Adam Lambert and Kris Allen will face off next week – the eighth season of American Idol. Early on, Adam Lambert showed his fierce vocal strength and originality resulting in legions of fans; no one is surprised that he is the giant daring someone to slay him. Kris Allen started in the middle of the pack but he steadily gave creative and solid performances earning a place in the finals and winning one of the biggest underdog victories in American Idol history.
Ryan announced at the beginning of the show that 88 million votes were cast and only 1 million separated Adam and Kris! I still believe that Adam is the favorite to win but this could be a bit polarizing. Those he hasn’t won over will probably support Kris. If Kris comes out and gives amazing performances next week he just might be able to pull off an upset.
Danny gave a good fight and in his own words his Idol experience has been “tragedy to triumph.” Ten months ago, Danny had just lost his wife and today he is the Top 3 Idol this season. I’ve been a fan of Danny since the beginning, and I am looking forward to what I’ll see from him in the future.
My Idol, Jordin Sparks, introduced her new single, “Battlefield,” from her newest album. Since we are now Sony labelmates, I thought this was a perfect place for a shameless promo plug – be on the watch out for my new single, “You’re Not Shaken,” on Christian radio within the next couple of weeks. It’s from my new record, “Into the Light,” due out Aug. 25.
Were you all surprised that Kris made it in? Will Kris find a kink in Adam’s armor or will Adam prevail?
Tonight’s Idol gave us Danny, Kris and Adam battling it out for a spot in the final with song choices from the contestants and judges. The guys took the gloves off and gave it there all. Tomorrow’s results show is going to be a nail-biter!
Danny started the night off with Paula’s choice of Terence Trent D’Arby’s “Dance Little Sister.” This had Danny written all over it: high-energy, vocal improvisation during a sax solo sprinkled throughout with corny dancing! I thought it was great but did seem a bit predictable. Simon criticized the song choice – funny since Danny didn’t have a say. With that being said – I’m sure Danny would have liked to have a different song to work with also since he admitted to not knowing it.
However predictable Round 1 was for Danny, Round 2 blew off the roof. He gave us Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful.” I thought this was an amazing arrangement for a song that fit his voice perfectly. From one church boy to another – Hallelujah! Simon called it a “vocal master class” … not a bad Simon comment.
Kris Allen was at the mercy of Randy and Kara and they gave him “Apologize” by OneRepublic. Sitting at the piano, Kris was fighting hard with a mix of a nice falsetto and strong chest voice, but the judges say he played it safe. I agree. I was waiting and rooting for him to really blow us out of the water and keep us guessing about who will go home. This round did not do that for him, not true about Round 2.
When Kris said he was going to attempt “Heartless” by Kanye West, my initial thought was “Heartless”? Wasn’t he there when Kanye performed it on that same stage? But Kris gave a fresh laid-back version, showing his true artistry. It was very brave to go just guitar and vocals with three strikes and two outs left with bases loaded. He put himself back in the game! Tomorrow we will see if he hit a home run.
Adam (with Simon’s help arranging!?) gave us a dramatic interpretation of “One” by U2. Simon loved gloating that Bono personally called him in order to clear the song. Who am I joking, I would be gloating also. No surprise, this was a great fit for Adam and he delivered a powerful performance for his legion of fans.
Again in Round 2 Adam gave a killer show. He SANG “Crying” by Aerosmith. Simon is worried that America will forget to vote for Adam so he campaigned for him. I don’t foresee Adam’s fans forgetting to vote. We will see him next week in the finals.
I think we can all agree that Adam will be in the finals so who gets the second slot? Originally I thought that Danny’s “You Are So Beautiful” took away any chance of Kris taking it to the end. Until Kris sang “Heartless.” I think many people are rooting for Kris so he is picking up new fans each week but my personal favorite of the night was Danny’s “You Are So Beautiful.” Tomorrow’s results show really could go either way. What do you all think?
We are only one episode away from the live performances. An interesting thing has been added this season. During the chair episodes, they are letting people they are undecided about have a sing-off to earn their spot in the semifinals. I like this because it is tough to get eliminated once you’ve made it through Hollywood Week and haven’t performed for the judges since…. I don’t like it because it seems very awkward for the contestants. I would have hated to be in any of the sing-offs, whether I won or lost.
I remember being at the hotel the night before the chair episode and that was awkward enough because you know people are being eliminated. The truth is that I never expected to make it through Hollywood Week, so I can honestly say that I was hoping the best for everyone. When I made it through, I was terribly excited to be on the show, but also terribly guilty for having taken someone else’s spot.
I can tell you that there are people that the other contestants aren’t rooting for. On my season, there were a few people from Hollywood Week that did not stand out to us at all. We came back for the chair episode and wondered how in the world they made it into the semifinals when some of our friends who were great got cut. It wasn’t until we saw their original auditions that we understood how they had made it through.
Consider Joanna Pacitti. She’s a great singer, but she forgot her lyrics every time she sang in Hollywood. The other contestants can’t possibly know how great she is just yet.
Or consider Tatiana Del Toro. She’s a good singer, but she couldn’t be any more annoying. I think the other contestants are a little frustrated that many other great singers have been cut so they can feature her on more episodes.
At the end of the day, most of the decisions were expected. Here is a list of the top 36:
Anoop Desai
Von Smith
Alex Trugman
Adam Lambert
Taylor Vaifanua
Jasmine Murray
Arianna Asfar
Casey Carlson
Megan Corkrey
Mishavonna Henson
Stevie Wright
Joanna Pacitti
Kendall Beard
Kristen McNamara
Alexis Grace
Scott Macintyre
Lil Rounds
Jesse Langseth
Allison Iraheta
Danny Gokey
Ricky Braddy
Matt Giraud
Ju’Not Joyner
Jorge Nunez
Brent Keith
Stephen Fowler
Norman Gentle, or Nick Mitchell
Jackie Tohn
Tatiana Del Toro
Nathaniel Marshall
Jeanine Vailes
Kai Kalama
Anne Marie Boskovich
Kris Allen
Matt Breitzke
Michael Sarver
I was a little upset to see Jamar Rogers get cut. He’s an outstanding talent. The fact that Norman Gentle is there instead of him makes it all feel a little off. Don’t get me wrong, I like Norman. But I haven’t heard him sing anywhere near as good as Jamar. Who knows… Thoughts?
By Phil
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Tags: Adam Lambert, Alex Trugman, Alexis Grace, Allison Irahetta, American Idol, Anne Marie Boskovich, Anoop Desai, Arianna Asfar, Brent Keith, Casey Carlson, Danny Gokey, Jackie Tohn, Jasmine Murray, Jeanine Vailes, Jessie Langseth, Joanna Paticci, Jorge Nunez, Junot Joyner, Kendall Beard, Kia Kalama, Kris Allen, Kristin MacNamara, Lil' Rounds, Matt Breitzke, Matt Girrard, Megan Corkrey, Michael Sarver, Mishavonna Henson, Nathaniel Marshall, Nick Mitchell, Norman Gentle, Ricky Braddy, Scott Macintyre, Stephen Fowler, Stevie Wright, Tatiana Del Torro, Taylor Vanifanua, Von Smith
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