American Idol -- The Finals: Adam Will Win It All

FINALE UPDATE -- Kris Allen wins it all! A versatile, genuine talent, Kris Allen got better week after week, which is the best way to keep winning fans. For the second year in a row, being the heavy favorite of the producers and Simon Cowell has perhaps been a negative. or more simply viewers get bored with the presumed front runner whether it's David Archuleta or Adam Lambert. Lambert will definitely get his shot at stardom and might even benefit from not being forced into releasing a debut album as quickly as Kris Allen will. Both are genuinely talented but I'm glad for Kris. I've been rooting for him throughout the Top 12 and thought he was sterling, whereas Adam at first seemed a one-not wonder. Adam won me over in the last few weeks. I have no idea what kind of album he might deliver (Mika, Queen, Aerosmith?) and that's pretty fun. The wild card for Kris is whether he has any songwriting ability. Carrie Underwood has proven a real talent in songwriting and if Kris has that ace in the hole, he's going to really deliver. He joins Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks and Taylor Hicks as winners who never were in the bottom two. Anyone who complains that Adam losing takes away from the show is crazy, by the way. The fact that wildly successful artists have appeared in the Top 10 finalists year after year is actually a testament to Idol's success: they uncover a lot of talent and you don't have to win it all in order to have huge success. Just ask Daughtry or Clay Aiken or Jennifer Hudson, to name three. Adam Lambert will be another great addition to that list and now Kris Allen has something to prove so go out and make a great album. By the way, almost 100 million votes were cast. Since the showdown on Tuesday was the lowest rated in Idol history, that means people averaged about five votes per person. Thank you, speed dialing! I did pretty good on my picks, calling it right 7 times out of the last 10. I picked the final four when there were still 9 people left and I predicted a Kris and Adam finale for a while as well. And of course the Idol I supported most won it all. So thanks for reading and commenting. See you in January. (Or maybe earlier if they ask me to take over for Kara.)

ORIGINAL POST FOR FINAL NIGHT OF PERFORMANCE COMPETITION:

Well, Kris Allen gets to join Clay Aiken and David Archuleta as Idol contestants who never were put into the bottom two but failed to win it all.

Clearly, Adam Lambert will be the next American Idol. I've been a big fan of Kris and he certainly has the potential to deliver a great album sometime down the road. But Adam had a much better mix of songs that contrasted each other perfectly and let him show off his versatility. It was fitting that Carrie Underwood closed the show for not since her triumphal march to victory has one contestant so clearly dominated a season. And just like Underwood, Adam Lambert will probably prove to be wildly commercial as well. (In this day and age, that would mean going triple platinum.)

As for the judges, the men stayed true to form but the women were not. Paula has been sharp and insightful all season but tonight she stayed firmly in cheerleader mode. Kara did herself no favors by being strident and wildly intense the entire night. Every comment was delivered with ferocious determination. Relax, Kara!

SONG ONE -- Kris won the toss and elected to go second. Adam chose to reprise the Tears For Fears song "Mad World," which was smart. The production was over the top with so much blue lighting and fog that you couldn't even see Adam's face for the first 30 seconds. He sang the tune very well, not notably better or worse than his excellent original rendition. All the judges praised him but it wasn't as emotionally piercing as the first time around and Simon was right to find the theatricality a bit much (especially for this quiet tune). Kris sang "Ain't No Sunshine," again, the song I would have chosen for him. He did it perhaps a tad better. The longer performance time let him stretch out the tune and nail that bridge yet again. Plus, the camera was in tight on Kris the whole time. They were both strong but on production and performance I'd give a slight edge to Kris.

SONG TWO -- Adam was asked to perform "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke, a terrific selection. It also had a great arrangement that included bluesy guitar to give it some bite. Adam just nailed it to the wall, making the most out of a dramatic ballad that builds and builds. He used his big voice for that ultra-dramatic wailing and in this case it worked perfectly. Like the first song of his, it's slow at first. But it really builds to a big finale so it's a good contrast. Plus his outfit looked classy and good. Finally, both this and "Mad World" are very emotionally resonant for Adam, so that helps too. He ends with a giant Idol moment and I immediately wrote down "He's won it all." But then, I thought the same thing after Clay Aiken sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water." Kris is asked to sing Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On," which does NOT seem like a good idea to me. He shows off his cool, mellow demeanor and strums away on an acoustic guitar. The performance is actually better than I feared. But it's way too similar in tone and style to the first number. And now he has to sing the presumably dull new Idol theme? Not looking good.

SONG THREE -- "No Boundaries." As Adam begins to sing, I immediately realize how he can knock out a silly power ballad pop song like this in his sleep. The sillier the lyrics, the more he can just wail away. And this tune has plenty of silly lyrics: "With every step you climb another mountain" and "Just when you think the road is going nowhere" and "You can go higher, you can go deeper" and so on. Stuff and nonsense but Adam gives it passion and it is more upbeat and pop, so it again makes a very good contrast with the other tunes he sang. Kris gives it a sort of Bryan Adams feel which is a good call. After being flat at the start, he gets into a groove. But this is still a much better fit with Adam.

Ultimately, Kris's three tunes blended together, each one ending on a fairly mellow note. Adam on the other hand got to show a lot of his skills. Plus he gave the single best performance of the night with "A Change Is Gonna Come." That's the one people will remember and that's the one they'll vote for.

But as Paula would say, neither of them are losers. And certainly not the viewers, when we had the most talented duo in the finale since Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken faced off. Both could definitely deliver the goods creatively. Kris will probably benefit by not winning since that's cooler in the indie rock, John Mayer world. Plus, he would have gotten a lot of grief if Adam was seen to have been cheated out of his rightful crown. As for Adam, I hope he takes a cue from the very first Pop Idol winner, Will Young. He came out right after winning and no one blinked an eye and he has gone on to have exceptional ongoing success in the UK as a singer and actor. (I'm assuming of course that Adam is gay.) He's certainly a very talented, worthy singer.

I rooted for Kris for weeks, but Adam won me over with his consistency. It'll be fascinating to see what sort of album he delivers, but it may take one or two to find his groove and gain control over his artistic future. That will be bright for both of them, not to mention Alison Iraheta. Based on talent and the week to week performances, this has been the strongest Idol season yet. So who do you think will win and whose album(s) will you buy?

Comments

[Bulbul]

I congratulate the winner Kris and also Adam , a winner...m­y favorite was Matt !
Imagine my shock seeing Megan up on the stage, yet again and singing a difficult song, and of course, her voice was all over. She was not even a comic relief, Tatiana was , this is an insult to all the good ones, that if you have the looks you go up the stage !

[mayzebra]

Clearly, many were voting for religious values rather than vocal talent and showmanship.

[LauraAgain]

Kris deserved the win, if only because all four judges consistently found fault with every performance and pimped Adam way too much.

Don't get me wrong ... I LOVE Adam Lambert! He will definitely be a major STAR. I think Kris and Adam genuinely like each other. They both have talent to burn.

I'm looking forward to buying BOTH albums.

Congrats, Kris.

[Michael Giltz - Huffpost Blogger]

I agree completely.

[daetig09]

ADAM WAS CROWNED BY QUEEN TONIGHT...­he doesn't need the title from American Idol. The "You Can Sing Like Freddie Mercury Trophy" is the one that really counts!!

Now the contract bidding war will really begin...

[Michael Giltz - Huffpost Blogger]

Not really, because they have the automatic right to sign anyone who auditions on the show to a contract and there's no way they'll let Adam get away. The members of Queen should beg him to tour with them, not that it would be a smart move career-wise. He's better off forging his own identity. Maybe a one-off show at some point as a tribute to Freddie?

[Apphouse50]

As usual, the most talented AI contestant loses.

Thank you, American Idol, for living down to my expectations. What a joke. Now that I think about it, Rod Stewart was the perfect touch.

[Michael Giltz - Huffpost Blogger]

Well, i disagree. Kelly Clarkson was the best from her season, Fantasia from hers, Carrie Underwood from hers and arguably David Cook from his. Since the show brought Adam Lambert to the world's attention and gave him a platform from which he can launch a substantial career (just like it did for Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson and Cay Aiken and so many others), why be upset? Why is it a joke that Adam made it to the finals? And while it's been a long long time since he made a good album, Rod Stewart is still the guy who recorded classic tunes with Faces, Jeff Beck and the classic solo album Every Picture Tells A Story. Yeah, he's a tired old basterd (thanks, Tarantino for the spelling) who sings standards and is a shadow of his former self, but there's no Idol contestant yet who has produced a body of work like his.

[tubette]

well, guess you thought too much.

[Michael Giltz - Huffpost Blogger]

Yep! :)

[gradybridges]

Perfect ending. Adam deserved the win but so did Kris. Glad the upset won.

[Delphine]

According to DialIdol, Kris was ahead of Adam all night.

It seems they're usually on the money. Although they said it was too close to call.

[Milinda]

I am a big Adam fan. I find him fascinating, always entertaining and he does it effortlessly which is a joy to watch. This is not to say I don't like Kris. He seems a sweet young man and I do like some of his performances. I was listening carefully to them both last night and with discretionary income somewhat tight, I realized I wouldn't buy a CD of Kris. I like him and certainly wouldn't turn off the radio or turn the TV channel if he were on. But Adam, I'd go see in person, I'd buy his CDs simply because I would be curious to see what he would do with any song. He has that "it" thing going for him where he keeps me guessing. I don't watch Idol but I was there every week just to see what Adam would do and when he performed Tracks of My Tears to Smokey Robinson's standing ovation, I was sold on Lambert. Now, if he would record Cole Porter's Night And Day, I'd be thrilled!

[CapableOne]

I predict an upset win by Kris Allen.

You remember the "Brady Bunch" episode when they turned Greg into the singing sensation Johnny Bravo because he "fit the suit"?

Adam doesn't fit the suit.

He's clearly the bigger talent and I voted for him for about an hour last night. But, I think it would be better for his career if he did NOT win, for two big reasons: 1) he can work with real rock music producers and not those lame Idol popsters, and 2) he won't have to record that WRETCHED song by Kara DioGuardi!

[67bug]

God that song was horrible, wasn't it?

[Michael Giltz - Huffpost Blogger]

It was indeed not a good song. At all. Even by Idol theme song standards.

[Czoe]

I don't know why everyone thinks Kris is so great. I don't know how he got so far. Lotsa voters in Michigan I suppose. I do agree that this is the most boring Idol ever. Why do I even watch it? Discovery Channel stinks, The Learning Channel stinks, Animal Planet stinks, National Geographic stinks, blahblahblah.

[stratdude]

I still think Allison got robbed. It would have been a better final two, Adam and Allison. Nonetheless, Kris is great and Adam should win. The third song really sucked. I felt sorry for both of them having to sing it. Sort of reminded me of the one-note-charlie Neal Diamond week last year.

[Michael Giltz - Huffpost Blogger]

I know they want to promote the heck out of the song, but it's really annoying to have to hear these theme songs performed twice on the final night of competition. It should be "reserved" for the winner who gets to perform it after they're anounced. People will still snap it up and then we could have a genuine third round of exciting performances rather than a tiresome run-through of a song that has never been good once in the eight seasons.

[tallturtle]

I think that Lambert broke through to another level when he sang "Long Time Comin'" because it was the first time that he really sang the blues, at least in the first verse. Allen had two bluesy songs, "Ain't No Sunshine" and "What's Goin' On?", but didn't sing the blues at all. In America in the 21st Century, you can't really connect with people if you deny the Blues

[gradybridges]

Bad comparison with Aiken and Archuleta as those 2 were pimped hard core by the judges. Allen never got such treatment.

I'll agree Allen won the first and Adam the second but you are wrong on the final song. Both were bad on a bad song. Adam was missing notes and Allen forgot a line but did a tad better than Adam.

I like them both but hope for an Kris Allen win to shove it in the judges faces. They pimped Lambert and Gokey on the show and in every interview giving virtually no credit to Allen. He survived by the people he turned into fans.

[Michael Giltz - Huffpost Blogger]

It's pretty obvious who the producers are rooting for each season -- and also obvious how voters ignore them time and again and go for what they want. It's one of the great things about the show and proof positive that it ain't rigged. Certainly neither guy could be good on the last song since it was so bad. I probably didn't really focus on it because I didn't want to listen to it over and over. But Allen certainly didn't look triumphant after doing it and body language can say as much as anything.

[goodgravy]

my vote is with adam if for no other reason than he came out every week and surprised and entertained me. kris has a great voice but he's like a gazillion other guys singing in coffee shops around the globe and for me that's a snooze. i would buy adam's album out of curiosity. i already know what kris's will sound like so i'll probably pass.