THE WINNER IS KRIS ALLEN!!!!!!

WOW! An upset!!! It's hard not to be happy for someone who seems absolutely stunned and totally overwhelmed and so happy. (Yes, Kris won me over...Note: Kris is such a nice guy. When he won he said "what about Adam" or something to that effect.)

Kris is singing the worst song every written, but we'll excuse that as it's a great moment for him. WOW, he really came from nowhere. A strange but nice end to a very very strange season. The confetti is falling, eveyrone is around him, and he still looks incredibly stunned. Much like David Cook last year, the final song is really good as it has such feeling behind it. It's nice to see how much the winners care that they won.

You could kind of feel the tide turning today, couldn't you?

That show was awesome btw. What a finale. My favorite was Kiss with Adam (because of Kiss, not Adam) but there were so many great moments. Who expected Rod Stewart? What did Fergie say to get 15 seconds of silence. I loved the David Cook performance - is there anyone who is nicer and more low key than he is? I definitely will get the ITunes download of his performance tommorrow.

The cheese was fun too, Norman, the Bikini girl stuff (with Kara ripping open her dress too) although Tatiana fell terribly flat.

Great show!! I'll send the winner information with the email tommorrow. I look forward to your comments. Great call on all of you who picked Kris.

JUAN

Too Close to Call?

All the indicators, exit polling, dial idol, etc. are extremely close, as in prediction is within margin of error close. WOW!!! A toss up?

I'll stick with my prediction as it's never a good idea to change your mind so close to the end but this could be a nail biter.

It's on! The Top 2?

Will this be a battle or a coronation? 90 minutes till showtime. I may be a little slow on the post here, Kate is detemined to distract me during Idol watching time and I must be focused tonight! See you soon...

IT'S THE IDOL FINALE!!!!!!

Wow, Kris came a long way look wise. Adam is basically a slightly cleaner version of beginning Adam. Cue dramatic music and we are ON....Kris and Adam are supposably great friends. Ryan warns us we may be long so set your DVR's accordingly (which is ok if you set your DVR and are also watching like me, but not so good if you are not.)

Cue first commerical break.

Nothing could make me watch Glee. NOTHING.

Adam's screech developed in infanthood apparently.

ROUND 1
Adam singing MADWORLD as his choice. Nice. I really liked this, it might be my favorite song of the year. He goes with the long coat look. (note: Kate is mesmorized. Not sure if that's good or bad.) Really good but not the same impact as the first time of course, which is why i hate the repeat.
Randy: I love you chose a song you did before. (MORON)
Kara: Loved it, as it changed things up this year.
Paula: You look handsome and I'm proud of you. Ramble ramble ramble.
Simon: Complains to complain. It was a little theatrical. (Adam? Theatrical? NO....)
Nothing earth shattering but I guess that is the point.

Right now it's Kris with....AINT NO SUNSHINE at the piano. I actually think I may have missed this the first time. I like this so much better than his strumming the guitar sound alike stuff. Tempo picks up. I actually think it would have been better quiet and subdued the whole way. The louder parts were so-so, the subdued parts were really moving.
Randy: Makes NBA analogy. Randy knows exactly what Kris does. Likes it a lot.
Kara: Rambles
Paula: Rambles (I may stop including what they said)
Simon: Says Kris justified his place in the final.
I like the look on Kris's face. It's like, wow, how the (fudge) did I get here, this is really cool.... This is the second year in a row that the finalists look like they are having the time of their life.

I give round 1 to KRIS. Not a KO, more a decision. Simon says the same.

ROUND 2

Note: NBA Lottery is at 8:30. If the Knicks get the #1 or #2 pick I'm going to be distracted the remainder of the show.

Blogger ate the comment. I posted and it went poof. Annoying. Try again?

Simon Fuller choices now. Both Adam and Kris gave backhanded compliments to the songs chosen (Adam:out of my comfort zone, Kris: Not something I can easily make a Kris song).

Adam with Change is Gonna Come. This is what they chose? Adam does what he can with it, it's kind of theatrical but I'm not sure what else he could have done with that. The vocals were really good though but it was strange to me how he interpeted it, mostly because of the song choice. It was like him fighting the song but he won. I sound critical but I'm trying to be complimentary because I think the song didn't suit him but he still dig well. Randy loved the song choice and loved it. Paula and Kara super love it. Simon says Adam is back.

Kris with What's Going On. Strums the guitar, very competenly sung, very nice performance and very well done but not really a song the he can shine vocally on, so he didn't. There wasn't that one point where you really shine for a song like that. It was really laid back. Randy said about the same. Kara likes the socially concious message cause Kris can make people change. Simon didn't like it, he thought it was like 3 friends strumming along to Marvin Gaye and says it was too laid back. Ooh, it's scary when i use the same words as Simon.

Round 2 - Adam easily.

ROUND 3
It's THE IDOL SINGLE? Do they sing the same song, different songs? I actually really liked the winner song last year, which they didn't actually sing until the show was over, not in the performance show.

Same song both.

Adam first. It's better to be first if you are good here. If you are, it becomes your song and the next person is singing your song. Especially because the Idol single is a dramatic song and Kris is going to sing songy it. It's a very lame song. YOU CAN GO HIGHER, YOU CAN GO DEEPER, BLAH BLAH. Kara wrote this? Adam is very theatrical here. Too much backround singing. I guess it's called NO BOUNDARIES? Crowd is going nuts. Randy says you can sing anything, but this is just alright. Adam said the song is beautiful to Kara. (No, it's not). Paula i missed. Simon didn't like the song and won't judge the song, just Adam. That's the most fair. That was so-so, Adam is being nice about it, but WTF is with that song?

Why don't they just sing A MOMENT LIKE THIS? It's an idol staple. Then at the finale, give them their song.

Kris up soon with the crappy song. The Knicks pick #8, damn. He is trying hard, but it's equally crappy. WTF. The melody doesn't fit either one of their voices. Kris can't do the power vocals either. This is actually fairly poor. I can imagine him and Adam before the show WTF IS THIS SONG? I KNOW HOW CAN WE SING THIS? ITS SO RETARDED. I'm sorry, that was very so-so through no fault of Kris aside from maybe he could have been more creative trying to patch over the song. Randy says it fit Kris better. Kara says the song didn't fit him. YOU CANNOT CRITICIZE THE SONG CHOICE IF YOU ARE PART OF THE CHOOSING. Paula blah blah. Simon says the highlight was the first song but says Kris should be proud of his whole season, and you know, he should and Simon does not judge the last performance, which is again, very fair.

The bromance ends with them both singing that song. And thus our season is over. Final thoughts in a bit.

BUT
Round 3 - Adam by a nose but it's a nose smelling a bad smell....

Speaking of songs that don't fit, who told Carrie Underwood to sing Motley Crue?

FINAL THOUGHTS...
I really liked what Kris did the last couple of weeks. He went from afterthought to contender to strong contender. He built a fanbase. I think a lot of his support the last few weeks is Adam backlash though, people don't like Adam's style so they pick the person most likely to knock him off. (There are tons of Nugget fans this week cause people think they might beat the Lakers.) However, I don't think he did enough to win. I think Adam had a bigger lead than people think coming in, and I think the most memorable moments were Kris's first song and Adam's 2nd. It's arguable who sang the final song last, but they both were lame, and Kris's performance (his final two actually) had no big vocal moments to them that would stay in your mind. Idol is built on big vocal moments.

So i say Adam wins tommorrow.

HOWEVER...
I say this as a function of analysis, whereas going in I thought this was a slam dunk for Adam. I would not be shocked if they said Kris won tommorrow. Surprised, yes. Shocked no. And i think that's a huge departure from where we were a week or two ago.

At least there is no one i hate. BOY, i hated the season 5 finale. I wanted Taylor to snap and run off the stage and be disqualified. (Which would have made Katharine win, ick..)

Strange up and down season has strange finale.

Thanks for the comments! See you once more tomorrow.....then the long hiatus until we come back next year sans one judge...

The Finale: Who will win American Idol?

vs.

The Final Two: Adam Lambert vs. Kris Allen.

Adam Lambert:

One of the frontrunners from the first moment he auditioned. Had the silliest "scandal" of all time when he was outed during the first few weeks, as if no one could possibly suspect! Theatrical to a fault, although he has rained it in at times. His piercing falsetto is a take it or love it prospect though. Seemingly performed last every week.

-Best Performance: For me, Tracks of my Tears. There were a few other people may argue. Nice, beautifully arranged and sung, and just a shining moment.

-Worst Performance: Ring of Fire. Total indulgent mess. Just hard to describe.

So far, Adam has not really been in danger. There was one time where he was left to the end to be safe but I had trouble believing he was bottom two - I think they just left him toward the end for drama.

Kris Allen:

Does slow and steady win the race? Gracefully dodging early hiccups (Simon trying to sabatoge him by killing the little girl vote by showing Kris's wife, and some horrid early performances) Kris has been a solid part of almost every show. Has overcome seemingly being ignored by the judges at times.

-Best Performance: The Way You Look Tonight. Again, just IMO, he ditched the guitar, he really sang, and he shined on a night most people seemed determined to screw up their chances. This was the week Simon said Kris can't win. Well, I guess we will see.

-Worst Performance: All She Wants to Do is Dance. UGH. The little girls jump around him, he strums his guitar, it's cheesy and annoying.
Kris is not my favorite, I must admit. It's just I know a lot of guitar players, and this strum the guitar and play a sing songy version of a popular song is either not that hard, or I have extremely talented friends. (Compared to a reworked David Cook rendition, for example.) Kris has been vulnerable in several weeks but has been a survivor. If this is a result of him having a loyal fan base that pulled him through then he may have a better chance. There is really no way to tell.

They will sing three songs:

1) One they have done already. Interesting dilemna for Kris here, Heartless got a great reaction but that was last week. It's not going to make the same impact one week later. Adam will go with something slow and impactful you'd think, Mad World or Tracks of my Tears.

2) One Simon Fuller (not the judge) will choose for them. Interesting here. Kris is harder to pick for as he seems best with mid tempo ballads, something he can play along too. He may need to ditch the guitar on this or the last song. Adam will probably get something more uptempo to counteract his first chocie.

3) The coronation song. (Not yet sure it's one song for both or one song each.) These songs are really hit or miss, with more miss. Adam has more flexibility and should be able to do more with it. Really depends on what the song is.

Kris has won the coin toss and will perform last. I don't see which of the three rounds favors him.

Can Kris win? That is the ultimate question. Nothing is impossible, but it strikes me as highly improbably. Much like season six (when we lost Melinda which left us with the Jordin vs. Blake finale) this is a matchup of contestants where one goes in needing to be very solid to win, and the other win needs to go in not only needing to be good, but having the other contestant falter. What is the chance of that really? This has all the feeling of a coronation, with only the people who want Kris to win really thinking he can win.

7 finale's so far. In every year except year 2, there has been a clear front runner and that person has one. I think this is one of the closer finales, with only year 2 really being closer. There, something for those who think Kris can win!

As far as indicators go, they all point to Adam (search numbers, polls, odds, etc.).

Carrie Underwood, Jason Mraz, David Cook, Lionel Richie, Carlos Santana, Cyndi Lauper, Queen Latifah, Black Eyed Peas, and Keith Urban are scheduled to perform. There is a rumor (started by former contestant Scott) that Michael Jackson would be there as his band is there. They might just be working with someone else though. It's not like he is currently touring. I would imagine tons of ex idol contestants too.

So in closing, I fully expect Adam Lambert to be crowned our 8th American Idol Wednesday evening. What do you all think? So far I am 7 for 7 in my final predictions (predicting the day prior).

Remember

If Adam Wins…Randy 1st $300 Henry 2nd $175 Kip 3rd $70 Ken 4th $25.

If Kris Wins…Henry 1st $300 Stephanie, Kip and Randi tied $90 each.

Not everyone has contacted me with how to reach them, maybe you are waiting for winning?

Should be fun.

JUAN

Danny Eliminated! And then there were two...

Let’s say goodbye to

I think Danny was a great idol contestant and unfortunately never got his groove going. I think he was hurt by the format changes more than other contestants; he was really good when he figured out a good song to sing and was in his element, but seemed not to know where he wanted to go as the competition wore on. I feel for him, he took a lot of garbage from the media early on for taking advantage of his wife’s death as if there is a way for your wife to die 3 months prior and for you to pretend that isn’t a factor in your every day life. I really think he had a chance to win, which I think Kris does not (more on that below) and although Kris moving on was deserved, it certainly didn’t help the competition.

Now, let’s get to the important stuff.

If Adam Wins…
Randy 1st $300
Henry 2nd $175
Kip 3rd $70
Ken 4th $25

If Kris Wins…
Henry 1st $300
Stephanie, Kip and Randi tied $90 each

If you are on this list please tell me how I will get the payment to you so it will be delivered ASAP after the final.

So we have Adam vs. Kris
vs.

I will send my preview out Tuesday morning with my thoughts. My quick thoughts, Kris is like the lower seed in a tournament that knocks off a top seed and is probably just happy to be in the finals (and gets pounded accordingly). Still I didn’t see him getting this far so maybe there is an angle I am missing that could see him winning. I will certainly look for one.

This week was a prime example of why this season is a mess. There is no transparency so when Simon says Kara didn’t help Kris’s arrangement enough, it doesn’t make you think meaningful thoughts, it makes you wonder if Simon did too much (is he cheating?) did Kara not do enough, was giving Danny Paula to choose a song a way to eliminate him (an obscure Terrance Trent Darby song, what a choice). They don’t want you to know how these decisions are made so they can keep the idea they are doing everything on the up and up even if they change their mind. It made me tired. Danny got chosen a terrible song, both other contestants had great songs, Adam was last again, and Katy Perry urged people to support Adam last night on the results show.
The appearance of dishonesty can be just as bad as the show being dishonest and it really looked this week that the powers than be prefer Adam to win. Which is a shame, because any conspiracy theory is a joke as he is 10 times more popular than Kris and it would be a huge upset at this point if Kris won. But why let this be out there?

See you next Tuesday with the preview and Wednesday with the wrap up!!


JUAN

The Final Three

It's the final three. Only two songs this year, which I'm not happy with at all. I think this year has really been hurt by the normal idol process of not giving out information prior to the shows. When there is a normal season with very few changes, it's ok. This year with lots of changes it comes across as chaotic, and almost like they are making things up as they go along, which I don't like. Still, one or two great performances and things will seem a lot better. A little bird =) told me Kris is singing One Republic APOLIGIZE tonight.

2 Hours till what is hopefully a blow away show....

We start with Danny's judge's choice by Paula, Dance Little Sister by Terrance Trent Darby. Thanks Paula, an obscure song choice that has no chance of being any kind of great moment. What a great choice. Is it just me or does he scream too much lately? This was a terrible song choice for him. He's trying, and he's bringing a lot of energy so it's good but they could have given him more. Kara doesn't like the dancing. Paula likes it, but the judges always like their song choice. Simon doesn't like the song choice. Me neither. Terrence Trent Darby has better songs than this.

Danny gets the short end of the stick, Paula's song choice, Kris as his duet partner, seemingly always in the beginning of the show.

And next it's...Kris with Apoligize chosen by Randy and Kara (each half a judge apparently). Apparently they like him as opposed to Paula with Danny. And Adam goes last AGAIN. It's again good, not great. It's nowhere as good as the original but it's very much a similar arrangement. No moment here. (Although Kara and Randy will gush.) Randy gushes, Kara does not as she pretty much says what i thought. Paula struggles to not say something negative. Simon criticizes Kara for not recommending an arrangement (she did say he should have done a guitar arrangement) but criticizing Kris for not doing a good arrangement. That is true. Kara physically attacking Simon. She has reached Paula level. She is a good replacment, annoying and hits when angry. Adam next with Simon's choice which will no doubt be awesome.

Ok, Simon picks ONE by U2, personally calling Bono and getting his permission. The other judges are inept morons. Better than the other two just because it's original. I didn't love the arrangement personally and it had too much falsetto for my taste but I'm nitpicking and it was better and the other three judges are going to nitpick to not give Simon credit. Randy nitpicks, Kara gushes in a way to criticize Simon, Paula says she is miserable because she has to give Simon credit for a great choice and annoints Adam as the winner (how many times has she done that this season. Simon says it was a brilliant song choice. Haha... Adam gives Simon props too. Adam will be in the finals.

Back to Danny who will do something slow and better than his first I am sure. Actually IDOL GIVES BACK update next. Hmm....to the met game.

Met's losing again. Damn...

Danny with YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL. Great arrangement. Beginning is the normal version you expect. The second part he is singing this power vocal while the rest of the song plays in the background. I liked that a lot. No one remembers where you started but everyone remembers where you finished and that finished GREAT. Really good. When Danny is not sabatoged by Paula he is in good shape. Paula loved it too. Simon called it a vocal masterclass (after complaining about the arrangement because he didn't pick it). I hope Danny and Adam are in the final. I can't imagine what Kris can do to change that opinion. I'm sure he comes out and does a typical Kris performance, solid but not great.

Kris with Heartless by Kanye West. WTF(udge)? This whole vocal has an electronic feel to it. I like the song a lot but it's all due to Kanye's production and such. I don't like this. It's acoustic. For the second week in a row Kris reminds me of a good subway performer taking requests and playing any inane thing you ask him to play. Randy thought it was the greatest thing ever. Kara makes the point that she was right about Kris before again. Simon thinks Kris has a chance to be in the final now.

I'm sorry, that was lame. Maybe Adam can come out and do a slow jam verion of IN DA CLUB next with a piano. I really hope Kris is not in the final. It will be a coronation.

Adam next. Adam last. Adam has been last at least 4 times this season if not more. That's just way too many.

Adam with CRYIN. Nice second song choice i think for Adam. It's the kind of thing that will come across good even if it's not, if you know what I mean. Ehh. Great singing, lots of energy and the crowd was going nuts but not as good as Danny's, which was my favorite.

Adam and Danny in the final. Kris a strong third though which means Danny could be in trouble.

See you in a week!!!

Three remaining.......

Let's say goodbye to Allison Iraheta.

And so ended another strange week of idol in a season that lacks any sort of flow and has this “make it up as we go along” flavor of other TV competitions which are not Idol. His week was clearly going to be either Allison or Kris going out, as neither Danny nor Adam’s fanbases were going to let them leave prior to the bottom three. The duet thing was a mess, basically because either Kris or Danny (I call Kris because Danny brought it up) chose an awful song and the judges didn’t really comment the same on the duets as the other performances. Simon “Danny, you were better”. Huh? So we have contestant saves, Duets, mentors who are not capable of mentoring and are there for star power, etc. This week was Slash, who wasn’t bad in terms of his comments but seemed a strange choice as he’s not know for writing, producing, etc. but for proficient guitar playing, which isn’t exactly important in a singing competition.

As for our pool, are scenarios are attached. Six people are in play for the prizes, Henry, Kip, Stefanie, Randy, Tiffanie and Ken. If you can’t open the file, let me know and I will send the scenarios pasted into an email.

So we are left with three contestants.
Adam – Has to be considered the front runner at this point. Consistently good performer, arguably the only one to have any moments this season, and if he retreads any performances (as people are apt to do at this point) he has at least two which would be fantastic to do again.
Danny – Has a legitimate chance to win but it would be an upset at this point. Has yet to really find himself in this competition, which is strange considering we are 10 weeks in. His best bet might be Adam to be so-so this week and to have a great week with Adam being the surprise elimination with both Kris and Danny siphoning his votes. Really needs to be good this week or he’s going to be at Adam’s coronation next week.
Kris – Has pretty much no chance. Has established what he is, which at this point is the person who slips by week to week by not having the combination of being overlooked or the most awful in any given week. He’s a bridesmaid, not a bride, and the only drama with him is if he can make it one more week and knock off one of the big two.

Only 2 songs this week as we need to have time for the 4 judges to ramble. Personal choice and judge’s choice. No Clive Davis choice. The 4 judges is a mess, either eliminate Kara or Paula for next year. They don’t compliment each other at all, they almost seem to try to one up each other with compliments at times and Kara’s rambling is worse week by week. They also have taken away time needed for the show resulting in the show running over, people not getting comments on performances, etc. It’s nice to try something new but it failed, move on.

Only 2 weeks to go!