My Name is Kris and I Blah-g

He may not have been my first choice for the Idol title this year but Kris Allen was one of my favorites to go far on Idol. I am thrilled that he won. Yay! This year, more than any other, the onslaught of Adam has been too much to bear. From the judges over hyping him, to the magazine covers, to never criticizing the bum notes (yeah, there were some)…it was just a lopsided competition and to see Kris come from behind and take it is sweet victory. Good for him!I must say that this year’s finale was better than I anticipated. I wasn’t looking forward to watching it because it just seemed like Adam had it in the bag. It just seemed like Kris had no chance. I really had no faith in him pulling it out but I guess I underestimated the voting public. Who knew?! Anyway, the show was actually enjoyable. I loved seeing Norman Gentle again. And the sing off between Kara and Bikini Girl was priceless although a little scary…I thought those things were going to be unleashed in a big way. Yikes. Adam Lambert singing with Kiss was AWESOME. I loved that. If he does rock, he’s gotta do the glam thing like that or better yet, get with Queen! They’ve needed a lead singer for a long time. He would do really well. Anyway, good show! It ended up not being as disgusting as I anticipated. And that is always a pleasant surprise.

Adam Lambert – Mad World - Well, it begins with the blue lights…Can’t see Adam much which I’m beginning to believe is deliberate? This time there is smoke. Oh, geez. Seriously? So, well, put all the theatrics aside…the vocals were good. Quite good. This was a wise choice for Adam to perform again as this was probably my favorite performance of his all season. Kris Allen – Ain’t No Sunshine - Back to basics. This performance gets to the basics of this show which is to find the best raw talent in the nation, right? Kris Allen demonstrates his strengths in this song which is about musical and vocal ability. It’s not about how to make an entrance. It’s not about the way you look. It’s about how you sing. This was solid. Adam Lambert – A Change is Gonna Come- This was probably the first song Adam has sung that I did not mind him screaming. This was a great choice for him. I wasn’t so sure in the beginning because his voice is so much higher than I would imagine singing this song but it ended up not mattering to me. He really belted this out and this one was a show stopper. Kris Allen – What’s Going On- This was a typical choice for Kris. The producers chose well for both artists. I thought this one started off a little weird. I guess it’s my untrained ear but it just sounded kinda too low to me. But it wasn’t terrible. Hardly. It was good. But compared to Adam’s performance it wasn’t “great.”Adam Lambert/Kris Allen – No Boundaries- This is the coronation song written by Idol judge Kara DioGuardo (whatever her name is) and first off, this song BLOWS. It really is a “B’ side track and usually you find gems on the B side but this one should just be buried, or shot or put out of it’s misery because the song SUCKS. Adam’s version was flat. It was screechy and totally NOT the type of song he should be singing. If he ends up winning and gets stuck singing this song, he’ll wish he hadn’t won. Kris’s version wasn’t much better but it WAS better. The song would probably fit him better but if the song sucks, it doesn’t matter how good the singer is. So, that ol’ saying “you can sing the phone book” is a bunch of crap. Songs matter! So, Godspeed to whoever gets stuck with this drivel to sing. This is the worst coronation song ever. Who’s gonna win? I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. Frankly, I think Kris deserves it most because he’s worked the hardest to get there. He’s beaten the odds. He’s pushed ahead and did his thing. He endured harsh criticism and isn’t clouded by his own hype because there is none. He is worthy. Adam will do fine whatever he ends up doing which will probably be a Rocky Horror Picture Show revival. He’s been the chosen one for the whole season. And it freaks me out to think that this is the type of “talent” that will come out of the woodwork next year. Why not call it American Drag Queen Idol in 2010? This doesn’t mean he doesn’t have talent. He DOES but let’s call a spade a spade. He’s theatrical and eccentric and good to watch but he’s hard to “just listen to.” Kris Allen FTW!!!

I just returned from a trip to Las Vegas (which in about 2 years or so will probably be the home of Adam Lambert once his Idol star has faded). Upon walking through the airport, yesterday I was looking at magazine covers, etc and found that Adam graced the cover of Entertainment Weekly. He was also pictured on a few other covers of some other magazines and I found it very curious as to why he was on them and not the other Idol contestants? I just find it odd that in a competition, there is blatant favoritism of one contestant over another in the media. Media bias??? Mmmm… maybe. I mean, really could the media be biased? NAH!! Of course, we’ve had Simon, Paula, Randy and Kara yapping their chops to the media about how wonderful Adam is. How he’ll take the the title. He is the most wonderful contestant ever. Right? Is he really?Gee…guest artist Katy Perry seems to think so. Is this display by an established star in hopes of swaying votes for one contestant fair? Should it be allowed? This worship is reminiscent of the adulation that was poured on to Obama last year. It’s a blind following that seems so eerily similar in its scope and display of jumping on a popularity bandwagon. Well, gosh..this is only American Idol, after all. It’s not the end of the world. It’s not going to bring the world peace or provide a cure for the common cold but there seems to be a strange belief that maybe it just might!  I dunno…there’s been theories and accusations about the validity of Idol’s voting procedures and how whether one contestant is “pimped” more than the other and I usually am the first to deny that it exists because this show is one of my guilty pleasures. I just have to believe that it’s got integrity!! But after this season I am not so sure. I mean, if Adam Lambert was the Rock God the judges said he is, then why all the special stuff – dramatic entrances on stage, special blue lighting, singing last, magazine covers, etc. I mean, couldn’t he just win it on talent alone? How can the other guys compete with that?Well, they CAN’T. And that makes for a dull, predictable finale next week and a sullied reputation for Idol in my eyes.

Adam Lambert – One – This was Simon’s pick for Adam. And first let me say that I am so sick and tired of the special lighting and pomp & circumstance they give this guy. I think if they lit him like they did the others, we might see him for what he is – kind of a freak show. Don’t get me wrong. He seems to be a nice person. He is humble and gracious in accepting his praise but the praise has been so over the top, so misguided and blatantly one-sided. I try not to look at him as he sings because this is a singing competition afterall. So to listen to him on the merits of his voice and I find flaws – the main being that it is not a contemporary, radio voice. His is shrill. It’s loud and obnoxious. It works well for stage theatrics but not well for regular radio listening. I found his performances of this song and his other,  Cryin’ to be borish and the typical same ol’ same ol’. It doesn’t matter what I think though, he will sail through to the finals because he’s already been deemed the Second Coming. Coronation will follow next week.Kris Allen – Apologize & Heartless - I agree with Simon in his assessment of the Randy and Kara picked song “Apologize”. If they wanted him to sing it a certain way, they should have told him to do it that way. There were several flat notes in his first performance. The performance was also boring. His second performance was better but typical. His fall back is to turn someone else’s song into something folksy. And it’s different. It’s alright. I just wasn’t wowed by him like I was in week’s past. However, I would be thrilled if he made it to the finals WITH Danny. And it wouldn’t be a bad thing if he won, too.Danny Gokey – Dance Little Sister & You are so Beautiful - Honestly, I didn’t think his dancing was all that bad. It’s not like he broke out into a dance solo or anything. He was just feeling the music and going with it. I have seen much worse. What was he supposed to do, just stand there? Dance Little Sister is a pretty obscure song. In fact, I didn’t know that Terrence Trent D’arby had more than 2 songs ever. BUT, the tone of the original matches Danny’s and he did very well with the song. It was energetic. It was in tune. And vocally superior to the other two. That can be said for his final performance of You are so Beautiful which he changed up enough to make it unique to him but maintain the integrity of the original song. It was beautiful and tender. My biggest beef is that yet again, he was relegated to performing early. Preference was given to Adam who performed last (again) and was given different stage treatment than the others. I think that stinks.Who’s going home? Who knows! I really think it’s up in the air at this point. It could very well be a Danny/Adam finale which has been touted for weeks. Or it could be Kris/Adam. If it’s Kris/Adam, it’s over. There’s no point in watching next week because there is no way that Kris can win. If we want a real competition, then we need to see it be a Kris/Danny finale but that won’t happen. Dang it.

Is anyone really that surprised by the final 3 on American Idol? I mean, bloggers can feign shock and awe about Allison getting the boot but she knew her days were numbered. Now you can counter that she was talented and deserved to stay and all that stuff and while that is true, someone has to go. Allison has been battling a personality dilemma since the beginning. Fortunately for her, her talent is what carried her this far. And good for her, she’s got a great voice and with a little coaching and more experience under her belt, she may end up being really great. So, the Top 3 are Kris, Danny and Adam – no huge shocker there except for maybe Kris. He seemed to be genuinely surprised by making it into the final 3 and I couldn’t be more pleased he really held his own. He doesn’t rely on theatrics. He just plays his guitar and sings. Will he win? Doubtful. But he’s talented. He’s good looking. Yay for Kris. Danny survived his humiliating performance this week with humor. That’s really the only way to save face on this – to laugh at yourself which is what Danny did. Good for him! He’ll never live it down. But good for him for taking the assault from the haters. His fanbase came through and saved him. Now it’s up to him to keep their loyalty.This next week, the Idols will return to their hometowns for a visit and will be told about the songs they’ll sing. The judge’s choice is coming up and also the contestant’s choice. I certainly hope they have all given this some thought and will go out and perform what they’re most good at. This isn’t the time to step out of the box and be experimental. Just sing, dudes. Not like I’m expert… like most of America, I am an armchair Simon Cowell. Frankly, I just don’t want any of them to suck. And I don’t wish this competition to be as predictable as the bloggers and radio folk keep predicting – an Adam coronation. I would be pleased for any of the final 3 to take the crown but I think it’d be super to see either Kris or Danny step up and blow people away and take the top prize.

It’s rock week on Idol. In their element, Adam and Allison. Need to step out of their comfort zones Kris and Danny. So, how’d it go? My initial gut reaction is MEH! I dunno. I know it’s cliche and expected but I had hoped Adam would sing a little bit of Queen. But instead he started the show off with Whole Lotta Love by Led Zepplin. I don’t like Led Zepplin. So, needless to say I didn’t like the song. Not one bit. I guess for me there needs to be a “hook” and this song didn’t seem to have one. HOWEVER, for the type of song that it was, Adam knocked it out of the park. He delivered. He sang it well. I just didn’t like it. So, he I liked…the song I did not. Next up was Allison with Cry Baby by Janis Joplin. This was another meh song for me. Her vocals are stellar but the song was not. It just goes to show that you can have a great voice but if your song kinda sucks it can mean the end for you. I really want Allison to do well and she’s gotten further than I anticipated but this could spell the end of the line for her.This week Idol introduced duets into the competition. I wonder why they waited until the final four? Time constraints maybe? I dunno. I think this would be neat to see as a weekly theme some week but earlier in the season. I think Simon has a point that one contestant can add something to another so they’d better hope for a strong partner. I think the pairing this week was rather obvious and it would have been more fun if they did the unobvious and maybe put Kris with Adam or something. But oh well..we have Kris and Danny and they sang Renegade by Styx. This performance wasn’t nearly as bad as the judges indicated or the blogs are yapping their gums about. The harmonies were top notch and to be honest I think a lot of credit for that goes to Danny. He proved his abilities with harmonizing in Hollywood week during the group rounds. He’s really good and it’s where is choir experience really comes into play. I wouldn’t call Styx hard core rock but they’re about as hard core as Kris can handle. I love Kris but he’s more of a James Taylor kind of performer. When it came to him singing alone in this song, he was the weaker of the two. Danny could certainly rock it and he lifted Kris up when they sang together. The performance was good but not great as there was an obvious imbalance.The next single performance was Kris with the Beatles’ Come Together. This wasn’t great. He wasn’t terrible but compared to Adam, what’s the point? He can’t compare. He’s like a kitten trying to roar like a lion and it’s not working. We’re down to the final four and someone has to go and that someone could very well be Kris. I think the only thing that will save him this week will be which of the two is more likable – Kris or Allison? Kris has the edge in that department. Danny Gokey takes on Aerosmith’s Dream On. I am sure that there will be many a synopsis out there that will derive great pleasure in tearing Danny Gokey apart because of this performance. Chalk this up to just another thing that Danny can’t do right. Danny could have stuck to something more safe – maybe a Bob Segar song, perhaps? But he stepped outside himself and really bit off more than he could chew. Was it gutsy? Yes. Was it smart? Quite possibly. Should he do it again after this week? HECK NO!!  I have to say that the middle of the song that was in the lower register was really quite good. But Danny should stay far, far, far away from anything remotely sounding like a primal scream. Seriously, I am not a fan of the scream myself, but at least Adam can do it without making the roof come crashing down on you. For those who haven’t heard, Idol experienced some problems tonight prior to going live where a rather large portion of the stage came tumbling down. I am not sure of the cause but if Danny was practicing that horrid last note of his song at all, we may have found the culprit. So yeah, that last part was pretty awful. BUT, it could be something that saves him because I don’t think anyone will forget it. And he did put himself out there and he tried. It was a fail…but he tried. And it could be just the motivation the Danny fans need to vote their hearts out. They closed out with Allison and Adam singing Slow Ride by I don’ t know who…This was yet another song that meant absolutely nothing to me and kept me wondering what other rock duets would have been better. I couldn’t think of one but I am sure there must be something because this song sucked. The only thing that made this song work was Allison and Adam. Their chemistry was clear. They were having fun. They sounded really good together and it was obvious that they are really good friends.  This alone could possibly help keep Allison around another week like Simon said. It’s not because of her voice…It’s not because everybody likes her but because Adam seems to really be fond of her. So it comes down to this…who is more popular – Kris or Allison? It’s down to the nitty gritty now so it really could be anybody that goes. But I think it’s rather obvious that Allison and Kris are shaping up to be bottom 2 material this week. I think it just could be Allison’s week to go but we’ll see.