the past.
In regards to Adam, he didn't wipe the floor with Kris like he could have. He definitely left himself a little vulnerable tonight. But... I think with the way the judges comments went that Adam has the edge. Plus, I think Adam has people paying attention to American Idol like no other contestant in season's past. Sure there is watercooler talk about "who's going to win Idol?" every year... but this year its been "what do you think about that Adam Lambert?". Sure he's a love him or hate him contestant... but I think there are many, many people that love him.
Plus... let's be real... if we can elect a black man President, we can vote in a gay American Idol Winner. It's about time.
So there you have it folks... My official prediction is that Adam Lambert will win Season 8 of American Idol. I would love to hear your input. Feel free to leave comments! And THANKS FOR READING!
I do have to say that in 8 seasons of Idol, there have been very few finals where I would be happy if either contestant won. Tonight is one of those finals. I of course have LOVED Adam the entire season and think that he has mad skills. At the same time I think Kris is the perfect underdog story... not being featured in any audition shows, and then working his way, very creatively, all the way to the finals. Both are great candidates, and I can't wait to see what they have in store for us for their final performances.
(And can I just add how ECSTATIC I am that Danny is NOT in the final two! YAY!)
All week, people have been asking me who I think is going to win this thing. Especially since I've been touting my perfect prediction record. All I've said is that I need to watch the performances before I make any prediction. As much as everyone has been saying that Adam is a shoe-in, I think this thing is a lot closer than anyone expects... It all comes down to the final performances and who has those "moments". I can't wait to watch and find out! Let's get this review started!
The all important coin-flip and Kris wins... chooses to go second. SMART choice!
And Ryan.... thanks for the heads up that the show will go long.... we know you won't announce the winner until a minute and a half before the show is over, so thanks for making sure we don't miss it. :-)
Adam Lambert- "Mad World"
Good choice for the repeat song... although deep down I really was hoping for "Tracks of My Tears" I really think THAT song was the turning point where the majority of America started to realize what an amazing singer he is. For me, I almost think that the first time he sang it was better... and not because there was much difference in the vocal performances, but rather the production of it. The first time with the beaming blue light with Adam seated in that chair was just so haunting and memorable. I agree with Simon that the coat and dry ice was just a little too much... a little theatrical. Still good though... but we knew it'd be good.
Kris Allen- "Ain't No Sunshine"
This is a GREAT song choice for Kris. The week he performed this was a standout performance for him for sure. Choosing to be on stage alone with the piano instead of with the other accompaniment like last time was a SMART choice. It put the focus on him, and really showed what an artist he is. I'm not sure what was different about it tonight, but when the camera first panned to him sitting at the piano I thought "he's an ARTIST". He really has come far. On the finale show when you sing a song you've already done, its hard to stand out... but I think he really did. It was better than before.
Round one goes to KRIS. (BTW... I typed this statement before Simon said it... LOL)
Now its on to Simon Fuller's choice...
Adam Lambert- "A Change Is Gonna Come"
Very interesting song for Adam. It's bluesy and when I think of the blues, I don't think of Adam. He's too happy to sing the blues. This song was weird for me. Maybe its because I'm not used to hearing this song performed in this slow bluesy-rock kind of way... and I'm only used to hearing it performed by R&B soul singers. Plus, I don't know if many people will recognize it performed in this fashion. I completely disagree with Kara's and Paula's comments that it was his best performance ever. I've heard much better weeks by him. I think they were just saying it to say it. Better than "Tracks of My Tears"? Better than "Whole Lotta Love"? I don't think so. The judges comment that I do agree with is Randy when he says that Adam can "sing his face off". That he can. And he proved he could with this song.
Kris Allen- "What's Goin' On"
What better song for an acoustic rock/pop artist to sing? Kris rocked out this performance if you ask me. It's CRAZY... because again, this performance really made me think that Kris is a credible artist with a career ahead of him. It finally has clicked for me tonight. With these two performances, I think people will connect more with this performance versus Adam, kind of like they connected with "Heartless" last week. It was fun and catchy... Clearly the judges didn't agree...
Round two is a draw for me.
Now it's time for the this year's single. "No Boundaries", co-written by Kara (surprise! not....) I've said in several reviews this season that if Adam would have sang a song by another contestant that he would have blown the other person out of the water. Well know, with Adam singing the same song as another contestant we will put that theory to the test. Going into this I am already a little nervous for Kris because we know that Adam can sing things flawlessly. It all depends on the song.
Adam Lambert- "No Boundaries"
I can't really comment on the performance until after I hear Kris sing it... I will say about the judges comments that Randy was right (there were some pitchy moments), Kara wouldn't say anything bad about it (because its her song), Paula says there aren't adjectives and then uses forty of them to describe Adam, and Simon puts it into perspective bringing up the entire season and that Adam has brought a lot to the show.
Kris Allen- "No Boundaries"
I will say this about Kris... you could tell in his eyes that he was giving everything in his being to sing the crap out of that song. Unfortunately I think it was this forcefulness that caused some super sour notes in the performance. I agree with Randy saying that the song fits Kris more than it fits Adam. With Kris it felt more natural. Adam's performance was too theatrical (surprise!) and after-school-specialish. Judging the two performances side-by-side, you have to give this round to Adam though. Kris's performance was just too strained which caused too many sour notes.
Round three goes to Adam.
SO.... recapping.... one round goes to Kris, one round to Adam and one is a tie. GREAT! This makes my prediction really easy.
Realistically... I think if Kris was going to win, he needed to come out and win all three rounds tonight. He needed to sway any voters who were on the fence that he is THE choice. I don't think he came out strong enough to do that. Plus with all of Danny's votes up for grabs this week, he needed to draw people in enough to make them pick up the phone for him instead of Danny. I think there is no question that Danny getting eliminated was the best thing that could happen for Kris. As my previous post with the voting maps showed, Kris is going to pull in all the conservative votes that may have been split between him and Danny in the past.
In regards to Adam, he didn't wipe the floor with Kris like he could have. He definitely left himself a little vulnerable tonight. But... I think with the way the judges comments went that Adam has the edge. Plus, I think Adam has people paying attention to American Idol like no other contestant in season's past. Sure there is watercooler talk about "who's going to win Idol?" every year... but this year its been "what do you think about that Adam Lambert?". Sure he's a love him or hate him contestant... but I think there are many, many people that love him.
Plus... let's be real... if we can elect a black man President, we can vote in a gay American Idol Winner. It's about time.
So there you have it folks... My official prediction is that Adam Lambert will win Season 8 of American Idol. I would love to hear your input. Feel free to leave comments! And THANKS FOR READING!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
A Familiar Battle?
So... Just my personal thoughts here... but I think the competition for the final two is going to be similar to a fight for the top honor that recently happened:
I think this is going to be a classic red states vs. blue states battle! We've got the big city guy versus the small town boy. West Coast versus Mid-west. Edgy versus Wholesome. Gay versus Straight. Liberal versus Conservative.
And just like that other famous election, I think this one will also be close! Only time will tell!
I think this is going to be a classic red states vs. blue states battle! We've got the big city guy versus the small town boy. West Coast versus Mid-west. Edgy versus Wholesome. Gay versus Straight. Liberal versus Conservative.
And just like that other famous election, I think this one will also be close! Only time will tell!
"A Big Ding-Dong"- Final 3 Results Show
YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
After watching the results show I couldn't be any happier! What a SHOW! Here are a few highlights for me:
-Alicia Keys... Let's be real... is it possible to be any more gorgeous and poised? I love her and she looked AMAZING!
-Dancing/singing kid from Africa... mmm... not so much. Sure its cool that he learned the words in 1 week, but i still couldn't understand it. And did anyone else catch that the vocal track for the song made the backup singers sound like they had accents from Africa too? but clearly the camera showed them and they were like average American backup singers. Random!
-Jordin Sparks!!! OK, maybe it was because I listened to that new single of hers easily 50+ times yesterday (it is ROCKIN'! Check it out on iTunes)... but I thought this performance was FIERCE! She came out and rocked that stage that she never had before. We've always known her to be the cutesy you're-on-my-heart-just-like-a-tattoo girl... but last night she came out on that stage with passion in her eyes and she proved that she's a great singer and artist! I really think this single and next album could be great for her!
-Katy Perry's cape! Ummmm... when Katy Perry's performance started and she was wearing that cape that clearly said "Adam Lambert", but Rich and I looked at eachother with dropped jaws. A) That's pretty awesome that someone already in the industry loves a contestant enough to make him part of her wardrobe... and B) I find it crazy that the producer's would let her wear that, showing preference to one contestants... but then again these are the same producers that released official pictures to Entertainment Weekly so that they could do a cover story on Adam Lambert even before he has won the show! Craziness! Katy's performance? Well she really struggles singing live... we also saw this on the Grammy's.... but Katy is smart because she knows she has to make up for it in other areas so she had crazy costumes and backup dancers with big feather fans and money falling from the sky. I give her credit for playing that up.
The Homecomings: As you read in yesterday's post, I was upset that we didn't get to see more of the trips home, so I was glad that tonight they actually shows us this video. Here are some of my favorite moments:
Favorite moment of Danny's homecoming: Seeing Jamar! He totally got snubbed from being a part of the top 36... but I started to formulate a hypothesis about Jamar while I was watching Danny's homecoming. Maybe the judges purposely left Jamar out of the group so that he didn't have to compete against Danny, knowing that Jamar would try out again the following year? Because you KNOW that if Jamar comes back there will be this big story about him during the audution process about how he got cut, but he's coming back a better person, blah blah blah.... I am willing to put money on it now that it will happen. I guess we'll have to wait 'til 2010 to see if I'm right.
Favorite moment of Kris's homecoming: Kris's parents! Gosh they are just so proud of their son... as they should be. They seem like good people and its nice when good things happen to good people. As I said yesterday, these homecomings make the contestants' rise to stardom REAL. We saw during Kris's video that this is really REAL! It's making a huge difference in his life and the life of his family. I can't imagine the pride they were feeling as their son took the stage in Conway Arkansas in front of those thousands and thousands of people. They were bawling, and I would have been too.... I'm so happy for him and for them.
Favorite momet of Adam's homecoming: The kids at the performing arts school! How cute were they!?!? Especially that little boy that asked "How did you get so good at singing and dancing?" SO CUTE! Can you imagine being one of those kids and knowing that Adam was once in your shoes? What an inspiration! And it had to have been so cool for Adam to go back to his roots and be an inspiration to those kids. :-)
Now on to the results... I really felt that Adam and Kris were the deserving two of being the finalists... and AMERICA AGREED! I do have to say that when Ryan read of Kris's name first I was pretty damn shocked. I didn't see it coming that he would be called first... but then again, after it happened, I realized they did that so that it came down to Danny and Adam, the two that everyone though were going to be in the final from week one. There was about 2% of me that was scared that Danny made it through past Adam, but thankfully the other 98% of confidence was correct.
I honestly couldn't be happier with this final. If you look back at the top 13 contestants, it is clear that Kris and Adam are the best out of the bunch. They were the most creative... the most exciting... the most entertaining. They took more chances... and they had more "moments"... I couldn't be happier with this final.
I love when there is a final two that I truly would be happy if either contestant won. I believe the only other year this has happened was season six when I would have been happy with either Jordin Sparks or Blake Lewis winning. Every other season I wanted one more than the other (Kelly over Justin, Fantasia over Diana, Carrie over Bo, Katharine over Taylor, Cook over Archuleta... and well... Ruben and Clay... I didn't really care for either so it didn't matter, LOL). Even though I have consistently loved Adam throughout the season, I wouldn't feel cheated if Kris came in and took the title away. I think either are very deserving.
So... as Simon said... next week is going to be "a big ding-dong" of a finale! I certainly can't wait!!!
I am hoping in the next couple of days I can do some posts leading up to the finale to get all of you pumped up for next week! So be checking back periodically! :-)
What are your thoughts on the final two? Danny's elimination? The streaker at Adam's homecoming? LOL. Click below to post a comment! :-)
After watching the results show I couldn't be any happier! What a SHOW! Here are a few highlights for me:
-Alicia Keys... Let's be real... is it possible to be any more gorgeous and poised? I love her and she looked AMAZING!
-Dancing/singing kid from Africa... mmm... not so much. Sure its cool that he learned the words in 1 week, but i still couldn't understand it. And did anyone else catch that the vocal track for the song made the backup singers sound like they had accents from Africa too? but clearly the camera showed them and they were like average American backup singers. Random!
-Jordin Sparks!!! OK, maybe it was because I listened to that new single of hers easily 50+ times yesterday (it is ROCKIN'! Check it out on iTunes)... but I thought this performance was FIERCE! She came out and rocked that stage that she never had before. We've always known her to be the cutesy you're-on-my-heart-just-like-a-tattoo girl... but last night she came out on that stage with passion in her eyes and she proved that she's a great singer and artist! I really think this single and next album could be great for her!
-Katy Perry's cape! Ummmm... when Katy Perry's performance started and she was wearing that cape that clearly said "Adam Lambert", but Rich and I looked at eachother with dropped jaws. A) That's pretty awesome that someone already in the industry loves a contestant enough to make him part of her wardrobe... and B) I find it crazy that the producer's would let her wear that, showing preference to one contestants... but then again these are the same producers that released official pictures to Entertainment Weekly so that they could do a cover story on Adam Lambert even before he has won the show! Craziness! Katy's performance? Well she really struggles singing live... we also saw this on the Grammy's.... but Katy is smart because she knows she has to make up for it in other areas so she had crazy costumes and backup dancers with big feather fans and money falling from the sky. I give her credit for playing that up.
The Homecomings: As you read in yesterday's post, I was upset that we didn't get to see more of the trips home, so I was glad that tonight they actually shows us this video. Here are some of my favorite moments:
Favorite moment of Danny's homecoming: Seeing Jamar! He totally got snubbed from being a part of the top 36... but I started to formulate a hypothesis about Jamar while I was watching Danny's homecoming. Maybe the judges purposely left Jamar out of the group so that he didn't have to compete against Danny, knowing that Jamar would try out again the following year? Because you KNOW that if Jamar comes back there will be this big story about him during the audution process about how he got cut, but he's coming back a better person, blah blah blah.... I am willing to put money on it now that it will happen. I guess we'll have to wait 'til 2010 to see if I'm right.
Favorite moment of Kris's homecoming: Kris's parents! Gosh they are just so proud of their son... as they should be. They seem like good people and its nice when good things happen to good people. As I said yesterday, these homecomings make the contestants' rise to stardom REAL. We saw during Kris's video that this is really REAL! It's making a huge difference in his life and the life of his family. I can't imagine the pride they were feeling as their son took the stage in Conway Arkansas in front of those thousands and thousands of people. They were bawling, and I would have been too.... I'm so happy for him and for them.
Favorite momet of Adam's homecoming: The kids at the performing arts school! How cute were they!?!? Especially that little boy that asked "How did you get so good at singing and dancing?" SO CUTE! Can you imagine being one of those kids and knowing that Adam was once in your shoes? What an inspiration! And it had to have been so cool for Adam to go back to his roots and be an inspiration to those kids. :-)
Now on to the results... I really felt that Adam and Kris were the deserving two of being the finalists... and AMERICA AGREED! I do have to say that when Ryan read of Kris's name first I was pretty damn shocked. I didn't see it coming that he would be called first... but then again, after it happened, I realized they did that so that it came down to Danny and Adam, the two that everyone though were going to be in the final from week one. There was about 2% of me that was scared that Danny made it through past Adam, but thankfully the other 98% of confidence was correct.
I honestly couldn't be happier with this final. If you look back at the top 13 contestants, it is clear that Kris and Adam are the best out of the bunch. They were the most creative... the most exciting... the most entertaining. They took more chances... and they had more "moments"... I couldn't be happier with this final.
I love when there is a final two that I truly would be happy if either contestant won. I believe the only other year this has happened was season six when I would have been happy with either Jordin Sparks or Blake Lewis winning. Every other season I wanted one more than the other (Kelly over Justin, Fantasia over Diana, Carrie over Bo, Katharine over Taylor, Cook over Archuleta... and well... Ruben and Clay... I didn't really care for either so it didn't matter, LOL). Even though I have consistently loved Adam throughout the season, I wouldn't feel cheated if Kris came in and took the title away. I think either are very deserving.
So... as Simon said... next week is going to be "a big ding-dong" of a finale! I certainly can't wait!!!
I am hoping in the next couple of days I can do some posts leading up to the finale to get all of you pumped up for next week! So be checking back periodically! :-)
What are your thoughts on the final two? Danny's elimination? The streaker at Adam's homecoming? LOL. Click below to post a comment! :-)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
SEMI-FINALS! Top 3 Performances
Wow... this season really has flown by. I guess it hit me as there were only three contestants walking on to the stage last night. It seems like just yesterday that we were covering our ears from Tatiana's laughter... or laughing at the ridiculous Normund Gentle. But those memories are behind us and its time for the TOP THREE!
So a few general feelings about this episode:
-Every other top 3 show the contestants have always performed three songs. This season they really are changing things up with the four judges and not having enough time... so I'm sure this is why they only did two songs. Kinda makes me sad though because I really liked hearing more songs from the contestants and we've been cheated. PLUS... the more songs they sing, the more singles they can release to iTunes... so they are losing out on money!
-They didn't let us see very much of the contestants when they went home!!! I hope they are saving this footage for tonight... but it made me sad because I really like to watch that stuff. It really brings the whole rise to stardom thing into perspective.
OK... on to this weeks performances.
Danny Gokey- "Dance Little Sister" (Paula's Choice)
OK.... don't know if I missed this song when it originally came out, but I certainly didn't know it and I don't think that many other people did either. I think that pick could really hurt him tonight. You have to be able to connect with your audience and its really hard to connect on a song that no one has heard of. And that sax solo in the middle was awkward. If you want to see a good instrument solo in the middle of an Idol performance, watch Blake Lewis's "You Give Love A Bad Name".... now THAT was a good solo choice! In terms of Danny's singing, I think Danny did well. He's good at what he does... and it fit his vocal tone. Very Michael MacDonald-ish. If Danny has a career after this, it will be on adult contemporary radio singing Michael MacDonald like songs. He's not exciting enough to actually have a long standing career in pop music. I think the judges comments were a little inflated. It wasn't that awe-inspiring. I'm glad that Kara was real when she said "are we going to remember that performance tomorrow?" I think not.
Kris Allen- "Apologize" (Randy & Kara's Choice)
When I heard this song choice, I thought FANTASTIC! You could tell Kris thought so too when he read the text message. Great song... fits what Kris will probably do if he gets an album. I really think Kris did well with this performance. He did change it up a little bit here and there instead of being a completely karaoke performance. Did he make it completely Kris Allen? No. Not like other songs like "Ain't No Sunshine"... but he still did well. What crack was Paula smoking tonight when she said that he had one "bum note"? I certainly didn't hear it. I'm thinking maybe Paula just doesn't know the song and one of the odd notes caught her off guard. I do have to say that what Simon said to Kara has to rank up there with one of my favorite quotes of this whole season: "You can't choose a song for him and then blame him for doing the song". VERY TRUE! I think Kris did well with this... BUT... it wasn't "outta the park". Hopefully song two will be.
Adam Lambert- "One" (Simon's Choice)
In my opinion "One" is one of the best songs ever written. Powerful in both lyric and songwriting. The original by U2 if fantastic... the remake with U2 AND Mary J Blige is even more fantastic. I love that Simon said he personally called Bono to ask permission! :-) When I heard that Simon picked this for Adam, I was thrilled. It was a song that Adam could take and really have "a moment" with. Do I think he had "a moment"? Not to the extent I hoped. Not to the extent of a Carrie Underwood "Alone" or a David Cook "Billie Jean". There were fantastic notes and great phrasing... but I think he almost changed it up too much this time around. It also seemed rushed to me. "One" is a song where the original is easily 5 minutes or more so I think cutting it down to a minute and a half really compromised the greatness of the song. I am excited to hear the full iTunes version of the song though. OK... and Kara... there have been rumors that you may not be around for next season... and you making smartass comments to Simon is not going to help your cause any. Saying "I guess your theory maybe wasn't proven"... that was just plain stupid because it had NOTHING to do with Simon's point about your song choice for Kris. Kara is quickly becoming the queen of bad math AND stupid comments! But... back to Adam.... Compared to the others, Adam wins round one hands down... but I really wanted a bit more at this point.
ROUND TWO! Contestant's Choice!
Danny Gokey- "You Are So Beautiful"
Are you serious Danny? Out of all the songs you could have chosen you choose this sappy crap? BOO! Any credit that I gave you in the first review (which wasn't much) I take back. This was a boring, sappy choice if you ask me. And Joe Cocker? PREDICTABLE! So I'm back on the anti-Danny train. Surprise Surprise! That being said... I had my "WTF? Moment Of The Week" with the judges comments! They all prasied him like a musical god for this performance! I guarantee you that if you would have given this song to Kris OR Adam that they would have given a better performance of it. It really isn't that hard of a song to sing really. Simon's comment about it being a "vocal masterclass?" Kara calling it "stunning"? Paula saying it was "magic"?" I didn't get any of that. BORING, EASY and PREDICTABLE is what I could call it.
Kris Allen- "Heartless"
What a refreshment after Danny's ball of crap!!! Kris picked a song that NO ONE could have predicted! Who would have ever expected Kanye West? Not me... thats for sure. As soon as he said that was his choice, it got me excited. Excited to see what he would do with it and how it would change it up. To me... this performance was Kris's "moment". It was what he needed. It makes him current. It makes him relevant. It proves his creativity. It proves his talent. I would buy this on iTunes (in fact... I will tonight when it is released). What I like even more about this performance is that it was just Kris and his guitar! At this point in the competition it really showcased that he is a credible artist. Kris doesn't need the whole she-bang from the band and accompaniment. There are artists today that make millions and could NEVER do that! (ahem... Britney... *cough*... Kanye...) I'm glad that Randy said it was better than the original! It was! If this doesn't get Kris into the final... I'm not sure what would have.
Adam Lambert- "Cryin'"
This song choice was interesting to me. We know that Adam excels at rock songs, but after Rock Week last week, I personally would have liked to see something different from him. BUT... to Adam's credit... he could really afford to play it safe this week. If he would have picked a song that WASN'T rock... taking a chance on something different... it may have backfired on him. With it being final three, and coming in as the clear favorite, he didn't need to do anything more than he did. Did I love the performance? Not really actually. I liked it... but I think my standards and expectations for Adam are so high that I want to be blown away. ALSO... I was TOTALLY distracted by the over powering backup vocalist. Did anyone else notice this?!?! She was WAY too loud... they needed to adjust those levels... or just not have backup at all. Adam can handle it on his own. I was SOOOO glad that Simon made his comment about not assuming Adam is safe tonight... because he DOES deserve to be in the final, and people need to make sure they vote. I know I tried to vote but it was busy constantly.
This week's ranking:
1. Kris Allen
2. Adam Lambert
3. Danny Gokey
That ranking probably surprised you... but Kris really blew me away with the Heartless performance, and I really am rooting for him to make the finals. I also tried voting for Kris but his line was also constantly busy. Hopefully that means he will make it through. We'll see.
Who's going home: There is SOOOO much pressure for this pick! My record so far is FLAWLESS! With these three it is possible that any of them could be there in the final two... unlike past years (last year you knew Syesha wasn't going to beat out either of the David's... and Season 3 you knew that Jasmine wasn't going to beat out Fantasia or Diana). I would like to think Adam is a shoe in... so is going to be Adam and Danny or Adam and Kris. Personally, I really hope its Adam and Kris. Kris has made this competition exciting. He has changed up songs and kept us on our toes. Danny has been boring and hasn't broken out of his little confortable box. Also... I don't want to be rude, but let's be real about this situation (as we should be real in the final three): Would Danny have been as appealing to the general public if he first wasn't introduced to us with the story about his wife? That immediately drew us to him. Kris on the other hand didn't have that backstory and wasn't even featured at all in the preview/audition weeks. He had to work for all the credit and fan-dom that he has in this competition... and he worked hard. He deserves it.
I hope America agrees with me.
For this reasoning... my prediction is that Danny will go home this week. Please let me be right!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Rock Week: Top 4 Performances
So this week HAS to be good, right? It's the top FOUR! :-)
Well... the show starts off with Ryan breaking some interesting news. First of all... there was not a proper rehersal tonight. First thing I thought of was the day I went to the live show and there were all the people there for the dress rehersal... and if I would have been there tonight with tickets for the dress rehersal and it didn't happen, I would have been HEART BROKEN!
Next up... Ryan tells us the performers will be singing duets?!?! Really??? an Idol first to sing duets NOT during the finals. This should be interesting.
Next we get to see the video package about Slash. Slash talks??? Really? I guess I never heard him speak... just play guitar. It will be interesting to see what he has to say about the contestants. To me it seems like people like Slash and Jamie Foxx would almost consider themselves "above" American Idol... so I find it interesting that they are mentoring this season.
So we start the night off with...
Adam Lambert- "A Whole Lotta Love"
Was there any question that Adam was not going to knock this one out of the park? We knew from semi's singing "Satisfaction" that Adam's voice lends itself well to this. I do have to say that I never expected to hear Zeppelin on Idol ever... and if anyone was going to do it, I'm glad it was Adam. He did it justice. And Compared to other weeks, I think it actually was a little less "over the top"... which was good. It was more subdued.... resting more on vocals than performance. Like Paula said, Adam is a whole lotta perfect. Vocals are flawless. He is at a whole different level than the other three remaining singers.
Allison Iraheta- "Cry Baby"
Allison really turned my opinions of her around last week (enough for me to rank her first!) so will she keep it going tonight? Well.... hmmm.... At first the song choice seemed logical, but I agreed with Randy that it may not have been good for her. The lower register and verses were kinda boring, but her voice shined during the chorus. Too bad the only lyrics in the chorus are "Cry, cry baby".... Would have liked to hear a bit more in her higher register. My favorite part of Allison's segment was during her judging when she said she didn't want to sing Piece of My Heart because "it has been done on the show so many times...". WHAT?!?! Since when did singing songs that have been done on the show a million times influence your song choice Allison? It certainly didn't for the first 90% of the competition!
"Renegade"- Kris Allen & Danny Gokey
Simon says Danny was better than Kris? NO WAY! Kris's sound lent itself so much better to that song. I definitely didn't think it was a great performance by either to be honest.... but I think this performance did expose Danny's vulerability... he looked uncomfortable with this sort of song if you ask me. Not that it is a surprise. If it was gospel week he would have looked like Adam up there.
Kris Allen- "Come Together"
It's interesting what Kris did with this song, taking the rhythym and slowing it down a couple beats.... It definitely gave it a true rock vibe. I hate to buy into Kara's overusage of the term this season, but Kris did have some good rock "swagger" with this performance. It shows that he is mulit-faceted in my opinion. He can come out and sing a gentle poppy tune and win all the ladies over.... or he can come out a bit harder and rock it. I liked it... and do give him props for still playing guitar this week. I feel bad because the judges comments seem like they are setting him up for elimination this week... and I truly believe that he doesn't deserve to go home yet. He's the most current of all four. I felt bad to see the dejected look on Kris's face... because he's had way too many good weeks to feel bad about this week. I just hope it wasn't the nail in his coffin.
Danny Gokey- "Dream On"
WHY did the crowd like this or go crazy for him??? The first part was OK.... I'll give him that much. but the end was HORRIBLE! The scream sounded like a mixture of Gollum from Lord of the Rings and the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz (especially at the end when she's melting). I'm glad that Simon called him out on it. But I'm glad that Danny sang this song because he showed that he is NO WHERE near as good as Adam. You all know that if Adam would have performed Dream On that he would have hit that end note with perfection. If this is a singing competition, then we need to reward the singers... and Danny clearly couldn't sing that song. If you're gonna pick Dream On, you know you have to hit that note. Your bad, Danny.
"Slow Ride"- Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert
Definitely an interesting song choice. I expected more of a glam rockish song choice, instead of this harder song.... but it worked for them. The thing that made this duet better than the other is that they actually had chemistry together. They worked to sing this song together... unlike Kris and Danny who were just each singing their own parts. Adam and Allison looked good and sang good. I'm actually looking forward to seeing them perform together on the tour now.
This week's ranking:
1. Adam Lambert
2. Allison Iraheta
3. Kris Allen
4. Danny Gokey
Who's going home: Yikes... here's where it gets tough everyone. Well... we know one thing... Adam is safe. He's not going home. Now the other three is kinda a toss up. We know Allison's fanbase isn't as strong as others because she's been in the bottom more than another other contestant left. Now with Danny, he was easily the worst of the night, but he's NEVER been in the bottom... so clearly he does have the fanbase. Kris has consistently done well until being in the bottom three last week... and we know he has the female fanbase (Tweens and Cougars always vote!) And I think any female fanbase that Matt Giraud may have had before would get transferred over to Kris.... So this is really really tough. I truly believe that it will come down to a couple thousand votes.
My hope is that it will be Danny.... and the signs are pointing to Kris... but my gut is saying Allison because she's been in the bottom three so many other times. I guess we will have to wait and see!
Now... to end this post... I'll leave you with a good laugh. Enjoy it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6wiYAJjaGo
Well... the show starts off with Ryan breaking some interesting news. First of all... there was not a proper rehersal tonight. First thing I thought of was the day I went to the live show and there were all the people there for the dress rehersal... and if I would have been there tonight with tickets for the dress rehersal and it didn't happen, I would have been HEART BROKEN!
Next up... Ryan tells us the performers will be singing duets?!?! Really??? an Idol first to sing duets NOT during the finals. This should be interesting.
Next we get to see the video package about Slash. Slash talks??? Really? I guess I never heard him speak... just play guitar. It will be interesting to see what he has to say about the contestants. To me it seems like people like Slash and Jamie Foxx would almost consider themselves "above" American Idol... so I find it interesting that they are mentoring this season.
So we start the night off with...
Adam Lambert- "A Whole Lotta Love"
Was there any question that Adam was not going to knock this one out of the park? We knew from semi's singing "Satisfaction" that Adam's voice lends itself well to this. I do have to say that I never expected to hear Zeppelin on Idol ever... and if anyone was going to do it, I'm glad it was Adam. He did it justice. And Compared to other weeks, I think it actually was a little less "over the top"... which was good. It was more subdued.... resting more on vocals than performance. Like Paula said, Adam is a whole lotta perfect. Vocals are flawless. He is at a whole different level than the other three remaining singers.
Allison Iraheta- "Cry Baby"
Allison really turned my opinions of her around last week (enough for me to rank her first!) so will she keep it going tonight? Well.... hmmm.... At first the song choice seemed logical, but I agreed with Randy that it may not have been good for her. The lower register and verses were kinda boring, but her voice shined during the chorus. Too bad the only lyrics in the chorus are "Cry, cry baby".... Would have liked to hear a bit more in her higher register. My favorite part of Allison's segment was during her judging when she said she didn't want to sing Piece of My Heart because "it has been done on the show so many times...". WHAT?!?! Since when did singing songs that have been done on the show a million times influence your song choice Allison? It certainly didn't for the first 90% of the competition!
"Renegade"- Kris Allen & Danny Gokey
Simon says Danny was better than Kris? NO WAY! Kris's sound lent itself so much better to that song. I definitely didn't think it was a great performance by either to be honest.... but I think this performance did expose Danny's vulerability... he looked uncomfortable with this sort of song if you ask me. Not that it is a surprise. If it was gospel week he would have looked like Adam up there.
Kris Allen- "Come Together"
It's interesting what Kris did with this song, taking the rhythym and slowing it down a couple beats.... It definitely gave it a true rock vibe. I hate to buy into Kara's overusage of the term this season, but Kris did have some good rock "swagger" with this performance. It shows that he is mulit-faceted in my opinion. He can come out and sing a gentle poppy tune and win all the ladies over.... or he can come out a bit harder and rock it. I liked it... and do give him props for still playing guitar this week. I feel bad because the judges comments seem like they are setting him up for elimination this week... and I truly believe that he doesn't deserve to go home yet. He's the most current of all four. I felt bad to see the dejected look on Kris's face... because he's had way too many good weeks to feel bad about this week. I just hope it wasn't the nail in his coffin.
Danny Gokey- "Dream On"
WHY did the crowd like this or go crazy for him??? The first part was OK.... I'll give him that much. but the end was HORRIBLE! The scream sounded like a mixture of Gollum from Lord of the Rings and the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz (especially at the end when she's melting). I'm glad that Simon called him out on it. But I'm glad that Danny sang this song because he showed that he is NO WHERE near as good as Adam. You all know that if Adam would have performed Dream On that he would have hit that end note with perfection. If this is a singing competition, then we need to reward the singers... and Danny clearly couldn't sing that song. If you're gonna pick Dream On, you know you have to hit that note. Your bad, Danny.
"Slow Ride"- Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert
Definitely an interesting song choice. I expected more of a glam rockish song choice, instead of this harder song.... but it worked for them. The thing that made this duet better than the other is that they actually had chemistry together. They worked to sing this song together... unlike Kris and Danny who were just each singing their own parts. Adam and Allison looked good and sang good. I'm actually looking forward to seeing them perform together on the tour now.
This week's ranking:
1. Adam Lambert
2. Allison Iraheta
3. Kris Allen
4. Danny Gokey
Who's going home: Yikes... here's where it gets tough everyone. Well... we know one thing... Adam is safe. He's not going home. Now the other three is kinda a toss up. We know Allison's fanbase isn't as strong as others because she's been in the bottom more than another other contestant left. Now with Danny, he was easily the worst of the night, but he's NEVER been in the bottom... so clearly he does have the fanbase. Kris has consistently done well until being in the bottom three last week... and we know he has the female fanbase (Tweens and Cougars always vote!) And I think any female fanbase that Matt Giraud may have had before would get transferred over to Kris.... So this is really really tough. I truly believe that it will come down to a couple thousand votes.
My hope is that it will be Danny.... and the signs are pointing to Kris... but my gut is saying Allison because she's been in the bottom three so many other times. I guess we will have to wait and see!
Now... to end this post... I'll leave you with a good laugh. Enjoy it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6wiYAJjaGo
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