American Idol - Finale (Part 2)

Well, this is it. The last American Idol blog for 2009. It's been a good run and I can't believe I stayed with it throughout. That last part was more in regards to the whole finale than the season. Even fast forwarding the commercials, it lasted a good six days. I missed four BBQs. It was a great season and a crazy ending. Sometimes life smacks you across the face with a hand made of money. It wakes you up and is upsetting until you realize you get to keep the hand. Move on? Sure.

The Idols - So What? - The white clothes are brutal. They look like they are starring in a Hip Hop video in the Arctic but they sound like Kidz Bop. Can I get this with a happy meal at McDonald's? The following is not from last night's finale:

David Cook - "Permanent" - He's singing a song without actual words. It's just warbling. It's nice.

Lil Rounds & Queen Latifah - "Cue The Rain" - Lil's wig is the best one yet and Queen Latifah forgot the other half of her jacket. The performance is awkward but that's just because the song is awful and they are struggling to remember their choreography. Twirl your finger by your temple when you get to the word "insane!" Both of you! What is this, Amateur Hour???

Anoop Desai, Alexis Grace, & Jason Mraz - "I'm Yours" - Anoop starts it off nice. He can really sing (Thanks, Randy). Too bad the judges wanted nothing to do with him. Alexis, dressed like her favorite pirate lass, should not be paired with this song. Her voice doesn't fit it. Jason Mraz is wonderful, like Kris Allen. Anoop, Alexis, and Jason sound fine together and then...the rest of the gang joins to ruin everything. Nice job, ruiners. 

Kris Allen & Keith Urban - "Kiss A Girl" - It's interesting that Kris gets Keith Urban and one song and Adam gets a giant KISS medley but I'm getting ahead of myself. Kris seems to be having a good time and that's all that matters. Just go out there and have fun. It doesn't matter who wins. Though, at times, it feels like a hockey game where the ice is tilted 75 degrees towards Kris' goal. Kris has to swing with all his little arms have to make it to Adam's goal.

The Girls & Fergie - "Glamorous" & "Big Girls Don't Cry" - I used to like Spiggles, right? Do you think they tell Spiggles not to sing directly into the mic unless it's her solo? Fergie sounds pretty terrible too and I love her. Why are they ruining "Big Girls Don't Cry?" It's my anthem.

Black Eyed Peas - "Boom Boom Boom" -  There are weird faceless zebra people in the background dancing. Their combined movements make you feel like you're in an Escher drawing. I'm bothered so much. I bet Simon's enjoying this. This is his jam. He probably throws in an extra boom when he's "managing" his sexy violin quartet, Escala. Hot violinists: They're real and they're spectacular!

Kara & Bikini Girl - "Vision of Love" - Bikini Girl, in bikini, begins the song with all the passion of Kristin Wiig as the Girl A-Hole (see below). Kara joins her on stage and outsings her easily. Kara has a good voice amongst all the crazy and idiocy. At the end, she throws open her dress to reveal her own bikini. She looked good.

Allison Iraheta & Cindy Lauper - "Time After Time" - Is this fair to Anoop? He sang such a beautiful version of "True Colors." I guess Anoop got all he deserved (2 lines at the beginning of "I'm Yours"). Lauper rocked the slide guitar while sitting like a man. Nice. Why was this song picked for Allison? I bet Michael Slezak is disappointed at EW. It was actually pretty good but I wanted Rocker Allison, not Tender Allison.

Danny Gokey & Lionel Richie - "Hello" & "Just Go" & "All Night Long" - A good pick for Danny with "Hello." Did anyone else notice that he sang the Lionel Richie part on "Just Go" because he was so excited to be up there? It's a nice moment for Danny. Lionel Richie looks great, too. Sometimes older people come on Idol and look terrible (See Disco Week). 

Adam Lambert & KISS - "Beth" & "Get Up Everybody" & "Rock and Roll All Night" - It's very good. This fits him like a glove. Is he going to make an album of Queen, Kiss, and Led Zeppelin-like music? Can he make an album with Jack White? Adam ruled this finale.

Matt Giraud & Carlos Santana - "Black Magic Woman" & "Smooth" - My wife asked me why Matt was wearing a Michael Jackson jacket. Because they didn't want to make him always look like Justin Timberlake. I thought the answer should make as much sense as the jacket. All the singers join in for "Smooth" and...mess everything up. Do you notice a trend? Is this what the Idol tour is like? Oof.

Megan Joy, Michael Sarver, & Steve Martin - "Pretty Flowers" - Let's do this like Simon for old time's sake. Megan won this round by a clear mile. A million percent better. Michael, it was ok, but Megan was better. I think you're in trouble. Sorry.

The Guys - "If You Think I'm Sexy" - Please stop.

Rod Stewart - "Maggie May" - The opposite of what I was saying about Lionel Richie. The older he gets, the more he looks like Hillary Clinton. Almost trumped Lil Rounds and Smokey Robinson for creepiest performance of the season. Almost.

Adam Lambert & Kris Allen & Queen - "We Are The Champions" - Adam sounded great the whole way. Kris sounded good when there was no heavy music behind him. When there was, I think they turned his mic off because I only heard Adam. They were joined by what I was hoping was the cast of Glee but I was wrong. It ended with some nice hugs between the two finalists. 

AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 8 WINNER - Kris Allen

Final Thoughts - I hope Kris gets to make the album he wants. David Cook seemed to so there could be hope. Adam has a ridiculous voice and he'll do fine. I don't know if I'll buy his album but I'll go see him on Broadway. My favorite has won 2 years in a row now. My brain is getting too mainstream. Congratulations to all the Idol contestants (except Jorge). I'm looking forward to albums from Anoop Desai, Allison Iraheta, Matt Giraud, Alexis Grace, and Jesse Langseth. Maybe Ricky Braddy. Farewell to Idol until 2010. Thanks for reading.

American Idol - Finale (Part 1)

Adam versus Kris. This is what we've all been waiting for. To be honest, I don't care who wins because I got to hear Kris sing as much as he possibly could on the show. There is no next week. Wait, what am I going to blog about? Oh no. I'm going to have to come up with original things. I don't have those. Hold on. Deep breath. We can cross that bridge when we come to it. (Stay far away from me, Friday!) Tonight's episode will feature a song they sang during the season (eh), a pick from the creator of the show (only chance at enjoyment), and the Idol song (oof).

Adam Lambert - "Mad World" - There was no way he was doing anything else. Simon gave him a standing ovation when he sang it the first time. Those are as rare as Randy not booing when Ryan introduces Simon. He was dressed like he was going to fight the Agents from The Matrix. I actually waited for Adam to dodge bullets in slow motion but he just sang the song instead. The performance was not as good as the first time he did it but it was still good. Randy loved that he sang something from the season which was good because he was supposed to. Oh, Randy. Simon thought it was overtheatrical. I would agree.

Kris Allen - "Ain't No Sunshine" - Kris' parents are taking over for Anoop's in terms of adorable. He didn't like to sing in front of his parents so they would pay him a quarter to make him sing. One time, he gave his mom coupons that she could redeem for his singing. She called it "the best present ever." Are you swooning? My Kris Krush is getting larger. It was great just like the first time he did it. I actually expected him to do "Heartless" but this one was just as good. He had so many to choose from because he's awesome. Simon honestly didn't think Kris should have been safe last week. Really? Gokey?

Adam Lambert - "A Change Is Gonna Come" - I love this song. The opening line was awesome and then it was dull and then it finished all Lambert-y. The judges loved it. He's just not my style. Still, he'll make a good Idol winner.

Kris Allen - "What's Going On" - It is so good. Is it sad that I see no competition with who is more talented in this finale? He just makes every song something I want to download. It was such a cool version of this song though Simon didn't think it was any different. Gokey would have done it better, I'm sure. 

Adam Lambert - "No Boundaries" - The background singer is ruining this song which is a shame because the song is bad enough to ruin itself. I hate to be a conspiracy theorist but doesn't this song seem like only Adam can sing it? How can Kris sing this song? This is going to be worse than "Renegade." Anyway, Adam did this song as well as it can be done. I hope that's saying much. Adam will and should win it all.

Kris Allen - "No Boundaries" -  I really don't want to hear Kris sing this song. I anticipated disaster and he may have averted it though it's not likely. This is one of those rare times on Idol that you can give a contestant an A for effort. Congratulations on a fantastic season, Kris! Sorry this had to be the last performance.

Winner - Adam Lambert