If you read my blog this past season you may have caught me making the occasional suggestion that I should try out for this consarn show. Well, I have good news for you: I did it! The auditions came to Chicago this past weekend and I made up my mind that I was going to be there. After all, I had nothing to lose, right? Well, I guess I lost some time and money, but those would be more than made up for by the knowledge that I experienced the phenomenon that is "American Idol" firsthand.
On Saturday I got up early and took the train downtown. I'm fortunate that I live within walking distance of a Metra train stop. Since it was the earliest weekend train, there were only about four people in my car. I did notice some younger people getting off with me though, and I wondered if they were going to the auditions too. The Metra line ends at the Ogilvie Transportation Center on Madison St. The auditions were being held at the United Center, about two miles down the road. Pretty convenient, eh? I was fortunate that I didn't have to wait long for a bus, as I'd walked from the OTC to the United Center before and knew it to be a long distance. It flew by while I was on wheels.
Saturday was just a registration day, so I didn't bother to warm up my voice before going in. I have a tendency to be a pretty shy person, but I knew that if I ever made it on this show I'd have to be more outgoing. While I was in line I noticed a girl who I'd seen while I was getting off the train. I decided to do something totally out of character: I struck up a conversation with her. I asked her if she was auditioning alone, since it seemed like just about everyone in line was there with someone. She turned out to be friendly, and we ended up talking for most of the time in line. All these years I've been shy about approaching people. Who knew it was so easy?
We talked about music and "Idol" mostly. I told her I didn't know if I was good enough to make it, but I at least wanted to give it a shot. I asked her who her favorite from this past season was, and she said she liked Adam. I told her Kris was mine, and she said she thought Kris was the most talented but she liked Adam better. She also said I looked sort of like Kris, which I guess I do a little. The only other famous person I can recall being told I look like is Josh Hartnett. It's exciting to have a growing list of celebrity lookalikes. The girl also told me she tried out in Los Angeles back in Season 3 and made it past the first round of judges. She was immediately dismissed when she sang for the producers though.
Two other people eventually joined our conversation. I'm pretty sure they were a boyfriend and girlfriend, and the guy said he was a worship leader at his church. They were from Ohio, and the guy said he'd auditioned in multiple cities the past two seasons but never made it past the first round of judges. I don't think I'd have that type of determination. They had some good tips, such as not to bother showing up at 5:00 on the day you sing, since they won't let you in until 8:00 and all they want to do is film the large crowds.
I asked the guy who his favorite from last season was, and he paused for a second and said "Gokey." I wasn't surprised, since I figure a worship leader might connect well with someone like Danny. The girl from the train said she didn't like Danny because she thought he was smarmy. I just said I thought he was boring. We found some common ground in that we all liked Allison though. I'm glad I met these people, because there's not much else to do except sample the free Coke products they pass out and wave at the camera when it comes by. I occasionally heard people showing off their singing skills, but the ones who went on too long eventually got on my nerves.
After all the waiting outside in the heat it was finally time for them to let our section into the United Center. In the transition from outside to inside I got separated from my new friends from the line, which disappointed me. For some reason they told us to have our IDs ready when we entered the building, but there wasn't much sense in having them out, because the first thing that happened to us when we got inside was to be spread out across the floor and filmed saying things like "Welcome to Chicago!" and "Season 9 starts right now!" followed by the requisite cheering and arm-waving. There was also a chant of "Yes we can!" which I was less than enthusiastic about. To their credit, the producers who were orchestrating the whole thing had a sense of humor about it. Several of their remarks indicated they knew how cheesy and contrived it was.
Once we were done with that we got our wristbands and left. The "Idol" website says to have two forms of ID on you, but they only check one. Wearing that wristband for two days is a pain, let me tell you. I was constantly having to cover it with plastic wrap and even seal it with tape so that water wouldn't get in. I also learned that taking a shower with a plastic bag covering your entire left hand significantly detracts from the soothingness of the experience. Even as I write this my wrist still feels like it has something on it.
The piece of paper we got with our wristbands told us to be at the venue by 5:00 AM, but based on what the couple from Ohio told me I figured I didn't need to kill myself to get there that early. Still, I took the earliest train in just to be sure I wasn't too late. Once I got to Madison St. I found out I'd just missed the bus, so I decided to walk it for a while. Eventually I saw the bus coming, so I ran to the nearest stop. It turned out to be a waste of money, as the United Center was just a few blocks away. That was strange. I distinctly remembered it being farther when I walked it in the past. Perhaps it just seemed longer because the sidewalk was more crowded back then and everything was moving more slowly.
I got to the United Center just as they were starting a new line, so I ended up at the front corner of it. I got to see all the news people reporting from the auditions up close. I was hoping I wouldn't be seen at first, but as it went on I thought it might be cool if I was interviewed. It never happened though.
There was a reporter from the local Fox affiliate there who was looking for people from different parts of the country. Apparently she was doing segments that would air live on various cities' local morning news shows. She asked if anyone was from Detroit, and it just so happened that the people near me had come from the Motor City. She brought some other Detroiters she'd found over to them and then gave each one a few seconds to sing. After it was over their cell phones started ringing. Their friends had just seen them on live TV. Since I was standing right behind them the whole time it's possible the good people of Detroit saw me on their screens. I wanted to go up to the camera and yell "Go Blackhawks!" but I thought better of it.
Those people from Detroit were cool. I think two of them were a brother and sister, another guy was their cousin and the woman they were with was their aunt. I spent a lot of time talking with them. I asked them if they'd watched the past season, and they said they hadn't watched much of it. The girl said she thought Kris Allen was too average and that Adam Lambert was too musical theater. Once again though, she liked Allison. I tell you, that little red-haired girl's going places. Interestingly enough, their tickets were in Section 202, the same as mine. They told me they'd registered on Sunday, yet here we were in the same section. I guess being early isn't as much of an advantage as I'd thought.
When they finally let our line in they told us to keep it orderly and wave to the cameras as we walked by. I think they were trying to see who really wanted to be on TV. Once we were all seated we had to film the crowd shots. They gave us several phrases to say, followed by more requisite cheering. I got tired of clapping after a while, but hey, I wanted to show my enthusiasm for the experience.
One phrase was "Welcome to the CHIL." The guy in charge said that since the first three letters in Chicago are "CHI" and it's in Illinois, abbreviated "IL," you could combine them to say "the CHIL." Everyone around me grumbled about how lame it was, since no one calls Chicago that. Apparently he heard some grumbling down on his level too, since he asked "Do you want to change it to Chi-Town?" which everyone cheered for. "Welcome to Chi-Town!" it was.
There was also "I'm the next American Idol!" followed by "No, I'm the next American Idol!" I'm sure I wasn't alone in thinking that was corny. Others included "Simon will blow you away!" (a reference to being in the Windy City) and "Send me to Simon!" (which he got from a sign someone was holding). There were probably others, but I don't rememeber what they were. Most of them probably won't even air.
The best part of this group stuff, in my opinion, was when we had to sing our city song, Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold." I'm not a big Katy Perry fan, but the song is pretty fun, especially when you get to sing it with a group. Remember, you're talking to a guy who loves the group numbers at the result shows. I noticed a guy in the section below me who was really getting into it, dancing and doing hand motions for "you're in and you're out" and "you're up and you're down." That may be the closest I ever get to participating in an AI group number, so it was special to me (oops, did I give away the ending of this post?).
If you're not familiar with how the auditions work, you line up in groups of four and are then sent to tables where employees from "Idol" listen to you sing. You basically just sing one at a time and then get called forward as a group to be told yes or no. If it's a yes they hand you a golden ticket and you get to do further interviews. If it's a no you get your wristband cut and go home. It's not necessarily the most in-depth process, but considering how many people were there (they said it was the second-biggest crowd they'd ever had), it's probably as fair as it could be.
After all the tables were set up the waiting game began. The first people who got to audition were the winners from Disney World's American Idol Experience attraction, followed by Section 101. The 200 section wouldn't have their turn until the bottom floor was all done, so we got plenty of time to observe the people down there.
There was a guy in the row behind me singing "Everything" by Michael Buble. There was nothing special about his voice, but his mother, who was there with him, was very encouraging. He talked about how he couldn't wait to see Simon today, but some of the girls in our section told him Simon wasn't there. He said something like "Man, if Simon's not here I'm going to hit someone." He disappeared when the auditions began and suddenly one of the girls from his row spotted him in line downstairs for auditions. Apparently it was possible to sneak ahead of your section. I wouldn't have risked it though, since you'd probably get thrown out if you were caught. His mother commented "I taught him well." I love parents who applaud dishonesty, don't you? After his group got the results from the judges he motioned to his mother with an unenthused look on his face and she said "It's a yes?", got all excited and went downstairs to go with him. Considering the guy didn't look happy and wasn't being given a golden ticket I don't know how she interpreted it as a yes, but it was good comedy for the rest of us.
From the 200 section you couldn't really hear anyone singing except the occasional wisp of really loud belting that found its way to our ears. It sounded as if some people were singing opera too. Other than the short-lived tenure of Stevie Scott, has an opera singer ever appeared as a contestant on this show? The people in my section noticed that Table 2 was probably the least generous. I don't believe we saw more than one person get a golden ticket from Table 2 the entire time we were there. We also saw a few "characters" get golden tickets from other tables, no doubt intended for the gag reel. I remember a guy who did a bunch of karate-type moves, a heavy-set woman who knew how to shake her thing and a guy wearing a pink boa off the top of my head. Two characters who didn't make it were a girl in a red dress and devil horns and a woman dressed like a hot dog.
Around noon I dozed off a few times. Sitting there waiting wasn't exactly stimulating, and the building's air conditioning was freezing. I'm just glad we had a nice clean indoor venue instead of an outdoor one. A lot of people were getting nachos and cheese from the concession stands, but I opted for a hot dog instead. It was cheaper and probably not quite as salty. There were little indented sections in the walls which made convenient rehearsal spaces. I felt weird about practicing in front of strangers, but I did do some warmups in one of them. It was hard to focus on my own singing while I was surrounded by other people who were much louder and technically better than me. I suppose it might've helped me to warm up a little more, but I felt good enough about the way I sounded.
I'd been going back and forth over what song to sing, but the more I thought about it the more I felt like I had to do a song that feels right everytime I sing it. There is one song like that. It doesn't require a ton of range, but I like the way my voice sounds on it. I made up my mind that I was going to do that one. It was my best shot.
Around 1:30 it was finally Section 202's turn. They tell you to bring back your ID for the audition day, but they never checked it. The better to fluster us with, I suppose. They require you to give them your entire ticket as well as the signed page only of your release form. Collecting only the signed page made me wonder if they'd have any legal claim about stuff that was mentioned on the first page. I'm no lawyer or anything, but it seems like a loophole waiting to happen.
I didn't realize I'd be so nervous when I lined up. I went into the experience with an easygoing attitude, since I knew I probably wouldn't make it, but when you realize that you could be starting the journey of a lifetime based on how you do in the next few minutes it really hits home. My group of four was originally sent to Table 1, but another employee moved us to (you guessed it) the dreaded Table 2.
I was the second one to sing, so I busted out the song I felt confident I could nail. What was this magical mystery song? None other than Tommy Roe's "Sheila." Yep. I figured they'd heard a lot of the same stuff over and over, so doing something like that would make me stand out. Besides, my goal if I ever get on "Idol" is to bring 1960's bubblegum back to the mainstream. My nerves unfortunately got the better of me, because I didn't feel good about my vocal performance. It's hard to sing when they're staring straight at you.
When they called us forward to give us the results, we were told that there were some nice voices in our group, but it wasn't what they were looking for. In a way I was relieved. If they'd sent me through at that point it probably would've been as a potential bad audition, and I didn't want that. After waiting around for so long I was happy to be out of there. Of course, I say that without even considering the people in the 300 section who probably waited twice as long as I did.
As I walked out the non-winner's exit ("there are no losers on 'American Idol,'" they told us) I couldn't help but smile a little. Sure, I'd been rejected. Sure, I wasn't getting that new, exciting moment to shine I was hoping for. I felt different though. I felt proud of myself for having had the courage to try. It might seem like a small thing to some people, but as someone who's spent most of his life afraid to take risks and be confident in himself, it was a huge step. I may never be an Idol, but at least I'll never have to look back and wonder "what if?"
So what's next? Do I plan on trying out again in the future? Well, I am eligible for one more year, but I don't know if I want to put myself through that tiring process again. I doubt they're coming to Chicago two years in a row, so unless I'm out of town next year and auditions just happen to be nearby, this may go down as my only tryout attempt for "Idol." If I do though, I'll be sure to post about it here. Of course, if I get past the judges they might make me delete this blog, so if it suddenly disappears that should be a clue to you, my four readers.
I'm already looking forward to next season, because when the Chicago audition episode airs I'll be able to say I was there. Who knows? Maybe some of the people I met in line made it through. Perhaps I'll even see myself in the crowd. That'd be strange. Also, when someone gives an awful performance this season I officially have the right to say they made a mistake by passing on me. They didn't want the retro pop-rocker? Serves 'em right!
So what advice would I give to people auditioning? Obviously it's a bit limited, since I didn't make it very far, but here it is (some of this was covered earlier, but I'll repeat it here as a reminder):
1. Despite what they say, you only need one form of ID. If you have a driver's license in your wallet you're good to go for the whole process.
2. Don't bother showing up until sometime between 6:30 and 7:30 on audition day. Your ticket from registration day determines where you'll be sitting.
3. Only bring the signed page of the release form on audition day. They won't collect the entire thing.
4. At best you have about a one in a hundred shot of passing the first set of judges, so don't walk into it assuming you've got a spot locked up.
5. Be confident when you sing for the judges. You won't get the Simon Cowell treatment if it's a no. Don't worry about what your fellow auditioners think either. They're going through the same thing you are.
6. Enjoy the experience. Don't be afraid to make friends with others in line or embrace the cheesiness of it all. It may be more fun than you think.
And...that's all I got. I'm definitely glad I tried out, so if you're considering it, I say go for it.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Some Reflections on Season 8
I know I haven't posted anything here since the finale, but hey, I got a little Idoled-out after the long season I'd just endured (I've been busy too). Now that it's been about three weeks and I've had some time to look back and collect my thoughts about it, I thought I'd discuss some of them.
First of all, as anyone who regularly reads this blog knows, I was a Kris Allen fan from day one, so his victory made me ecstatic. Watching his interviews after winning was great, because he accepted it with as much humility and class as ever. You couldn't help but be happy for the guy, except...there was so much hype surrounding Adam Lambert that the story almost became more about Adam losing than Kris winning. I had a gut feeling that would follow when I predicted Kris' victory, and I have to say I'm disappointed that so many fans and media members couldn't give Kris his due.
While this "controversy" seems to have died down somewhat, I will say that I don't think Kris won due to America's inability to accept a gay Idol, an AT&T plot to power-text for Kris or any other conspiracy theory someone wants to throw out there. I think Kris simply appealed to a broader range of people than Adam. You didn't know it because the media who cover "Idol" are generally out of touch with the average American, but that's a separate issue which is probably bigger than I'm capable of discussing here.
Our friends at What Not to Sing wrote an excellent two part article about Kris' road to victory, and if you have the time you should check it out. If you don't feel like taking the time, I'll throw in my two cents about why I think Kris beat Adam.
Adam is obviously a better technical vocalist than Kris. What type of music is normally associated with Adam's wailing vocal style though? I don't know about you, but I think of 80's hair metal, one of the most maligned subgenres in the history of rock. Don't think I'm bashing Adam when I say that, because I'm a fan of 80's hair metal. I've seen my share of pretentious statements made by wannabe hipsters on the internet who dismiss that style as artless, unemotional and illegitimate, and as a fan I know how wrong they are. The fact remains though, that even Adam admits his vocals sound like 80's glam (he himself prefers the 70's variety), a strain of rock despised by many. Kris' style, on the other hand, isn't likely to make anyone hate him. His style is popular these days, and most people will find him uninteresting at worst.
I don't think the anti-gay religious vote is as much of a factor as people think either. Obviously there were probably some people voting that way, but I highly doubt there were enough to change the results. Let me tell you, I myself am a Christian, a (gasp!) conservative one at that, and I can honestly say I would've voted for Adam in the finale if he'd been facing church boy Danny Gokey instead of Kris. I also believe most of America would've done likewise. To say that Kris only won because America couldn't accept a gay Idol is to discount the fact that a lot of people genuinely liked Kris. He didn't hit the Bottom 3 until the Top 5, the exact same as Adam. Clearly he had a lot more support than most people (including me during most of the competition) gave him credit for.
I think this season made it clear how much control the judges have over our perception of fan support. While Kris and Allison Iraheta overcame a lack of early pimping by performing well each week, most of us still felt that the producers' pre-planned Adam-vs.-Danny finale was inevitable. While lots of evidence pointed to Kris being more popular than believed, it was still hard for many of us to view him as a real contender. Even though most of the audience wanted Danny gone by the later stages of the competition, all the pimping he'd gotten made it seem like he had a place in the finale locked up.
While I'll admit it's a small sample size, I got some interesting insights about Danny based on my talks with a couple of people. One was a friend of mine in the Army who told me he'd gotten into "American Idol" for the first time this year because his girlfriend was a fan. He said he was rooting for Danny because of his dead wife backstory. Another was a high school girl I work with (yes, I have a crappy job) who said she liked Kris' version of "Heartless" but thought Danny should've been in the finale instead of him. I thought they were both interesting, because they suggest a possible answer to how contestants like Danny last as long as they do.
Perhaps older, more hardcore viewers are inclined to find a dead wife backstory somewhat exploitative, while newer viewers might be more receptive to it. As for the high school girl, it suggested to me that many younger viewers are more easily manipulated than older ones. After all, every generation has its stars who seem cool at the time but look embarrassing and cheesy in retrospect. You think the kids who love the Jonas Brothers today are going to look back on them in ten years and think they were cool? If kids hear Simon say that Danny is one of the best in the competition they're likely to believe it even if his style shouldn't logically appeal to them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to bash anyone who genuinely liked Danny, it's just that he proved frustrating for many hardcore fans due to his consistent inability to give a standout performance and his failing even to hit the Bottom 3. His success came across as unwarranted.
To be honest, I think the Top 4 will be the only ones people remember much of from Season 8. Three were capable of wowing us and the other was an interesting case study. I have several thoughts on each of them.
Many are assuming that Kris, despite winning, will be outsold and outshone by Adam in his post-Idol career. It's possible he will. On the other hand, I won't be surprised at all if Kris does better than Adam. As I mentioned earlier, Kris' style is more current, and he does likely appeal to more people than Adam. I remember lots of people saying "Jordin will win, but Blake will sell more records" back in Season 6. You can probably still find old articles saying "it doesn't matter that Carrie won, Bo will have the better career" after the finale of Season 4. How are those predictions looking now? Before any elitist snobs dismiss Kris as a mere symbol of America's fear of change and preference for mediocrity, they might want to remember that the guy took risks, made almost every song his own and basically built a fanbase from scratch. Unassuming generic college kid with a guitar? Don't be fooled. There's a lot more to Kris Allen than meets the eye.
I, for one, hope Kris continues to prove all the doubters wrong and outsells Adam. Not that I hate Adam, I just don't want his Claymate-esque fans and the haughty, self-absorbed media to have an extra reason to whine about Kris. He was worthy of the title, and hopefully his career will prove it.
What about our runner-up Adam, anyway? Well, if you haven't heard by now, he's gay! In the words of Hurley, "um, we kind of knew that forever ago." Still, he never said so publicly, and it meant a few fans out there actually believed he might not be. Now that it's "official," I guess we can stop talking about it and focus on what's important, like the music. While I enjoyed many of Adam's performances, I can't see myself ever buying his stuff. I imagine he'll tone down some of the screaming, since he no longer has to blow America away with every song he sings, but judging by the pre-Idol recordings I've heard, I don't think his style is my thing. I wish him well though.
Then there's Danny, our third-placer. I know I already discussed him a bit earlier, but I have a few more thoughts on him. Danny's run made me realize how much this show brings out the worst in people. I can even see it in my own behavior. Danny got so much pimping, so much hype, and didn't do nearly enough to earn it. Because of that (and the perception that he used his wife's death for sympathy votes), there was already backlash before the Finals began. Even I jumped on the "hate Danny" bandwagon. He represented everything we didn't like about the show: judges' pet, manipulative sob story, middle-of-the-road performances, etc. It got to where we looked for reasons to hate him. He came across as smug. He didn't give Adam a hug when he was sent to the couches. He couldn't stop talking about himself. After a while it seemed he could do no right. When he was eliminated it was a relief that we wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. And yet...I'm not so sure I hate the guy the way I did when he was on the show.
I watched his exit interviews. He talked about how he was still grieving his wife throughout the competition. Indeed, I can only imagine how it would feel to be married to the love of your life and then lose her at such a young age. He also said that he felt uncomfortable with the way the show portrayed his backstory, as it gave the impression of opportunism even to him. His Idolatry interview with Michael Slezak was particularly uncomfortable, as it only made me realize how insecure and possibly naive he is. It truly bothered him that so many people hated him. He has several ideas about what to do next, but they don't seem like they'd appeal to anyone except the church crowd he's been in a bubble with his entire life. I no longer dislike the guy. If anything, I feel sorry for him. I have a hunch his post-Idol career is going to be crueler and full of more heartbreak than he realizes. I just hope the legions of haters who want to spin everything he says or does into "Danny's an arrogant D-bag" will take a step back and realize that he's a human being and probably not as bad as they think.
Finally, we have little Allison. Even though she finished one slot behind Danny, the people at 19E skipped right over him and picked her up. How funny that two of the three contestants 19E ended up signing weren't even part of the producers' original script. I'm very interested to see what type of album Allison makes. She was this season's "rocker," but I get the impression that she has a wide range of influences outside that style. If I recall, in her Hollywood interview video she said her favorite type of music was soul. I guess I don't have much else to say about her except that I'm looking forward to seeing what she does with her career.
Overall, this season had its share of disappointments as well as successes, namely the underdogs rising to the top and proving how out-of-touch the producers really are. It seems odd to be talking about the show in those terms, but the way they condescend to their audience is insulting. Will Season 9 be the one where the old British men in charge get in touch with what the American public really wants, or will it be another year of "we know better than you"? As a fan of the brilliant concept that is this show, I can only hope it's the former.
First of all, as anyone who regularly reads this blog knows, I was a Kris Allen fan from day one, so his victory made me ecstatic. Watching his interviews after winning was great, because he accepted it with as much humility and class as ever. You couldn't help but be happy for the guy, except...there was so much hype surrounding Adam Lambert that the story almost became more about Adam losing than Kris winning. I had a gut feeling that would follow when I predicted Kris' victory, and I have to say I'm disappointed that so many fans and media members couldn't give Kris his due.
While this "controversy" seems to have died down somewhat, I will say that I don't think Kris won due to America's inability to accept a gay Idol, an AT&T plot to power-text for Kris or any other conspiracy theory someone wants to throw out there. I think Kris simply appealed to a broader range of people than Adam. You didn't know it because the media who cover "Idol" are generally out of touch with the average American, but that's a separate issue which is probably bigger than I'm capable of discussing here.
Our friends at What Not to Sing wrote an excellent two part article about Kris' road to victory, and if you have the time you should check it out. If you don't feel like taking the time, I'll throw in my two cents about why I think Kris beat Adam.
Adam is obviously a better technical vocalist than Kris. What type of music is normally associated with Adam's wailing vocal style though? I don't know about you, but I think of 80's hair metal, one of the most maligned subgenres in the history of rock. Don't think I'm bashing Adam when I say that, because I'm a fan of 80's hair metal. I've seen my share of pretentious statements made by wannabe hipsters on the internet who dismiss that style as artless, unemotional and illegitimate, and as a fan I know how wrong they are. The fact remains though, that even Adam admits his vocals sound like 80's glam (he himself prefers the 70's variety), a strain of rock despised by many. Kris' style, on the other hand, isn't likely to make anyone hate him. His style is popular these days, and most people will find him uninteresting at worst.
I don't think the anti-gay religious vote is as much of a factor as people think either. Obviously there were probably some people voting that way, but I highly doubt there were enough to change the results. Let me tell you, I myself am a Christian, a (gasp!) conservative one at that, and I can honestly say I would've voted for Adam in the finale if he'd been facing church boy Danny Gokey instead of Kris. I also believe most of America would've done likewise. To say that Kris only won because America couldn't accept a gay Idol is to discount the fact that a lot of people genuinely liked Kris. He didn't hit the Bottom 3 until the Top 5, the exact same as Adam. Clearly he had a lot more support than most people (including me during most of the competition) gave him credit for.
I think this season made it clear how much control the judges have over our perception of fan support. While Kris and Allison Iraheta overcame a lack of early pimping by performing well each week, most of us still felt that the producers' pre-planned Adam-vs.-Danny finale was inevitable. While lots of evidence pointed to Kris being more popular than believed, it was still hard for many of us to view him as a real contender. Even though most of the audience wanted Danny gone by the later stages of the competition, all the pimping he'd gotten made it seem like he had a place in the finale locked up.
While I'll admit it's a small sample size, I got some interesting insights about Danny based on my talks with a couple of people. One was a friend of mine in the Army who told me he'd gotten into "American Idol" for the first time this year because his girlfriend was a fan. He said he was rooting for Danny because of his dead wife backstory. Another was a high school girl I work with (yes, I have a crappy job) who said she liked Kris' version of "Heartless" but thought Danny should've been in the finale instead of him. I thought they were both interesting, because they suggest a possible answer to how contestants like Danny last as long as they do.
Perhaps older, more hardcore viewers are inclined to find a dead wife backstory somewhat exploitative, while newer viewers might be more receptive to it. As for the high school girl, it suggested to me that many younger viewers are more easily manipulated than older ones. After all, every generation has its stars who seem cool at the time but look embarrassing and cheesy in retrospect. You think the kids who love the Jonas Brothers today are going to look back on them in ten years and think they were cool? If kids hear Simon say that Danny is one of the best in the competition they're likely to believe it even if his style shouldn't logically appeal to them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to bash anyone who genuinely liked Danny, it's just that he proved frustrating for many hardcore fans due to his consistent inability to give a standout performance and his failing even to hit the Bottom 3. His success came across as unwarranted.
To be honest, I think the Top 4 will be the only ones people remember much of from Season 8. Three were capable of wowing us and the other was an interesting case study. I have several thoughts on each of them.
Many are assuming that Kris, despite winning, will be outsold and outshone by Adam in his post-Idol career. It's possible he will. On the other hand, I won't be surprised at all if Kris does better than Adam. As I mentioned earlier, Kris' style is more current, and he does likely appeal to more people than Adam. I remember lots of people saying "Jordin will win, but Blake will sell more records" back in Season 6. You can probably still find old articles saying "it doesn't matter that Carrie won, Bo will have the better career" after the finale of Season 4. How are those predictions looking now? Before any elitist snobs dismiss Kris as a mere symbol of America's fear of change and preference for mediocrity, they might want to remember that the guy took risks, made almost every song his own and basically built a fanbase from scratch. Unassuming generic college kid with a guitar? Don't be fooled. There's a lot more to Kris Allen than meets the eye.
I, for one, hope Kris continues to prove all the doubters wrong and outsells Adam. Not that I hate Adam, I just don't want his Claymate-esque fans and the haughty, self-absorbed media to have an extra reason to whine about Kris. He was worthy of the title, and hopefully his career will prove it.
What about our runner-up Adam, anyway? Well, if you haven't heard by now, he's gay! In the words of Hurley, "um, we kind of knew that forever ago." Still, he never said so publicly, and it meant a few fans out there actually believed he might not be. Now that it's "official," I guess we can stop talking about it and focus on what's important, like the music. While I enjoyed many of Adam's performances, I can't see myself ever buying his stuff. I imagine he'll tone down some of the screaming, since he no longer has to blow America away with every song he sings, but judging by the pre-Idol recordings I've heard, I don't think his style is my thing. I wish him well though.
Then there's Danny, our third-placer. I know I already discussed him a bit earlier, but I have a few more thoughts on him. Danny's run made me realize how much this show brings out the worst in people. I can even see it in my own behavior. Danny got so much pimping, so much hype, and didn't do nearly enough to earn it. Because of that (and the perception that he used his wife's death for sympathy votes), there was already backlash before the Finals began. Even I jumped on the "hate Danny" bandwagon. He represented everything we didn't like about the show: judges' pet, manipulative sob story, middle-of-the-road performances, etc. It got to where we looked for reasons to hate him. He came across as smug. He didn't give Adam a hug when he was sent to the couches. He couldn't stop talking about himself. After a while it seemed he could do no right. When he was eliminated it was a relief that we wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. And yet...I'm not so sure I hate the guy the way I did when he was on the show.
I watched his exit interviews. He talked about how he was still grieving his wife throughout the competition. Indeed, I can only imagine how it would feel to be married to the love of your life and then lose her at such a young age. He also said that he felt uncomfortable with the way the show portrayed his backstory, as it gave the impression of opportunism even to him. His Idolatry interview with Michael Slezak was particularly uncomfortable, as it only made me realize how insecure and possibly naive he is. It truly bothered him that so many people hated him. He has several ideas about what to do next, but they don't seem like they'd appeal to anyone except the church crowd he's been in a bubble with his entire life. I no longer dislike the guy. If anything, I feel sorry for him. I have a hunch his post-Idol career is going to be crueler and full of more heartbreak than he realizes. I just hope the legions of haters who want to spin everything he says or does into "Danny's an arrogant D-bag" will take a step back and realize that he's a human being and probably not as bad as they think.
Finally, we have little Allison. Even though she finished one slot behind Danny, the people at 19E skipped right over him and picked her up. How funny that two of the three contestants 19E ended up signing weren't even part of the producers' original script. I'm very interested to see what type of album Allison makes. She was this season's "rocker," but I get the impression that she has a wide range of influences outside that style. If I recall, in her Hollywood interview video she said her favorite type of music was soul. I guess I don't have much else to say about her except that I'm looking forward to seeing what she does with her career.
Overall, this season had its share of disappointments as well as successes, namely the underdogs rising to the top and proving how out-of-touch the producers really are. It seems odd to be talking about the show in those terms, but the way they condescend to their audience is insulting. Will Season 9 be the one where the old British men in charge get in touch with what the American public really wants, or will it be another year of "we know better than you"? As a fan of the brilliant concept that is this show, I can only hope it's the former.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Season 8 Finale - Color-Coordinated Idols and Musical Guests Galore
Here it is: the last show of the season that I have to recap. Not that I don't enjoy writing this blog, it's just that it's a labor of love which can be tiring at times. I'm about burnt out, so it's good to see the end in sight. Whoever is crowned our winner tonight will be worthy of the title, so I can sit back and enjoy it (while rooting for Kris, though).
Ryan tells us there were just under 100 million votes last night, bringing the season total to 624 million. That's crazy. I think it's a sign that more people these days use power-dialers instead of voting by hand. Me? I'm old-school, so I still press redial over and over on my cell phone. Of course, if I were really old-school I'd be using a rotary dial just to hear that comforting busy signal that tells me my favorite contestant has tons of support.
Ryan pays respect to the four who've professionally guided us throughout season. Guided us? You mean dictated their opinions to us in an attempt to make us choose their favorites? Oh, he was being facetious, because there's an accompanying clip poking fun at each judge. Well that's kind of funny. Those four buffoons deserve it.
Mikalah Gordon is dispatched to Kris Allen's hometown of Conway, AR this time, and she tries to talk to a little girl who doesn't know what to say. Mikalah handles it well by improvising "She's speechless!"
Adam Lambert's hometown of San Diego has as its host...Carly Smithson??? What was wrong with Matt Rogers? Attention hog that she is, Carly has to remind us that she couldn't win it for San Diego last year. No one cares about you, you carpetbagger. We want to hear about Adam.
The Top 13 sing "So What?" by Pink. Man, I hate this song. I usually love the group numbers, but I love them much less with crappy songs like this. Allison Iraheta gets to give the audience a karate kick. We missed you in the Top 3, Allison! Wow, Jasmine Murray gets one of the few solo lines. I guess they needed to remind America she existed.
David Cook is back to sing his new song "Permanent," which, if I'm not mistaken, is about his brother who recently passed away's struggle with cancer. This guy and his family have obviously been through a lot in the past two years, so I feel for them. The "mosh pit" has their hands randomly waving to no particular rhythm throughout the slow part of the song. Just listen to the lyrics, kids. This song is supposed to be heartfelt and emotional. David talks about his brother a little afterwards, and he says that this performance is going to be available on iTunes after the show, with proceeds going to ABC Squared. Awesome. I wish both David and ABC Squared the best.
Now they're doing the cheesy "Golden Idol Awards" portion of the finale. Oh brother. Was there ever any demand for this? The "Outstanding Male" nominees are: Wil Kunick, who apparently sang "Mad World" for his audition, Michael Gurr, the guy who was too nervous to enunciate at his audition, Elijah Scarlett, who has the deepest voice known to man, Dean-Anthony Bradford, the warthog who said "the carpet matches the drapes" and of course, Nick Mitchell, the guy who actually made it to the voting rounds. Of course, Nick wins. He claims not to have been prepared, then reveals his "Normund Gentle" outfit underneath his regular clothes and reprises "And I Am Telling You" in his ultra-campy style. Let's be honest, how could they not bring this guy back for the finale? We'll never see anything like his Semifinal performance on this show again.
Our first Idol-and-established-star duet is "Cue the Rain" with Lil Rounds and Queen Latifah. What's the point of this? Lil is boring and not particularly good. Seriously, is anyone interested in this? Is Anoop going to get to duet with anyone? He did finish ahead of Lil, after all. Then again, Carly Smithson and Michael Johns were featured in a duet last year while Kristy Lee Cook, who finished ahead of Michael, got jack squat. There's a lot of favoritism in these finales.
We come back from the commercial to see Anoop Desai singing "I'm Yours." Alexis Grace then joins him and introduces the man himself, Jason Mraz. This is a good song but...I'm freaking sick of it after hearing it on the radio at work over and over. What an odd setup. Anoop and Alexis get center stage with Mr. A-Z while the other Idols serve as the background chorus in the wings. Oh well. Good for Anoop. He deserves some screentime.
Ryan asks all the Kris Allen fans to cheer and rolls a video of Kris' journey on the show. How can you not smile when you see this? I'm so glad we didn't have to see this type of crap with Danny. Now Kris gets to perform "Kiss a Girl" with Keith Urban. Kris fan and upbeat song fan that I am, I love this moment. Well done, sirs.
Once again we come back from the commercial and are violently thrust into a musical number. This one features our five girls singing Fergie's "Glamorous" before Allison introduces the real Fergie. She then sings "Big Girls Don't Cry" before Allison pipes up again to tell us the rest of the Black Eyed Peas are in the house. At this point it's just "screw the Idols, we have big-name guests!" The girls are no longer anywhere to be found. I don't know about you, but I care more about the Idols than this crap. This show is supposed to be about them. Oh well. It gives me time to polish up this recap so I don't have to do it later. Oh wait, there the girls are! On the platform behind the judges! Hooray.
Time for more stupid awards. The nominees for "Best Attitude" are: Bikini Girl Katrina Darrell, who was only put there for drama, Alexis Cohen, who I don't think anyone has ever found funny except the producers of this show, and Tiffany Shedd, the weird spoiled girl with too much makeup. Katrina wins of course, and she's back with her bikini and a bigger bust, which Seacrest jokingly alludes to. She sings "Vision of Love" again and is off-key as expected, but the big twist is when Kara joins her from behind the backdrop and outsings her. At the end Kara reveals a bikini under her dress! And all this time I thought Kara took herself too seriously. Kara says she's only doing it because they agreed to donate to her favorite charity if she did it. Kara DioGuardi in a bikini for a good cause? It's a win-win! As much as I can't stand her fake personality, I have to admit she's a very attractive woman.
Allison gets her duet with Cyndi Lauper on "Time After Time." I'm not sure why they didn't give Allison a more rocking duet partner, but hey, I don't make the big bucks. They're sitting in front of a bunch of TV's with pictures of clocks on them, which I think is obnoxiously literal, but hey, I still don't make the big bucks. It's kind of cute at the end when they both sing "time after..." and Allison just looks confused and smiles. I can't think of anything else to say about this one, which is probably why I don't make the big bucks.
Ryan talks to Kris' and Adam's parents, and both sides give classy statements that honor both contestants. Gotta love that. There's so much goodwill here tonight!
Danny Gokey gets his moment in the spotlight on Lionel Richie's "Hello," which of course, leads to the real Lionel Richie being brought out to sing a few songs. I guess I can tolerate Danny a bit more now that he's in no danger of being our American Idol, and their performance of "All Night Long" is fun. If only Danny sang stuff this enjoyable when he was in the competition instead of always trying to "inspire" us. OK, enough Danny-bashing. He did a good job here.
Ryan asks all the Adam Lambert fans to cheer, and it seems louder in the house than it was for Kris. They roll a recap video of Adam's journey, which isn't quite as touching as Kris', but it's fun to look back on what a great performer he's been. We immediately move to him singing "Beth" by KISS. Now that's an odd choice. I was going to make a joke about how certain lines in this song take on a different connotation with Adam singing, but I'll pass. Of course, we all know what this means. It means KISS is in the house! Adam gets to join them on "Detroit Rock City" and "Rock and Roll All Night." This is both corny and freaking awesome at the same time. Paul Stanley even breaks his guitar at the end while Adam glory-notes in the most appropriate context I've ever heard. Rock on! I think the two best duets we've seen tonight have been with the guys in the Top 2.
Carlos Santana is the next guest. The segment starts with old Carlos soloing before Matt Giraud comes in to sing "Black Magic Woman." All the Idols join in when we hear that familiar riff to "Smooth." Adam, Kris, Danny and Jorge Nunez get the solos on it. This is OK, but very filler-y.
The final Ford video is set to "I Will Remember You," and as the tradition goes, it mainly consists of a montage of clips from this year's Ford videos. As soon as it ends we see a video of David Cook awarding Kris and Adam the keys to two new Ford Fusions. Awesome. I guess now that they've been on "Idol" they can afford insurance on those things.
Next is perhaps the oddest duet: Michael Sarver and Megan Joy backed by Steve Martin on the banjo performing one of his originals called "Pretty Flowers." Whoa, I didn't know Steve Martin could play the banjo. The real question though, is when did Steve Martin start looking so old? You know, I never fully appreciated Michael's voice during the competition, but he sounds pretty good here. Megan, of course, never could sing, so tonight is no different. This is another fun moment. Old Stevo knows how to write a good song. Ryan asks Steve Martin afterward who he thinks will win, and Steve says he's hoping it's him. Good way to avoid the question. Make a joke. I think that leaves Scott MacIntyre as the only finalist who hasn't gotten a solo part tonight.
The next musical number features the guys singing "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" Everytime I hear this song I can only think of Mike Myers in So I Married an Axe Murderer as Charlie's father singing this song with bagpipes. Oh boy! Rod Stewart is here! And singing "Maggie Mae" all by himself! Well, it's better than the five minutes of George Michael singing solo last year. Or the solo Black-Eyed Peas performance just an hour ago. They show a shot of Bo Bice clapping along in the audience, who seems to be aware that the camera just flashed to him and points to the stage in admiration.
Now it's time for the final (thankfully) Golden Idol Award, "Outstanding Female." The nominees are: Chelsea Marquardt, who butchered "Without You" at the auditions, Irene Anguelova who goatily butchered "Over the Rainbow" at the auditions, Dana Moreno, whose upper register sounds like a two-year-old and Tatiana Nicole Del Toro, who totally deserved to be in the Top 13. We all know Tatiana is going to win, and she does. Ryan tells Tatiana to stay seated because they're out of time, but of course, she runs onstage to sing "Saving All My Love." Security tries to take her away while Ruben Studdard sits in the audience looking bewildered. This was obviously staged. I'm just glad to see Tatiana can poke a little fun at herself after the way she was portrayed.
Now it's time for the Top 2 duet, which is "We Are the Champions." Why did I think that this song was going to show up somewhere this season? Bonus! Queen is actually here to back them up! Hey, who are all these random people lining up onstage? The rest of the Top 13 is standing behind the drum set doing backing vocals. At least I recognize someone here. This is cool. Brian May gives Kris and Adam a hug after it's over. I'll bet he wishes Adam were fronting his band right now.
Let's see, the Top 2 duets over the years:
Kelly/Justin: "It Takes Two"
Ruben/Clay: "Ain't No Stopping Us Now"
Fantasia/Diana: "I Knew You Were Waiting For Me"
Carrie/Bo: "Up Where We Belong"
Taylor/Katharine: "(I've Had) The Time of My Life"
Jordin/Blake: "I Saw Her Standing There"
David/David: "Hero"
Kris/Adam: "We Are the Champions"
Yeah, they've been getting cooler in recent years.
Now it's time for the moment of truth. Simon tells them that they both have great futures ahead of them or some such thing. Some British guy who personally certified the results hands Ryan the card. Blah-dee-blah-blah. Let's get to the results!
The winner of American Idol is...KRIS ALLEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did you miss that? American Idol #8 is....
KRIS
ALLEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whoo!
Even though I predicted it last night I still don't quite believe it! A contestant I voted for every week he was in the competition actually won it? The least-pimped member of the Top 13 ended up finishing ahead of all of them? How is this possible? All I know is that I love it!
Kris looks absolutely shocked to be the winner. Adam, classy guy that he is, steps aside to let Kris have the spotlight. Of course, since Adam is such a good friend to Kris he later runs out to give him a hug and then exhorts the crowd to cheer Kris some more. Kris said in an online interview that each week he advanced in the competition was a surprise to him, so this has to be overwhelming.
He gets the new winner's trophy shaped like an old-school microphone. That's pretty cool.
Kris is absolutely speechless. He almost looks like he thinks there's been a mistake. He keeps motioning to the other contestants as if to say that they're all better than him, but Ryan won't hear it. Ryan asks him what he has to say to the fans who voted for him. He says thanks, and that they're not only the reason he's there, but the reason all the other finalists are there. I could write a cyncial remark about the Wild Card, but I won't. I'm proud of Kris. Against all odds, he pulled off the unthinkable and stayed true to himself the whole time. This isn't just a victory for him, it's a victory for the American Dream.
Simon looks unhappy. Screw him! America loves humble!
He sings that winner's single one more time and the Idols all surround him on the platform. How can you not be happy for this guy?
Kris gets a hug from his wife after it's all over. Oh yeah, congratulations to the first married contestant to win American Idol, too! In fact, I believe he's the first married contestant to make the Top 3 (I believe Bo Bice and Syesha Mercado were both engaged though, and Danny, of course, was widowed).
Wow! So what else to say? This season started on a poor note, with the producers practically rigging the Semifinals and giving contestants who tanked a second chance in the Wild Card over people who'd performed much better. As we got deeper into the Finals though, things got more and more enjoyable. After everything that happened, no ending could've been better than to see Kris Allen, the ultimate underdog, crowned the champion. I don't think he'll end up being ranked among Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and David Cook in the pantheon of "Idol" winners, but within the structure of the show itself he proved his worth. What a great night.
I considered giving up on "Idol" after the way this season began, but now, for better or for worse, I think I have enough reason to be back for Season 9. Kris' victory gives me hope that any attempts the producers make to rig the outcome can be thwarted by an American public that's smarter than Simon and the Brits in charge think they are.
Well, it was a fun ride, but I'm glad to have my Tuesdays and Wednesdays back. Now I can focus on some of my other interests, like sports. Check out my other blog, by the way! It's in the early stages, but it'll be great someday! Maybe it'll eventually generate even more traffic than this one!
Ryan tells us there were just under 100 million votes last night, bringing the season total to 624 million. That's crazy. I think it's a sign that more people these days use power-dialers instead of voting by hand. Me? I'm old-school, so I still press redial over and over on my cell phone. Of course, if I were really old-school I'd be using a rotary dial just to hear that comforting busy signal that tells me my favorite contestant has tons of support.
Ryan pays respect to the four who've professionally guided us throughout season. Guided us? You mean dictated their opinions to us in an attempt to make us choose their favorites? Oh, he was being facetious, because there's an accompanying clip poking fun at each judge. Well that's kind of funny. Those four buffoons deserve it.
Mikalah Gordon is dispatched to Kris Allen's hometown of Conway, AR this time, and she tries to talk to a little girl who doesn't know what to say. Mikalah handles it well by improvising "She's speechless!"
Adam Lambert's hometown of San Diego has as its host...Carly Smithson??? What was wrong with Matt Rogers? Attention hog that she is, Carly has to remind us that she couldn't win it for San Diego last year. No one cares about you, you carpetbagger. We want to hear about Adam.
The Top 13 sing "So What?" by Pink. Man, I hate this song. I usually love the group numbers, but I love them much less with crappy songs like this. Allison Iraheta gets to give the audience a karate kick. We missed you in the Top 3, Allison! Wow, Jasmine Murray gets one of the few solo lines. I guess they needed to remind America she existed.
David Cook is back to sing his new song "Permanent," which, if I'm not mistaken, is about his brother who recently passed away's struggle with cancer. This guy and his family have obviously been through a lot in the past two years, so I feel for them. The "mosh pit" has their hands randomly waving to no particular rhythm throughout the slow part of the song. Just listen to the lyrics, kids. This song is supposed to be heartfelt and emotional. David talks about his brother a little afterwards, and he says that this performance is going to be available on iTunes after the show, with proceeds going to ABC Squared. Awesome. I wish both David and ABC Squared the best.
Now they're doing the cheesy "Golden Idol Awards" portion of the finale. Oh brother. Was there ever any demand for this? The "Outstanding Male" nominees are: Wil Kunick, who apparently sang "Mad World" for his audition, Michael Gurr, the guy who was too nervous to enunciate at his audition, Elijah Scarlett, who has the deepest voice known to man, Dean-Anthony Bradford, the warthog who said "the carpet matches the drapes" and of course, Nick Mitchell, the guy who actually made it to the voting rounds. Of course, Nick wins. He claims not to have been prepared, then reveals his "Normund Gentle" outfit underneath his regular clothes and reprises "And I Am Telling You" in his ultra-campy style. Let's be honest, how could they not bring this guy back for the finale? We'll never see anything like his Semifinal performance on this show again.
Our first Idol-and-established-star duet is "Cue the Rain" with Lil Rounds and Queen Latifah. What's the point of this? Lil is boring and not particularly good. Seriously, is anyone interested in this? Is Anoop going to get to duet with anyone? He did finish ahead of Lil, after all. Then again, Carly Smithson and Michael Johns were featured in a duet last year while Kristy Lee Cook, who finished ahead of Michael, got jack squat. There's a lot of favoritism in these finales.
We come back from the commercial to see Anoop Desai singing "I'm Yours." Alexis Grace then joins him and introduces the man himself, Jason Mraz. This is a good song but...I'm freaking sick of it after hearing it on the radio at work over and over. What an odd setup. Anoop and Alexis get center stage with Mr. A-Z while the other Idols serve as the background chorus in the wings. Oh well. Good for Anoop. He deserves some screentime.
Ryan asks all the Kris Allen fans to cheer and rolls a video of Kris' journey on the show. How can you not smile when you see this? I'm so glad we didn't have to see this type of crap with Danny. Now Kris gets to perform "Kiss a Girl" with Keith Urban. Kris fan and upbeat song fan that I am, I love this moment. Well done, sirs.
Once again we come back from the commercial and are violently thrust into a musical number. This one features our five girls singing Fergie's "Glamorous" before Allison introduces the real Fergie. She then sings "Big Girls Don't Cry" before Allison pipes up again to tell us the rest of the Black Eyed Peas are in the house. At this point it's just "screw the Idols, we have big-name guests!" The girls are no longer anywhere to be found. I don't know about you, but I care more about the Idols than this crap. This show is supposed to be about them. Oh well. It gives me time to polish up this recap so I don't have to do it later. Oh wait, there the girls are! On the platform behind the judges! Hooray.
Time for more stupid awards. The nominees for "Best Attitude" are: Bikini Girl Katrina Darrell, who was only put there for drama, Alexis Cohen, who I don't think anyone has ever found funny except the producers of this show, and Tiffany Shedd, the weird spoiled girl with too much makeup. Katrina wins of course, and she's back with her bikini and a bigger bust, which Seacrest jokingly alludes to. She sings "Vision of Love" again and is off-key as expected, but the big twist is when Kara joins her from behind the backdrop and outsings her. At the end Kara reveals a bikini under her dress! And all this time I thought Kara took herself too seriously. Kara says she's only doing it because they agreed to donate to her favorite charity if she did it. Kara DioGuardi in a bikini for a good cause? It's a win-win! As much as I can't stand her fake personality, I have to admit she's a very attractive woman.
Allison gets her duet with Cyndi Lauper on "Time After Time." I'm not sure why they didn't give Allison a more rocking duet partner, but hey, I don't make the big bucks. They're sitting in front of a bunch of TV's with pictures of clocks on them, which I think is obnoxiously literal, but hey, I still don't make the big bucks. It's kind of cute at the end when they both sing "time after..." and Allison just looks confused and smiles. I can't think of anything else to say about this one, which is probably why I don't make the big bucks.
Ryan talks to Kris' and Adam's parents, and both sides give classy statements that honor both contestants. Gotta love that. There's so much goodwill here tonight!
Danny Gokey gets his moment in the spotlight on Lionel Richie's "Hello," which of course, leads to the real Lionel Richie being brought out to sing a few songs. I guess I can tolerate Danny a bit more now that he's in no danger of being our American Idol, and their performance of "All Night Long" is fun. If only Danny sang stuff this enjoyable when he was in the competition instead of always trying to "inspire" us. OK, enough Danny-bashing. He did a good job here.
Ryan asks all the Adam Lambert fans to cheer, and it seems louder in the house than it was for Kris. They roll a recap video of Adam's journey, which isn't quite as touching as Kris', but it's fun to look back on what a great performer he's been. We immediately move to him singing "Beth" by KISS. Now that's an odd choice. I was going to make a joke about how certain lines in this song take on a different connotation with Adam singing, but I'll pass. Of course, we all know what this means. It means KISS is in the house! Adam gets to join them on "Detroit Rock City" and "Rock and Roll All Night." This is both corny and freaking awesome at the same time. Paul Stanley even breaks his guitar at the end while Adam glory-notes in the most appropriate context I've ever heard. Rock on! I think the two best duets we've seen tonight have been with the guys in the Top 2.
Carlos Santana is the next guest. The segment starts with old Carlos soloing before Matt Giraud comes in to sing "Black Magic Woman." All the Idols join in when we hear that familiar riff to "Smooth." Adam, Kris, Danny and Jorge Nunez get the solos on it. This is OK, but very filler-y.
The final Ford video is set to "I Will Remember You," and as the tradition goes, it mainly consists of a montage of clips from this year's Ford videos. As soon as it ends we see a video of David Cook awarding Kris and Adam the keys to two new Ford Fusions. Awesome. I guess now that they've been on "Idol" they can afford insurance on those things.
Next is perhaps the oddest duet: Michael Sarver and Megan Joy backed by Steve Martin on the banjo performing one of his originals called "Pretty Flowers." Whoa, I didn't know Steve Martin could play the banjo. The real question though, is when did Steve Martin start looking so old? You know, I never fully appreciated Michael's voice during the competition, but he sounds pretty good here. Megan, of course, never could sing, so tonight is no different. This is another fun moment. Old Stevo knows how to write a good song. Ryan asks Steve Martin afterward who he thinks will win, and Steve says he's hoping it's him. Good way to avoid the question. Make a joke. I think that leaves Scott MacIntyre as the only finalist who hasn't gotten a solo part tonight.
The next musical number features the guys singing "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" Everytime I hear this song I can only think of Mike Myers in So I Married an Axe Murderer as Charlie's father singing this song with bagpipes. Oh boy! Rod Stewart is here! And singing "Maggie Mae" all by himself! Well, it's better than the five minutes of George Michael singing solo last year. Or the solo Black-Eyed Peas performance just an hour ago. They show a shot of Bo Bice clapping along in the audience, who seems to be aware that the camera just flashed to him and points to the stage in admiration.
Now it's time for the final (thankfully) Golden Idol Award, "Outstanding Female." The nominees are: Chelsea Marquardt, who butchered "Without You" at the auditions, Irene Anguelova who goatily butchered "Over the Rainbow" at the auditions, Dana Moreno, whose upper register sounds like a two-year-old and Tatiana Nicole Del Toro, who totally deserved to be in the Top 13. We all know Tatiana is going to win, and she does. Ryan tells Tatiana to stay seated because they're out of time, but of course, she runs onstage to sing "Saving All My Love." Security tries to take her away while Ruben Studdard sits in the audience looking bewildered. This was obviously staged. I'm just glad to see Tatiana can poke a little fun at herself after the way she was portrayed.
Now it's time for the Top 2 duet, which is "We Are the Champions." Why did I think that this song was going to show up somewhere this season? Bonus! Queen is actually here to back them up! Hey, who are all these random people lining up onstage? The rest of the Top 13 is standing behind the drum set doing backing vocals. At least I recognize someone here. This is cool. Brian May gives Kris and Adam a hug after it's over. I'll bet he wishes Adam were fronting his band right now.
Let's see, the Top 2 duets over the years:
Kelly/Justin: "It Takes Two"
Ruben/Clay: "Ain't No Stopping Us Now"
Fantasia/Diana: "I Knew You Were Waiting For Me"
Carrie/Bo: "Up Where We Belong"
Taylor/Katharine: "(I've Had) The Time of My Life"
Jordin/Blake: "I Saw Her Standing There"
David/David: "Hero"
Kris/Adam: "We Are the Champions"
Yeah, they've been getting cooler in recent years.
Now it's time for the moment of truth. Simon tells them that they both have great futures ahead of them or some such thing. Some British guy who personally certified the results hands Ryan the card. Blah-dee-blah-blah. Let's get to the results!
The winner of American Idol is...KRIS ALLEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did you miss that? American Idol #8 is....
KRIS
ALLEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whoo!
Even though I predicted it last night I still don't quite believe it! A contestant I voted for every week he was in the competition actually won it? The least-pimped member of the Top 13 ended up finishing ahead of all of them? How is this possible? All I know is that I love it!
Kris looks absolutely shocked to be the winner. Adam, classy guy that he is, steps aside to let Kris have the spotlight. Of course, since Adam is such a good friend to Kris he later runs out to give him a hug and then exhorts the crowd to cheer Kris some more. Kris said in an online interview that each week he advanced in the competition was a surprise to him, so this has to be overwhelming.
He gets the new winner's trophy shaped like an old-school microphone. That's pretty cool.
Kris is absolutely speechless. He almost looks like he thinks there's been a mistake. He keeps motioning to the other contestants as if to say that they're all better than him, but Ryan won't hear it. Ryan asks him what he has to say to the fans who voted for him. He says thanks, and that they're not only the reason he's there, but the reason all the other finalists are there. I could write a cyncial remark about the Wild Card, but I won't. I'm proud of Kris. Against all odds, he pulled off the unthinkable and stayed true to himself the whole time. This isn't just a victory for him, it's a victory for the American Dream.
Simon looks unhappy. Screw him! America loves humble!
He sings that winner's single one more time and the Idols all surround him on the platform. How can you not be happy for this guy?
Kris gets a hug from his wife after it's all over. Oh yeah, congratulations to the first married contestant to win American Idol, too! In fact, I believe he's the first married contestant to make the Top 3 (I believe Bo Bice and Syesha Mercado were both engaged though, and Danny, of course, was widowed).
Wow! So what else to say? This season started on a poor note, with the producers practically rigging the Semifinals and giving contestants who tanked a second chance in the Wild Card over people who'd performed much better. As we got deeper into the Finals though, things got more and more enjoyable. After everything that happened, no ending could've been better than to see Kris Allen, the ultimate underdog, crowned the champion. I don't think he'll end up being ranked among Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and David Cook in the pantheon of "Idol" winners, but within the structure of the show itself he proved his worth. What a great night.
I considered giving up on "Idol" after the way this season began, but now, for better or for worse, I think I have enough reason to be back for Season 9. Kris' victory gives me hope that any attempts the producers make to rig the outcome can be thwarted by an American public that's smarter than Simon and the Brits in charge think they are.
Well, it was a fun ride, but I'm glad to have my Tuesdays and Wednesdays back. Now I can focus on some of my other interests, like sports. Check out my other blog, by the way! It's in the early stages, but it'll be great someday! Maybe it'll eventually generate even more traffic than this one!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Top 2 - Two Great Performers, One Close Call
Before I start this recap I'd like to give a shoutout to my readers in the Philippines! According to Google Analytics it seems I have a few fans there. Thanks for reading, and don't be afraid to leave a comment!
So here we go. After all the manipulation, exploitation and drama we're down to two contestants. We have a guy whose audition was aired in full, who got plenty of attention in Hollwood and who's been one of the most talked-about contestants since day one. On the other side of the coin, we have a guy who was only seen briefly in the preliminary rounds, whose addition to the Finals came as a surprise to many viewers and who made it this far by growing as the competition progressed. The former contestant looked like he had this whole thing wrapped up just a few weeks ago, but the latter contestant has been picking up momentum. At this point, I truly believe it's anyone's game.
Hey, Casey Carlson is in the audience! Anyone besides me remember her? Carly Smithson is shown in the audience as well, and my eyes don't appreciate that one bit, Mr. Director.
As we spoiler-readers all know by now, the contestants are each doing three songs tonight: one reprise from earlier in the season, one chosen by Simon Fuller and the winner's single co-written by Kara.
Adam Lambert is up first, and we see a video where his parents talk about how noisy he was as a kid. Is this leftover footage or something? He's reprising "Mad World," which I think was his most overrated performance, but what do I know? He performs this time wearing a long coat on a dark stage with tons of dry ice surrounding him. Oddly enough, I think I like this better than the first time he performed it. I'm feeling the emotion a little more this time, and he doesn't miss the final note as badly as he did back in the Top 8. The crowd goes wild after he finishes. Randy gives him an A+. Kara says it was great when he performed it the first time and it was just as great the second time. Paula says he gave a theatrical taste of what we're going to see from him. Simon says it was a little overtheatrical. I think that extra theatricality was what made it more interesting to me, so I have no gripes.
We find out that Kris Allen didn't like singing in front of his family when he was a kid and they had to pay him to do it. He even gave his mother coupons for when she wanted him to sing. That Kris is quite the enterprising businessman, isn't he? His reprise is of "Ain't No Sunshine," the one that made him a contender in most people's minds. This is pretty good, but it wasn't one of my favorites of his. Still, I can't knock it. He delivers here just like he did the first time. Randy plugs the Lakers (boo!) and says it was one of his best performances. Kara says something's wrong if a Kris Allen performance doesn't move you. Paula says he puts his trademark on everything he sings. Simon says he wasn't sure Kris deserved to be in the finale last week, but he absolutely believes he does based on that performance. High praise indeed! Go Kris! Ryan asks Simon who won Round 1 (this "round" thing in every finale is getting old), and Simon says Kris by far. Awesome. Of course, I don't think these "rounds" (not to be confused with mediocre contestant Lil) mean much, since Simon declared David Archuleta to have swept each one last season and look what happened there.
Simon Fuller's choice for Adam is "A Change is Gonna Come." Huh? Isn't that one of those songs he sang pre-"Idol" that's been circulating on YouTube? Well, this is odd. You have a bluesy, soulful Adam instead of the theatrical rocker we're used to. Of course, he makes sure to Lambertize it with his trademark shrieking. It's solid, but it feels a little contrived to me. Randy says he showed the real reason he's here is that he can sing his face off. Kara says it may have been his been performance yet. Paula says it was the best she's ever heard him sing. Wow. Exaggerate much? Simon says Adam is 100% back in the game. I feel robbed that he didn't get a chance to do "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" in this competition.
Kris is back and Simon Fuller's choice for him is "What's Going On" I guess old Simon Fuller is a big fan of socially-conscious soul music. Me? I'm a big fan of Kris' acoustic jazz-rock side, and once again he's bringing it here. There's something about that guitar in his hands that makes magic happen, and this time is no exception. All I can say is "wow." I love this performance. It may be one of Kris' best. Randy says it was little bit light for him. Kara says she loves that he's been true to himself and that Kris is exactly the type of person to uplift people with a song like that. Paula says Kris made Marvin Gaye proud (from beyond the grave, apparently). Simon says it was too lightweight and he didn't do enough to make it his own. It's weird. Simon seems to be thinking the opposite of everything I think tonight. Screw him. America does the voting.
They keep showing this little blond girl in the audience. What's the deal there?
Now it's time to hear the winner's single. First to tackle it is Adam. This is odd. He seems to be outside the pocket for most of the first verse, and his voice doesn't seem to fit it very well. It doesn't help that the song is about as mediocre as it gets either. Ugh. The sheer crappiness of this song might be dragging down Adam with it. His voice actually manages annoy me here. This is as rough as "Cryin'" from last week. Randy says he can sing the phonebook, but it was pitchy and just alright for him. Kara says she's proud to hear someone of Adam's talent sing a song she wrote. What's the point of Kara's critique? She probably isn't going to bash a performance of her own song, because it might indirectly reflect poorly on her. Paula says adjectives can't express what Adam's brought to Season 8 and she's a fan forever. Um, OK. Simon says he'll judge Adam instead of the song, and he's been one of the most original contestants they've ever had and that he believes he's going to be a worldwide star. In other words, Adam is the best and deserves to win?
Kris' turn. Can the weaker technical vocalist outshine the better one on this turd of a song? Hmmm. It starts out equally shaky, but once the chorus comes in it sounds much better than Adam's version to my ears. Wow. I think Kris is actually outsinging Adam. I'm hearing a lot more heartfelt passion in his voice too. I'm not saying this'll rank with Kris' best performances, but it's good. Randy says Kris should be very proud of what he did in this competition and agrees with me that the song fit Kris' voice better than Adam's. Kara says he's a compelling artist who's been incredible to watch week after week and she hopes people will vote based on the season. Paula says it's been one of the most compelling finales and Kris deserves to be where he is. Simon says the highlight tonight from Kris was the first song and that he deserves to be standing on the stage. Interesting. Most of their feedback was essentially "you should be happy to be here." Is that a subtle way of pimping Adam? Ryan asks Kris if he thinks he did enough to win, and Kris says that he and Adam aren't competing anymore, they just want to put on a good show. Awesome. These guys are a pair of class acts, I tell you.
Carrie Underwood takes the stage to sing us out with "Home Sweet Home" as a montage of moments from this season plays in the background. Nothing to see here.
So, how do I see this night's performances?
My Performance Ranking:
Kris, "What's Going On" (8.5 out of 10)
Adam, "Mad World" (8 out of 10)
Kris, "No Boundaries" (6 out of 10)
Kris, "Ain't No Sunshine" (5.9 out of 10)
Adam, "A Change is Gonna Come" (5.5 out of 10)
Adam, "No Boundaries" (3.5 out of 10)
So the big question: who do I pick to win? While I preferred Kris' performances tonight to Adam's, Adam got the heavier pimping from the judges. Kris seems to have picked up fans over the course of the competition, while I get the impression that Adam's gotten by with a rabid fanbase that hasn't added many new members. I'm still seeing a little more buzz surrounding Adam, but Kris' understated style might be the reason he doesn't inspire as much discussion. While a lot of people love Adam, he also annoys a lot of people with his over-the-top style. Most people seem to be cool with Kris even if they don't love him.
Prediction:
This is a tough call, but I'm predicting that the name of our 8th American Idol will be...(drumroll please)...Kris Allen.
Tomorrow I have two hours to recap and then all that's left will be some end-of-the-year lists and maybe some other random thoughts I feel inspired to write about during the "Idol" offseason. Season 8 has had its ups and downs, but one thing I'm glad about is that the final two were both deserving of the title. Whoever wins, America will have gotten it right.
What awesome group numbers from the Top 13 are in store? We'll find out tomorrow night!
So here we go. After all the manipulation, exploitation and drama we're down to two contestants. We have a guy whose audition was aired in full, who got plenty of attention in Hollwood and who's been one of the most talked-about contestants since day one. On the other side of the coin, we have a guy who was only seen briefly in the preliminary rounds, whose addition to the Finals came as a surprise to many viewers and who made it this far by growing as the competition progressed. The former contestant looked like he had this whole thing wrapped up just a few weeks ago, but the latter contestant has been picking up momentum. At this point, I truly believe it's anyone's game.
Hey, Casey Carlson is in the audience! Anyone besides me remember her? Carly Smithson is shown in the audience as well, and my eyes don't appreciate that one bit, Mr. Director.
As we spoiler-readers all know by now, the contestants are each doing three songs tonight: one reprise from earlier in the season, one chosen by Simon Fuller and the winner's single co-written by Kara.
Adam Lambert is up first, and we see a video where his parents talk about how noisy he was as a kid. Is this leftover footage or something? He's reprising "Mad World," which I think was his most overrated performance, but what do I know? He performs this time wearing a long coat on a dark stage with tons of dry ice surrounding him. Oddly enough, I think I like this better than the first time he performed it. I'm feeling the emotion a little more this time, and he doesn't miss the final note as badly as he did back in the Top 8. The crowd goes wild after he finishes. Randy gives him an A+. Kara says it was great when he performed it the first time and it was just as great the second time. Paula says he gave a theatrical taste of what we're going to see from him. Simon says it was a little overtheatrical. I think that extra theatricality was what made it more interesting to me, so I have no gripes.
We find out that Kris Allen didn't like singing in front of his family when he was a kid and they had to pay him to do it. He even gave his mother coupons for when she wanted him to sing. That Kris is quite the enterprising businessman, isn't he? His reprise is of "Ain't No Sunshine," the one that made him a contender in most people's minds. This is pretty good, but it wasn't one of my favorites of his. Still, I can't knock it. He delivers here just like he did the first time. Randy plugs the Lakers (boo!) and says it was one of his best performances. Kara says something's wrong if a Kris Allen performance doesn't move you. Paula says he puts his trademark on everything he sings. Simon says he wasn't sure Kris deserved to be in the finale last week, but he absolutely believes he does based on that performance. High praise indeed! Go Kris! Ryan asks Simon who won Round 1 (this "round" thing in every finale is getting old), and Simon says Kris by far. Awesome. Of course, I don't think these "rounds" (not to be confused with mediocre contestant Lil) mean much, since Simon declared David Archuleta to have swept each one last season and look what happened there.
Simon Fuller's choice for Adam is "A Change is Gonna Come." Huh? Isn't that one of those songs he sang pre-"Idol" that's been circulating on YouTube? Well, this is odd. You have a bluesy, soulful Adam instead of the theatrical rocker we're used to. Of course, he makes sure to Lambertize it with his trademark shrieking. It's solid, but it feels a little contrived to me. Randy says he showed the real reason he's here is that he can sing his face off. Kara says it may have been his been performance yet. Paula says it was the best she's ever heard him sing. Wow. Exaggerate much? Simon says Adam is 100% back in the game. I feel robbed that he didn't get a chance to do "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" in this competition.
Kris is back and Simon Fuller's choice for him is "What's Going On" I guess old Simon Fuller is a big fan of socially-conscious soul music. Me? I'm a big fan of Kris' acoustic jazz-rock side, and once again he's bringing it here. There's something about that guitar in his hands that makes magic happen, and this time is no exception. All I can say is "wow." I love this performance. It may be one of Kris' best. Randy says it was little bit light for him. Kara says she loves that he's been true to himself and that Kris is exactly the type of person to uplift people with a song like that. Paula says Kris made Marvin Gaye proud (from beyond the grave, apparently). Simon says it was too lightweight and he didn't do enough to make it his own. It's weird. Simon seems to be thinking the opposite of everything I think tonight. Screw him. America does the voting.
They keep showing this little blond girl in the audience. What's the deal there?
Now it's time to hear the winner's single. First to tackle it is Adam. This is odd. He seems to be outside the pocket for most of the first verse, and his voice doesn't seem to fit it very well. It doesn't help that the song is about as mediocre as it gets either. Ugh. The sheer crappiness of this song might be dragging down Adam with it. His voice actually manages annoy me here. This is as rough as "Cryin'" from last week. Randy says he can sing the phonebook, but it was pitchy and just alright for him. Kara says she's proud to hear someone of Adam's talent sing a song she wrote. What's the point of Kara's critique? She probably isn't going to bash a performance of her own song, because it might indirectly reflect poorly on her. Paula says adjectives can't express what Adam's brought to Season 8 and she's a fan forever. Um, OK. Simon says he'll judge Adam instead of the song, and he's been one of the most original contestants they've ever had and that he believes he's going to be a worldwide star. In other words, Adam is the best and deserves to win?
Kris' turn. Can the weaker technical vocalist outshine the better one on this turd of a song? Hmmm. It starts out equally shaky, but once the chorus comes in it sounds much better than Adam's version to my ears. Wow. I think Kris is actually outsinging Adam. I'm hearing a lot more heartfelt passion in his voice too. I'm not saying this'll rank with Kris' best performances, but it's good. Randy says Kris should be very proud of what he did in this competition and agrees with me that the song fit Kris' voice better than Adam's. Kara says he's a compelling artist who's been incredible to watch week after week and she hopes people will vote based on the season. Paula says it's been one of the most compelling finales and Kris deserves to be where he is. Simon says the highlight tonight from Kris was the first song and that he deserves to be standing on the stage. Interesting. Most of their feedback was essentially "you should be happy to be here." Is that a subtle way of pimping Adam? Ryan asks Kris if he thinks he did enough to win, and Kris says that he and Adam aren't competing anymore, they just want to put on a good show. Awesome. These guys are a pair of class acts, I tell you.
Carrie Underwood takes the stage to sing us out with "Home Sweet Home" as a montage of moments from this season plays in the background. Nothing to see here.
So, how do I see this night's performances?
My Performance Ranking:
Kris, "What's Going On" (8.5 out of 10)
Adam, "Mad World" (8 out of 10)
Kris, "No Boundaries" (6 out of 10)
Kris, "Ain't No Sunshine" (5.9 out of 10)
Adam, "A Change is Gonna Come" (5.5 out of 10)
Adam, "No Boundaries" (3.5 out of 10)
So the big question: who do I pick to win? While I preferred Kris' performances tonight to Adam's, Adam got the heavier pimping from the judges. Kris seems to have picked up fans over the course of the competition, while I get the impression that Adam's gotten by with a rabid fanbase that hasn't added many new members. I'm still seeing a little more buzz surrounding Adam, but Kris' understated style might be the reason he doesn't inspire as much discussion. While a lot of people love Adam, he also annoys a lot of people with his over-the-top style. Most people seem to be cool with Kris even if they don't love him.
Prediction:
This is a tough call, but I'm predicting that the name of our 8th American Idol will be...(drumroll please)...Kris Allen.
Tomorrow I have two hours to recap and then all that's left will be some end-of-the-year lists and maybe some other random thoughts I feel inspired to write about during the "Idol" offseason. Season 8 has had its ups and downs, but one thing I'm glad about is that the final two were both deserving of the title. Whoever wins, America will have gotten it right.
What awesome group numbers from the Top 13 are in store? We'll find out tomorrow night!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Four Months is Longer Than You Think
As we're often reminded, "Idol" is a journey. Most of these contestants are complete unknowns when we first meet them, and before the season is over they become stars in our eyes. At the same time, our opinions of certain contestants can change for the better or for the worse. With the "Idol" finale just around the corner, I thought I'd look through my blog's archives and see what my earlier impressions of these contestants were. Some of my opinions then are vastly different now, and others were surprisingly perceptive (if I do say so myself).
Let's start with the two men still standing. One of them will be American Idol #8, so let's see what I was thinking way back when.
Let's start with Adam Lambert, currently the favorite. Here's what I wrote about his audition:
Adam Lambert from Hollywood, CA is a musical theater type, so he probably fits right in in old San Fran. His song is "Bohemian Rhapsody," which he pulls off well. It's a theatrical song, which is perfect for his style, and he has sort of a rock edge to his voice too. The judges all say yes, and he personally thanks each judge with the kissing or shaking of hands. Good singer, but something about him bothers me. I think I've heard he's somewhat planty, so maybe that's what it is.
It looks like even back then Adam was simultaneously theatrical and rocking. I mentioned the "planty" thing because Vote For the Worst had dug up a ton of stuff on him before the season began and it seemed that he was already something of a local celebrity.
Later, when I previewed the Top 36, here's what my comments were:
Vote For the Worst fell in love with him when they discovered he was a flamboyant, campy, makeup-wearing wild man. He was sure to rankle the fans who love their "Idol" simple and non-controversial. Then they showed his audition and we found out that...he was actually a fairly regular dude. [...] Adam comes across as a cool, charismatic guy who, oh by the way, just happens to be gay. Vote For the Worst isn't as high on him as they used to be.
I remember not liking him very much at first, but he's kind of grown on me to the point where I don't mind him sticking around, even if he's not one of my favorites. I've picked him for the Top 12, since he's got the right combination of talent, charisma and screentime to make it. I have a hard time seeing him as a winner, since I don't think his appeal is broad enough, but I can definitely see him making it to the second half of the Finals.
Well, it looks like I wanted to get the elephant in the room about Adam's sexuality out of the way early on. It seems I underestimated his chances of winning though, as most people now expect him to take the title.
I don't think it took me too long to get onboard with him as a potential winner though, as I had him at runner-up in my initial post-Wild Card Power Rankings. A few weeks later, after he did "The Tracks of My Tears," I actually titled the post "Is it Too Early to Declare Adam the Winner?"
What about the other guy, Kris Allen? It seems that all I could say about Kris was that he was probably fodder, since he was only shown in passing. In the Top 36 preview my comment was:
This guy's gotten some screentime in sporadic snippets, but it's nothing that'll help him build a fanbase. I couldn't even tell you what he sounds like, since I've never heard him long enough to commit it to memory. He seems like a funny guy based on his interviews, but I doubt it'll be enough to overcome his fodder-ness.
What are the chances of him making the Finals? About one in a hundred? I'd say more like one in a million. So you're saying there's a chance! Yes!!!
Now that's funny. There was so little to say about the guy that I resorted to quoting Dumb & Dumber. I immediately liked Kris when I heard him in the Semifinals though:
Kris Allen is next, and they show us that in Hollywood he was known for playing his guitar. Tonight he's doing Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror." At least it's not an overdone song choice. The performance starts out slightly boring at first, but as the song picks up, so does the performance. He hits some incredible notes, and despite his face looking a little goofy at times, I actually really like this. This guy deserves some votes. Kara says the second half was better than the first, but it doesn't compare to what he did in Hollywood. Um, you are aware that contestants aren't allowed to play instruments in these Semifinals, right? Paula says he showed personality and nailed it, Simon pimps Danny Gokey by saying Kris isn't as good as him, but that he's proud of him. Randy says he proved he can do it without the guitar. Good on him. Rise above your fodder status, Kris!
Wow. Even back then Simon was comparing Kris unfavorably to Danny. He would later say Danny sang better than Kris in their duet and that the finale would be between Danny and Adam because Kris wasn't good enough. Was Simon prescient enough to see that Kris had the talent to upset his dream showdown between Adam and Danny? I'm probably giving Simon too much credit, but you have to wonder.
I had Kris low in my power rankings every week early on, since I figured his lack of screentime would come back to bite him. How happy I was to be proven wrong! At this point, Kris being named the winner on Wednesday would be poetic justice. Simon and Co. have done all they can to manipulate this competition, so how about America sticks it to them and votes for the guy from Arkansas?
And just what about Danny Gokey, that frontrunner-turned-nuisance? I, like most of America, was initially moved by his dead wife story. After his buddy Jamar's audition I wrote:
Next is Jamar's white "brother" Danny Gokey, also from Milwaukee. We see that there's a sob story coming up during the pre-break promos, but this one is actually pretty moving. His wife died four weeks before the audition, and he almost didn't have the strength to try out. Now that's sad. I can only imagine what it's like to lose the love of your life. [...] He sings "I Heard it Through the Grapevine," and it's actually really good. He makes it through, and the judges rave about him, saying he's one of the best they've had all day. Good on him.
I still was OK with him by the time he reached the Top 36. In the Top 36 preview I wrote:
This guy has gotten more pimping than anyone else so far. We know that his wife passed away a few months before he auditioned for "Idol," and then there was the ongoing storyline during Hollywood of him and his buddy Jamar taking the "Idol" journey together. He's definitely a talented, likable guy, so it'd be a shocker if he didn't make the Top 12.
While he's currently the early favorite to win, I have a feeling he won't. First of all, there seems to be some backlash setting in from all the people who are tired of the pimping. Second, how would he be marketed if he won? Blue-eyed soul? He auditioned with "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" and has that straining quality to his voice, so I'm just guessing that's how he sees himself artistically. After Taylor Hicks' lack of commercial success I doubt the powers that be are going to want to encourage the voters in that direction. Still, even if he doesn't win he's definitely Top 12, probably even Top 3.
Yep. I called Danny "likable." At the time he hadn't yet turned into the Smuggie, and we could sympathize because he was still dealing with the loss of his wife. I was dead on with the Top 3 prediction, which I later repeated in my first Power Rankings. I guess I just didn't see him in the finale like Paula did.
My own personal backlash toward Danny began the moment he was named to the Top 12. I'd given him a glowing review the night before, but my feelings quickly changed in the midst of that shameful scene. It was down to Danny and Tatiana Del Toro and...well, here's my recap:
And the one who makes it is: Danny. He lets out a "whoo!" when he finds out. It's so touching how humbled he is to be in the Top 12, isn't it? Tatiana starts crying. Poor girl. I don't care how annoying you thought she was, you can see that this really meant a lot to her. Like Anoop, I hope she's a Wild Card, but I wouldn't bet on it. During Danny's reprise of "Hero," one of his friends watching on the side holds up a picture of Danny and his wife that the camera zooms up on. Is it too early to predict (or hope) that Danny is this year's shocking elimination?
His elimination wasn't quite "shocking" by the time it happened, but mercifully, it happened before the finale. I got my wish about both Anoop and Tatiana being invited back for the Wild Card show though. Too bad only one of them made it after that.
What about our favorite redhead, Allison Iraheta? Like Kris, she barely had any screentime, and after she was named to the Top 36 I wrote the following:
We're introduced to Allison Iraheta, who sang a really poorly overdone "Because of You" in Hollywood. She's kind of scary-looking, with her unnatural bright red hair and the face of Buster Poindexter [...]. She gets through. The judges make a few comments about her being a dark horse or something. Yeah right. She needs to have the performance of her life just to make the Top 12.
In the Top 36 preview I wrote:
She has the same initials as "American Idol"! Is it a sign? Of course, she also has the same initials as Allen Iverson, Andre Iguodala and artificial intelligence, so maybe it's just a coincidence.
From what little we've heard of her singing, I'm not that impressed. She sort of reminds me of Camile Velasco for some reason, though I imagine if I went back and compared them they'd probably be nothing alike. I'm known to make associations that have no rhyme or reason to them. I'm not a big fan of her look, either. Her bright red dyed hair combined with a face reminiscent of David Johansen from the New York Dolls is just...bizarre. She seems like a nice girl, I guess, but nothing about her so far makes me want to vote for her.
We never saw her until the "chair" episode, but the judges seemed pretty high on her "raw natural talent" there. If they really had high hopes for her though, I imagine we would've seen more of her in Hollywood or the auditions. As it stands, I don't think she has much chance of making the Top 12.
Man, I really harped on that David Johansen/Buster Poindexter thing early on. Thank you to all my readers for being nice enough not to point out that the joke couldn't have been less funny. I realized it myself in time. I was wrong about when she was first introduced, since we actually did see a brief clip of her audition, but I'd already forgotten it by the time the "chair" episode aired. What little we saw of her singing in Hollywood didn't sound that good to my ears, so I honestly wasn't expecting much from her. It was refreshing when she turned out to be one of this season's three biggest stars (along with Adam and Kris, of course).
I won't go through the rest of the contestants in as much detail, but here are a few interesting bits I found:
Lil Rounds' audition:
Finally we get Lil Rounds from Memphis, TN. She's a mother of three, and she had to move her family to a motel when a tornado hit their house. [...] She sings "All I Do" by Stevie Wonder, and does an incredible job. Good pitch, good tone, even a cool rasp in there at times. She's a definite yes. The judges smother her with compliments, which overwhelms her. They comment on how she doesn't know she's so great. I believe she's probably sincere, but if she keeps showing this sort of humility she'll probably get bashed by the same cynics who thought Melinda Doolittle was fake. I guess genuinely humble people are so rare these days that nobody believes them when they see them. [...] Lil seems like someone I wouldn't have a problem with.
How ironic that Lil turned into a complete diva with an inflated sense of her own talent shortly afterward.
Megan Joy in the Top 36 preview:
The judges adored her at her audition. They were having a dull day full of underwhelming singers until Megan came in and lifted their spirits with her quirkiness! I like quirky and different, but I can't get past her annoying arm that's covered with tattoos. It's ugly and reminds me of Carly Smithson. What happened to the lost art of pure, beautiful, unaltered skin? Even without the tattoo, I'm not all that impressed with her.
If the judges still love her as much as they did at her audition, I could see her making the Top 12 based on the judges' response to her. After that I don't think she'd be well-rounded enough to go too far. Her "quirky" vocal stylings will probably get annoying quickly. I say mid-Finals is the farthest she could make it.
Did I call that one or what?
Matt Giraud's audition:
Next is a dueling piano player from Kalamazoo named Matt Giraud. He sings Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Want to Be" in a voice that's boring, run-of-the-mill and not even all that powerful. He's not horrible, just uninteresting. With that as my initial reaction, what do the judges think? Paula says he's unique. Huh?? Kara likes him. Well, OK. I like '80s hair metal. Simon says he reminds him of Elliott Yamin. OK, maybe there's a slight similarity in their voices, but I don't think this guy has the same soul that Elliott did. He gets a yes, though I would've said no.
While I would now agree that Matt's a pretty talented guy who had a few good performances in him, I still never quite became a fan of his.
Finally, the audition of the girl who was made into a villain, Tatiana Del Toro:
First up is Tatiana Del Toro from San Juan, Puerto Rico. [...] She's a singer, actress and model, and a psychic told her she was going to make the Top 12. I guess we can pencil her into one of those slots right now! They show a montage of her laughing, then show her giving a Miss America-like speech about why she wants to be the next American Idol. It seems like they're setting her up to be bad. [...] She sings Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved a Man" and turns out to be pretty good. Well, she's pretty, period, but she's also a decent singer. Simon thinks she's a copycat, but Paula and Randy say yes, and Kara says no to the voice but yes to the vibe. So she's through, and she's extremely excited, because this means soooo much to her. Despite the mocking, I think her nervous laughing is kind of cute...and unless she turned out to be a snob, I could see myself throwing her a few votes. Musically she's not my thing, but she seems likable.
Yep. I liked Tatiana from the beginning, and I defended her until the end. While she may only be remembered by most people as the psycho girl from "American Idol," I hope she's successful at whatever she does.
What a season it's been. Only two more days until the finale!
Let's start with the two men still standing. One of them will be American Idol #8, so let's see what I was thinking way back when.
Let's start with Adam Lambert, currently the favorite. Here's what I wrote about his audition:
Adam Lambert from Hollywood, CA is a musical theater type, so he probably fits right in in old San Fran. His song is "Bohemian Rhapsody," which he pulls off well. It's a theatrical song, which is perfect for his style, and he has sort of a rock edge to his voice too. The judges all say yes, and he personally thanks each judge with the kissing or shaking of hands. Good singer, but something about him bothers me. I think I've heard he's somewhat planty, so maybe that's what it is.
It looks like even back then Adam was simultaneously theatrical and rocking. I mentioned the "planty" thing because Vote For the Worst had dug up a ton of stuff on him before the season began and it seemed that he was already something of a local celebrity.
Later, when I previewed the Top 36, here's what my comments were:
Vote For the Worst fell in love with him when they discovered he was a flamboyant, campy, makeup-wearing wild man. He was sure to rankle the fans who love their "Idol" simple and non-controversial. Then they showed his audition and we found out that...he was actually a fairly regular dude. [...] Adam comes across as a cool, charismatic guy who, oh by the way, just happens to be gay. Vote For the Worst isn't as high on him as they used to be.
I remember not liking him very much at first, but he's kind of grown on me to the point where I don't mind him sticking around, even if he's not one of my favorites. I've picked him for the Top 12, since he's got the right combination of talent, charisma and screentime to make it. I have a hard time seeing him as a winner, since I don't think his appeal is broad enough, but I can definitely see him making it to the second half of the Finals.
Well, it looks like I wanted to get the elephant in the room about Adam's sexuality out of the way early on. It seems I underestimated his chances of winning though, as most people now expect him to take the title.
I don't think it took me too long to get onboard with him as a potential winner though, as I had him at runner-up in my initial post-Wild Card Power Rankings. A few weeks later, after he did "The Tracks of My Tears," I actually titled the post "Is it Too Early to Declare Adam the Winner?"
What about the other guy, Kris Allen? It seems that all I could say about Kris was that he was probably fodder, since he was only shown in passing. In the Top 36 preview my comment was:
This guy's gotten some screentime in sporadic snippets, but it's nothing that'll help him build a fanbase. I couldn't even tell you what he sounds like, since I've never heard him long enough to commit it to memory. He seems like a funny guy based on his interviews, but I doubt it'll be enough to overcome his fodder-ness.
What are the chances of him making the Finals? About one in a hundred? I'd say more like one in a million. So you're saying there's a chance! Yes!!!
Now that's funny. There was so little to say about the guy that I resorted to quoting Dumb & Dumber. I immediately liked Kris when I heard him in the Semifinals though:
Kris Allen is next, and they show us that in Hollywood he was known for playing his guitar. Tonight he's doing Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror." At least it's not an overdone song choice. The performance starts out slightly boring at first, but as the song picks up, so does the performance. He hits some incredible notes, and despite his face looking a little goofy at times, I actually really like this. This guy deserves some votes. Kara says the second half was better than the first, but it doesn't compare to what he did in Hollywood. Um, you are aware that contestants aren't allowed to play instruments in these Semifinals, right? Paula says he showed personality and nailed it, Simon pimps Danny Gokey by saying Kris isn't as good as him, but that he's proud of him. Randy says he proved he can do it without the guitar. Good on him. Rise above your fodder status, Kris!
Wow. Even back then Simon was comparing Kris unfavorably to Danny. He would later say Danny sang better than Kris in their duet and that the finale would be between Danny and Adam because Kris wasn't good enough. Was Simon prescient enough to see that Kris had the talent to upset his dream showdown between Adam and Danny? I'm probably giving Simon too much credit, but you have to wonder.
I had Kris low in my power rankings every week early on, since I figured his lack of screentime would come back to bite him. How happy I was to be proven wrong! At this point, Kris being named the winner on Wednesday would be poetic justice. Simon and Co. have done all they can to manipulate this competition, so how about America sticks it to them and votes for the guy from Arkansas?
And just what about Danny Gokey, that frontrunner-turned-nuisance? I, like most of America, was initially moved by his dead wife story. After his buddy Jamar's audition I wrote:
Next is Jamar's white "brother" Danny Gokey, also from Milwaukee. We see that there's a sob story coming up during the pre-break promos, but this one is actually pretty moving. His wife died four weeks before the audition, and he almost didn't have the strength to try out. Now that's sad. I can only imagine what it's like to lose the love of your life. [...] He sings "I Heard it Through the Grapevine," and it's actually really good. He makes it through, and the judges rave about him, saying he's one of the best they've had all day. Good on him.
I still was OK with him by the time he reached the Top 36. In the Top 36 preview I wrote:
This guy has gotten more pimping than anyone else so far. We know that his wife passed away a few months before he auditioned for "Idol," and then there was the ongoing storyline during Hollywood of him and his buddy Jamar taking the "Idol" journey together. He's definitely a talented, likable guy, so it'd be a shocker if he didn't make the Top 12.
While he's currently the early favorite to win, I have a feeling he won't. First of all, there seems to be some backlash setting in from all the people who are tired of the pimping. Second, how would he be marketed if he won? Blue-eyed soul? He auditioned with "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" and has that straining quality to his voice, so I'm just guessing that's how he sees himself artistically. After Taylor Hicks' lack of commercial success I doubt the powers that be are going to want to encourage the voters in that direction. Still, even if he doesn't win he's definitely Top 12, probably even Top 3.
Yep. I called Danny "likable." At the time he hadn't yet turned into the Smuggie, and we could sympathize because he was still dealing with the loss of his wife. I was dead on with the Top 3 prediction, which I later repeated in my first Power Rankings. I guess I just didn't see him in the finale like Paula did.
My own personal backlash toward Danny began the moment he was named to the Top 12. I'd given him a glowing review the night before, but my feelings quickly changed in the midst of that shameful scene. It was down to Danny and Tatiana Del Toro and...well, here's my recap:
And the one who makes it is: Danny. He lets out a "whoo!" when he finds out. It's so touching how humbled he is to be in the Top 12, isn't it? Tatiana starts crying. Poor girl. I don't care how annoying you thought she was, you can see that this really meant a lot to her. Like Anoop, I hope she's a Wild Card, but I wouldn't bet on it. During Danny's reprise of "Hero," one of his friends watching on the side holds up a picture of Danny and his wife that the camera zooms up on. Is it too early to predict (or hope) that Danny is this year's shocking elimination?
His elimination wasn't quite "shocking" by the time it happened, but mercifully, it happened before the finale. I got my wish about both Anoop and Tatiana being invited back for the Wild Card show though. Too bad only one of them made it after that.
What about our favorite redhead, Allison Iraheta? Like Kris, she barely had any screentime, and after she was named to the Top 36 I wrote the following:
We're introduced to Allison Iraheta, who sang a really poorly overdone "Because of You" in Hollywood. She's kind of scary-looking, with her unnatural bright red hair and the face of Buster Poindexter [...]. She gets through. The judges make a few comments about her being a dark horse or something. Yeah right. She needs to have the performance of her life just to make the Top 12.
In the Top 36 preview I wrote:
She has the same initials as "American Idol"! Is it a sign? Of course, she also has the same initials as Allen Iverson, Andre Iguodala and artificial intelligence, so maybe it's just a coincidence.
From what little we've heard of her singing, I'm not that impressed. She sort of reminds me of Camile Velasco for some reason, though I imagine if I went back and compared them they'd probably be nothing alike. I'm known to make associations that have no rhyme or reason to them. I'm not a big fan of her look, either. Her bright red dyed hair combined with a face reminiscent of David Johansen from the New York Dolls is just...bizarre. She seems like a nice girl, I guess, but nothing about her so far makes me want to vote for her.
We never saw her until the "chair" episode, but the judges seemed pretty high on her "raw natural talent" there. If they really had high hopes for her though, I imagine we would've seen more of her in Hollywood or the auditions. As it stands, I don't think she has much chance of making the Top 12.
Man, I really harped on that David Johansen/Buster Poindexter thing early on. Thank you to all my readers for being nice enough not to point out that the joke couldn't have been less funny. I realized it myself in time. I was wrong about when she was first introduced, since we actually did see a brief clip of her audition, but I'd already forgotten it by the time the "chair" episode aired. What little we saw of her singing in Hollywood didn't sound that good to my ears, so I honestly wasn't expecting much from her. It was refreshing when she turned out to be one of this season's three biggest stars (along with Adam and Kris, of course).
I won't go through the rest of the contestants in as much detail, but here are a few interesting bits I found:
Lil Rounds' audition:
Finally we get Lil Rounds from Memphis, TN. She's a mother of three, and she had to move her family to a motel when a tornado hit their house. [...] She sings "All I Do" by Stevie Wonder, and does an incredible job. Good pitch, good tone, even a cool rasp in there at times. She's a definite yes. The judges smother her with compliments, which overwhelms her. They comment on how she doesn't know she's so great. I believe she's probably sincere, but if she keeps showing this sort of humility she'll probably get bashed by the same cynics who thought Melinda Doolittle was fake. I guess genuinely humble people are so rare these days that nobody believes them when they see them. [...] Lil seems like someone I wouldn't have a problem with.
How ironic that Lil turned into a complete diva with an inflated sense of her own talent shortly afterward.
Megan Joy in the Top 36 preview:
The judges adored her at her audition. They were having a dull day full of underwhelming singers until Megan came in and lifted their spirits with her quirkiness! I like quirky and different, but I can't get past her annoying arm that's covered with tattoos. It's ugly and reminds me of Carly Smithson. What happened to the lost art of pure, beautiful, unaltered skin? Even without the tattoo, I'm not all that impressed with her.
If the judges still love her as much as they did at her audition, I could see her making the Top 12 based on the judges' response to her. After that I don't think she'd be well-rounded enough to go too far. Her "quirky" vocal stylings will probably get annoying quickly. I say mid-Finals is the farthest she could make it.
Did I call that one or what?
Matt Giraud's audition:
Next is a dueling piano player from Kalamazoo named Matt Giraud. He sings Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Want to Be" in a voice that's boring, run-of-the-mill and not even all that powerful. He's not horrible, just uninteresting. With that as my initial reaction, what do the judges think? Paula says he's unique. Huh?? Kara likes him. Well, OK. I like '80s hair metal. Simon says he reminds him of Elliott Yamin. OK, maybe there's a slight similarity in their voices, but I don't think this guy has the same soul that Elliott did. He gets a yes, though I would've said no.
While I would now agree that Matt's a pretty talented guy who had a few good performances in him, I still never quite became a fan of his.
Finally, the audition of the girl who was made into a villain, Tatiana Del Toro:
First up is Tatiana Del Toro from San Juan, Puerto Rico. [...] She's a singer, actress and model, and a psychic told her she was going to make the Top 12. I guess we can pencil her into one of those slots right now! They show a montage of her laughing, then show her giving a Miss America-like speech about why she wants to be the next American Idol. It seems like they're setting her up to be bad. [...] She sings Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved a Man" and turns out to be pretty good. Well, she's pretty, period, but she's also a decent singer. Simon thinks she's a copycat, but Paula and Randy say yes, and Kara says no to the voice but yes to the vibe. So she's through, and she's extremely excited, because this means soooo much to her. Despite the mocking, I think her nervous laughing is kind of cute...and unless she turned out to be a snob, I could see myself throwing her a few votes. Musically she's not my thing, but she seems likable.
Yep. I liked Tatiana from the beginning, and I defended her until the end. While she may only be remembered by most people as the psycho girl from "American Idol," I hope she's successful at whatever she does.
What a season it's been. Only two more days until the finale!
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