American Idol Season 8: The Final Wrap Up

Wow. What a great wrap up. I love your last paragraph, it totally sums everything up.

Hopefully, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll be a mix of alt-singer/songwriter tunes arranged perfectly for Krisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cool vibe. Please donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t screw it up, Sony! Kris will hopefully have input on the album.

There is no way that Sony BMG wastes American Idol promo money on an alt-singer/songwriter album, a category that never sells over a couple hundred thousand. If that’s the album, the promo will be put on ice. If there’s promo, the album will be a collection of vein-bursting DAUGHTRY “angst” songs with feverishly strummed acoustic guitars replacing the loud bits. That dog might hunt.

WORD to everything you said here. Such an amazing wrap up and commentary on the season. Thank you for writing this!!!

And what was up with freaking Jorge Nunez standing next to Kris during the last moments? It shoulda been Adam, Allison and Danny.

I thought it was odd that Jorge was standing there, too. You could tell that Kris was looking for Adam, though, and couldn’t seem to find him in the sea of Idols, so he finally gave up and put his arm around Jorge.

Thank you, MJ, for showing such class as a disappointed Adam fan. So many sites have spewed all kinds of bitterness about Kris’s win, and it is very refreshing to come here and have you be respectful even though your favorite didn’t win. Adam is going to go on to do great things. And Kris earned his win and also deserves much success. It was a rocky season, to be sure, and I’m kind of relieved it’s over. But at least you can’t say it was ever boring.

Nice, unbiased article MJ. I agree with everything you said. Most of us do on here, that’s why we spend hours and hours on your site.

I am also still disenchanted that Adam did not win. I have made no mistake about that on this site but c’est la vie. I truly wanted the awesomely talented, glamorous, fearless Idol. Nothing against Kris and jMo, with the exception of a cpl of performances, I found him very boring compared to Adam. I think Adam totally changed the future of American Idol in a very good way.

Best of luck to both Adam and Kris in my order of preference.

I was sad when Kris won. I think I would have been sad if Adam won. I cared who lost.

Still, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m a little sad that America and I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see eye to eye in 2009. But Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll get over it.

And I am glad that for once in my 7 year Idol watching career, America and I DID see eye to eye.

Everything else aside…I think I owe a big thank you to Kris and Adam (And Allison. Aw Allison.) for saving an otherwise mostly terrible season. And for putting the Go in Gokey.

Best bromance ever and best finale ever. KRADAM, YOU ROCK!

Very good review, MJ!
I aggree that Adam most likely didn’t win, because of his polarizing style, which mean that Kris truely won by his own merit.

However, I don’t think that Christian votes and homophobic votes didn’t contribute to his loss at all. I’m slightly annoyed when Rickey and some other bloggers said it’s the judges’ pimping that caused his loss and denied that Danny fans vote also contributed to this. It’s the combination of them all that could cause his loss.

Simon needs to STFU! They better don’t give Kris the Tailor’s treatment, ‘cos I think he can be pretty successful.

Yes, great writeup. I was super bummed Adam didn’t win. I guess I got vicariously competitive in all the excitement. But both Kris and Adam achieved their main goal of getting enough exposure to launch their well-deserved careers. Both got cars, although I am not a fan of Ford, but I digress. Both garnered fans. And they found such unlikely friendship. Awwwwww.

Mj, this is truly what you do best. I love your style of writing….your choice of words ….perfect…right down to the snark. I don’t always agree with you but look forward to each and every post. Loved what you said at the end….my sentiments exactly! Kris and Adam brought an issue to much higher ground just by respecting and caring for one another.
P.S. I am still so bummed by Adam’s loss…..I need to get real!

as always mj, thanks for a great site and terrific wrap-up. this is the one place i always check late at night while i’m sipping my ovaltine. can’t think of a better place than a visit to mj’s to wind down after a hellish day a work. keep the links to the vids coming. always enjoy seeing what’s new. surfing youtube for current vids is just a joke. and mj – thanks for the “steaming pile of poo” description of NB. must say, that i’ve used it quite a lot during the past week.

awwww, MJ. That was a great wrap-up. I am primarily a Kris fan, so it did feel right to me, but I agree with you on pretty much everything else. I think bb boy Kris earned that spot kicking and screaming. He’s got the most mellow attitude, but as soon as he got on stage, I felt like he was fighting. His F2 night Ain’t No Sunshine was pretty much the moment of the season for me. I’ve only watched it like a billion times. He really lays his heart down there for everyone to see. That’s why I love him so much.

Fighting about who is going to sell the most records or who has the most magazine covers just seems so petty when you look at the unifying front that these guys have put together. It truly is the friendship of these two that could really inspire people. I may not particularly care for Adam’s upper register as I’ve seen it on the show, but I endlessly respect him as a person and hope that he does well.

Everything else asideà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I think I owe a big thank you to Kris and Adam (And Allison. Aw Allison) for saving an otherwise mostly terrible season. And for putting the Go in Gokey.

Aw, me too. The season really picked up for me midway through. I had a lot of fun watching this year, and I too loved a lot of Kris, Adam & Allison’s performances. I agree that it was a fabulous finale, and my favorite one yet.

Thanks MJ, for a great finale wrap-up, and for all of your entertaining posts and abundance of information.

(Also, I just wanted to comment before this post too, turns into the inevitable fanwar.)

I disagree with you. I was very, very happy with the results. Overall, a good season, though some of the early contestants were boring and weak singers.

“And what was up with freaking Jorge Nunez standing next to Kris during the last moments? It shoulda been Adam, Allison and Danny.”

I read somewhere that Adam and Allison were stuck at the end and got stranded, couldn’t get to the stage, and eventually had to be helped to the stage via the back. It might have been Patti’s season finale recap…

awwww, MJ. That was a great wrap-up. I am primarily a Kris fan, so it did feel right to me, but I agree with you on pretty much everything else. I think bb boy Kris earned that spot kicking and screaming. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s got the most mellow attitude, but as soon as he got on stage, I felt like he was fighting. His F2 night Ainà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t No Sunshine was pretty much the moment of the season for me. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve only watched it like a billion times. He really lays his heart down there for everyone to see. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s why I love him so much.

Fighting about who is going to sell the most records or who has the most magazine covers just seems so petty when you look at the unifying front that these guys have put together. It truly is the friendship of these two that could really inspire people. I may not particularly care for Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s upper register as Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve seen it on the show, but I endlessly respect him as a person and hope that he does well.

WORD!

(Also, I just wanted to comment before this post too, turns into the inevitable fanwar.)

You and me both, boo.

(Also, I just wanted to comment before this post too, turns into the inevitable fanwar.)

LMFAO, Spense

And I am glad that for once in my 7 year Idol watching career, America and I DID see eye to eye.

Well, I am super happy for you that your fave finally got confetti dumped on their head!

This is a great wrap up. You took the words right out of my mouth MJ.

Yes, I found it. Patti’s Season 8 Finale recap:
“The audience reaction to Krisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ name was a gasp, then wild applause. The Idols had a hard time getting up on that platform, with Kris. As a matter of fact, Allison and Adam were at the end, standing on the floor, when someone went and got them and brought them around the back of the platform and up the other side.”

LOL, MJ. I guess I don’t pick up on things very well! I had really gotten the feeling that Kris was your fave and Adam was second for you! I guess I need to read a little more carefully.

Thank you for all your hard work during this season. I love your recaps and wrap-ups. I don’t always agree but I love reading them all the same. I really love this line:

Their message that respect and love CAN prevail, despite great differences moved me.

We could all learn a lot from the way Adam and Kris conduct themselves.

Aw, MJ. Season 8 did nothing for me and I stopped watching midway through (even though I stayed somewhat involved via this site), and reading this wrap up is the first time I felt like I might have missed something worthwhile by not sticking with it.
Well said.

I wish Adam and Kris the best in their budding careers, and I wish their fans fanwar-free times ahead. That’s the only thing that can ruin the joy of watching someone make their dream a reality.

LOL, MJ. I guess I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t pick up on things very well! I had really gotten the feeling that Kris was your fave and Adam was second for you! I guess I need to read a little more carefully.

MJ tries to love all her little Idol children!

I have to echo the sentiments of the comments previous and say awesome unbiased writeup mj.

I have to admit I was a little bummed Adam didn’t win but actually Allison ended up being my favorite of the season. I am anxious to see what happens with Kris and Adam’s post idol careers and I wish the very best to both of them.

It’s awesome seeing the friendship between Kris and Adam. You can tell these 2 have become really great friends beyond the competition and that’s great to see.

Thanks, mj.

I think you said it perfectly. Kris wasn’t my most favorite, and wasn’t the reason I tuned in from week to week, but I respect him as a musician and I do think he delivered some of the seasons greatest moments. Just because I wanted Adam to win and think it’s really a shame that he didn’t, doesn’t mean that I hate Kris or think he’s undeserving. But I’m not going to lie and say I’m not disappointed. Because I am. And I’ll leave that at that.

The bromance is, for lack of a better, less fantardish word – beautiful.. And it breaks my heart now to see all of the fanwarring and accusations on BOTH sides. I just can’t read it. It makes me sick.

So, this:

Their message that respect and love CAN prevail, despite great differences moved me. Beyond reason.

YES. This is what I hope stands at the end of the day, when all the dust from the fanwars has settled. Because this is what really matters.

Maybe in the midst of touring and working on their albums, Kradam can work to bring about world peace, too!

Speaking of Jorge – was he the one jumping during the announcement? Long shot of contestants show a guy on left side of stage jumping and pumping his fist, then moving to right side of group. Can’t figure out who. Maybe Anoop? Anybody know?

Great wrap up, MJ.

I thought the whole “announcement of the winner and singing the coronation song” part of the show was weird and rushed. It started with the accountant coming out to talk about the voting, and standing in front of Kris, completely blocking him from view, until Adam dragged Kris out to where the audience could see him. What was up with that? The director couldn’t have the accountant stand on Ryan’s other side, so that he didn’t block the guy who was about to win? That sort of says it all to me about their attitude toward Kris all year.

Then they barely gave Kris time to recover from the announcement, and didn’t bring up his family to congratulate him. Last year, David Cook was overcome and speechless too, but they gave him a minute and let him hug his mother and brother. Why couldn’t Kris have the same consideration? It was like that whole part of the show was an afterthought or something. The best part of it was the few seconds that we got to see Kris and Katy hug as the show ended. Overall, just another night of total Adam pimpage and screw ups by the director and producers.

BTW, I like Kris and Adam equally, and thought Adam should win. But, the winner is the winner, and deserves to be treated like one.

Man, that was a good article and it felt a little bittersweet for me.

I don’t think I’ve quite realized it until right now that this season is truly over. I’m half anticipating to turn Idol back on tomorrow night and hear Ryan say “This is American Idol”

Your write up is fantastic and I totally agree with the disappointment felt when it didn’t go to Adam, but I don’t blame Kris. He grew throughout the competition he won, period. But I was still disappointed for Adam who had the ride of his life on the show.

And Kradam bromance makes me way too happy. It’s just like the most endearing thing ever and I have no idea what makes it warm my heart so but I love it.

One last note: A huge kudos to Adam and Kris for creating the awesomest bromance evah. The Christian Midwest straight arrow and the Jewish Hollywood gay dude forged an on-air friendship that foiled at least some of the cultural war nonsense the media tried to drum up. Their message that respect and love CAN prevail, despite great differences moved me. Beyond reason.

THIS ^^^^ says it all for me. No matter who won or who came second I think this was the greatest thing that came out of this season for me. I will add one thing and that is I believe this much more than an on-air friendship and will be one that lasts.

I will admit to still being totally bummed that Adam didn’t win and to being sad that the rest of America didn’t appreciate him as I did…..however, c’est la vie! I got him and he makes me happy! I cannot wait until we see what the future holds for the fabulous Mr. Lambert. He brought me back to Idol after 6 years and I think he’ll probably cause me to leave again because I just can’t imagine finding anyone more fabulous than he.

awww… I loved your post MJ. Almost made me love and miss the season… almost.
I’m happy with Kris, after all, the only performance this season that I really really loved and that moved him was Falling Slowly.
But I still think this was the Adam Lambert season and he deserved the crown. Kris is a good artist, nice dude, but his voice just isn’t all that and this still is a singing competition. And I also think he has a long way to go in his stage presence. Adam? He has everything already.

I’m not confident Kris will do any sort of alt/rock type of thing. I’ll be very surprised if they don’t make him go pop, pop/rock. I also don’t expect much rock from Adam. His rock on the show was very dated, can’t see him making an album with that. The other option is pop.

And what was up with freaking Jorge Nunez standing next to Kris during the last moments?

Everything about those last moments was just very meh. The whole winning moment is probably the most underwhelming and least emotional one. And seriously… in the end it’s the “nobodys” around Kris? Just bad vibe about it.

Overall I can’t say I loved the season. To be honest, I wouldn’t even have watched all of it if it wasn’t for the funny and smart discussions here in this blog. I loved my girl Allison. Not sure I’ll care much for the music she puts out in the future, but I wish her all the best. She has such a cool voice, great stage presence, and she seems to really get and know music.
I never hated Gokey. I feel sad for him, which is not the best feeling. Not because of his wife, but because he comes across as a very clueless and ignorant person. I hope this “new life” teachs him a lot and I hope he learns something more about music, he needs.
Funny enough I never cared much for Matt during the show. It’s entertainment and he didn’t excite me. He would even make me a bit uncomfortable during his performances, so I just didn’t care when he went away. But if you ask me what album I want to hear the most from these contestants? My answer is easy, Matt’s.
I love his recording voice, and I think he can go and make a type of music I enjoy. I also think he was the most original this season.
The others?
Not a very popular opinion… but I had lots of fun watching Megan perform. I got tired by the end of it, but she was entertaining. I’ve seen some things of her ever since she left idol.. and well, she seems like a troubled one. It will be interesting to see what happens in the tour. I wouldn’t be surprised to read many crazy stories about her.
Lil? Oh well… I don’t have much to say. Anoop seemed cool. I never got his big voice that many seemed to talk about, not even when he did the slow numbers. I liked is Everything I Do. I song we hear more times than we should, but he was able to make it memorable. His upbeat numbers always failed. But I liked his recording voice. R&B is not my style though.. so maybe this is the end of our relationship.
Server seems to be another tool, hope it’s just a bad impression from these past days. But I also could care less for his voice and music.
Scott? No thanks. He connected well with some songs, but that’s pretty much the only thing I liked.
Still wish Alexis went on tour. She could have gone far… I still believe that. If only she hadn’t picked Jolene.

I enjoyed what we saw of Alex, Norman, Jesse and Jackie. Good luck to those 4, they made an impact on me.

I won’t miss Kara if they get rid of her next season, but I wish the other judges would have helped her a bit more.
Bring back the top 24 please!

I’m not from middle America, but I am a Kris fan and what made me like Adam more was when he did do the more upbeat stuff. Weirdly enough, the moment that made me decide to download and buy all his stuff off Itunes was because of Feeling Good (my fave performance of his) but I guess that just shows how my tastes are so out of touch with others. haha

my only truly wtf reaction during the finale, since I was shocked but excited that Kris won, was when freaking Jorge stuck himself next to Kris during those final moments. I wanted Adam and Allison next to him, even Danny who I don’t like would have been fine! Damn them for ruining my perfect moment for me! haha.. I also realized how little of the top 13 I liked this year compared to last year where I liked more of the contestants in general.

My favorite part of this season was the Kradam bromance!!! I never really cared about them the past seasons but there was something about the way they just seemed so open with each other that was pretty cool

The actual crowning was a bit odd. In the moments after Ryan called Kris the winner, his inability to react kinda sucked the energy out of the moment.

I’ve said this before….of course I wanted Adam to win, but mostly because I wanted to see the emotion and excitement of winning. I still look forward to seeing both of them in concert.

Sometimes I don’t agree with you mj, but most of the time its like you are inside my brain. This is one of those times.

I had the exact same reaction to Kris’ win. I liked them both, but I thought Adam deserved it a bit more for being such a force all season. I thought I’d be okay with whichever name they called but somehow, when they didn’t say Adam, I felt let down – for all the reasons you stated. I also felt like Kris had earned his win, again for all the reasons you stated.

These two are great talented guys. They, along with Alison, made this a year worth watching for me. Which is saying something because this season was ridiculously frustrating.

I did find the crowning a bit odd, even watching it back. Maybe everyone was just in shock? It was a bit anticlimactic and awkward.

I thought it was odd that Jorge was standing there, too. You could tell that Kris was looking for Adam, though, and couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seem to find him in the sea of Idols, so he finally gave up and put his arm around Jorge.

Yeah they should have done something to choreograph that better. The winning moment photo with Kris that’s up on the Idol site is missing Adam, Allison and Matt. Not that I don’t have love for Alexis, Jorge, Michael, and Megan…but c’mon..

One last note: A huge kudos to Adam and Kris for creating the awesomest bromance evah. The Christian Midwest straight arrow and the Jewish Hollywood gay dude forged an on-air friendship that foiled at least some of the cultural war nonsense the media tried to drum up. Their message that respect and love CAN prevail, despite great differences moved me. Beyond reason.

^^^That surpassed the season as a whole for me. And I say that as HUGE Kris fan. But something about the Kris and Adam relationship really touched me. They are both role models and their relationship transcended the show. I look forward to what they will both do and am so glad they found that special friendships during their journey.

MJ – Your blog is one of the biggest highlights of the AI experience for me. Your work is always fair, thorough, and interesting. Thanks for all you do!

MJ — great recap. I agree with everything you said there. Reading that also made me feel a little silly. I’m 40 years old with 3 kids. I should have better things to do with my time than to get sucked into a silly TV show…. naaaaaaaaa what fun would that be. see you next year!

I actually have a different take (not suprising).

I’m glad that Adam lost. I was pretty sure he was toast when he was in last place in the voting of the remaining Idols the night of Matt’s departure. Idol was a vehicle for him, but he was never going to win American Idol. Way too “hot”. Idol is way too “middle of the road”.

I am sick of the “bromance” being shoved down our throats. I could care less if they are friends or not. It’s a singing competition, not The Dating Game. To me, the whole bromance thing is just another manipulative Idol back story to tamp down the general disappointment with the outcome.

In the interest of full disclosure: I can’t stand watching American Idol. This will be the third season in a row where I have boycotted the audition rounds. During the finals, I watch the performances on DVR or MJ’s videos. I tend to skip the judges’ comments, skip all packages, skip all Seacrest on the stools, and – above all else – skip all dim the lights eliminations. So I’m all about the singing, and I give a quick hook if it sucks or is karaoke (often within 30 seconds).

Delurking here to say how much I like your review mj. Allison was my favorite, then Adam and Kris equally. I too was disappointed that Adam didn’t win and was surprised how down and deflated I was the few days following the finale. I think too that Adam was an unique contestant to grace the Idol stage. I was concerned too that Kris would get backlash from it. I think it’s very admirable how these 2 are handling it. They seem like great people.

There is no way that Sony BMG wastes American Idol promo money on an alt-singer/songwriter album, a category that never sells over a couple hundred thousand

If TPTB was smart, they’d realize that this category DOES sell records — just consider Jason Mraz, Duffy, Amy Winehouse, james Morrison, Jack Johnson, Nora Jones, etc. I don’t think these artists are identical to Kris, of course. But they are all indy singer-songwriters who broke out because the Internet was available to get their music across and bust into regular radio formats and other marketing, and because there was an appetite for their music — among fans, and on the many TV programs that use them as backgound.

Let Kris be Kris, please! And let’s hope Kris has a stiff backbone. I think whatever Taylor might have become as a recording artist, was screwed up by TPTB — with his playing along? Also one of the most gifted and likable of the Idols, Bo Bice, got very burned in the studio, and I’m sure there are many other examples.

MJ’s very balanced, smart and good-tempered wrap up is right on in many respects. My own interest in Adam diminished as I got tired of his showy shtick, and related more to the nuanced pleasures of the music Kris was offering. Ultimately, I think that the contest was not about South vs. North, gay vs, straight, Christian vs. Jew, rock vs. MOR or any other of those reductive labels.

It was at least in part about a return to a more intimate and acoustic pop music, after years of heavily processed, un-melodic, club and beat-oriented sounds influenced by rap and hip hop, and it was a reaction against the “vocal Olympics” of singers like Celine Dion, etc.

Was this backlash fair to Adam, who is certainly a multi-talented individual with a tremendous vocal instrument? Not entirely. He’s capable of doing a lot with that voice, in fact anything he wants. He was great fun to watch, and really pepped things up on Idol during a year when it badly needed more mojo. But strictly speaking, most of what Adam did was also a return to something — and not folk rock! OK, we’ve the guyliner on Green Day and My Chemical Romance and other current bands. But Adam loved and adored the 80s glam-bangers most, and that kind of operatic rock.

It was the simple pleasures of hearing a performer accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, telling a story in song that sounds beautiful and stirring and sincere, really did get to me — starting, in fact, with “Man in the Mirror.” I had never really listened to the words of that song until I heard Kris sing them. In Michael Jackson’s hiccupy, stacatto rendition, I didn’t get how much this song was about transforming yourself into someone who cares about the world, and is dedicated to making it better.

Maybe it’s just time for us to hear such songs.

In any case, I too am so inspired by the beautiful friendship between these guys and their families. And I’m grateful to you, MJ, for spending so much of your time and energy making this another great year for Idol wonks!

Great recap, MJ. I felt the same way.. quite disappointed with the results, but happy for Kris and his fans. My top two were Adam and Allison in terms of consistency and mojo, but I thought Kris had his share of standout performances. Plus, he seems like such a great guy and the friendship is adorable. I will be checking out the post Idol music of Adam, Allison and Kris. I hope they all shine.

However Kris isn’t from the midwest. He’s from the south. Nothing midwestern about Arkansas. I say this because all season I’ve seen this (and I’ve seen Gokey called southern – not by you – and he’s from freaking Milwaukee, which is the midwest). Not a big deal, just a pet peeve.

Thanks, MJ, for all your blogging during this season and your videos especially. I’m sorry about your photobucket account. I had no idea until this wrap up that you were an Adam fan, that’s how impartial you seemed.

As an Adam fan, I knew that Kris would be his biggest competition the night he did Ain’t No Sunshine. Knew it. I actually think – ok, my own conspiracy theory – that Kris was getting the most votes the entire time, other than Rock week. So for his fans to be constantly freaking out and thinking he would be voted out was weird to witness. It made sure he won, imo. I thought there was no way in hell Adam would actually win, and as soon as the EW cover came out, I figured the media knew it too. Why else would they do a cover with him on it if he got crowned later?

Regarding bromance, I find it incredibly refreshing that both men are intensely secure in themselves as artists and as men, so the “issue” of sexuality is not an issue for them. Also, Adam has mentioned several times that he finds Kris’s relationship with Katy “inspiring” so obviously they both bring a lot to the table as friends. My guess is that both are also the most traveled, from Adam’s cruise trip and Hair tours, to Kris’s missionary work. That huggle video shows how genuine they are. Congrats to both.

MJ, what a great recap. I’m bumming right now that Idol is over again until January. I’ll miss it on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for awhile now. It will take me several weeks, and then I’ll get used to it being gone and quit missing it.

I did not think this was the best. season. EVAH! like some did. I found a lot of the changes frustrating and NOT improvements. Maybe I’m just too resistant to change…..

I was glad Kris won, and I appreciate your thoughtful and fair article as a disappointed Adam fan.

I probably won’t be around a lot these next few months. I’ll be checking in periodically to see what’s new with the Idols, but I’ll be back in full force next January. American Idol is much, much more fun with you along, MJ.

Thanks for running the best AI blog there is.

The Kradam bromance pretty much made the season for me.

MJ, fantastic write up – I agree on most of your points, that’s about how the season went for me too

I enjoy this blog so very much, thanks, as always for bringing all this info to one place… it’s amazing and I know you sometimes put up with a whole lot of crap, lol.

I think everyone was completely gobsmacked. Even Kris was saying on Idol Extra hours after the win that he was numb. I can’t fault the boy for freezing up but that moment when production saw how out of it Kris was someone should have at least gotten his wife or something on stage. Having freaking Jorge next to him was such a WTF moment. Did he even know Jorge long enough to form a bond with him? The direction was epic FAIL.

But yeah like CathyMK noted that’s probably why David’s winning moment was so different and so emotional. It almost felt like some thought went into helping create a memorable moment. Not only did he let all the emotions out and show how visibly moved he was, but that moment where he clings to his mother and brother was so heartwarming, then toward the end he had Archie by his side hugging him, and his other close friends Michael and Carly.

All that said I can’t fault anyone for still feeling upset or pissed. It sucks to invest a lot in this show only to not have the ending you want. Hell I’m still pissed Chris got booted when he did in season 5 LOL

Aw, I feel your pain MJ. My favorite won, but I think if the results were reversed, I would feel just as disappointed as you are. But, there has to be a winner and in this instance it happened to be Kris.

Like you, I refuse to be drawn into conspiracy theories about why Kris won. Bottom line is, he received more votes than Adam. And I’d like to think that the main reason why is that the voting public preferred his music over Adam’s. Even if you’re not a Kris fan, it can’t be too difficult to accept that explanation, right?

If TPTB was smart, theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d realize that this category DOES sell records

It doesn’t sell Idol numbers. The hottest acts in the alt-singer mold — like Ryan Adams or Ray LaMontaigne — have never sold more than 250,000 copies in the United States. That’s not even enough for Sony BMG to recoup the payola payments to get Clear Channel airplay, let alone a music video and buying the end caps at Walmart and Target.

They are either going top 40 or country with an Idol release or they’ll just pull the promo plug — no single, no radio, no music video — and dump the contract after one album.

I am an Adam fan and I always will be. No other contestant in the history of American Idol was that unique, different, and entertaining and personally for me and probably for the judges too, that talented.

BUT since the disappointment of the finale, I have begun to appreciate Kris and like his music as well. Plus I adore their bromance and how both have said their goal is to bring people together. And they proclaim they will be lifelong friends and it shows from every picture, candid or otherwise..they are close.

And also Mrs. Lambert was interviewed and she said she is surprised and pleased Adam made it as far as she did. She said she and Adam did not think he would get as far as he did because he is ” different” and ” not mainstream”.
So I thought that was interesting that Adam was thrilled just to be in the Finale and found that Huge and that he and his family doubted he would make it that far because he proudly says, ” I am over the top “.

Also, my husband who worked in radio and tv for 20 years and studied demographics and such things, he said

the Demographic for American Idol is probably more geared overall to Kris’ style. ” Another demo, Adam might have won in a landslide but from what I have heard from others in the tv and radio demo biz, Idol demographics favor Kris’ style of music. Remember, he told me, many of the viewers listen to contemporary radio stations as outside of urban areas, most FM stations have mostly Pop, Pop Rock or Country and little else.

Great review. I have not been posting for a while cause time is needed to let things settle down. There were so much negativity here after Kris’s victory.

For me, I’m a huge Kris fan, and in a season where I thought it would suck, I ended up being really addicted. Ain’t No Sunshine was the turning point for me. I have always admired not just singer, but musicians. That is why for 2 seasons in a row, I’m really loving David Cook and Kris Allen.

Adam and Allison are my next favorites, and I would be absolutely happy for them should they win as well. For me, Kradison truly saved the show for me this year. All 3 gave fantastic performances week-to-week. With the exception of Danny, I thought the Top 5 were the best ever. Matt is a brilliant pianist and recording artiste, just not a good enough live singer.

Also for 2 seasons in a row, early front-runners do not necessarily benefit from the show, especially if there are too much pimping. Archie and Adam are obvious examples. America wants to see growth. America wants to see an underdog. David Cook and Kris Allen are testaments to that. That is not to say Archie and Adam are any less undeserving. They are some of the best contestants ever. Especially for Adam, I can easily say he has the most wild voice on that stage ever. I know great things will come for him.

With this, I end this season by wishing all the finalists great success. Looking forward to Kris, Adam, Allison and Matt albums! Wow, that’s more than any season I’ve watched. But as an overall, Season 7 is still my favorite.

Cheers,
Minzhi

To me, the whole bromance thing is just another manipulative Idol back story to tamp down the general disappointment with the outcome.

Idol never even acknowledged this. The bromance thing gained traction from the internet. It’s quite refreshing to see.

Thank you MJ! I wish more journalists could bring your objectivity and perspective to the table. I was a Kris fan and happy that he won. But, it was so depressing to hear all the rancor and diminishment of what Kris achieved in the mainstream media aftermath. Your article was a breath of fresh air.

Although he wasn’t my favorite, I also appreciated and respected what Adam brought to the competition and would have been happy for him if he won. He managed to rise above all the silly pimping the judges burdened him with. I think he has an excellent and exciting career ahead of him. Regardless of who got the confetti moment, they are both winners in my book. It’s time to celebrate for both and stop with the sour grapes and fan wars.

Your article was a healing moment.

Lol, if anything Idol would try to hide the bromance.

Great recap MJ, I still think it sucks that Adam didnt win. He desrved it for me, Kris has bored the crap out of me all season, but people obviously go for that sorta thing..so whatevs.Wish them both the best, but it a was very anti-climatic end to an exciting season that Lambert gave me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do hope Lambert has paved the way for people to be different and take risks and do their own thing. He is awesomeness impersonified, and the fact that he stayed true to himself despite how polarising some of his peformances were, is what I love about him.

I hope some future contestants take from this and give us some excitement in the follwing seasons and stay true to themselves and challenge others also.Hope they dont feel they cant win, because despite their best efforts boring safe whitebread ends up taking the cake, cos someday,sometime, America hopefully will get it right and reward them!

Great recap, great blog, great blogger.
You’re reading my mind MJ.
Hopefully the Idols read what you say, ’cause you have a damn good opinion.

Shout out to Kradam, the best thing this season for me (for you for me). Love those boys sfm. And Allison too, that red-headed firecracka.

Great recap MJ. I was thrilled Kris won, though an Adam win would have been good too. I get why people say the moment when Kris won was a bit of an anti-climax but everyone reacts in different ways. If I was up there I’d probably look just the same – speechless, without really looking like I was over-the-moon because of the shock.

A huge kudos to Adam and Kris for creating the awesomest bromance evah. The Christian Midwest straight arrow and the Jewish Hollywood gay dude forged an on-air friendship that foiled at least some of the cultural war nonsense the media tried to drum up. Their message that respect and love CAN prevail, despite great differences moved me. Beyond reason.

Above all this ^^^ was my favorite thing about the season. I hope both Adam and Kris (and Allison) go on to have great careers and stay BFFs.

Thanks for the great recap, MJ. I, too, felt sadder than I thought I would when Adam didn’t win. He was my favorite from the beginning but I never thought I’d be so sad if he lost. But the Kris/Adam bromance did help ease the sting a bit, just knowing that those two forged such a great friendship and supported each other all the way to the end. And it helps knowing that even if Adam didn’t win many, many people love his fabulousness as much as I do and can’t wait to see what our glittery, amazing, other-worldly Glambert does next!

Okay. I’m not going to have an intellgent response to this “wrap up” like the rest of you… but anyway. (LOL) I’m SOOOOO freaking glad I wasn’t the only one annoyed with freaking Jorge Nunez standing next to Kris durring the finale! Ugh. That just annoyed me so much. Attention hogger. :dry_tb:

And yes, I am an Adam Lambert AND Kris Allen fan. I have to agree with MJ, I was sort of pulling for Adam a tiny bit more than Kris. I told myself that I’d be happy for either of them, but I found myself slightly frustrated when Kris was announced winner. Haha. It was sort of bittersweet. I thought his winning moment was priceless and adorable… (except for Jorge ruining everything) But… it took me a few hours to get over it. After the anger I was slightly upset and dissapointed, but then I reached the acceptance stage. Now I’m extremely happy with the outcome, and I thought this was the BEST final two ever. :clap_tb: However, this is the first season I’ve hated so many contestants in the top 10. Weird how it all turns out!

Idol never even acknowledged this. The bromance thing gained traction from the internet. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s quite refreshing to see.

Don’t kid yourself. The only thing we know about any of the contestants is presented through a PR filter. Every year, the finalists are coached to say nothing but great things about each other. Heck, Taylor and McPhee even acted like they liked each other, even though that requires a willful suspension of disbelief to accept.

I’m sure that the boys get along just fine, but it’s really irrelevant. We aren’t talking about Simon and Garfunkel here. It’s a feel-good story just like Susan Boyle.

Thanks, MJ. Great recap. I voted for both Adam and Kris all season long so was happy to not have to vote in the finale because I didn’t really care who won. If anything, I went in thinking Adam deserved it a little more. However, I have to say that in retrospect, I’m really glad Kris won. They’ll both have careers but maybe some people who wouldn’t have taken notice of Kris before, will now.

Wow, MJ — I didn’t realize you wanted Adam to win. Granted, I didn’t know if you wanted Kris to either, but anyway.

I was like you on being more disappointed than I thought, but that’s because I never get into contestants, so my getting hooked on the Adam Lambert Show was odd for me. I got over it quite quickly though. I am actually looking forward to an AI album this year, which is something I never have said before.

The actual crowning was a bit odd. In the moments after Ryan called Kris the winner, his inability to react kinda sucked the energy out of the moment. It was choreographed really oddly too, with Adam taking a step back, then being ushered back to center stageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’perhaps to help snap Kris out of his shock. And what was up with freaking Jorge Nunez standing next to Kris during the last moments?

Yeah, it was an odd finale for me, especially the energy. I think Kris claiming “Adam deserves this — I’m sorry” didn’t help (well, it helped me, but not the atmosphere of the show) and Adam said he had to actually shake Kris and remind he had to sing that song, so you are right about him having to snap Kris out of it.

Adam and Allison should have been with Kris at the end, but last year David Hernandez was right in the camera, so I am not surprised Jorge was there.

Lol, if anything Idol would try to hide the bromance.

I don’t think so. They are smart enough to know that the bromance story is the only thing tamping down a huge backlash against the show. Without the bromance, the story is “Adam awas robbed” or whatever.

Very well put, MJ.

I too was not happy with the end results, but you cant take it out on Kris. People responded to him and preferred him to Adam that night. Like Adam says, its now about the next step. AI was one journey, now its time to put out that album and soar.

All I can say about this season is ‘falling in love again…never wanted to…what am I to do…I can’t help it.’
I didn’t want to get into this season and Kris Allen sucked me in kicking and screaming. Adam was fun and flamboyant but Kris made me love songs I previously hated.
Say what you will, this season was an emotional rollercoaster.

I think there’s whole host of factors that contributed to Kris’s winning, as there are every year – not just this one.

No, I don’t think you can take the “Anyone but Adam” vote out of the mix, whatever the reason for that vote (sexuality, pimping, whatever). Was it big enough to really matter? My gut says probably not, but no one really knows and there’s really no way to sufficiently gauge that. But there WAS an Adam backlash. And it wasn’t his fault. All he did was do his best to advance by performing his ass off from week to week. Anyway, off that rant. Because, I also don’t think that EVERYONE voted for Kris as a vote against Adam, because yes – I know that there are people who like his style of music.

But I don’t think you can necessarily say that a style of music triumphed over another. I love alt rock and a lot of the artists that people compare Kris to. In another season, maybe he would have been my favorite, but then again, maybe not. My brother and sister-in-law are HUGE Jason Mraz fans (as well as some of the other singer-songwriters Kris has been compared to), yet they weren’t Kris fans. They loved Adam and Allison, and to a lesser extent Gokey and Anoop. Also, I know people who are HUGE Queen fans who think Adam doesn’t even deserve to be spoken of in the same breath as Freddie Mercury.

So, all that to say that just because someone sings a certain type of music doesn’t mean that all people who like that type of music are voting for them, or are fans of them. People like contestants for a lot of reasons. IMO, it’s not some big “turn back” to one style of music over another. Because also, IMO, one style of music is not better than another.

The pathetically sad part about this is that Idol’s current voting rules do NOT allow us to see what America thinks at all.

When one person power-texting can cast as many votes as 500 individuals voting over the phone, something is terribly wrong with the system. Unless Idol releases the TOTAL NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL PHONE NUMBERS THAT VOTED FOR EACH CONTESTANT and not just the total votes, we will NEVER know who America truly preferred.

If Idol wants a “wrinkle” for next season, peerhaps they will eliminate the corrupted unlimited text voting.

They are smart enough to know that the bromance story is the only thing tamping down a huge backlash against the show.

I beg to differ. I don’t think this show gives a shit about backlash. That would only get them more press. AI loves drama and scandal and having all of the peeps gnashin’ their teeth.

In 8 years of watching this show my favorite has never won American Idol, so in that sense I’m not surprised Adam didn’t win because he was my pick from the very beginning. LOL

I don’t think Adam regrets any of his choices. I always said, Adam would only want to win being Adam. As the saying goes, I would rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not….

I am comforted in knowing that Adam will get a recording contract with the opportunity to make beautiful music, and I look forward to that.

yeah i was kinda mad when jorge was kinda hogging the spotlight and adam allison danny didnt get to hug kris during his winning moment. =(

I loved the recap MJ, I knew you liked Adam and Allison all along but I was surprised to learn that you actually voted for him at the end considering that you liked Kris a lot too.

I enjoyed the finale a lot, it was really well paced, the musical numbers were mostly good and Adam put on a show like no one else in the past. I was more than bittersweet about the ending, mainly because I didn’t get Kris appeal but he is a nice guy and loves his music so I hope he succeeds in his carreer as a recording artist.
I found a little bit strange that his two buddies didn’t get to share this moment with him but my theory is that Adam was actually a little more bummed inside that he let on outside.
I think part of this feeling of disapointment came from the Queen duet when Adam was really the star, it’s hard to fault Kris because it was in Adam’s weelhouse but it felt strange that this number led to Kris victory.

As for the whole bromance schtick, I am just not that into shipping contestants of a really tv show.

Same here virgo03v, my favorite never wins. So to my favorite Season 9 contestant, iM so sorry.

I beg to differ. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think this show gives a shit about backlash. That would only get them more press. AI loves drama and scandal and having all of the peeps gnashinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ their teeth.

Normally, I would agree. But, in this case, the backlash would be ugly. I don’t know if you’ve seen the video from the press room the moment of the announcement:

http://vimeo.com/4777333

If Idol hadn’t been concerned with the outcome, they would have hyped the whole vote more during the finale telecast.

I personally dont give a f**k about all this Kradam business. Yes, they’re friends….doesnt mean I have to go “Aww so cute…I love them both because they love each other”..Not!

The pathetically sad part about this is that Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s current voting rules do NOT allow us to see what America thinks at all. When one person power-texting can cast as many votes as 500 individuals voting over the phone, something is terribly wrong with the system. Unless Idol releases the TOTAL NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL PHONE NUMBERS THAT VOTED FOR EACH CONTESTANT and not just the total votes, we will NEVER know who America truly preferred.

I guess this is what separates Idol from the other reality TV shows. Its what causes the drama.

This is a great way to end it. I think you said it all.

That Adam didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t play it safer by toning his act down is one reason I dug him. He always aimed to please America, but only while staying true to himself. If à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ring of Fireà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Born to Be Wildà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Feeling Goodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t appeal across the board, I hope Adam doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t regret them. He might have had a few tongues wagging, but he brought a unique energy to Season 8à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’it wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have been the same without him or his audacious performances.

I couldn’t agree with you more. This has been the best season ever for me and its all because of Adam. I have never been so wrapped up in idol as I was this season.

The judges arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t going to control my dialing finger in any case. Voting against someone as a reaction to the judgesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ pimping is just as sheep-like as voting for someone because the judges tell ya to. I voted for the contestant I liked best. The End.

That has been my feelings all along. My favorite was Adam. I voted for him because I liked him…period!

One last note: A huge kudos to Adam and Kris for creating the awesomest bromance evah.

I second that. I still love watching them together on tv. I so hope they will do some concerts together in the future like the David’s have. I will so pay money to see them.

Thanks for the memories mj. Its been great. And thanks to Adam and Kris for so many great memories!

MJ, thanks for the recap and a whole season’s worth of interview links and song choice spoilers. This season I got drawn in more than ever because of Adam, and even though, like you, I’m disappointed that he lost, at least he got to the final and lost to a good musician.

The Jorge thing bugged me too. But whatever. The surprise hug attack thing made me forget about that.

The hottest acts in the alt-singer mold à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  like Ryan Adams or Ray LaMontaigne à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  have never sold more than 250,000 copies in the United States.

With respect, I need to correct this.

Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” has sold more than 3 million copies.

Jack Johnson has sold more than 15 million albums.

Nora Jones sold more than 16 million albums in the US, and many more worldwide.

I don’t think that artists should be gauged by this measure. If they were, a lot of wonderful, influential musicians and bands would fall short. In these times, selling 250K is a big deal.

But there’s a market for this music, in the US and abroad. And I believe, with the right record, Kris could do well in it.

I found a little bit strange that his two buddies didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get to share this moment with him but my theory is that Adam was actually a little more bummed inside that he let on outside.

Of course Adam would be disappointed, who wouldn’t be? To his credit, he hid it very well. But there were moments in the finale after the announcement when he seemed kinda pensive…that’s when I knew that despite his exterior, he was really bummed deep down inside

As for the bromance thing, I don’t think it’s producer manipulation at all. I think they just genuinely get along well with each other. Even their families have become close. That’s what makes it so heartwarming.

I really enjoyed the bromance between Adam and Kris, but I think Cook and Archie were responsible for setting that standard of respect last year. Nice to see this year’s winner and runner up follow suit.

In 8 years of watching this show my favorite has never won American Idol, so in that sense Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not surprised Adam didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t win because he was my pick from the very beginning. LOL

I hear ya! My favorite every year since Season 1 has been runner up so at least I’m on a roll from that perspective. lol

MJ, I’m not one to follow or dissect stats, etc., but in your opinion, do you think Kris was actually leading the whole thing for much longer than we all realized?

I second that. I still love watching them together on tv. I so hope they will do some concerts together in the future like the Davidà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s have.

Oh, just shoot me now. As Randy would say, those two need to go off and do their “own things”, dog.

Classy wrap up MJ

*sigh* I heart this blog.

It was choreographed really oddly too, with Adam taking a step back, then being ushered back to center stageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’perhaps to help snap Kris out of his shock.

Don’t blame Kris’s reaction. They only thing more consistant than Kris Allen this season was shiteous directing. Poorly timed, sloppily filmed, badly edited and crappily staged whenever possible.

I agree, love the Kradam, and it does help lessen the sting somewhat. And Kris is a helluva nice guy who he had some really good performances this year. So if Adam had to lose, well sadz, but than it’s good to have lost to someone who is really talented and nice.

I wish nothing, but the best for Kris. I just wish the best 1 for Adam.

I was so disappointed.
I was disappointed by the voters, I was disappointed by America.

While Kris is a lovely man and competent arranger/singer I am still 100% baffled that someone with the talent and dynamics of Adam Lambert didn’t win a singing competition against Kris Allen.

It just makes no sense to me.

Great wrap up, MJ. I like your wrap ups, they’re always a great read.

I’m a Kris fan since Adam’s way far from my type, and I usually watch the show on Rickey at 5:00 PM. But I didn’t watch this one until the usual time and just read who won because I had a huge feeling Adam would win. I regret that decision. Sorry Adam fans if that sounds like I’m rubbing it in, but I’m just extremely happy for both of them. I chose the top 2 accurately during Top 9 week, and this is only the second time in 8 seasons where I chose a winner early on (Ruben was the other one). I do agree with your reasons on why Adam ended up being the runner-up. He was too polarizing, and he was extremely “LOVE it or HATE it.” Then again, most of the reasons I hated it were because it seemed like he was shoving music I don’t like into my throat.

I don’t like the term “bromance”, and I’m a straight guy, but the past 2 finales (David Cook and Archuleta, and Kris and Adam) have shown some very inspirational bromances that left me kinda jealous and made me feel touched after seeing them. The Kris surprise hug video shattered me. Their bromance was easily one of the best things this season. Kris and Adam are two of the greatest guys ever, I would pay infinity dollars to be the third in their bromance. Matt joins and we could have a quadruple bromance. Hell, let Allison join too. But then let there be a 6th person I know so I don’t feel like the only nonfamous person.

Mj, don’t forget about the cuteness known as Adison..That’s my favorite Big Bro/lil sis idol relationship ever

If Idol hadnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t been concerned with the outcome, they would have hyped the whole vote more during the finale telecast.

I think that if the producers HAD been concerned with the outcome, they would have bussed Kris instead of praising him during top 3 and top 2 nights. Clearly, he was popular all along (he had the same amount of bottom 2 appearances as Adam – 1), so it wasn’t completely unfathomable that he could win. Plus, Kris and Adam performed similarly on top 2 night, so if they really wanted to ensure an Adam win, they needed to bus Kris. And they didn’t. So…I’m not convinced that they wanted one to win over the other.

I’m one of the people who think that the bromance isn’t contrived. Why is it so difficult to believe that they are great friends? Because they look different?

Thanks MJ! Was just heading to bed when someone posted this over on IDF. Perfect summary!

While Kris is a lovely man and competent arranger/singer I am still 100% baffled that someone with the talent and dynamics of Adam Lambert didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t win a singing competition against Kris Allen.

It’s not REALLY a singing competition though. That’s what they say…but really they are looking for the next recording “star.” Song choice, arrangement, personality, etc. all factor in. And to some people, Kris has a more pleasant voice than Adam.

While Kris is a lovely man and competent arranger/singer I am still 100% baffled that someone with the talent and dynamics of Adam Lambert didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t win a singing competition against Kris Allen.

Admittedly, I’m still grappling with this too, but trying to be gracious in defeat like Adam at the same time. I’ll just never understand how someone can create so much buzz, be the talk of the media, the subject matter at water coolers, draw people to their TV sets in droves twice a week, own the show at the finale according to those in attendance, garner the respect of famous musicians who have long despised everything Idol stands for….and not get the title. I’m still scratching my head at how it all went wrong.

I really have a feeling Adam might be the undoing of Idol. I just can’t imagine tuning in next year and being captivated by someone other than Adam. Anyone else is going to pale in comparison. How could they not?

MJ, absolutely incredible wrap up. I can’t say enough good things about it and since so many others have done it better than I ever could, I won’t even try.

I came into this season very cynical due to the changes which seemed to largely be falling short (4th judge leading to time issues, wildcard format, judge’s save) and didn’t think I’d connect. However, as it went on I became more invested in the contestants this year than I had in any years prior. Adam, Allison and Kris all managed to captivate me week after week. All three would make the list of my top 10 favorite Idols ever- Kris and Allison might even be 1 and 2.

The way these three managed to throw down all their emotions into a song and work at it consistently, never having a week where they seemed to just be phoning it in constantly amazed me. Their relationship (as well as the rest of the finalists) has been moving for me to watch.

Adam and Kris have truly represented themselves and American Idol as well as any Idols ever have. They are both truly talented, classy guys and I could not have wished for a better outcome to a season that viewers had every right to be cynical about. There is nothing disingenuous about them and I sincerely hope both get to fulfill their dreams and share their music (and maybe shed some understanding) with the world.

bussed Kris instead of praising him during top 3

Clearly, that was the plan until he busted out Heartless. They couldn’t bus that performance. Whether or not you personally enjoyed it, it was a game-changer. The top search on Google trends on that date is Kris Allen Heartless.

Heck, they tried to bus Kris at top 4. Everything about that night was contrived to tear Kris down.

And I am glad that for once in my 7 year Idol watching career, America and I DID see eye to eye.

I jumped on to say the same thing. I didn’t watch the first season and my favorite has never won–Clay Aiken, LaToya London, Bo Bice, Elliott Yamin, Melinda Doolittle, David Archuleta. I couldn’t believe it when Kris made it.

I started voting for him when he sang Man in the Mirror. I liked it equally with Allison’s Alone, but I thought his song choice was better than hers and I just didn’t want to vote for a performance of a song that’s been sung how many times? on AI. Last year, especially, it was important to me to vote for the best performance each week–so I voted for Jason (top 8), Brooke (top 12), David C (top 16/10/7/3), David A (top 24/20/11/4/2), Michael (top 9), Syesha (top 5) in different weeks. But this year I voted for Kris consisently, either because he was the best that week or to keep him in the hunt because I couldn’t stand what a huge underdog he was. Danny and then Adam were pushed on us so hard. I honestly didn’t think Kris had a chance. The only week I voted for someone else was Top 11 (Alexis).

You know, one rotten thing about this season was Alexis at number 11. If Alexis and Lil has switched spots in the outcome of the season, that would have been closer to right.

It was at least in part about a return to a more intimate and acoustic pop music, after years of heavily processed, un-melodic, club and beat-oriented sounds influenced by rap and hip hop, and it was a reaction against the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“vocal Olympicsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  of singers like Celine Dion, etc.

WTF, acoustic pop has been shoved down America’s throat for a few years now. I am absolutely sick to death of acoustic guitar.

Buderschnookie May 25th, 2009 at 10:39 pm

I was so disappointed.
I was disappointed by the voters, I was disappointed by America.

While Kris is a lovely man and competent arranger/singer I am still 100% baffled that someone with the talent and dynamics of Adam Lambert didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t win a singing competition against Kris Allen.

It just makes no sense to me.

This. A singing contest is about suspending your prejudices and safe preferences and opening your mind to pure singing talent.

While Kris is a lovely man and competent arranger/singer I am still 100% baffled that someone with the talent and dynamics of Adam Lambert didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t win a singing competition against Kris Allen.

Its because American Idol isn’t a singing contest. As mentioned above it is voting contest.

Admittedly, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m still grappling with this too, but trying to be gracious in defeat like Adam at the same time. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll just never understand how someone can create so much buzz, be the talk of the media, the subject matter at water coolers, draw people to their TV sets in droves twice a week, own the show at the finale according to those in attendanceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.and not get the title. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m still scratching my head at how it all went wrong.

While I think Adam is madly talented, I think some of the water cooler talk can be contributed to the speculation about his sexuality. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s why Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not surprised that he was a runaway leader in Google searches. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m a Kris fan primarily, but I never googled him during the season. I did google Adam when those pictures of his first surfaced.

Great wrap-up MJ, I agree with everything you said, i ´m surprised that i ´m still sad that Adam didn ´t win but i think is because i love the guy and i think he ´s fabulous. Thanks for your hard work and your wonderful blog, is adicting! lol hugs and kisses for you from Mexico.

I came into this season very cynical due to the changes which seemed to largely be falling short (4th judge leading to time issues, wildcard format, judgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s save)

Ya know, this show may not be fixed but it sure as heck is broken. Note to TPTB, your manipulations didn’t work. Time to ease up on the contrivances.

I second that. I still love watching them together on tv. I so hope they will do some concerts together in the future like the Davidà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s have.

Oh, just shoot me now. As Randy would say, those two need to go off and do their à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“own thingsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , dog.

Spare a bullet and end my misery too. Once Idol is over, I I’d like them off doing their own things so I can follow Adam without having to sit through Kris as well……

Bravo! Well put MJ. It’s always a bummer when your fav doesn’t win. I’ve been there before. Kris was my pick, but I can honestly say I wouldn’t have been upset to have seen Adam win. As many have said, you really couldn’t go wrong either way.

For me, the best part of the whole season has been seeing the love and support that Adam and Kris have shown for each other. If you are a fan of either one of these classy guys there is no way you can see that and not want to pull for them both! I’d like to see them both blow up the charts!

However, this is the first season Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve hated so many contestants in the top 10.

I know—the top 13 were split evenly between incredible (Kris, Adam, Allison, Alexis, Matt (most perfs), and Danny (sometimes)) and not good (Lil, Scott, Michael, Megan, Jorge, and Jasmine). Anoop, for me, oscillated between the groups. It’s so weird that six people really were not good at all. That “new and improved” semifinal process really produced some weak people.

one rotten thing about this season was Alexis at number 11. If Alexis and Lil has switched spots in the outcome of the season, that would have been closer to right.

haha a big yes to this. I was waiting to see if someone was going to bring that up. I always felt that Alexis should have made it a lot farther than she did and that Lil was a round a lot longer than she should have been. I thought that country week was sort of when Lil started going down hill to me from then on.

Spare a bullet and end my misery too. Once Idol is over, I Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d like them off doing their own things so I can follow Adam without having to sit through Kris as wellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Could not agree more.

Thanks for the wrap up MJ. The finale took awhile to sink in. Shock… sadness… and then coping.

Kris is more appealing to the voters – I recognize this fact. His music is very soothing and very pleasing and who can dislike this down to earth guy? I love this dude too. Adam is boisterous, daring, and his music is vibrant and unconventional. I can see the reasons why there would be hesitation. All the other reasons – ‘pimping backlash’, homophobia, religion, it takes part because those are feelings that cannot be denied. Is it a negligible amount? I don’t know. But then again, those reasons can still solidify a negative first impression and first impressions go a long way.

I’m still very surprised that Adam lost though. Considering the amount of buzz and his fanbase – I really didn’t think it would happen. But he was the most daring and remarkable contestant on stage and I’m glad I’ve invested my time in Adam. I momentarily regretted it when he lost because I went into such a bad emotional shock about the lack of tolerance in the society toward a singing competition, but I realized that I’m grateful for the opportunity to watch a star unravel. And it was wonderful to have a blog like MJ’s to chat and follow news.

And yes… Adam and Kris’s friendship surpasses what I’ve felt toward the 2 Davids because I feel that both sides are so magnanimously giving. They are so, so different yet they can look past it. They lavish praise about each other every chance they get – it’s amazing. I’ve noticed that Adam frequently stresses that Kris is incredibly “open”, “open minded” and I’m sure Adam appreciates that.

A Kris win is WAY better than some other possible outcomes so I won’t complain.

And what was up with freaking Jorge Nunez standing next to Kris during the last moments? It shoulda been Adam, Allison and Danny.

This was probably what irked me the MOST about Kris’ winning moment. Jorge and Lil?? Ugh.

Great wrap-up, MJ!

Adam, Kris and Allison really saved the season for me. Adam was my favorite from RoF on, but I have to confess that Allison and Kris really started to come on like gangbusters for me. I wasn’t planning to vote after the finals because I loved both Adam and Kris, but in the end, I thought Adam (in spite of some major, OTT, pimpage) deserved to win. But I wasn’t actually sorry that Kris won. Whatever future success Adam has, he won’t have needed the AI title to achieve it. Kris, I believe, needed the “crown” to get the backing he will need. I love them both and wish them both all the best.

And, yeah, Best Bromance Evuh!

I beg for the people who are arguing that Adam should have unquestionably won if this is a singing contest should tread lightly in their assertions. I’m not going to deny Adam’s obvious vocal talent (he has an out-of-this-world range and nearly perfect control), but at the same time I’m going to assert that Kris has some absolutely absurd vocal (musical) talents that I haven’t seen before. Kris’ interpretive skills in his subtle phrasing and small melodic decisions astounded me all season.

They are both amazing singers in their own right. It is completely unnecessary to compare the two, as I doubt they will be truly competing when their times come in the industry.

Jason Mrazà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m Yoursà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  has sold more than 3 million copies.

That’s a single. From his third album. Wiki says his second album was a success, selling 100,000 in US. I don’t know what his third album has sold.

Investing Idol-level promotional dollars can only be recouped by Sony BMG with albums that go to the top of the pop or country charts and stay there. For example, they have probably made money on DAUGHTRY. That can only happen if they purchase the airtime for Clear Channel radio play. It has to be top-40 or they aren’t going to do it.

You know, I wonder how much Nigel leaving impacted the shows ability/willingness to manipulate things to get the results they wanted. For example, would Nigel have allowed Kris to do his awesome, current “Heartless” cover on Top 3 night? My guess – HELL NO. I think maybe Ken Warwick didn’t go to the lengths Nigel did – and it cost them the winner of their choice.

I think that if the producers HAD been concerned with the outcome, they would have bussed Kris instead of praising him during top 3 and top 2 nights.

Isn’t bussing riskier late in the game? I think they learned with Kris that if you bus, it increases his votes – I think this is what happened Top 4 night, when Simon tried as much as he could to bus Kris. But it backfired, so they were afraid to try it again later.

The thing I don’t get is, why did they use the same technique for Adam as they did for Archie – praise from the very beginning, enough to cause a backlash. You would think they would have been more careful to not let Adam’s popularity peak too early, which it clearly did. Also, I do feel Adam could have still won if he had chosen more interesting songs in the later rounds. For casual fans, Kris was turning in fresh, relevant performances late in the game, while Adam to me was playing it safe doing mainstream rock covers. Maybe if Top 4, Top 3 night Adam had done something more exciting/different things would have been different? Would have loved to hear him try some Mika, Snow Patrol, or Metro Station….just sayin’

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sure that the boys get along just fine, but ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s really irrelevant. We arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t talking about Simon and Garfunkel here

Yeah- I agree with this. Probably because I was so disconnected this year-last 3 years really.

I hope next year they can find a girl who can play drums like sheila e AND rap and sing like teena marie. The boys have taken over the last two finals – come on ladies!

I really dont think any kind of bromance can really touch Kradam and Cookleta.
They both touched so much on friendships and how a competition should be.
I dare any of the S9 people to top those two friendships.

Hurray to A.K.A (a.k.a. Adam-Kris-Allison)!!! Thank you Kris for being a super-nice human being. Thank you Adam for competing on your own terms all the way to the end no matter the backlash. Thank you Allison for bieng so dang cute! And thanks to all of them for their distinct styles of music! I am ready to move on now.

As for the bromance thing, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s producer manipulation at all. I think they just genuinely get along well with each other. Even their families have become close. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what makes it so heartwarming.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that they don’t like each other. I think they truly do. I think Gorky’s wife is truly dead. I think Scott is truly blind. I think Elliot truly had diabetes. I think Susan Boyle truly lives in a wee cottage in Scotland. I think these are all truly “reality TV” storylines.

Great recap. I can’t believe how many of us (normal human beings usually) are seriously depressed about Adam coming in second. I truly believe that Adam is one the most talented ever to appear on AI, but he certainly isn’t for everyone. I remind myself that is proof of his talent & the intelligence of the public that Adam got as far as he did. Some of his performances were pretty intense, even for his most devoted fans.

Kris is terrific and I really love the seemingly good feelings and respect between the two of them. AI couldn’t have asked for 2 better ambassadors. (The same can’t be said about a few of the other 10, who seem to be somewhat poor sports since the end of the competition).

I agree with your comments about the awkwardness at the end of the show. I thought it was very odd that Adam was off to the side with Kris in the middle, between he and Ryan when the winner was announced. I am certain that that strange placement probably indicated to Adam who would understand such things) that Kris was the winner (Kris would appear in the “middle” of the photo like DC was in the middle last year). I would bet that Adam was prepared for the outcome. The song was even more awkward. Unlike last year’s beautiful scene with DC, DA and the top finalists, this year had Adam. Allison & Danny no where to be seen.

Keep up the good work. Love it. :razz_wp:

Thank you very much, MJ! I totally agree with your last note!

Honestly, yes, AI is a popularity context. Yes, you may say that the AI winner probably won over most American’s heart; however, it was not one vote per person like the US election, so I think it’s more appropriate to say whoever have the most crazy little girls as fans would be the winner. There is no doubt that Kris has many fans, but # of votes does not equal to # of fans.

Indeed, I thought I’d really hate Kris if Adam did not win. Fortunately, I have not become a hater, I do not hate him for taking the crown from Adam, I am just devastated that America is not with me. I’ve been a huge Adam fan since day 1, his music, his vocals, his style, his personality, everything about him is just my perfect cup. I’ve always been the weirdo, so I thus knew that my favorite (Adam) might not win, America always loves underdog or boy next door. Kris is a fine singer, humble guy, but whatever, I never found him cute or he and his wife sweet nor his family adorable or whatsoever, so I do understand how some people do not find Adam amazing or …(can go on forever, so let’s skip). Anyway, for now, I need some time to get over the disappointment and sadness.

Anyway, I just hope America will understand MJ’s last note and embrace the difference among ourselves and have respect and tolerance for people who are different.

While I think Adam is madly talented, I think some of the water cooler talk can be contributed to the speculation about his sexuality.

You raise a good point, Melvel. I’m Canadian so perhaps we’re a bit ahead of America. Our current Idol is gay and it wasn’t even a blip in the news. Those in my circle couldn’t comprehend that the furor around Adam’s sexuality could possibly have cost him the title. He likely would have won up here. We have Celine Dion, Michael Buble, Bryan Adams, Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette. We foster and appreciate good talent. The rest doesn’t really factor in.

Its because American Idol isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a singing contest. As mentioned above it is voting contest.

I thought American Idol was about finding a recording artist that would make popular records and sell music. You can be the winner of the throat olympics (tm jamie foxx) and not make popular music…or even good music. For example, Clay Aiken has a beautiful voice with magnificent range and his last 2 cds were shiteous.

On the other hand, you can be popular on Idol and not make popular records. Eg Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard and just about everyone who finishes in the top 4 and is never heard from again.

Idol isn’t a singing competition or a popularity contest or a text messaging race. It’s about hopefully making that magic connection between an artist and an audience (eg Kelly, Carrie, Cook, Daughtry).

I beg for the people who are arguing that Adam should have unquestionably won if this is a singing contest should tread lightly in their assertions. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not going to deny Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s obvious vocal talent (he has an out-of-this-world range and nearly perfect control),

but at the same time Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m going to assert that Kris has some absolutely absurd vocal (musical) talent

s that I havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seen before

Kris has a lot going for him, but his vocals arent his strongest suit,sorry! His musical talents yes, not vocals.

You raise a good point, Melvel. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m Canadian so perhaps weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re a bit ahead of America. Our current Idol is gay and it wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even a blip in the news. Those in my circle couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t comprehend that the furor around Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sexuality could possibly have cost him the title. He likely would have won up here.

They said the same thing up in Israel. There was an article that said Adam would definitely won there as well. Hopefully Canada and Israel will buy Adam’s music when it comes out.

If I had my way, this would have been the order of elimination:

Kris à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ winner
Adam à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ runner-up
Alison
Matt
Danny
Anoop
Alexis
Lil

Michael/Scott/Jasmine/Jorge/Megan à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t care for them at all. I wish theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d been replaced by Jessie Langseth, Mishavonna Henson, Junot Joyner, Ricky Braddy and Felicia Barton.

Donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get me wrong. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not saying that they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like each other. I think they truly do. I think Gorkyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s wife is truly dead. I think Scott is truly blind. I think Elliot truly had diabetes. I think Susan Boyle truly lives in a wee cottage in Scotland. I think these are all truly à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“reality TVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  storylines.

But that was precisely my point. They bromance never received any press during the season, at least not from the Idol producers. The examples you mentioned: Gokey being a widower, Scottà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s disability, Elliot and Susanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ their storylines were highlighted by the shows they were in. Anyway, letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just agree to disagree on this.

Jason Mrazà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m Yoursà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  has sold more than 3 million copies.

Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a single. From his third album. Wiki says his second album was a success, selling 100,000 in US. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know what his third album has sold.

According to the RIAA searchable database, Jason Mraz has two platinum albums: Waiting for My Rocket to Come and We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things. He has a triple platinum single (I’m Yours) and a gold single (Lucky).

Donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get me wrong. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not saying that they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like each other. I think they truly do. I think Gorkyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s wife is truly dead. I think Scott is truly blind. I think Elliot truly had diabetes. I think Susan Boyle truly lives in a wee cottage in Scotland. I think these are all truly à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“reality TVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  storylines.

Fair enough (although I guess it came out that Susan Boyle did kiss someone at some point).

That being the case, when did they feature the “bromance” on the show? The did feature Danny’s dead wife and mention Elliott’s diabetes, but I don’t recall them featuring the Adam/Kris bromance on the actual show at all during the competition. From what I understand, all we know of it is from behind the scenes reports and post-Idol news. Please, someone correct me if I’m wrong.

Again, prefacing this comment with my belief that Adam is a truly unique talent that we may never see again on Idol:

I’m not really sure if “vocal” talent is the correct word, I’ve never been great with music jargon (managed to play the piano for nearly my entire life without ever truly grasping it). What I’m saying, is as a singer Kris has truly unique talents as well.

I’ve always thought part of being a great singer is in the interpretation, which includes phrasing. The way Kris cuts some of his lines, holds some of his notes and punctuates some of his verses is just an out-of-this-world experience for me. He brings me closer to some of these songs I’ve heard hundreds of times than I’ve ever really felt before. For me, this makes Kris an amazing singer. (Also, though less important, the dude might have perfect pitch)

Your mileage may vary!

PJ when you have a man squashes another man in a manly guy you know its a bromance.

atiana May 25th, 2009 at 11:02 pm

Also, I do feel Adam could have still won if he had chosen more interesting songs in the later rounds. For casual fans, Kris was turning in fresh, relevant performances late in the game, while Adam to me was playing it safe doing mainstream rock covers. Maybe if Top 4, Top 3 night Adam had done something more exciting/different things would have been different? Would have loved to hear him try some Mika, Snow Patrol, or Metro Stationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.just sayinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢

For Top 3 Adam had chosen a One Republic song to sing (Come Home – hauntingly beautiful) but the judges picked Apologize for Kris and Adam had to go with his another song Cryin, which had cleared.

It was a nice recap. Thanks, MJ. I agree with much of what you have written, except for the largest difference of opinion and that is that I really wanted Kris to win.

I became a Kris Allen fan with Man in the Mirror and think he got better and better every week thereafter. I started voting for him for Man in the Mirror, just a couple of votes. By the time it got to the top 5, I was voting for the full hour, then two, and finally four.

You may be right about backlast to the pimping and that it didn’t make much of a difference in the votes. The judges or their favoritism of Adam didn’t cause me to vote for Kris. Kris was my favorite from the start. But, it did cause me to vote longer and harder. Where I might have voted once or twice, I voted nonstop for the entire time allowed as a reaction to the judges and the entire Idol company’s blatant pimping of Lambert. So I do think there was backlash. It got so that by the last four weeks of the show, I was no longer looking forward to Adam’s performances at all. The over the top judges reactions were such a turn off that I didn’t even want to see or hear him. The whole thing seemed so manipulative. I realize it wasn’t Adam’s fault, but it still did not feel right.

As an AI viewer since season one, I looked forward to the show for the first four seasons. After the Taylor HIcks/Katherine McPhee year followed by the Jordin Sparks/Blake Lewis year, I had just about decided to find another way to spend my evenings when David Cook came on the scene. I started to love David Cook when he sang Happy Together at Top 24 week and got more and more invested every week. The highlight of seven years of watching Idol for me was David Cook’s win last year. So this year I tuned in not really expecting much. I didn’t plan on getting too invested in anyone.

I have always hated the whole audition thing. Too much time is spent on bad singers and people getting their feelings hurt and the complete wastes of time like Bikini Girl or Norman Gentle or Tatiana’s histrionics. I don’t enjoy that. Then it went to Hollywood and it was all kinds of confusing and suddently we have 36 from which only 12 will emerge. I think there were good singers that didn’t make it to top 12 (13) that should have, and some of the ones that made it were very questionable. It didn’t feel like we got to know the contestants as well this year as we have in the past. The fourth judge was not necessary. I don’t mind Kara, but four is just too many people basically saying the same thing. The whole “save” thing was ridiculous. It was so arbitrary whether they used it or not. I just didn’t get the value added of it. So the only thing that brought me back week after week were the contestants. I enjoyed Kris, Adam, Allison, Matt, Anoop, and Danny.

In retorspect, I think the only two who didn’t make some really bad song choices over the long haul were Kris and Adam and I much preferred Kris’s style and voice. I don’t think he had a single bad week. His performance of No Boundaries the final performance night was the only poor performance all season, but it was the low point for Adam Lambert, too. So they kind of cancelled each other out. For me there was no doubt that they should be the last two standing and of the two, I preferred Kris. I very much agree with all of the things that you have written about him on your blog.

I didn’t mind the winning moment and thought Kris was as charming and loveable as ever as he wrestled with understanding that he had actually won the competition. It was probably more anticlimactic for the Adam fans. For me, I was thrilled with him and for him and also thought he sang the heck out of No Boundaries during the finale. I loved the exchange between Kris and Adam after the win was announced. I loved Allison’s reaction along with the others in the top12, and I loved Kris and Katy’s moment. Last year, after the judges basically declared Archie the winner at the end of the top 2 performances, the David Cook win was huge. It was a larger than life moment. Compared to that, no matter who had won this year, it would have felt a little flat. But all in all, it was surprising and wonderful to see Kris Allen named the winner of season 8.

You raise a good point, Melvel. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m Canadian so perhaps weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re a bit ahead of America. Our current Idol is gay and it wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even a blip in the news. Those in my circle couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t comprehend that the furor around Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sexuality could possibly have cost him the title.

I think Adam said it best in one interviewà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦it wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the speculation about his sexuality which cost him the win, for Adam it was his type of music, his OTT/BSC performances, the risks he tookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦which he acknowledged may not be appreciated by a lot of people. Taking it to the extreme, if Kris was gay and he were up against a straight Adam (keeping both their styles of music)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I still think Kris would have won.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m curious though, what kind of performer is the current Canadian idol? Is he more of a Kris type or an Adam type?

Idol isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a singing competition or a popularity contest or a text messaging race. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s about hopefully making that magic connection between an artist and an audience (eg Kelly, Carrie, Cook, Daughtry).

I agree with this wholeheartedly. I think what made me connected to Kris was that I could truly see (and feel) the passion behind his performances. I connected to him on a personal level. Ainà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t No Sunshine during finale night just gave me goosebumpsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦in a good way.

I think Susan Boyle truly lives in a wee cottage in Scotland.

You really had be laughing with that.

Suzanne May 25th, 2009 at 11:11 pm

Jason Mrazà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m Yoursà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  has sold more than 3 million copies.

Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a single. From his third album. Wiki says his second album was a success, selling 100,000 in US. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know what his third album has sold.

According to the RIAA searchable database, Jason Mraz has two platinum albums: Waiting for My Rocket to Come and We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things. He has a triple platinum single (Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m Yours) and a gold single (Lucky).

And I change the station when any of his songs come on.

Hopefully Canada and Israel will buy Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s music when it comes out.

No doubt about it!

If I had my way, this would have been the order of elimination:

Kris à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ winner
Adam à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ runner-up
Alison
Matt
Danny
Anoop
Alexis
Lil

Michael/Scott/Jasmine/Jorge/Megan à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t care for them at all. I wish theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d been replaced by Jessie Langseth, Mishavonna Henson, Junot Joyner, Ricky Braddy and Felicia Barton.

Agree completely–on every person. And if those others from the semi-finals had made it to the finals, they all would have done better than Lil.

MJ, I’ve watched Idol for 8 years, but this is the first year that I found your blog. I know, I must be slow. I want to thank you for helping this season 8 idol addicted girl get her fix during the time between shows. I was on the Lambert train since the “some kind of wonderful” group sing and he continued to entertain me and astound me each week. I will remember watching AI this year and having telephone conversations with 3 good friends after each performance to get each others critiques and takes on the performances. It was Adam that had all of us hooked. I voted my heart out for 4 hours on Tuesday night, only got through about 1/8th of the time, but at the end of the day I felt like I had voted with my heart and done everything I could. I knew it was a longshot that Adam would win, I told everyone in my office AI discussions that I had prepared myself for a Kris win, but it wasn’t true. When it came down to it, I was devastated. I’m consoling myself with the fact that my tour tickets arrived Tuesday and even though we’ll have to drive from Albuquerque to Phoenix to the concert, it will all be worth it. I’m not taking anything away from Kris, he’s great at what he does and I think he’s a genuinely talented and good person, but Adam will always be AI 8 for me. MJ, I started this thread out wanting to tell you how much your words and content have meant to me this season and while I’m not sure I will ever become as invested in AI in the future as I was this year, I definitely know where I will go for the best AI blog there is.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll just never understand how someone can create so much buzz, be the talk of the media, the subject matter at water coolers, draw people to their TV sets in droves twice a week, own the show at the finale according to those in attendance, garner the respect of famous musicians who have long despised everything Idol stands forà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.and not get the title. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m still scratching my head at how it all went wrong.

It’s simple. You have to remember what American Idol is. It’s a plain vanilla, middle of the road, lowest common demoninator mass-market TV show. It’s like the 21st century version of The Monkees. Just sllightly more cutting edge than the Cleaver family.

If the Boston Celtics played the New England Patriots in a basket ball game, they would win a blowout. We would all be asking how Tom Brady and the powerhouse Patriots could possibly lose. But, of course they would lose. It’s not’ their game. They never had a prayer.

Same thing here. A wallet chain is as close to the wild side as Idol is ever going to walk. Adam Lambert is way too “hot” for American Idol. He was never a serious contender to actually win the thing. And, if you think about it, winning American Idol would destroy the entire foundation he laid over 13 weeks of performances on the show.

Its because American Idol isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a singing contest. As mentioned above it is voting contest.

Of course it is, which is why its best to watch the show as simply a reality show for pure emtertainment, and not much else(all the fevered discussion of the Idols future careers amuses me).

It’s also the reason I can count on one hand how many Idol winners have had any reasonable musical careers post Idol

For Top 3 Adam had chosen a One Republic song to sing (Come Home – hauntingly beautiful) but the judges picked Apologize for Kris and Adam had to go with his second song Cryin. You have to go with what clears.

In my opinion, this is shocking. If he sang “Come Home” it would have been so much better than “Cryin.” I find it really surprising that they didn’t change Kris’ song – maybe it was too late. All the same, I could think of 100 better songs to choose that would have been more exciting than “Cryin”. oh well…coulda shoulda woulda

Speaking of Kris and the music he should sing debate, I think 19 tipped their hand when they had him duet with Keith Urban rather than Jason Mraz, who was also a finale guest performer. I think they will make him a male Taylor Swift and he will sell a bazillion records.

Great recap MJ! Thanks for being so objective

The best recap MJ! Thanks!

I would’ve liked to have seen Ricky Braddy , Kristen McNamara and Junot Joyner make the Top 13 over Scott McIntyre, Jasmine Murray and Lil Rounds. But, it is what it is.

Fantastic wrap-up, mj! I only started following your blog about a month ago (-ish), but it quickly became “the” place for me to find out what was happening, what was rumoured to be happening, etc. and get a wide range of opinions on everything.

This was the first season that I actually really *cared* if someone stayed or was voted off. I’ve watched the show since day 1, but I spent most of my time being very critical and picking apart every performance (yeah, ‘cuz I’m an expert – not. lol) – this year brought Adam to my tv screen and that changed everything. I really wanted Adam to win, but could never decide whether it would be *better* for his future career to win, or come in 2nd or 3rd. That fact combined with peeking here to find out who won, before I watched the finale, brought me to ‘acceptance’ a lot faster than a lot of Adam-fans, I think.

For me (for you, for them, for me heh), the Kradam friendship is the crowning glory of the season, and always will be. If anyone else had been in the final 2 with Adam, and he still came in second, I would have been VERY disappointed – even if it had been Allison, who I think is very talented, but she’s still incredibly young and has a lot of work to do (with enunciation and not forcing the notes, in particular).

Anyway – c’est la vie; quà © sera, sera and all that! I hope the sour grapes and fan-wars end soon, because it’s getting old really fast. It’s not the end of the world, it’s just a tv show! I’m just going to relax now and wait for Adam’s first album!

MJ, you are a class act and I enjoyed reading your recap. I enjoyed reading your reaction to Adam’s performances every week. And your critiques of all of the contestants studio performances. That has been the highlight of this season for me, I mean after Lambert that is.

This season has been all about Adam for me. I came around to respecting Kris, but musically he just never did anything for me. Adam was like a revelation. I got him and what he was trying to do. I liked that he never pandered. If he had, I have no doubt that he could have won, but then he would never be in the position to do what he will be able to do in the future as I believe he will be able to make a record more in line of what his passion is.

I also realized that idol always prefers the metamorphosis as opposed to the butterfly just being a butterfly all of the time. Adam was fully formed and therefore either you got him or not. I think he knew that taking the risks he took would be controversial sometimes, and he was right, but he also knew that the payoff could be huge. So he didn’t win the show, but I have the feeling that he’ll be alright with that too.

I am not as disappointed with Adam losing as I thought I would be. I think part of the reason for that is that I just really have faith in his abilities and I think he would bring something fresh to the industry. Not create a new genre, or become the next Elvis, just a different sensibility. I like his idea about music and what it’s supposed to do. I mean he can sound purty, that’s for sure, but I think he’s got something to say as well. I will be listening.

As for the bromance. I don’t see it as calculating at all. I see them as genuine friends. The thing is, and I’ve mentioned it before, when there are two men left standing it seems to be the most intriguing to me. Because they went the entire journey together that would most certainly bond you. That they are so very different ideologically, yet get each other is an interesting story. Both of the Davids also bonded, as did Clay and Ruben, they all remain friends. I don’t think any of it’s calculated.

I think that many get a bit crazed on either side because everyone wants their choice to be the best, do great things and be recognized for it. Now all I want is for them to put out good music. Music they can be proud of. At the end of the day that is what it is about for me, the music.

So to all of the winners and runner ups, Kelly and Justin, Ruben and Clay, Fantasia and Diana, Carrie and Bo, Taylor and Kat (yep even her), Jordin and Blake, The Davids, and finally, Kris and Adam, hats off to you all.

As an aside, winner or runner up, all of these guys are still in the business, making enough money so that entertainment is their day job, that’s a pretty damn good track record, and a pretty good damn gig if you can get it. All because of this cheesy ass show.

.

In retorspect, I think the only two who didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make some really bad song choices over the long haul were Kris and Adam and I much preferred Krisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s style and voice. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think he had a single bad week. His performance of No Boundaries the final performance night was the only poor performance all season, but it was the low point for Adam Lambert, too. So they kind of cancelled each other out. For me there was no doubt that they should be the last two standing and of the two, I preferred Kris. I very much agree with all of the things that you have written about him on your blog.

I kinda agree, but not completely. I think Kris and Adam were the only ones who did not have a single à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“badà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  performance (I would say Alison too, but I think her I Donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Wanna Miss a Thing and Donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Speak were both subpar). But they have made à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“badà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  song choices IMO, except that they are both very competent to rise above those ridiculous song choices.

For Kris, his worst song choice has got to be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“All She Wants to Do Is Danceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . It wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a trainwreck performance, it was just blah. It showed me nothing about him as an artist, and I was actually shocked he wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t bottom three that week (perhaps thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s an indication of his popularity, right there)

For Adam, his worst song choice for me was Born to Be Wild and Cryin (tie). Both these weeks he had the opportunity to show us that he can sing current music, so I was extremely disappointed to learn he chose 15 year old songs.

Tatiana May 25th, 2009 at 11:22 pm

For Top 3 Adam had chosen a One Republic song to sing (Come Home – hauntingly beautiful) but the judges picked Apologize for Kris and Adam had to go with his second song Cryin. You have to go with what clears.

In my opinion, this is shocking. If he sang à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Come Homeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  it would have been so much better than à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Cryin.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  I find it really surprising that they didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t change Krisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ song – maybe it was too late. All the same, I could think of 100 better songs to choose that would have been more exciting than à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Cryinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . oh wellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦coulda shoulda woulda

You would think, but then the “the show was all about Adam” and the “Kris Allen was bused the whole show theory” would then have been correct, just shows how flawed the theory is.

Great final wrap up MJ. You made some great points based on thoughtful consideration. I appreciate your non fangirly response as those get very hard to read after, oh about the first 500 or so.
The season was a bit mixed for me. Some good & some bad. Very, very bad. However, the finale was an entertaining end to the season. I’m looking forward to the concert spoilers & recaps this summer.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll just never understand how someone can create so much buzz, be the talk of the media…

Sanjaya Malakar anyone? Creating the most talk isn’t always the best thing (Britney, lindsay, Susan Boyle, Dadchuleta). It also depends on what they are talking about. With Adam, there was as much buzz about his hair, makeup, costumes, old photos, sexual orientation, song choice etc as there was about his singing.

If Adam has the goods to make it, he doesn’t need the title. This has been proven to be true again and again.

One other thought, especially after reading some of these posts:

I think the show was very shoddily directed this year. Do you remember that David Cook’s mother was up there onstage in an instant, to hug and congratulate him? And the other Idols gathered round too.

But it wasn’t just the finale. There were some strange camera choices and angles throughout the season. And I frankly thought it was lopsided to give Adam all the smoke and stairways etc. and no one else anything like that. He’s a creative guy, and probably thought of it himself. But it made him stand out — in good and bad ways.

Putting people in the swaybot mosh section was also a drag. Kris said in a recent interview that he hated that, so I don’t think it was his choice.

But the worst sin was all that crap in the beginning, with Bikini Girl nightmare and that other singer (a black woman, who wound up hating her entire group? Name?). It was so obviously preying upon, elongating and overdoing the “drama” of these obnoxious contestants and clashes, just to manufacture suspense or whatever.

I hope to heaven they’ve learned their lesson, and I also hope it’s three judges next year (no matter who they are).

If not for Adam, Allison and Kris, it would have been one hot mess….

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s simple. You have to remember what American Idol is. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a plain vanilla, middle of the road, lowest common demoninator mass-market TV show. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s like the 21st century version of The Monkees. Just sllightly more cutting edge than the Cleaver family.

YEP!!!

You would think, but then the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Kris Allen was bused the whole show theoryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  would then have been correct, just shows how flawed the theory is.

Hmmm…well, that’s not my theory, per se….mine is that the producers didn’t consider Kris as much of a threat as he was, and with Nigel gone didn’t go to huge lengths to handicap him as they would have in previous years (cough*longer*cough)

And I change the station when any of his songs come on.

This is a fast moving thread, but I thought the argument was that alternative doesn’t sell. If Jason Mraz’s music is alt., then alt. sells.

Speaking of Kris and the music he should sing debate, I think 19 tipped their hand when they had him duet with Keith Urban rather than Jason Mraz, who was also a finale guest performer. I think they will make him a male Taylor Swift and he will sell a bazillion records.

Thought the same thing last Wed night. There is a huge market in the niche between country and pop, and Taylor Swift seems to be the only one there right now. It’s a good idea with Kris. And even a song like the acoustic version of Heartless would work on a pop-ish country album.

I think Adam said it best in one interviewà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦it wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the speculation about his sexuality which cost him the win, for Adam it was his type of music, his OTT/BSC performances, the risks he tookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦which he acknowledged may not be appreciated by a lot of people.

I agree that his performances may have been partly responsible for the divide, but I don’t think we can minimize the impact his sexuality played. As I heard it phrased, Kris was the ‘safer’ choice for the youngins’. Adam scared them.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m curious though, what kind of performer is the current Canadian idol? Is he more of a Kris type or an Adam type?

Theo Tams is more a Kris type, for sure – a classical music student who often sang power ballads behind a piano during his run.

Idol isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a singing competition or a popularity contest or a text messaging race. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s about hopefully making that magic connection between an artist and an audience (eg Kelly, Carrie, Cook, Daughtry).

I’ll respectfully disagree. It isn’t any of those things. It’s a TV talent contest designed to garner huge ratings and buckets of ad revenue. That’s the job, and AI does it extremely well. I don’t believe the executives at Fox, who write the paychecks, actually give 2 shits about what any of these contestants do afterward.

hwc
Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s simple. You have to remember what American Idol is. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a plain vanilla, middle of the road, lowest common demoninator mass-market TV show. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s like the 21st century version of The Monkees. Just sllightly more cutting edge than the Cleaver family.

If the Boston Celtics played the New England Patriots in a basket ball game, they would win a blowout. We would all be asking how Tom Brady and the powerhouse Patriots could possibly lose. But, of course they would lose. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s notà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ their game. They never had a prayer.

Same thing here. A wallet chain is as close to the wild side as Idol is ever going to walk. Adam Lambert is way too à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“hotà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  for American Idol. He was never a serious contender to actually win the thing. And, if you think about it, winning American Idol would destroy the entire foundation he laid over 13 weeks of performances on the show.

Hehe, great analogy! Re: “He was never a serious contender to actually win the thing” – That is precisely why I think that everyone was getting it wrong when they kept calling Kris the underdog. Kris is exactly the type of singer that America loves – dependable and not too shocking. Adam had waaaay more hurdles to clear than Kris ever did; I was actually quite surprised and impressed that America voted for Adam all the way into the #2 spot.

WTF, acoustic pop has been shoved down Americaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s throat for a few years now. I am absolutely sick to death of acoustic guitar.

I’m afraid you’re gonna have to get used to those darned ol’ acoustic guitars that have been “shoved down America’s throat for years” — unlike, of course, those poor, ignored electric guitars. LOL

if this whole thing has taught us nothing else, it’s reminded us that good music is often in the ear of the beholder….

and ” Kris is exactly the type of singer that America loves – dependable and not too shocking” ???

If you do something outrageous, then do the same outrageous thing a lot over a number of weeks, it ceases to be “shocking.” That doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining, admirable, etc. But shocking? I thought that factor wore off vis a vis Adam after several of his solo performances…..

And for those of us who remember young Mick Jagger in satin and ruffles and lipstick, making goo-goo eyes at Keith Richards in the late 70s on the bandstand and bromancing with David Bowie (who appeared on one of his album covers in impeccable drag), it was never all that shocking…..

A huge kudos to Adam and Kris for creating the awesomest bromance evah. The Christian Midwest straight arrow and the Jewish Hollywood gay dude forged an on-air friendship that foiled at least some of the cultural war nonsense the media tried to drum up. Their message that respect and love CAN prevail, despite great differences moved me. Beyond reason.

Amen. That’s probably why I absolutely adore both of them. Methinks the best top 2 ever. ♥ I’m glad Kris won though. Been rooting for that Little Engine That Could since the beginning of the finals.

And yeah, if only Adam were the one beside Kris instead of Jorge, I would’ve been the happiest–it was the perfect ending. Unfortunately, it did not happen. A part of me was crushed to see Adam at the sides–which made it seem like he was a sore loser IMO.

Bromance Wifey hug = EPIC ending

Hey MJ, I dunno if someone has posted this already (too lazy to go back), but if you’re still suffering from Adam’s loss, you could check out the Kris Allen Tolerance and Rehab Center in YouTube. Funny (but true) stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2nKsnEB6C8

They said the same thing up in Israel. There was an article that said Adam would definitely won there as well. Hopefully Canada and Israel will buy Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s music when it comes out.

This Canadian sure will!

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m curious though, what kind of performer is the current Canadian idol? Is he more of a Kris type or an Adam type?

I’d say more a Matt type actually. He’s very comfortable at the piano. Check him out.

http://www.theotams.com/

“I really have a feeling Adam might be the undoing of Idol. I just canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t imagine tuning in next year and being captivated by someone other than Adam. Anyone else is going to pale in comparison. How could they not?”

I agree with this. I won’t be interested in Idol any more in the future. Adam was it’s pinacle. They’ll never be able to rise above this. I mean in all these years there’s never been anyone as talented as Adam. I don’t think lightening will strike twice for Idol.

Anastasia72071 May 25th, 2009 at 11:36 pm

Hehe, great analogy! Re: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“He was never a serious contender to actually win the thingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  – That is precisely why I think that everyone was getting it wrong when they kept calling Kris the underdog. Kris is exactly the type of singer that America loves – dependable and not too shocking. Adam had waaaay more hurdles to clear than Kris ever did; I was actually quite surprised and impressed that America voted for Adam all the way into the #2 spot.

As was Adam. He repeatedly said he was surprised each week when he advanced.

For Adam, his worst song choice for me was Born to Be Wild and Cryin (tie). Both these weeks he had the opportunity to show us that he can sing current music, so I was extremely disappointed to learn he chose 15 year old songs.

ITA!! I couldn’t believe he didn’t do a more current song those weeks…the other “huh?” one for me was “Play that Funky Music” for “Top Downloads” week…

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll respectfully disagree. It isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t any of those things. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a TV talent contest designed to garner huge ratings and buckets of ad revenue. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the job, and AI does it extremely well. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t believe the executives at Fox, who write the paychecks, actually give 2 shits about what any of these contestants do afterward.

Word! Spense you’re in my head again!

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a TV talent contest designed to garner huge ratings and buckets of ad revenue. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the job, and AI does it extremely well. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t believe the executives at Fox, who write the paychecks, actually give 2 shits about what any of these contestants do afterward.

To an extent, I agree. I would agree 100% if the show didn’t seem so hellbent on proving that their favorite contestant is a megastar after the show finishes. Fox doesn’t care but Simon Fuller et al do care about appearing relevent to the music biz.

MJ I would totally power vote for this post :biggrin_wp:

aeyelle May 25th, 2009 at 11:39 pm

And yeah, if only Adam were the one beside Kris instead of Jorge, I wouldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been the happiestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’it was the perfect ending. Unfortunately, it did not happen. A part of me was crushed to see Adam at the sidesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’which made it seem like he was a sore loser IMO.

WTF??? He and little Allison (who he was trying not to let get stampeded by Jorge and Lil, etc.) tried to get up there a couple of times and had to be pulled up cause there was no room. What was he supposed to do, knock the others off that little walkway to get to Kris?

Hehe, great analogy! Re: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“He was never a serious contender to actually win the thingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  – That is precisely why I think that everyone was getting it wrong when they kept calling Kris the underdog. Kris is exactly the type of singer that America loves – dependable and not too shocking. Adam had waaaay more hurdles to clear than Kris ever did; I was actually quite surprised and impressed that America voted for Adam all the way into the #2 spot

^^^^THIS. And I agree with what one of the EW writers said about Adam’s loss not being caused mainly because of his sexuality, but because the very people who would be most inclined to love his style and his music are not the type of people who generally watch AI. I know there are exceptions (all of us here who love Adam, for starters), but I think Kris’s type of sound/style is much more likely to appeal to the average AI watcher. So it really is amazing, and a wonderful testament to Adam’s talent, that he made it as far as he did.

Haha, I had MJ’s favorite pegged and was right. Maybe it’s because I’ve been on this blog for years?? But, I’ll have to say, she gives equal time to all the idols

I know that many on here don’t like Gokey, but, it sure would’ve been a boring season without someone to hate? These seems to be a villian every year. And, yes, I wish Gokey well too. He actually has fans outside of this blog. LOL

I actually concur with MJ’s analysis of Kris’s win. I don’t vote to vote against anyone. That’s such a waste of my time. However, does anyone else think that Katy Perry hurt Adam by wearing that cape with his name on it? Many people did NOT appreciate that, or the fact that he was on the cover of a magazine, as though he had already won. That wasn’t cool. It still didn’t matter to me because as I said, I don’t waste my time voting against anyone.

Nice summmary! One correction, though—-Arkansas is a Southern state, not Midwestern. That makes your point even more emphatic, however. A Southern Christian and a sexually ambiguous Hollywooder becoming big buds and both making it to the finals—-what an ending!!!

MJ I would totally power vote for this post

You only say that because it’s totally popular! This post got the pimp spot unfairly! Last post was more grammatically correct! Is this vote even based upon quality of word placement! You must be a tween!!

I’m still terribly disappointed, but not heartbroken anymore. So I suppose I’m getting over it.. slowly.

I can see Adam maybe doing the male Lady Gaga thing, or dance music with a rock edge. Just like the competition, I guess Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll be waiting to see what Adam does next.

I think Adam would fit perfectly in the Evanescence symphonic rock/ My chemical Romance glam rock genre. His superb, and I really do mean superb, Pre-Idol single “The Circle” would be in the Glam end of the spectrum. I can also see him going Techno whether dance ( I sincerely hope not) or rock (that’s more like it) I can’t begin to tell.

Which ever way he goes I know he will do well. The man, judging from his idol performances and interviews, is a savvy media operator. The points and issues that we may ponder or ruminate (I’m using mild adjectives to describe the discussions around here as a wish fulfillment) about in these forums, be it concerning commercial or media idiosyncrasies are all points of which I’m sure he is well aware.

Unlike other idols before him. this particular hunk of fabulous has been in the business for most of his life. He knows his way around just as he knows exactly what he wants achieve with his career. But he’s not sharing, which is exactly why we’re in such a state over his future, because we have no idea what he wants or plans to do. And he like it that way. What was that quote of his “curiosity keeps things interesting”… Well congratulations Adam we’re all so curious that we may just on our way to following that cat to heavens door by the time you release your first Album.

Adam will do what he wants to do, I get the impressions that boy has never done anything he didn’t want to do in his entire life. Whatever that is I think we can be safe in assuming it’ll be interesting. I hope I’m here to see it.

Thank you mj for a glorious Idol season.

I thought the reason Adam lost obvious – it was effectively lost when VFTW published the photos. I remember getting very angry when VFTW did it because I thought they seriously damaged the prospect on the show of someone who was already then obviously the best singer. People will find other excuses not to like Adam without stating the real reason why they don’t like him, and the reason why The Ring Of Fire didn’t go down well with the public had as much to do with the exaggerated reactions of Randy Travis to Adam that signalled, or reminded people of, Adam’s “gayness” as Adam’s interpretation of the song. Many people aren’t bother by his sexuality, but a significant portion of the population are, and that makes all the difference between winning and losing.

Sorry about that Chipmunk - I do that a lot, don’t I?

Fox doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t care but Simon Fuller et al do care about appearing relevent to the music biz.

Definitely, the producers know that any success these kids have advances the Idol brand. And, the judges like to be proven right. They’re kind of pissy that way. But, even Fuller answers to someone at Fox. And his job is to create compelling TV. So, they manipulate, and create fake drama and Simon throws people under the bus just for the sport of it, but in the end, that’s all part of the reality tv game.

There are other people, for whom the job is to promote the post AI music and concert tours. And, when those people fail, it sucks for the contestant they’re representing. But, I don’t think it has much to do with what happened during the season of the show.

The bottom line is, regardless of who was pimped or bussed or a judge’s favorite, the music has to stand up. If it doesn’t, people won’t buy it. Some of them carve out an unlikely Oscar winning movie career like Jennifer Hudson, some of them sell a ton of cd’s (okay, only a few of them), some of them find a career as tv hosts, and some of them make a living doing appearances.

But to me, I think there are a million different reasons why someone becomes a successful recording artist, while someone else doesn’t. They all have the platform of the most popular show on TV. And, they get whatever level of promo from the record producers that they deem worthy. But, if the cd doesn’t catch on to the public, that’s just all there is to it. And by that time, most people have long since forgotten about anything Simon said.

What’s the big deal about having Jorge next o Kris in his winner’s shot? It’s just a picture. Adam and Allison, my 2 favs , were to the side..good enough for me…they should have been the final 2 and it didnt happen so I give a f**k not that the winner had the likes of Jorge and co surrounding him…its sums up how underwhelming his win was,so it’s all good

A wallet chain is as close to the wild side as Idol is ever going to walk. Adam Lambert is way too à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“hotà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  for American Idol. He was never a serious contender to actually win the thing.

I guess AI confuses me. Some of America’s biggest and most successful artists over the years have been over-the-top and controversial: Aerosmith, Guns & Roses, Queen, Marilyn Manson, ACDC, Madonna. Am I to believe that AI really wants wholesome and safe over talented and profitable? I just can’t put someone who fits that mold, like Jordin, up against Adam and understand how she won and he didn’t. And if it’s really about $$$$ as so many say, wouldn’t it be Adam bringing them the big bucks and not Kris? How could Adam have never been a contender? He was certainly pampered by TPTB and pandered to the public like the Chosen One.

If Adam has the goods to make it, he doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t need the title. This has been proven to be true again and again.

I agree wholeheartedly. I never felt he needed the title in order to be successful. I just wanted it for him because he wanted it so much. I just don’t get that same desire from Kris.

I actually concur with MJà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s analysis of Krisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s win. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t vote to vote against anyone. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s such a waste of my time

True, but it doesnt mean that sort of voting wasnt going

You only say that because ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s totally popular! This post got the pimp spot unfairly! Last post was more grammatically correct! Is this vote even based upon quality of word placement! You must be a tween!!

LMAO.

thank you so much, MJ.

your website is the first webpage i visit everyday for over a month now.

i will continue to visit your website for more adam news

MJ I would totally power vote for this post

You only say that because ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s totally popular! This post got the pimp spot unfairly! Last post was more grammatically correct! Is this vote even based upon quality of word placement! You must be a tween!!

It’s not the pimp spot! It’s the Holiday Weekend…everyones Browser is gonna cut off! I’m a tween alright. Tween 30 and 50

Great way to end it MJ I concur with all you’ve said. Course I too still linger over Adam not winning as I Adamantly feel he should have. And it’s not that I didn’t like Kris either. He is a doll himself, and his style of singing is a natural talent not to mention the way he moved his lips and smile in his songs that made me want to just gobble up his mouth. I do feel those two were the right final choices but Allison never really did get the attention she deserved and well over Gokey in my opinion.

But life goes on and all us Adam fans, anxiously wait for his next moves and anticipate standing in lines for when he tours which give it time, He Will…. :clap_tb:

Wonderful recap, MJ. Thank you for this and for all you do!

Adam drew me in from the very beginning, and I never wavered in my support. In fact it grew exponentially each week. I was stunned at his range, the beauty and fluidity of his voice, the bold and daring performances and his ability to push the envelope within the American Idol platform. I was almost embarrassed at my awe and especially at my devotion. I would never have imagined myself attempting to vote for four solid hours despite three hours of “all circuits busy” messages, but there I was dialing away. I was very sad and disappointed that he didn’t win. His maturity and acceptance of it all at least publicly have been truly impressive. I can’t imagine him not becoming a huge success with his bright star quality.

Kris’s lovely voice and excellent interpretive skills grew on people week after week, particularly toward the end of the competition. He is talented and deserving of the title. (That was not easy to type but it’s true.) I have no doubt he’ll be a success. I also love the bromance. Kris and Adam’s respect and understanding of each other despite different backgrounds is a great example for us all.

Aliison would have been number one for me if it weren’t for Adam. I love her voice and hope that we’ll be hearing great things from her very soon. I’ll definitely buy an Allison album.

I actually thought they all had their moments and am looking forward to the tour.

CathyMK May 25th, 2009 at 9:32 pm

Great wrap up, MJ.

I thought the whole à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“announcement of the winner and singing the coronation songà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  part of the show was weird and rushed. It started with the accountant coming out to talk about the voting, and standing in front of Kris, completely blocking him from view, until Adam dragged Kris out to where the audience could see him. What was up with that? The director couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have the accountant stand on Ryanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s other side, so that he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t block the guy who was about to win? That sort of says it all to me about their attitude toward Kris all year.

Then they barely gave Kris time to recover from the announcement, and didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t bring up his family to congratulate him. Last year, David Cook was overcome and speechless too, but they gave him a minute and let him hug his mother and brother. Why couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Kris have the same consideration? It was like that whole part of the show was an afterthought or something. The best part of it was the few seconds that we got to see Kris and Katy hug as the show ended. Overall, just another night of total Adam pimpage and screw ups by the director and producers.

BTW, I like Kris and Adam equally, and thought Adam should win. But, the winner is the winner, and deserves to be treated like one.

Well said!

mj, I respect you and your site with all of my might! I come here every day and love to read every.single.thing. you have to say. Your wrap up was beautiful and I completely agree with the bromance. I love how you mentioned it has moved you beyond reason and I believe many can and will say the same thing.

BUT, I believe Kris (yes my fav. even though I only voted a couple of times finale night), had an uphill road to climb this entire season and will continue to have this with his album. The only reason I go onto other blogs, generally, is if they have a link from here so I haven’t read what others are saying. However, I don’t believe TPTB gave Kris much consideration as the winner as Cathy mentioned. In addition, the best part of the winning song to me was the hug between Kris and his wife at the end. I decided to buy the itunes video just knowing it would be on there (ala DC’s brother’s great moment of saying, “That’s my brother!” at the end of his.) But no, they cut that part off.

I hope I’m wrong! I hope RCA plays to Kris’s strengths and produces a great album.

Thank you mj for running such a great blog!

If Jason Mrazà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s music is alt., then alt. sells.

His music isn’t “alt” anything. It’s what used to be called “easy listening”.

There is a huge market in the niche between country and pop, and Taylor Swift seems to be the only one there right now.

Country has been all about pop for years. Taylor Swift is just the next in a long line of pretty blondes. Country music is like a casting a soap opera. You always have a pretty blond. Faith Hill > Carrie Underwood > Taylor Swift.

The difference between county pop and top 40 is that a weak singer can’t rely on autotune and lipsynchng to bail them out in country pop. There are few, if any, country stars who can’t sing their asses off.

Thanks, MJ, for making a place where it’s possible and fun to talk about this show. I’m a sporadic Idol watcher, having only watched seasons 3, 5 and, now, 8. Like some others, I like it when I feel like I’m getting something that doesn’t otherwise come my way. For me, that was Mr. Lambert. I don’t know if I’ll like what he makes hereafter – won’t know until I hear it. But I’m really glad that he’s going to have the opportunity to try it – it’s always good to have more variety in the musical gene pool.

I’ll miss the weekly arc of the competition. Given their personalities, it doesn’t surprise me that Kris and Adam found friendship – they both were here more for the music than for the competition, so the former’s power to bind trumped the latter’s power to alienate. That’s probably why it’s harder for fans – music lovers though we may be, it probably isn’t anything like what these musicians feel, who see similarities in their approach where we see distance. It’s like the hype of them coming from different worlds – they both seem like countless kids I’ve known who become fast friends. Surface features don’t keep people from seeing common ground, whether it’s music or life.

I’ll miss the arc, but I won’t miss some of the Idol-world vocabulary: don’t care if I never hear two (or more) names crammed together again, any variety of “throwing someone under the bus”, “pimping”, “guyliner” or “bromance”. And I particularly don’t care if I never hear “indulgent” and “self-indulgent” used interchangeably (and vacuously).

I like Kris and hope that he really has the arrangement skill and taste that the show’s editing suggested he might – it’s so hard to tell what’s you and what’s just youtube. But I wish Adam had won. The whole voting thing is designed to create fairytale endings, and I have no problem with parables as long as they reveal the truth. But I think that this year, Cinderella didn’t really ring all that true – The Ugly Duckling was much more convincing and so, would have been ultimately more satisfying.

You only say that because ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s totally popular! This post got the pimp spot unfairly! Last post was more grammatically correct! Is this vote even based upon quality of word placement! You must be a tween

You redeemed yourself with that one! All is forgiven.

Great wrap-up MJ, echoing the feelings of many of us.

It’s rare to have a situation where I can be sad for the ‘loser’, but also happy for the winner, and Kradam has done it for me this time. To me, they’re just like brothers finding joy in each other’s quirks and talents. Thanks for following up on Season 8′s contestants even after the Finale. Hope to hear more good stuff from my favs of the season, and especially Adam and Kris.

See you around, MJ and peeps! It’s been a great roller-coaster ride, tho’ I’m still looking for my stomach left behind in that sudden twist at the end there during the Finale. Hopefully without it, I can ‘digest’ the songs from Danny Gokey’s album (is it true they signed Gokey, but not Anoop nor Matt?)

This was American Idol Season 8! Woo-hoo!

I’m getting over my disappointment, and now I feel pretty good about Adam’s 2nd place finish. After all, part of the excitement each week was wondering if America would like and understand Adam. He’s got to feel good about getting to perform clear through to the final with the popular vote, all the while earning the respect of some heavy duty music insiders by being his edgy self. That is a great accomplishment. Of course, he deserved to win, and was understandably probably pretty upset, but I imagine that it might have been much worse with someone other than Kris in the final. It was a double-edged sword, knowing that he wanted Kris in there but would probably lose against him.

In any case, Adam was a class act all the way, and Kris seems like a terrific guy too. Love the bromance, and family love.

Could Adam have done some things differently (or the producers/judges) that might have let him win? Probably, and we’ll never know, but I don’t think it will make a difference in the long term. He has the exposure and star quality to make things happen for his career, and it will be interesting to see what directions that leads to. I think for the music he might want to make, the American Idol crown might have been constraining. David Cook is performing in my small town in June, and just seeing him advertised as the American Idol is kind of cringe-worthy when it is there in black and white in front of you. I hope Adam is just Adam Lambert, and can be more free from the AI stigma.

As far as the finale song, I felt that Adam was hanging back to give Kris the spotlight (especially after Kris’s immediate response!) and that Allison was just following Adam around. I don’t know where Danny was. The result of those last moments will be that there will always be 2 perceived winners, and they seem to be sharing the glory in a way that is comfortable for them both.

Thanks MJ for all the details this season!

love this blog..so here’s to my first post

great recap! i was rooting for kris all along because i love his voice and am more of a soft/acoustic rock fan. loved allison as well. adam came with a bag of mixed feelings. from love to like to hate to like to loving him again! in the middle i started to get bored of adam and his perfomances weren’t too surprising, though i love his voice too. then during week 4, i started liking him again especially after Slow Ride and the Addison hug and “She’s like a younger sister to me” awwww really sweet. i think AI producers wanted to show that Adam is a rock god/glam rocker blah blah but in reality he’s a really nice guy. kudos to the “bromance”. love the term but wonder from where it originated. anyone know?

besides that i love the final moment, and showed Kris in his true colors to be this down right amazingly nice guy. “Adam deserves this”! Wow! what a tribute to a great friendship.

anyway, i just wish that next season they’ll focus more on the contestants than on the judges. till then, i’ll be waiting for the Kris Allen album.

aeyelle May 25th, 2009 at 11:39 pm

And yeah, if only Adam were the one beside Kris instead of Jorge, I wouldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been the happiestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’it was the perfect ending. Unfortunately, it did not happen. A part of me was crushed to see Adam at the sidesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’which made it seem like he was a sore loser IMO.

I find it interesting how mileage varies. My take on Adam not being up there with Kris was that Adam wanted the spotlight to be on Kris and not himself.

I too would have liked to see Adam, Allison, Danny and Matt surrounding Kris. That would have been the ending I would choose.
David Cook singing TOML surrounded by Archie and his friends was the most emotional finale I’ve seen in all of Idol’s eight seasons. I’m not sure it can be surpassed.

ITA!! I couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t believe he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t do a more current song those weeksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦the other à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“huh?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  one for me was à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Play that Funky Musicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Top Downloadsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

ITA on Play That Funky Music as well, although to be fair, I also hated Kris’ song choice that week….that is, until I heard him perform it (Ain’t No Sunshine). That theme could have been called “sing any song you want” week. Ugh. That’s one of the things I appreciate about Matt and Anoop, at least they chose The Fray and Usher that week.

But Born to Be Wild vs. Falling Slowly and Cryin vs. Heartless? I think some of Adam’s song choices were off the mark, it’s a good thing he had the talent and ability to still give showstopping performances despite that.

I’m not a Jason Mraz fan, so I don’t care if people call him “easy listening” or boring or whatever.

My point was just that some acoustic-style singer-songwriter stuff is selling very well. And if Kris is very fortunate, both in his own artistic choices and in how AI deals with him, he has potential to sell well too. Potential, folks! Nothing is guaranteed in this crazy business, for anyone — not even Adam….

Also, be careful what you say about Taylor Swift as “just another blonde” or whatever. She’s got some serious cred from Rolling Stone and other sources. A friend of mine who is a techie for a big arena was working on the crew during a recent performance of Swift’s on tour. He’s a very crusty sort, knowledgeable and highly critical of pop music. He was pleasantly surprised in her — thought she has loads of talent, fine performing skills and was amazed to enjoy her so much.

Maybe I’d agree, maybe I wouldn’t — I haven’t ventured into that sonic territory yet. But maybe, just maybe, some of these old categories and pigeonholes are blurring and opening up again. That’s what I loved most about the ’60s & ’70s music world, it kind of blew the gates wide open and let a lot of different “cross over” folks in. It’s time for a new round of that, IMO. :biggrin_wp:

Chipmunk May 25th, 2009 at 11:55 pm

Whatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the big deal about having Jorge next o Kris in his winnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s shot? Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just a picture. Adam and Allison, my 2 favs , were to the side..good enough for meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦they should have been the final 2 and it didnt happen so I give a f**k not that the winner had the likes of Jorge and co surrounding himà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦its sums up how underwhelming his win was,so ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s all good

Hee Hee. You are one of my blogger heros, no matter how I try to be a little diplomatic, you usually type what I am thinking.

Mj, I feel just about the same way you do. Even though I liked Adam and Kris, and were happy that they were the final two, I was disappointed that Adam didn’t win. I liked Adam since they showed his audition, I felt at the time that I had just seen the winner of American Idol, especially when I saw his various performances on youtube. I’m glad that he stayed true to himself, and even if his rock performances weren’t as popular, I’m glad he did them to show what he could do. I think part of the dissappointment that I felt was because Adam gave such terrific performances with Kiss and with Queen during the finale.

I think Adam might end up being one of the biggest stars from Idol, and is going to bring something different to music. Maybe this is better for him, because he might have more flexibility in what he can do musically. I think I was hoping for Adam to win because he would be so totally different from other winners of AI.

I like Kris too, he was a very close second for me. I only started liking him the past month or so, though. David Cook is my favorite idol ever, I’m a huge fan of his, and some of what Kris did reminds me of him.

I think I’m going to be a Kris fan as well as an Adam fan, especially once their cds come out.

Did any of you catch the Larry King show where they said sometimes they had to chose a song written on a piece of paper that they had no choice of. And who knows, maybe the list they had wasn’t what any of them would have chosen to begin with but were stuck with choosing.

All in all, Adam perfected whatever song he HAD to do regardless and no one can take the vocal range and stage personia he displayed and as most of us will agree, prolly never will again. I give him mad kudos for being what he wanted to be and doing it mad good. Not to mention, half the music today is a remix of an old song or a song thats play perpetually………… We need someone like Adam to wake us the fuk up with something new and alive.

I still would have preferred if during Top 3 Adam had been allowed to sing One Republic’s “Come Home” instead of having to sit through Kris singing “Apologize.” Adam would have killed it and I would have been sitting in a puddle of tears on the floor.

Thank you MJ for this insightful, creatively written, and well organized blog. I was hooked on AI this season from day one, mostly because of Adam and his awesomeness. I came to depend on and love reading your blog like a trusted and dear friend. Thank you for sharing your feelings of disappointment over the finale outcome. I think it helps those of us who feel the same way.

Unlike Kris, Theo Tams is a classically trained singer (actually studied opera), so in some respects, he had the most in common with Adam — vocally at least. But Theo is a terrific, self-taught pianist, and for some folks, a performer playing an instrument is just incredibly appealing.

Theo is also a baritone (so his voice, for a lot of the general audience, is automatically going to be a lot more appealing than Adam’s counter-tenor), nor is Theo particularly theatrical. (I sort of recall one OTT performance where he jumped on the piano and it was ROTF hilarious — not in a good way.) But to me, he was like a really cool synthesis of the two Davids. Amazingly talented without being fully formed like Adam.

Personally, I think if Adam had gone in more of the Theo direction stylistically during the show, he probably would have won in a landslide. But then he wouldn’t have attracted all the buzz amongst the media and other artists and, more importantly, wouldn’t have been true to himself.

(This is Theo singing “Collide.” Probably my most favorite performance of his.)

I find it interesting how mileage varies. My take on Adam not being up there with Kris was that Adam wanted the spotlight to be on Kris and not himself.

That was my take, and it struck as very sweet. As a fan I was looking for him, and then when I saw him standing on the far edge of the camera shot The words “That boy has so much class” ran through my mind.

Unlike Kris, Theo Tams is a classically trained singer (actually studied opera), so in some respects, he had the most in common with Adam à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  vocally at least. But Theo is a terrific, self-taught pianist, and for some folks, a performer playing an instrument is just incredibly appealing.

Theo is also a baritone (so his voice, for a lot of the general audience, is automatically going to be a lot more appealing than Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s counter-tenor), nor is Theo particularly theatrical. (I sort of recall one OTT performance where he jumped on the piano and it was ROTF hilarious à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  not in a good way.) But to me, he was like a really cool synthesis of the two Davids. Amazingly talented without being fully formed like Adam.

Personally, I think if Adam had gone in more of the Theo direction stylistically during the show, he probably would have one in a landslide. But then he wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have attracted all the buzz amongst the media and other artists and, more importantly, wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have been true to himself.

(This is Theo singing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Collide.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Probably my most favorite performance of his.)

You described Theo so much better than I did! I remember that night he jumped up on the piano. I sure was cheering him on. I think, in a way, Theo might have been why I felt so much for Adam because he was like the artsy guy who was different (in Theo’s case the opera training).

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not going to deny Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s obvious vocal talent (he has an out-of-this-world range and nearly perfect control), but at the same time Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m going to assert that Kris has some absolutely absurd vocal (musical) talents that I havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seen before. Krisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ interpretive skills in his subtle phrasing and small melodic decisions astounded me all season.

I’m glad someone else has recognized what a great singer Kris is. His vocals were what made me first listen to him closely. I guess to compensate for his lack of range, Kris has an arsenal of tricks to make his vocals more interesting. I wish I knew more musical terms to describe it (maybe someone else can for me). But some of his tricks are the little growls, vibratos, and nasally sounds he incorporates in his singing, playing with the tempo of a song, sliding from one note to the next. There are more, I just can’t describe them. But, listen to “Remember the Time” or “What’s goin’ On” again, and see what I mean.

I can’t wait to hear more from Kradam in the future.

After the finale, it became obvious that this season ended up having some of the least appealing contestants in years:

Annoying and/or boring: Jorge, Jasmine, Megan, Sarver, Lil, Danny, Scott, Alexis

semi-okay: Matt and Anoop

best: Kris and Allison and most of all Adam

Did any of you catch the Larry King show where they said sometimes they had to chose a song written on a piece of paper that they had no choice of. And who knows, maybe the list they had wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t what any of them would have chosen to begin with but were stuck with choosing.

>

That IS NOT what they said. That is how they BROKE A TIE for a song!!!!

“Anastasia72071 – …That is precisely why I think that everyone was getting it wrong when they kept calling Kris the underdog. Kris is exactly the type of singer that America loves – dependable and not too shocking. Adam had waaaay more hurdles to clear than Kris ever did; I was actually quite surprised and impressed that America voted for Adam all the way into the #2 spot.”

Finally, someone is echoing my thoughts exactly. I had written the same thing but wanted to move on and cancelled my comment. I am glad that Adam proved that he could get to the finals on his own terms. Some strange song choices in my opinion but who knows what goes on behind selecting and getting approved for the song choices…Maybe he is saving the current pieces for real albums typical Adam-style.

MJ, I pretty much agree with everything you said. I too felt disappointment when Adam didn’t win, although I may have been quite a bit more invested than you. But I do recognize the talents that Kris brought to the table and, as you pointed out, he came on strong at the end.

My only real disagreement – the fact that you failed to mention regional voting as a factor in Kris’s win. I know Kris fans feel any discussion about that somehow diminishes his win, but to me, the hometown/state pride coupled with organized voting did and will continue to negatively impact these competitions until the voting rules are changed. And, I know you don’t think they will be but, as for me, I’m not so sure they won’t. Overall, though, a great wrap-up. My favorites were Adam, Kris and Allison and I think all three have bright futures ahead.

ITA!! I couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t believe he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t do a more current song those weeksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦the other à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“huh?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  one for me was à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Play that Funky Musicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Top Downloadsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Well to be fair, Adam wanted to sing “Crazy,” by Gnals Barkley, which is much more current. PTFM was a last minute choice. Same with “Cryin’” instead of OneRepublic’s “Come Home.” Which again, is pretty current. So it seems that Adam had chosen some modern songs more times than not as his first choice, it’s too bad that he a.) couldn’t get it cleared (ala “Crazy”) or the judges choice of a OneRepublic song made him not sing his choice of one.

So it’s really that Adam chose crappy songs as his second choices. Luckily he won’t have to worry about that as much in the real world.

David Cook is performing in my small town in June, and just seeing him advertised as the American Idol is kind of cringe-worthy when it is there in black and white in front of you. I hope Adam is just Adam Lambert, and can be more free from the AI stigma.

I like Adam, I thought he should win. This ^ however, will never happen. You are never beyond American Idol. No matter where you place or how successful you are after. I remember last year perusing MJ’s Headlines thread and there was an article about Chris Daughtry in a UK paper. They referred to him as an “Idol reject.” Even now, 5 million albums and 1 band later, he is still an American Idol shock boot. These kids never get away from it. No matter how successful they may become none of them will ever be on par with the most popular TV show in America for the last eight years.

As for this years crop, I like Kris, but can’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed by his win. Don’t quite know why. (I have never been to think my favorite has to win.) It just seems decidedly meh to me.

Late to the party…

MJ, I think this is the first year we’ve disagreed about who should win and it feels…odd. I feel like the world is upside down and the sky turned orange…that kind of odd.

Regardless, thanks so much for all your hard work, and I always look forward to the discussion and ideas presented here. I’m just sorry I was so late to the party this year because of school.

I mean it sincerely that I support Kris, Adam, and Allison, and I want them all to succeed, but I’m honestly happy with the result. Happier every day actually. I think I’d resigned myself to Adam winning because, let’s face it, he’s like the Idol contestant Frankenstein would have created in his lab. The fact that he lost actually gives me a sliver of hope in a weird way. Like somehow musicality won over showmanship. (Glamberts keep reading…you’ll like it, I swear)

The funny thing is, everything about Adam ticks every box that says I should absolutely love this guy, and he has had some phenomenal performances that really moved me, but I don’t think he was as consistent as some believe and I don’t think he did a very good job of truly connecting with a lot of his songs. There were performances that I absolutely floved (Change is Gonna Come, Whole Lotta Love, Feelin’ Good, Mad World 2.0), and ones that I absolutely detested (Mad World 1.0, PTFMWB, BTBW, Satisfaction). I love that he likes to push buttons, and challenge ideas, and explore boundaries. I respect him a great deal, and I hope he makes the right decisions musically. I just have yet to see that he’s the “next big thing” people are going on about. In that last point, I hope I am wrong. He seems like a great guy with an a great family and a good head on his shoulders, and I love him more as a human being every day. I want him to get all the success he desires.

Kris, on the other hand, is just a natural talent, IMHO. The kind of person this show keeps talking about looking for, but somehow tosses aside repeatedly for the bigger, flashier contestant. I’m so glad he’s going to get these opportunities, and I really do think he needed this title a lot more than Adam did. I also hope he proves the naysayers wrong in a big way. Like Adam, I love him more as a human being every day, and like Adam he seems like he has a wonderful support structure around him. I hope he makes the right decisions and gets to play those solo shows in big arenas. He needs to understand how much he really deserves this.

Allison is so young, but somehow I worry the least about her. If she’s given the opportunity I just know she’ll make the right decisions. It’s so refreshing to see such a young girl with such a good idea of who she is and what she wants. I kind of envy her in that way. I think if this season had never happened she would be the contestant I would miss the most. I’m happy I got to find out that someone like her exists out there. Gives me hope for the future. I only hope she keeps that head of hers in the long road to come.

Having said all that, I am so, so happy that I could root for both guys in the top 2 – for the first time! – and I was actually going to vote for Adam after Change (crap, that was good)! I so didn’t expect to at the top 13, but I loved this season like puppies and rainbows…but not Magic Rainbows, because only Cookie can search for those.

Oh, and I just saw the second LKL video, and even Adam didn’t like that last note on Mad World 1.0!! I hated that note with a passion! He totally just redeemed that performance in my eyes! I really do love this guy.

You only say that because ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s totally popular! This post got the pimp spot unfairly! Last post was more grammatically correct! Is this vote even based upon quality of word placement! You must be a tween!!

Oh, please! That last post was sooo booring! I totally lost interest midway through the first paragraph. It’s just like any old post you can find any old blog. It only gets votes because some people believe it has the only true syntax! This post is so much more bold in it’s sentence structure, and totally deserves the vote!!

(Sorry…I’m so, so sorry.)

ETD: The Mraz stuff. This post was already tl;dr enough.

MJ, Thanks for all you do with your site. It’s even better every year, although I do wonder sometimes when you sleep. I enjoyed your final take on it all. For me, this season was like being at a party. Adam is the guy across the room that I would notice right away and keep looking over at. Kris is the guy who would start talking to me at the food table while I was looking at Adam. Every once in a while, Kris would say something interesting and I’d pay a little more attention to him. Adam comes over and he’s awesome, of course. He makes the rounds of the party, being sparkling and entertaining everyone. Then Kris would say something kind-of brilliant that I totally agree with. When it’s time to go, both guys give me their numbers and tell me to call.

In the end, I thought they were both great in their own ways. I wanted Adam to win for being so thoroughly awesome, but since I appreciated what Kris did, I also wished they could just sit down, refuse to sing, and share the top spot. They were both so gracious after the results, I was incredibly impressed. I am hoping that the people they work with in the music industry get it right for them! Thanks again for all your efforts here.

Beautifully written, MJ.

I am glad Adam made the choices he did on the show. While I think his voice was the most stunningly beautiful on the ballads, I also LOVED it when he went all out nuts with the rock songs or big, outrageous notes and theatrics (as in “Feelin’ Good”). I couldn’t believe I was witnessing such exciting performances on America Freakin’ Idol! I also get the feeling he’s got a lot more to give and I can’t wait to see what is in store for him, (and us!) in the future.

Any other season, I would’ve been for the darling, talented Kris Allen all the way. But not in a season with the likes of Adam Lambert. Holy cow.

“Starrlight – Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m a tween alright. Tween 30 and 50 ”

LMAO. This is why I keep coming back to the site (and find myself unable to move on, yet). You guys are so funny. Guess I fall in the Tween bracket, too then.

As to why Adam lost. I have to go with LaurelG’s assessment of regional support. It does play a huge role. In terms of how the regional fans accomplished the task, I have 2 words: “Text voting” (pause while I verify my math…yes, two words!) I power- text voted after reading the instructions on KANation web site (Kris fan site). Only, I voted for Adam. But I appeared to be in the minority as far as text voting goes. My coworkers, the lonesome 2 women I found who actually watched AI in an office of 200 , were proud of themselves that they cast half a dozen votes each week. I felt others should vote for whoever they wanted and however times they wanted so I didn’t say anything to them until after the fact.

Text voting, one person can send ~4000-5000 votes in 2 hours as opposed to meager 400-500 (and that if you are lucky enough to get through the phone line). Most Adam fans are complaining they got in about 6 in the first hour and managed overall 100 or so. With text votes you don’t have to wait. You can keep texting. If you create a group and text to that group you can vote however many times you can press a button in 2 hours times the number of people in that group. I think the recommendation was 10-20. You do the math. There are bits floating around about how AT&T in Arkansas were handing out phones and Kris fan site that reports organized efforts to teach people how to power text vote.

Everyone played by the rules however flawed they are. Arkansas by all acounts pulled through for Kris whereas I can’t say the same for my fellow Californians. I don’t think the regional support diminishes Kris’ leigitimacy as a talented musician. I did what I could to cancel out some of the tidal wave of Kris fan votes, all because I thought Adam wanted to win. I personally don’t think AI title itself means jack. I had never watched the show intentionally before I caught Adam during the commercials.

Both won recording contracts. Both got cars. Both won fans over. Both got noticed by the industry. They seem to have found an unlikely friendship. In the big scheme of things no big deal who got the title. As many of you have already said, if it had to be anyone else besides Adam, I had hoped it would be Kris or Allison. Hurray to A-K-A again! :clap_tb:

Great Recap.

I was extremely thrilled that Kris Allen, who I thought was just as good as Adam in a much different way, inspired so many to his cause throughout the season. This was a kid who came in with no story, no special Idol package, no endorsement from the show at all. He built his own story and it was enough to topple “favorite” of the season. Kris’ win is what it is and he should be nothing but proud over what he was able to accomplish.

Adam was thrilling on stage and posseses a vocal range like no other. His gift was shock and awe at it’s finest. Kris, on the other hand, was and is subdued, introspective almost to a fault. On Idol, where everyone DEMANDS to be entertained, his type of style isn’t always appreciated and in fact, I am shocked that he so handily made it all the way based on his musical style alone. But in the real world, things are a little different and vocal styles that may be vilified on the show can actually carry cred (put it this way, John Lennon, in spite of amazing musical talents would NEVER have won American Idol…if we go by the “it’s a singing competition” ~ which to me is the biggest farce ever). It’s always interesting to read what the entertainment pundits have to say, the arm chair prognosticators, about who will be supa stah and who will fade away. Bottom line, I think Idol history has taught us that we can’t possibly know these things before hand. I wish both Kris and Adam the best. The best two made it to the end.

Kris has a lot going for him, but his vocals arent his strongest suit,sorry! His musical talents yes, not vocals.

Yeah, but it’s all part of the package. When Idol added instruments to the mix, the game changed in it’s entirety. It allowed for a different type of contestant to emerge, the “artist”. When Cook was allowed to play his guitar, it added an element to his appeal that singing alone would never accomplish. Same with Kris. Although Kris will never possess the vocal chops of Adam, I think he has other musical attributes that cannot be ignored. He understands his voice and it’s limitations and that in and of itself is a gift.

Re: MJ’s last paragraph…

WORD. That’s the best part of the season to me. There has been a ridiculous amount of hoopla in the media about this vote being “anti-gay”. Whatever. Perez Hilton is busy screaming on his ridiculous blog about how America is SOOO backwards blah blah blah. Well…change doesn’t come in HUGE antigenic shifts. It happens person by person until one day all of those people equate a change that we can visibly see. The simple fact that Kris Allen, a white bread middle American Christian worship leader, can SEE Adam Lambert for who he is as a PERSON and be friends with him and love him is HUGE. The simple fact that Adam can do the same for Kris is HUGE as well. I don’t see how the media missed this obvious point, but to me, this speaks volumes. Change is coming, perhaps not as fast as Perez Hilton wants, but it is coming.

Who the heck is Jason Miraz? I wish Adam could have sung “Come Home”. I’ve heard Adam’s clip of “Come Home”. I melted like the Wicked Witch of the West.

Great recap, MJ! But I totally DISagree that Kris “sucked the energy out of the moment” because of “inability to react”—-I just looked again at the clip of David Cook winning last year, and there isnt a huge difference between their reactions….Cook puts his head in his hands, while Kris just grins in disbelief…but they’re both at a loss for words at first. They did show a bit more of the audience and judges screaming and cheering last year for Cook, and this year I think Ryan spent more time milking Kris for reactions—something he has been doing a lot more of this whole season with all the contestants, which often seems a bit forced and unnatural. There is that odd second where Kris says “I dont know even know how to feel…” but he gets right back up (in true Kris style) and gives credit to his fans, with the same class as when he said “Adam deserves this.” Kris’s humility is the real thing, and that authenticity (which comes through his music) is why I voted for him. I watched this back a few times, and I choke up every time.

kudos to the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“bromanceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . love the term but wonder from where it originated. anyone know?

SarahP, I believe I read that the term came from “Big Brother”. Can’t swear to it myself, since I only ever watched part of one season of that show.

On Top 3 night, I voted for Kris for the whole two hours – well more like 1 1/2 hours, since my phone was overheating.) On Top 2 night, I voted for Kris 4 times and for Adam 2 times. (Don’t tell me about cancelling votes; the reason I did this was dorky, but it made sense to me, since I love both guys.) I bought everything on iTunes by both of them, plus Allison.

The sour grapes by “Adam only” fans (not all, just some) is very depressing. Kris earned this win. So did Adam. But Kris is the person who won. If people really cared about Adam, they might follow his lead and: 1. be happy Adam made it all the way to the end (meaning maximum Adam exposure … Yay!); 2. be disappointed he didn’t win; and 3. be happy for his friend, who did win.

It’s understandable if Kris‘s music isn’t your cuppa. (As Kris and Adam have both said, their music is like comparing apples and oranges – very different.) Great. Don’t buy Kris‘s music. Plenty of other people will. And plenty of people (myself included) will be buying both. Plus Allison‘s.

GlamGirlLee May 26th, 2009 at 1:50 am

Who the heck is Jason Miraz? I wish Adam could have sung à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Come Homeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve heard Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s clip of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Come Homeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . I melted like the Wicked Witch of the West.

Did the duet on the finale with Anoup and the weird blond chick with the god awful voice.

A huge kudos to Adam and Kris for creating the awesomest bromance evah. The Christian Midwest straight arrow and the Jewish Hollywood gay dude forged an on-air friendship that foiled at least some of the cultural war nonsense the media tried to drum up. Their message that respect and love CAN prevail, despite great differences moved me. Beyond reason.

I totally agree, mj! But for those who love and will miss their bromance, here’s a video tribute to Kradam set to their first duet “I Will Remember You”. I love this song, their voices suit each other.

It’s a must see for Kradam fans!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9A6v2jajYM

It was a bitterweet ending being an Adam fan. I was heartbroken that America didn’t totally back Adam. The video helped me a little…

oops sorry…posted in the wrong thread. I moved it to the Larry King thread.

Great post MJ. I echo the sentiment that I wish other journalists could be as objective as you.

Adam certainly did bring an air of excitement to the season with his unique energy. Even if I wasn’t his biggest fan, I think he’s immensely talented and a class act for sure.

I voted harder than I ever have to get Kris into the finale, but I didn’t vote on the night because I felt strongly that it was more appropriate for Adam to win. When Kris won, it left me feeling strange. On one hand, I love Kris and had actually wanted him to win for a time. On the other hand, the narrative of the season seem to be demanding that Adam win.

Now that it’s had time to sink in, I’m glad it was Kris that ended up winning, awkward crowning and all. It was anticlimatic at the time, but the more I think about it, the more it amuses me that Idol got robbed of a perfect storybook ending, and Kris’ shell shock just endears me to him more.

This season was so immensely frustrating if you weren’t an Adam fan. I was so frustrated with Allison’s irrational struggle in the competition that I was pushed to delurk around here so I could help generate some buzz for her. I didn’t actually start enjoying to season until Top 4 when Allison and Kris were finally guaranteed top spot prior to what I thought was going to be an inevitable Danny/Adam finale.

Kris, Allison, and Adam made this season for me. I could care less about the rest, which contrasts to last season where I really loved the entire group, but those three and the relationships between them (Kradam, Addison … Krillison?) really made this dragging season worth watching.

A huge kudos to Adam and Kris for creating the awesomest bromance evah. The Christian Midwest straight arrow and the Jewish Hollywood gay dude forged an on-air friendship that foiled at least some of the cultural war nonsense the media tried to drum up. Their message that respect and love CAN prevail, despite great differences moved me. Beyond reason.

THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS

I pretty much ignored the fuss over Kradam until Kris’ surprise hug which melted the black shell of cynicism off my inherently idealistic heart. I adored Cookleta last year, but Kradam takes the cake. Y’all can continue to be cynical about it if you want, but love is so much more productive and giving than hate. Tour updates are going to be SO awesome!

MJ, you are for sure the queen of the idol media! As Rickey says, the Idol Oprah.

I’ve been trying to get over the fact of Adam not taking the crown. If he was destined to come in second, I’m glad he lost to his friend Kris and his beautiful soul, I can’t complain about it (I cannot imagine how I would be feeling if Gokey was in the place of Kris right now).

I just feel that in the deepest corners of my mind, Adam got pegged as the AI8 winner for me, it all was a matter of time, the media, the polls, the statistics, everything pointed to Mr. Lambert. I feel like I was told during weeks, that Adam was the one, the front runner. I guess this is how the fans of the Patriots felt when they reached the Super Bowl XLI undefeated, but along came the Giants taking the title with them. :down_tb:

I am really excited about his future, honestly, I don’t feel that the genre matters that much. He proved that he can sing anything, even before stepping a foot on the idol stage. The stuff on his MySpace page, Citizen Vein’s songs and his own song performed at the Zodiac Show, are small bits of 3 different musical directions. The curious thing is that Adam dominates the 3 of them. I know he needs to gravitate towards 1 thing more than the other, I’m sure he and his producers will make the right decisions.

The thing about Adam is that he cannot be generic. He is too unique. His voice and style can’t be lost in the crowd. As someone that lives outside the USA and travels a lot, I truly feel that Simon was right when he talked about Adam’s world-wide appeal. Idol has absolutely ignored international audiences for years. In a way that is almost offensive, they just don’t try to promote their artists outside the USA. Most of the idol winners and runner-ups so far have failed to attract international audiences by themselves because of their genres. Except for Kelly and J Hud(because of the movies), they are just too generic outside the idol bubble. The Davids still deserve the benefit of the doubt. Time will tell.

I really feel different about Adam, he has that spark. To me, the most daring artist are the ones that end up being recognized world-wide. The ones that push buttons. Call it U2, BEP or Lady Gaga, many, many people don’t like them, but playing it safe is not the name of their games, and that has been the key to their success.

I hope that at least one of the collaborations that are being rumored happens, I authentically have a great feeling about Adam’s future.

Last season I was eager to get the album from everyone on the Top 8 sans-Syesha, this year, musically, I only care about Adam and Allison.

As much as I like and admire Kris as a person, I really have been trying to like his voice for the last 4 months, I even listened to his pre-idol album, and as much as I appreciate his talent, I am still not able to enjoy it. For me it is all about the voice, I like it when singers have unique voices or strong voices. I am a big fan of singer-songwriters as Sarah McLachlan, Missy Higgins or David Gray, but Mr. Allen doesn’t do it for me. Still, his personality really moves me in a level that his voice is not a ble to, and I wholeheartedly, really wish him the best

I cannot even start to explain the way I feel about Adam, so I won’t even try to. He has moved me in a way that no singer had moved me in years. I’ll just say that I found a true idol in him. In many ways. Not that I was looking for one, but it happened. I’ll always be thankful to AI for giving us Lambert. I don’t care what he does in the future, as long as he is in the business (hopefully for a long, epic while), I’ll be there to support him. I really look forward to the future. :happy_tb:

Once again, thanks MJ! You rock.

BTW, LOL @ “freaking Jorge Nunez standing next to Kris” :lol_tb: I got the feeling that it was all very rushed, and Lil and Jorge wanted to be on the spotlight for at least one second. Sorry, but they stole Adam and Allison’s rightful place, and of course, Adison were not going to push their co-contestants around just to get there on time!

It’s also funny that after all, nobody really got the confetti shower in a literal way.

“linsav – May 26th, 2009 at 2:20 am
GlamGirlLee May 26th, 2009 at 1:50 am

Who the heck is Jason Miraz? I wish Adam could have sung à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Come Homeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve heard Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s clip of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Come Homeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . I melted like the Wicked Witch of the West.

Did the duet on the finale with Anoup and the weird blond chick with the god awful voice.”

:smile_wp:
I keep hearing people mention Jason Miraz when they talk about Kris but I never heard him before. Just not my type of music, I guess. That “weird chick with the god awful voice” didn’t endear me to it either. You are so dead-on with her description.

While I am in no way dismissing Kris, and believe he is definitely a talented musician, and nice guy…I think a lot of the disappointment stems from the fact that America went for the safe bet, and voted in another cookie cutter Idol. He may have been cannon fodder from the start, with Adam continuously receiving the producers backing, but I believe Kris still fit into their mold better than Adam did.

But hey, at least he’s not from Birmingham, Alabama.

Though if we get yet another Christian Idol from the Midwest or South next year…I say they need to change the name of the show.

mj just wanted to thank you for all you do on this site. my day is not complete unless i’ve been here at least twice in day. i’m not really surprised you were rooting for adam, we never seem to agree on the same idol. ha ha ha.

but seriously, being a kris fan i never felt like he got treated unfairly here. i’m still shocked kris won over adam. i thought for sure adam was a sure thing but then i started talking to people in real life and everyone in my family and my friends were all kris fans. they just connected with him. adam just didn’t and his sexuality had nothing to do with it. they just didn’t like his voice, they didn’t hate it but they didn’t love it either. and we are talking about women from 30 to 49 and a couple of 19 – 23 year olds. last year we were split 1/2 for archie and the other half for cookie.

i hope adam does find success but i’m just not sure it will happen the way people have been saying. i just don’t feel it. i’m hoping 19e(vil) doesn’t screw kris with bad songs. one can only hope, for both of them (and allison too!!!!)

Since winning, people have asked Kris what kind of album he is going to make, and he basically says, “if you watched the show, you know what kind of album I am going to make.” Kris exhibited a variety of styles on the show, but there was an inner coherence.

I really don’t think I have any sense of what kind of album Adam plans to make, and after over 13 weeks, I think that’s a significant problem for him that may have contributed to his loss. People will say, “oh, well, Adam can sing everything!”, but that isn’t really a sufficient answer; there needs to be a coherence to an album…and a career. One can evolve and try different things, but very few successful artists can hold a fan base together if they are all over the map (most who try are forced to return to their original style before long).

I really am interested to know, from Adam fans, whether they have a clear sense of what kind of album and career Adam hopes to have. Not because he needs to be labeled…maybe he will do something completely new…but do you have an idea of what that new thing will look like based on the show?

Today I went back and saw Adam’s performance of Cher’s Believe. This song, of course, was something of a dance anthem in the late 90s (though, admittedly, he did it as a ballad). Adam suggested in other places that he was moving in a dance / electronic direction, such as when he chose “Play that Funky Music”. His pre-Idol music strongly suggests this direction, for example, “Pop Goes the Camera” and “Kiss and Tell”. Surprisingly, though there were opportunities to pick songs in this genre during the show, Adam never seemed fully committed to it.

Instead, on a great many occasions during the show, Adam seemed to favor more and more classic rock…the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Steppenwolf, and in the end he was paired with KISS. While his pre-Idol stuff sounds like it could be played today, much of his Idol material was simply dated. Though he made some changes to these songs, he did not update the songs to the extent that I could imagine them being played on a Top 40 channel in the 21st century. I agree that he has a great classic rock voice…but I don’t agree with those who think he can bring classic rock back. As much as I love classic rock, it was another era.

A third direction in which Adam went was the stripped down ballad, which I guess would be considered “emo”. Here we have “Tracks of My Tears”, “Mad World” and “If I Can’t Have You”.

There was also “Ring of Fire”, which seemed to be in its own world.

Frankly, I think Adam would be wiser to shift back in the direction of dance music, a la Lady Gaga, after the show. Of course, he could certainly throw in some “Mad World” type ballads along the way. However, during the show he seemed to favor the classic rock direction. Because classic rock is so dated, I wonder if this badly hurt Adam’s chances. Frankly, even when given the chance to do whatever he wanted, Adam rarely performed songs that could be hits on the radio right now.

People keep saying Adam is going to be a huge star. If this were the 1970s or even the 1980s, that conclusion would be obvious to me, too. But reviewing his performances at the Idol stage, Adam didn’t make the most coherent case that he is a modern pop star or rock star, and I simply don’t have a clear idea of what his album will look like. If he tours with Queen, he’ll put himself in the 80s. If he goes Gaga, he will be departing from what he emphasized on Idol.

To Adam’s fans, help me out: will his post-Idol career look more like his pre-Idol music, or the classic rock he did during Idol? Do you think the fact that he does not emerge from Idol with a clear artistic identity that is easy to picture on Top 40 radio may be part of the reason he struggled in the end? Or do you fundamentally disagree…do you think the music he picked on Idol is obviously hip and current? Frankly, I don’t see it.

rbidol, Adam said again tonight on the LK show that he wants to do Rock/Pop with an electric edge. Sounds good to me. Combining his pre-Idol and some of the Idol stuff so you can move with the music and enjoy his mid to low range singing voice. I loved how he sang “Beth” and hope there is a ballad or two. He can do some tour dates with Queen and give his vocal range free reign as that would be expected of him (Rock wail).

Adam suggested in other places that he was moving in a dance / electronic direction, such as when he chose à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Play that Funky Musicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . His pre-Idol music strongly suggests this direction, for example, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Pop Goes the Cameraà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Kiss and Tellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . Surprisingly, though there were opportunities to pick songs in this genre during the show, Adam never seemed fully committed to it.

I think the AI band don’t have the capacity to play that kind of stuff.

Adam said he would like to do a pop/rock with electronica album.

do you think the music he picked on Idol is obviously hip and current?

Going by the themes of the show, I don’t think you could actually associate hip and current with AI ever.

@ kerfuffle – thanks for clarifying where bromance came from. i’ve heard of the show “Big Brother” but never got a chance to watch it. awwww i’m so mighty jealous of you guys in the US. i’m from asia and never think i’ll ever get to see the idols in concert. sigh

btw on a positive note, me n my friend did this short vid on AI 2009. do watch and leave comments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qivWAmsQdp8

I really donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think I have any sense of what kind of album Adam plans to make, and after over 13 weeks, I think thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a significant problem for him that may have contributed to his loss. People will say, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“oh, well, Adam can sing everything!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , but that isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really a sufficient answer; there needs to be a coherence to an albumà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦and a career. One can evolve and try different things, but very few successful artists can hold a fan base together if they are all over the map (most who try are forced to return to their original style before long).

You hit the nail right on the head for me, rbidol. This was one of my apprehensions about Adam this seasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ I felt he never showed us his musical identity on the show. All these stuff about doing glam rock/pop rock/electronicaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦he always states this in interviews, but he hardly showed stuff of this genre on the show.

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s too soon to tell whether Adam or Kris will be successful. I hope (pray!) they both become successful. But success really depends on the material in their debut album, and we all know a lot of factors go into the making of an album.

The thing about Adam is that he cannot be generic. He is too unique. His voice and style canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be lost in the crowd. As someone that lives outside the USA and travels a lot, I truly feel that Simon was right when he talked about Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s world-wide appeal. Idol has absolutely ignored international audiences for years. In a way that is almost offensive, they just donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t try to promote their artists outside the USA. Most of the idol winners and runner-ups so far have failed to attract international audiences by themselves because of their genres. Except for Kelly and J Hud(because of the movies), they are just too generic outside the idol bubble. The Davids still deserve the benefit of the doubt. Time will tell.

Alxsavage, I second every word. AI is very, very narrowminded when it comes to international audiences. I do not have any figures, but I believe if you put together the viewers of all the other countries where AI airs, you would find that it’s a huge number, maybe more than in the US. And once the show is over, a lot of this potential is completely wasted and overlooked. Weird, considering music is a global industry.

Thank You MJ, beautifully written. Bravo !!!
I agree !

I just have one quirk and I say this every season at this exact same time EVEN if my favorite wins.

The winner is who gets the most votes, we do not know how many people voted and for whom.

If it was one or even 10 votes per person, I would agree totally that more people voted for the winner. And who knows, maybe more people did vote for David Cook my favorite from last year or Kris Allen this year who was my second favorite next to Adam.

But the voting system is what it is. I just have a good friend who is a math professor who gets peeved each year when people say the winner of a competition where it is more than one vote per person cannot say More people voted for him and her.

As you would be surprised the amount of people all over the internet who Believe that 100,000 people voted in the Final!! I have to laugh or shake my head..LOL. :wallbash_tb:

Excellent column, I salute you.

There are a great many international members of the Official Adam Lambert Fan site. It is amazing how many are buying his music on ITunes and going to You Tube and becoming fans.

First shock–then sad–then pissed. Those are the stages I went through after Adam did not take the title. I try to reason it out. He will be a success no matter what, at this point, I know. I should spend more time worrying about myself–and not Adam–LOL. But, I find myself going right back to square one. Pissed.

I am left most pissed about the voting system. It is an AT&T fiasco. I am sure it will influence my decison next year. I am SURE I will never vote again–whether I watch again is up to self debate at this point. But–it’s in stone–I will never vote again.

Hmm, I live in Europe and it seems I can’t buy Adams album from itunes here. Anyone else experience the same thing?

BEST WRAP-UP ON THE INTERNET.

That’s all.

Thanks for the reality colette. I’m hoping they let Kris make a good album too.

I’m going to say one last thing about voting and then that subject will be dropped from my mind for a very long time. AT&T created a monster that got out of hand and no one knew how to pull it back. In year’s past because of the cost of texting it pretty much matched a phone vote, but as we all know most AT&T texting is now unlimited and hence the problem. True Adam’s voters had just as much access to this but for a myriad of reasons it wasn’t used but we all saw how it was exploited in Arkansas. And since I was able to get maybe 30 phone votes in during 4 hours of trying it does make me feel a little resentful that no matter how much I liked my guy I couldn’t figure out a way to post several thousand votes for him. So no one will ever convince me that the voters picked the American Idol…only the number of votes cast picked the American Idol.

I will also say that, for the most part on this site (and since I don’t go to the others this is about MJ’s only) I am very respectful of the posters. There doesn’t seem to be the playground mentality here with the my guy is better than your guy, it is more about people having their favorite and being positive about that person and attempting to keep the negative in check. Kudos.

As far as the Bromance between Kris and Adam, I think it is sad that the American public didn’t get to see the after show hug that the two exchanged back stage. That was the “finest” moment I have ever witnessed between American Idol contestants. It summed up everything for me and cemented my liking for both these kids.

Now I am looking forward to following the careers of my favs. I have no idea where I’ll be going but the anticipation of the journey sure is fun.

The difference between county pop and top 40 is that a weak singer canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t rely on autotune and lipsynchng to bail them out in country pop. There are few, if any, country stars who canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t sing their asses off.

Um, really? Have you ever heard of Taylor Swift? It appears at the moment that she is the most popular pop country artist, and she can’t sing a single note in tune. Amazing what auto tune does for her isn’t it?

Luckily, Kris doesn’t need auto tune to sound good. I’m not sure that this is the direction he’ll go but if he does, fine. I hope he does well.

Saga- AI stuff is never on sale on European or UK iTunes. Only the “coronation cr@p” is on sale, both versions (Kris’s and Adam’s). I know, it sucks.

I don’t really understand it, because being online it costs them next to nothing and it would get them additional $$$… Sometimes it’s a matter of copyrights, but for AI performances I really don’t get it.

PS: Guys, IDOLATRY IS UP!

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think the casual Idol viewerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’a bigger slice of the pie especially at final timeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’notices producer machinations the way we uber-fans do. Nah, I think America, by the end of the competition, simply said YES to Kris à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢cause they dug him.

I wouldn’t discount the annoyance at the OTT Adam pimping on the part of the casual viewer. I know people at work who liked Adam early on but were over him at the end because of it. One wanted anyone but him to win by the end and I was surprised because she had liked him when I didn’t. The funny thing is that I wanted him to win at the end because I thought he was so much better a vocalist than Kris.

Overall I found this season was good at times but as it went on became the Adam show on the part of the judges and producers. I didn’t like the format or the save but most of all hate the manipulation. I will come away still a fan of those I liked throughout, especially Anoop, but hope they go back to the old format or a tweaked version of it. From what Randy said on LKL, I doubt that will happen though.

I was also very disappointed with the results. Kris seems like a nice guy and a decent musician, but his singing is quite mediocre. I didn’t really connect with his performances on Idol – Ain’t no sunshine was the only exception. I just can’t focus and pay attention to the song he is singing.

I watched this season because of Adam. I live in Europe and I had to download episodes to watch. I looked forward to Adam’s performances and I loved every single one of them. Adam has everything: great voice, performance skills and star quality.
Allison was my second favorite, but she was still million years behind Adam.

But yeah. Adam and Allison just didn’t have a chance. The south voted for their guy and he won.

When the dust of Season 8 settles in my head, these are the thoughts I’ll be left with:

1. Season 8′s main course for me was Adam Lambert with a side dish of Allison.
If I even attempt imagining the season without him I see nothing but boredom and lack of any performance dynamic whatsoever. It would have been the dullest season ever.

2. I think Adam knows that he could have gone in there and scrubbed his face, dressed down, sung beautiful ballads like “Beth” every week and wiped the floor with everyone. He would, I am sure, far prefer coming in second for being himself to winning by playing it safe and hiding his light under a bushel.
That he chose instead to be himself and risk it all is of great consolation to me.

3. Lastly- the one redeeming fact of the entire season is that it was not Gokey that won to Adam’s second place.
That would have been massively unconscionable and I really don’t think I could have dealt with it at all. I would have either been taken ill or taken into custody- expressing the outrage to that result could not possibly have been done adequately in a rational, healthy, or even legal manner.
So I am grateful to Kris for at least keeping me out of jail and/or the hospital.

It was a fun season- mostly because of Adam, but a fun season none the less. Emotional investment on this level is stressful and angst inducing, but far preferable to not caring about any of them.
So in that sense the season was a massive win for me.

And most of all I have discovered a great new artist to root for and follow, and enjoy for many years to come. That’s about all you can ask of any season, and for that I am grateful.

5 years from now when people think of Season 8 of American Idol they will think of 2 words: Adam Lambert.

I think Adam knows that he could have gone in there and scrubbed his face, dressed down, sung beautiful ballads like à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Bethà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  every week and wiped the floor with everyone. He would, I am sure, far prefer coming in second for being himself to winning by playing it safe and hiding his light under a bushel. That he chose instead to be himself and risk it all is of great consolation to me.

This is also why Adam received the attention he did and continues to. He stayed true to himself but also did something no one has ever done on the Idol stage before. Adam can sing, dance, perform, etc. He has style, personality, looks. He is the entire package, and the music industry knows that. I look forward to buying Adam’s pop/rock album in the fall. :smile_wp:

I loved the one question Adam got on Larry King last night: “How did you get so fabulous?!” lol

MJ..i dont know how i would have gotten thru this season, or any season, without your blog…thank you for your hard work and having everything we need at our fingertips. i come to your site as soon as i turn on my computer each and every day.

I am very disappointed in Adam not winning AI, and i have not gotten over it yet. But, i am glad that it wasnt danny, but Kris that he lost to. Kris has made it so much easier to swallow because he is talented, he is humble and he has not done one interview without giving Adam is props and friendship.

IMO, i think that Adam is the most gifted singer that Idol has ever had and i hope that his future is amazing.

does anyone know the difference in coming out first or second, as far as contracts and/or money?

The funny thing is, everything about Adam ticks every box that says I should absolutely love this guy, and he has had some phenomenal performances that really moved me, but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think he was as consistent as some believe and I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think he did a very good job of truly connecting with a lot of his songs.

This. Adam’s style is big and outward. Kris’ style is understated and intimate. There’s nothing wrong with either style IMO, it’s simply a matter of personal taste.

Allison was my favorite this year but both Adam and Kris had moments of absolute brilliance. I had goosebumps from the awesomeness of Adam’s Tracks of My Tears - but, I really, really didn’t like Ring of Fire. With Adam it was a lot of extremes for me – I either loved what he did or hated it from one week to the next. Kris was more to my taste consistently but he’s not the one who fills the stage with the energy and charisma of Adam. Ultimately, I usually like the singers who are organic and connect intimately with a song, and I was very happy with the result of the finale and think his understated elegance won Kris the crown.

MJ, thank you for a wonderful and fair-minded review. I agree that Kris peaked at just the right moment. I had a feeling when he sang Ain’t No Sunshine the first time that he was the dark horse to win it all, but it was his Heartless that sealed the deal for me personally.

And the bromance… love. These young men really show that the media sh*tstorm about culture war issues is a load of nonsense. It’s really about getting beyond buzzwords and pettiness and all about connecting as people and friends. What’s not to love?

What I came away with this season is there is no use voting, unless you text though AT&T. Regular landlines are practically useless. If you are really serious and want your pick to win, you need to go online and see how other people are using voting enhancement programs too.

Also there is no use in girls auditioning if there are any cute guys, because they can’t get a fan base going because of the “he’s so cute hot etc” votes. I will just watch with a slight detachment from now on. The ballot box stuffers win.

um, Unidentified — boys only need apply? how about the winners Kelly, Fantasia, Carrie, Jordin?

so far, four guys have won (taylor, rubin, dcook and Kris)

I call that a tie between the genders. and “cute” applies to women just as much as men….

You know, one of the great things about this annoyingly addictive show is that you actually can’t forsee it’s future. for that reason (and the delight in reading MJ’s blog), I guess I’ll just have to re-up for next season — even though, if you asked me to do it today, I’d rather eat some chocolate covered worms….with a side of Wasabi, of course…

boys only need apply? how about the winners Kelly, Fantasia, Carrie, Jordin?

Kelly, Fantasia, Carrie, were before there was unlimited texting I think. What I see on Google AT&T started having unlimited texting plans in 2007. Jordin’s year, well look how far Sanjaya Malakar got. Plus there are so many more people online now days, learning how to use auto programs. I just don’t know if we can get a girl winner now days. Especially if there’s a really cute guy, and the girl has just average looks.

I guess Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll just have to re-up for next season à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  even though, if you asked me to do it today, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d rather eat some chocolate covered wormsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.with a side of Wasabi, of courseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

If I had a buck for every time I have heard the “I will never watch again!!” line …..

Thanks MJ – I can’t say I have ever been a huge fan of this show, but came across Adam while channeling surfing back on RoF nite and have been hooked ever since. I enjoy your site immensely!

I am a little bit frightened re: how much time I have invested in this. While I understand that America voted for Kris, I do not buy that America got it right. In my mind, many Gokey and Kris fans voted against Adam and not for Kris or Danny. I guess not only was I hoping that Adam would win because he was by far the most talented, but I was also hoping as a Canadian that we would see some change in the way that America thinks – there is certainly a lot of hate out there.

It is quite obvious that his international fanbase is huge (take a look at his Facebook wall!), there seems to be a much more open way of thinking there.

Just my two cents – thanks again MJ.

If I only had a buck for every time *I* have said I’ll never watch this show again…

Thank you so much, MJ, for an awesome season. I look forward to your reports on the tour

To say I am completely disgusted with the results would be an understatement.
I am all about fairness. I am hearing stories about Arkansas texting that was not allowed – involving massive purchases of AT&T call cards by students, etc.
There is NO WAY Kris is better than Adam.

Heh, I seriosly think regional voting is a very important factor. Look at what happened to Allison and she was also from California.

Bringing this Finale reporting from another board (I can’t wait for the Tour!!!!):

We managed to get into rehearsal, Tuesday’s show and the finale. Adam live is something to see and experience. His voice fills that arena. He was made for venues like that. On every song he did on finale night, you can pick out his amazing vocals over everyone, not in a “Adam is louder” way but because they are so clear and beautiful. The audience on Finale night was all about Lambert. It’s a completely different experience watching it on the TV. The place went nuts when he was out there. During the Kiss thing, when Adam appeared wearing the “outfit” to sing Beth, the audience literally went crazy. It was the Adam Lambert Show and special guests. When they announced Kris as the winner, there was very nice applause, but it was a little subdued. I think the entire theater was in shock.

The best part of the trip was Thursday Morning, we got up very, very early and went back to the Nokia to the press area to see him. Watching Adam interact with the reporters was very interesting. No one could keep their hands off him. Men, women and children were constantly touching him. He oozes charisma and everyone around him can see it. Kris was adorable but he was immediately lost in the crowd. He looks like some guy in a T-shirt and jeans who wandered into the reporters area. I do have to add that there is no question that he and Kris are very good friends. Its plain as day they are. Adam is already a star, you would have to be blind not to see it. On Wednesday after the finale he and Kris were doing press and the crowd was going wild for Adam. It was all about Adam. Everyone was all about Adam.

We were lucky enough to spend some time with him between interviews on Thursday and first of all, he is more beautiful in person than on TV. He is very tall and very slim and the eyes are outrageous. We got hugs and kisses from him and when he speaks to you, he is completely focused on you. Spending that time with him was an amazing experience, he is sweet, flirty, SEXY, funny, did I mention SEXY? Yeah, really, really sexy!

I couldn’t agree more with what you wrote about the finale and the final 2 contestants. I too was very sad Adam lost, but I kind of saw it coming too. In fact, I’m surprised, in hindsight that he really got that far. Sure, he always had the talent, charisma, and energy that made everyone else on stage fade into the background, but he was also very polarizing, edgy, and out-there, which is usually a big no-no on the “safe, bland, middle-of-the-road” idol stage.

I agree with your reasons for the final result, and I too am happy that Adam always stayed true to himself. His biggest weakness may have also been his biggest strength – he could, and did, just about everything, in terms of style, range, etc. That meant that fans who loved one side of him didn’t necessarily love the other. And then, there were those of us who loved all the sides. I definitely didn’t like him at first, had him grow on me toward the middle of the season, and by about the top 7 I declared that no one else deserved to win this year, because his talent was so much better than the others.

I recognize Kris’s talent, to be sure, and he was a great competitor, but his style and music are just not for me. However, Kris was a smart competitor, knew what he did well and played to those strengths (particularly when it came to playing the guitar or piano, his obvious comfort zone). That approach worked well to win fans, because people knew exactly what to expect from him. Adam was the chameleon, and you never quite knew what you were going to get from him.

That said, I completely agree that he made this season so memorable. It would have been really really boring (yes, even with Kris’s talent) without Adam. He gave people something to talk about, and I completely agree with you that if he had sacrificed his own style for the sake of winning over “middle-of-the-road” fans it would have been worse than just competing on his own terms.

Lastly, I am also a huge fan of the bromance between Adam and Kris: they are so cute together, have such a great friendship, helped each other, and others, out throughout the competition, and I think Adam’s press conference said it all when he said he just wanted the fans to come together, just as Adam and Kris themselves had.

Rock on, Adam! And thank you for making this season so memorable!

Some other reasons for the result – just to throw it out there (and agreeing with some other comments being made):

1. Danny fans going more for Kris

2. Middle-of-the-road tendency for any kind of popularity contest like this (people are just going to naturally gravitate toward the center, when only given 2 choices, especially when one is so near center, and the other is so far out there.)

3. Don’t underestimate the teeny-boppers who thought that Kris was 2 HAWT and texted like mad

4. Anti-pimping sentiment (aka the vote for the underdog effect): I definitely heard people say they got sick of the judges saying how great Adam was, even when they admitted he really was good (they just didn’t want the judges telling them that). Similarly, David C. got a huge boost last year when Simon proclaimed a knock out by David A – lots of people wanted to get behind the underdog. Same thing this year, when the judges already had Adam in the finals before the votes were cast, and called him a world wide star (which he is!) vs. puppy-dog faced Kris. 2 times in a row, now, the “underdog” has won.

5. Though I hate to say it, I do think the sexuality angle played into it as well. I had friends at work (and I live in a pretty progressive area) who actually asked, after I said Adam was my fav, “But you do know that he’s, you know…?” and I couldn’t believe it. And this was from someone I considered pretty open-minded. So don’t underestimate the people who just couldn’t get 100% around someone like Adam, even if they wouldn’t admit outloud they really had a problem with it.

Just my 2 cents. Kris was definitely the safe pick, and lets face it, that’s what AI tends to produce (as it has the last 7 seasons before).

Adam was in another league compared to any other AI talent.

Its weird because I am also one of those people who is least worried about Allison…so young, but I know what type of album she wants to do: pop/rock..I see her a mix of Pink/Kelly..I see her being the breakout star of season 8

Great wrap-up and thanks very much for all the work you do on this blog, mj. You’re a star. This is the first year I’ve kept up with Idol online, with not living in the US at the moment, and you’ve been an invaluable source of information, interviews, videos etc.

I have to say, I had no idea how much stuff you don’t see, read or know about just following this show in the print press and on TV. The post-show interview circuit etc has been a real treat, as has Idolotry. Though it does mean I’ve become far too invested this year! Kind of glad I’ll be back in LA come next season so I can regain some of my sanity – though I may still have to pop onto EW and here every so often just in case I miss out on any hidden gem!

I too am disappointed Adam didn’t win – more than I thought I’d be as I really liked both him and Kris. Love or hate him, he has made the show so much more enjoyable and exciting this year. In fact, even at the end it still feels like we’ve just spent the last however many months watching The Adam Lambert Show, featuring Kris Allen and friends. Some people are just born to be shining stars and I really do think he is one of them. Having seen him perform I can attest to the fact that he is mesmerising live – he just has that elusive x-factor that everyone is always searching for.

And I think Allison is one to watch. I’m still of the opinion she’d be better off waiting a while just to really come into her own but I think she’s going to be a real asset to the music industry.

I am really pleased for Kris as well. He is hugely talented, blessed with fabulous musicality, was the only one really able to hold his own against Mr Lambert on that stage and he certainly came good when it mattered.

And you’re right, their friendship has been an absolute joy to behold. I hope (and think) both of them will have great success. Aside from their obvious talent, I firmly believe in karma and if anyone ever deserved a huge, fat dollop of the good stuff then it’s these two.

I am at a loss of words by your post MJ… :clap_tb: You took all the words completely out of my mouth!!! And there is nothing i couldn’t agree more with your post. Down to every last word, drop, dot.

Kudos to you and the wrap up for this amazing season. I believe we will be seeing alot more interesting tidbits on your blog along the way till next season, and i will definitely be popping my head in here every once a while. (oh yeah, KRIS ROCKS!!!!) :king_tb:

Thanks for your honesty MJ, it’s refreshing.

I feel the same way, honestly, it’s going to take me a long time to get over this one.

For me, it’s the artist that who stops me dead in my tracks and literally takes my breath away – this year that was Adam Lambert.

He is a shining star.

A tremendous and thoughtful wrap up, MJ. A great read!

To me, there are 3 breakout stars of the season and each of them have a totally different career path- Kris, Adam, and Allison- the original group 2! They’re all talented and marketable. Now let’s just hope they don’t get stuck with lame songs.

The end of a rather odd season for me. In the end, Kris finally snuck up on me and almost unknowingly became my fave, so I’m pleased with the outcome. Slezak summed it up best for me ~ I’d love to see Adam perform but it will be Kris’ songs that I’ll download. If we had been voting for Entertainer of the year (like they do in country music), the outcome should have been reversed. These guys just fall on different ends of the musical spectrum of entertainment; Kris ultimately was a better fit for my personal taste.

And –

hollygo9
May 25th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
.. They only thing more consistant than Kris Allen this season was shiteous directing. Poorly timed, sloppily filmed, badly edited and crappily staged whenever possible.

Thanks for not only reiterating the biggest screw up of the season (closely followed by heinousity of the judge’s save) but doing so with the proper use of adverbs. You impress holly!

This is the most intelligent, sane and well-written analysis I’ve seen – and how many have there been? MJ, you got it spot on. No wonder I love this blog. Huge Adam fan here, but as the days go on, I love Kris more and more – not so much for the music, but for the sheer humanity of the man. He has crossed the boundaries that so many thought were up for Adam. They may have been, but the bond between those two has brought the boundaries down. Kris is a wonderful human being, and I’m very happy now that he is the American Idol. He and Adam both are going to be successful.

I’m with you MJ. Same sentiment as yours. America may have voted (I don’t agree with the winner being described as deserving though) but we are now looking forward to the birth of a superstar. And we, together with Adam, will make that happen.

Amen to your last paragraph, MJ. The best memory I will keep from this season is the lovely, graceful way Kris and Adam (and their families) rejected any imposition of an outside culture war into their friendship. The polarizing stuff was brewing all season, but once the spotlight was just on these two guys it all but disappeared. And that was all sorts of wonderful.

mjs: First, I have to thank you for your site! I actually first discovered you at photobucket (which we both were eventually banned; at least I know I’m in fine company!) Living here in Hawaii, I could ALWAYS count on you!

This AI season IMO was THE best collection of talent! And what a priviledge to witness that young man, Adam Lambert get his “big break”! For that, I’ll be forever grateful to AI. I, too was devasted when he didn’t win; he just gave so much of himself every single week … but Kris is also a fine young man and so happy to see the graciousness and respect that they have for each other … if this were any other Top 2; I don’t think I would’ve accepted it.

There’s a video out there with Kris coming from behind and giving Adam a sincere hug … aww … it’s right up there with Adam/Allison embrace after their duet. Does it get any better than this?

Finally, mjs … a very sincere THANK YOU and if you’re ever in the islands; please let me know so that I can return the Aloha!

Awesomest bromance evah? *mock horror* what about Mavid?? )

Yay Kradam though for being poster boys for that beautiful thing called tolerance. Their sweet friendship saved us some nasty red state/blue state media coverage.