Thoughts on the REAL Idol Finale

So, Kris won. Color me… surprised? I wouldn't say shocked. Unlike the judges, I didn't count him out. But I was definitely expecting Adam to win. But since Adam is basically guaranteed a record deal after the show, I'm not at all upset by the outcome of the show, unlike the spitting mad Adam fans who can be found on nearly every Idol message board. I actually feel that this outcome is better for both guys, although I feel bad for Kris having to release “No Boundaries” as his first singe. Poor guy.

But the Idol finale was as bloat as ever, and I'd call roughly half palatable. In a shocking turn of events, my favorite moment was courtesy of our 9th and 10th place finishers and a comedy icon. I LOVED the Steve Martin banjo number. It was sweet and simply melodic, fit Megan's voice best of anything she's sung on the show, and even Michael Sarver was actually pretty good. Since Wednesday, I've already listened to the original (featuring Vince Gill and Dolly Parton on vocals, a definite recommendation) like 10 times.

Most of the other performances were fairly forgettable. I enjoyed Kris and Keith Urban, but wished Kris had been paired with Jason Mraz instead. Adam with Kiss was not as good as Adam with Queen would have likely been. Looking back after Kris' win, though, “We Are The Champions” is actually really fitting, since they basically both won. Also, Simon's distinct lack of standing during Kris' victory reeked of douche. Not surprising, but still bears mentioning. So, yeah, all in all, a mixed bag of a finale. But when going into it I knew I was guaranteed to be happy with the outcome, I was perfectly fine with the mixed bag.

Thoughts On the Idol Performance Finale

So, I watched the American Idol final performance show last night. I’ve been following this season, but I haven’t really been watching. I was rooting for Adam, Allison, and Kris all season, so you can imagine that I was happy with this final 2, and even happier that America put the Go in Gokey after multiple weeks of me just not understanding the guy.

So what did I think of the finale? Well, they both performed really well. Honestly, I will be perfectly happy with either guy winning. But I think, both in the finale and my overall rooting, Kris wins by just a little bit. To break it down as Simon does, he won two of the three rounds last night, boasted its best performance IMO, and I just think Kris winning would be the better outcome for either guy.

Kris’ “Aint No Sunshine” last night was maybe his best performance of the season, and also marks Kris’ second entry on to the “Songs I Would Actually Listen To” list (His first being his awesome take on “Heartless”). With two, he runs second place on that list, but he’s not behind Adam, he’s behind Allison (“Hot Stuff”, “Slow Ride”, “Someone to Watch Over Me”, and “Cry Baby”). As much as I think Adam is probably the best singer the show has ever had, none of his performances have ever had me remembering them over and over. I mean, don’t get me wrong, his “Mad World” last night was, to correctly use an incorrect Simon critique, a “vocal masterclass.” But you know what, Glambert is set no matter the outcome. I don’t think he’ll necessarily be iconic, as Paula said, but that guy will be recording music for years to come. While I don’t doubt that Kris is golden too, I think he could use the Idol machine much more than Adam could. It’ll constrict Adam, whereas I don’t think it’ll constrain Kris nearly as much.

But a post about the Idol performance finale wouldn’t be complete without talking about that large turd that Kara took on the Idol stage, “No Boundaries.” Seriously, I know all Idol songs suck, but really? THIS was the best you could do? Hell, it didn’t fit either singer, and nearly every judge said it sucked. And that’s also the note you want to end on? Not any one of the great performances that these two guys have delivered? This has fully cemented to me that Kara NEEDS to go. Kris’ version of the two was better, I thought, and it also pissed me off that instead of complimenting him on making that awful awful song into only an awful song, they told him “you should be really proud of your second place finish.” Which is bullshit, they just didn’t want to acknowledge that Kris got really really good this season while they were too busy salivating over Danny Hokey [sic]. So I’m rooting for Kris tonight, but I’ll be fine with either guy getting it. They both put on a pretty damn good show this season.

Possibly Ingenious American Idol Theme?

So, I had an idea. Every season, American Idol proclaims that it has the best group its ever had. No matter what, at the beginning of each season, we always hear this. Am I right? Of course I am. With this in mind, I came up with an idea for a possibly genius American Idol theme of the week. If this is your best group ever, why not make them prove it on a "Songs of Past Idol Contestants" night?

Think about it, the show/record company already owns the rights, so clearing the songs wouldn't be a problem. It doesn't just have to be idol winners, any past contestant would count (Like Daughtry, or Jennifer Hudson). You have a diverse range of genres, and a number of possible well known songs. I'd love to see Allison rock out to early Kelly Clarkson, or see Lil attempt to tackle Fantasia and fail.

But that's the thing, either way, great success or huge failure, it makes good TV. Let's face it, mediocrity is boring. Things make entertaining TV when they're either really good or really bad. And if you challenge the Idols to prove their place within the greater Idol canon or fail trying, well, that would be a week of American Idol I'd be sure to watch.

I Don't Understand: Danny Gokey

Now, let me preface this post by saying that I don’t actually watch American Idol with any sort of regularity. It’s one of those shows that I’ll have on if there’s nothing else. I only voted once, in the season two finale (Ruben over Clay, please). I read recaps of it, and will youtube performances that sound interesting, just so I can kind of keep up with it. But Idol is not one of those shows I watch religiously.

So with that said, what’s the big deal about Danny Gokey? There have been a large number of problems with recent seasons of Idol: that the judges’ pimping has become beyond blatant, that backstory has become more important than singing on the show, that, according to Simon, artistry has no place n the show, that Paula is seemingly significantly less looped on booze and painkillers recently. So I guess this is where my not understanding Gokey comes from: he kind of seems to embody all of these (save the Paula one).

I mean, yeah, the guy is a good singer. But isn’t everyone on the show? From the performances that I’ve seen, Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta are better, and can command a stage more. Even for, you now, how much she just didn’t fit the show, Megan Joy had an interesting vocal quality. But I just don’t get why Gokey is this season’s Idol Chosen One. He’s not the best singer, he doesn’t seem to have the best personality, he ain’t all that endearing, and he is kind of schlubby looking (sadly, a factor on the show). He actually seems to be kind of a douche, with his mocking of Matt’s awful performance of Viva La Vida by Coldplay. I’m gonna lay out an argument here though, which, even though it’s logical (and thus has no place on a show that tells people they would have fit in perfectly at Studio 57- Good Job Kara!), seems to really make me question Idol’s general policies: I get that you have a significant financial stake in the winner, and thus would lie to pick someone you think will do well, but, if America is the one who is buying your winners CDs, then shouldn’t they pick the Idol they want without you telling them which Idol to pick? I just… don’t understand. Can you explain this one to me readers?