Hours Before The Finale – Who Will Be The Next Idol?
Posted on
Wednesday May 20, 2009
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12:01 PM
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After watching “American Idol” pretty religiously since season five I’ve never voted for a contestant until this season, until Adam Lambert. I’ll admit it, I’ve become a nerdy fangirl, a total Adamaniac. Who has your vote? And who do you think will actually be crowned the winner tonight?
During last night’s final performance show, host Ryan Seacrest introduced the singing showdown as “The acoustic rocker vs. the glam rocker. ... The guy next door vs. the guyliner.”
Or as Holly Robinson wrote for the Huffington Post, the battle between Allen and Lambert can be looked at in terms of the “classic conflict of good v.s. evil.”
“In this corner, Ladies and Gentlemen -- let's just call it the ‘Right’ corner, or maybe the Red corner -- we have good boy Kris Allen, the cute and humble guitar picker from Arkansas who has already landed himself a Barbie trinket of a wife. He sings white boy mood music kind of like Jack Johnson, well suited to animated children's stories. He's exactly the boy you hope shows up at your front door to take your daughter to the prom.
“In the … LEFT corner – we have Adam Lambert, a favorite of the judges, because hey, guess what? As Randy would say, ‘You can sing, dude.’ In fact, whether Lambert is singing Johnny Cash or Led Zeppelin, he sings like he's on fire, or maybe just his pants are smoking. He's Steven Tyler, Mick Jagger and Cher all rolled into one. … Any girl (or boy) who went to the prom with him would have a night to remember.”
Adam Lambert and Kris Allen with American Idol host Ryan Seacrest.
May 19, 2009
(AP Photo)
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Last night’s show featured the guys singing three songs – their favorite song from the season, a tune chosen by Idol creator Simon Fuller and the horrible, original single the winner is forced to sing each year on the show’s finale.
Lambert added fog and a black trench coat to Tears for Fears’ “Mad World,” making the performance more subdued the second time around. Allen wowed the judges with his extra tweaks to Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” and Simon said the performance had won the singer/pianist round one.
Round Two went to Lambert after his version of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” was praised for being his best performance of the season and Allen’s acoustic guitar treatment of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?” hit all the right notes but just didn’t match up.
In a way, I would say the guys tied because how can anyone really be a winner with the cheese-fest that is the “Idol” original ballad? After discontinuing the songwriter contest, this year the winner's single – “No Boundaries” – was co-written by fourth judge Kara DioGuardi. The winner's ballad is always horrendous but I had hoped that this year DioGuardi could turn out something acceptable. She’s written hits for Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Faith Hill and on and on. Nope. “No Boundaries” was beyond cheesy inspirational with mentions of mountains and hurricanes.
Lambert got called out for being pitchy and Allen seemed to forget a few of the words as he struggled to hit the notes. But it’s not about the cheesy cheese adult contemporary song and it’s not just about the final performances. It’s about the whole season. Or rather, it’s about how fast teenyboppers can text during the four-hour finale.
My Led Zeppelin loving heart would love Lambert to win. I think he’s innovative and exciting, an amazing performer who has great stage presence and charisma. Who else can hit those notes?! But really, what else can I say. You either love his screaming or think it’s horrible screeching.
Kris Allen and his six-string companion.
May 19, 2009
(AP Photo)
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That’s why I think Allen is going to win tonight. Although I think Lambert is the better singer and performer and star, I think he’s too polarizing whereas Allen is a perfect fit for radio with his Jason Mraz/John Mayer ways. Plus, I think fans who voted for widower/church music director Danny Gokey are way more likely to have switched over to Allen’s more soft-rock side of the competition.
I’m still hoping that Lambert is going to win but I guess I’m preparing myself for the worst. (Geez, so dramatic, huh?! I guess Lambert's theatrics have had an affect on me.)
I really like Allen though. I could totally see him making it as a folksy singer-songwriter and his version of Kanye West’s “Heartless” was genius. Shhh, don’t tell Adam but Kris was originally my favorite this season.
Did you vote last night? Who did you vote for? Who do you think will win?
Read the Huffington Post article here.
--Sarah Marie Pittman