Jackie’s San Jose American Idols Tour Re-Cap

In a way I feel bad for Kris for winning. I genuinely don’t think he is comfortable with it because he knows he didn’t really deserve to win.

lol, you have got to be kidding me….ha, let me read this right……kris knows he didn’t deserve to win? in what universe? I get that you’re an adam fan and are upset he lost, but i find it ridiculous that you would project your own feelings onto kris or anyone else.

My mama taught me to say nothing, when I can’t think of anything nice to say.

“Nothing”

Good recap. I have to disagree with you about Kris. I felt that he deserved to win completely. People don’t judge him fairly and often they compare Kris to Adam, which doesn’t make sense to me at all. Kris is an amazing artist and Adam is awesome too but I felt anyone could’ve been the winner. Kris won and there should be no one saying that he didn’t deserve it because he did.

Kris didn’t DESERVE to win? I think that is rather a bold statement to make. Kris took the same artistic opportunities as Adam, but in a completely different way. It’s all about personal preference. To say it’s crazy Kris won over Adam or he didn’t deserve to is crazy in itself. Kris had to overcome an extreme lack of airtime while Adam had all the airtime and had to work his way up from the bottom. He had a sing off and nobody expected him to make it in Group 2. Everyone always doubted Kris and still he was able to beat the guy that had people talking from the beginning. That shows the strengths of Kris’ fanbase and why he won. He brought AI back to what it originally was, about finding an ordinary person and giving them a break.

Jesus Christ, Adam is wearing a lot of make-up.

Thanks for the recap, you seem to have enjoyed almost all of them more than on the show, I wish you could share with us what your husband thought of each singer since he wasn’t exposed before and could give another viewpoint.

It’s not specifically related to you, but while I like to read the opinion from a lot of different people, the overwhelming majority has been Adam fans, is there really that few fans of other Idols who visit this website?

Thanks Jackie! I enjoyed your recap and reactions. I’m so glad you had fun and all lived up to your expectations!!

He keeps on telling us not to let tragedy define us, but that is exactly what he is doing in my opinion.

TBH, this has always been my view as well. I feel for Danny, I do. But I agree with you that he is naive and a little lost in his thinking about what’s going on now and what he hopes to accomplish in the future. I wish him all the best though. Hope he finds some good, honest people to help him along the way.

I appreciate your thoughts on Kris and his position in the concert. I’m looking forward to hearing from him, and I’m trying to go without any preconception of how the order will translate in a live concert experience.

I do believe that Kris probably is just having a blast, enjoying the experience, anticipating what is to come for him in the near future, and crazy appreciative of where he is and that he won. But, I’ll always remember the first words he uttered when he did — “…but Adam deserves this… I’m sorry…” It’s hard for me to dismiss his spontaneous response in the heat of the moment. No doubt in my mind now that he’s come to terms with is win, and believes he rightly deserves it. But I think it took him some time to get there, to be honest. IMO YMMV…

Thanks again, so much! Great pics too!

It was good until the Kris part, where it just came off as bitter.

Very nice review. Thank you. I really felt like I was there.

I don’t agree with you regarding Kris “not deserving to win” — no one deserves to win. Kris did win. I do, however, feel sorry for Kris having to follow Adam in the concert. IMO Adam is meant to do arena shows and Kris belongs in a more intimate setting. (This is not an insult to Kris. Jason Mraz is great, supremely talented and could sell out arenas BUT he plays smaller venues that suit his music style.) And following Adam’s performance with Kris just emphasizes the contrast.

I read this cute fan report on another fan site and as a slightly older Adam fan it made me : )

I hate to gush, but Adam was GORGEOUS and sweet – I managed to get into the front row, and he noticed my over-the-top outfit and told me that he liked my Glambert shirt! I thanked him and then said “Thank you for making me feel young again” – to which he responded, “It was my pleasure, but when were you ever old?” And he did it with a FLIRTATIOUS smile!!! To semi-quote Paula, I melted into a little pool of – not sure what… hormones maybe! I think I may have giggled, as did he, and then he was off to the next person..

Thank you Jackie for a great recap. You’re description of Adam’s set made me a little teary eyed, I must be hormonal, and full of yearning to see and hear him sing live. Maybe the solo tour.

Peacock feathers are bad luck, I hope he doesn’t keep it.

Thanks again Jackie, I’m so glad both you, and your obviously lovely fiance loved Adam’s performance.

“sigh” Yep definitely hormonal.

Adam looks gorgeous. Who does his make-up? Does he do it himself?

Most biased re-cap ever? Wow. That was annoying for me as a Kradam fan.

It was good until the Kris part, where it just came off as bitter.

don’t generalize about fanbases or bait. keep your remarks specific to the recap

Great recap Jackie! I’m so glad you enjoyed the show and shared with us the amazing experiences. Can’t wait for the show to come to my city.

Thanks for your recap. I could feel you passion and exuberance throughout the piece. It was nice of you to give your gut interpretation of the concert. I don’t see it as right or wrong just how the experience made you feel. I felt your feelings which means you wrote a great review, (whether I agree with your opinion or not) (by the way on Adam I do) (on Kris I agree with Q3 no one deserved to win but Kris did and I respect America’s choice).

Again Thanks for a great recap.

My daughter and I are going to the LA concert this Thursday at the Staples Center. Anyone know where we can go after the show to possibly get a glimpse…like can anyone go to the area where the Idols come out? Thanks!

Well I’m sick of Kradam and the whole Kradam manifesto: They are equally talented!!1!!!111!!! I’ve been beaten over the head with this mantra and I’m not going to take it anymore. And it’s Adam fans who are causing this silliness. I haven’t met one Kris fan who even remotely likes Adam.

Some people think Adam is more talented than Kris. And some people think Kris is way more talented than Adam. Big deal. Time to move on.

Loved your re-cap. Thanks.

Jesus Christ, Adam is wearing a lot of make-up.

Lol, I take it you have never been in a stage production before? When you are on stage, you wear TONS of makeup so that people in the audience can see it at all with the bright lights on you. Adam’s look for the show is more OTT, so he had on more makeup.

You’ll notice that even with all that on, you could barely even see it when he was on stage.

Damn I love his eye make-up. Nice pictures and thanks for the recap.

As for the Kris part – eh say what you feel girl, it’s your recap and your opinion.

That last photo with Adam’s wrangler/bodyguard holding the bag of “gifts” is hilarious. Really? A peacock feather?

I enjoyed your recap very much Jackie, thanks for sharing your toughts, and I agree with you on everything you said.

Q3. I LOVED the item you quoted from the other fan site! How very gracious of him – and on top of everything else, he speaks so well and is so articulate. Easy on the ears as well as the eyes…

I enjoyed your re-cap, Jackie. Thank you for the time and effort you put into it. I don’t agree that Kris didn’t deserve to win though. More people voted for him (we were told) – and the vote was on the basis of the TV shows. Now they’re out in the real world, in the flesh it’s a bit different. Adam was bound to shine far more brightly than the rest because of his style, and his training and experience.

I can undertand the feeling that Kris performing last is a kind of anti-climax.
it might have been a good idea to have had some kind of group number after Adam’s set to re-set the atmosphere and give Kris a better platform from which to “launch”. Maybe they didn’t anticipate the level of adulation Adam would receive – though they should’ve done!

Well I’m sick of Kradam and the whole Kradam manifesto: They are equally talented!!1!!!111!!! I’ve been beaten over the head with this mantra and I’m not going to take it anymore.

Tee Hee. I like Adam and I also like Kris. I’ve never measured them though, so I’m not sure if they’re equal. I do however hate the “Kradam” nickname. But, it’s not just that one. I loathe all of the little mash-up nicknames. I don’t know why. I just do.

Thanks for the recap Jackie. I think it’s very generous of the posters here to take the time to relay their experiences for us. I may not always agree with all of the opinions in these recaps, but I do appreciate you giving us your impressions.

Jesus Christ, Adam is wearing a lot of make-up.

LOL. I was thinking the same thing. I guess this is his “stage make-up”, which like tv news anchor make-up, I assume to be very over the top in person.

Well thanks for sharing your recap. And glad you had a good time, and that you got your stuff signed afterewards.

I won’t bash you for your Kris opinions, even though I don’t wholly agree with them. Just like I didn’t bash Kirstin for her not liking some of Adam’s stuff in her recap. Eh, different experiences and different strokes n’all.

Jackie, I’m glad that Matt was able to win you over. For my part, he is an irrestible force.

Thanks for the recap Jackie and the beautiful pictures of Adam. I could definitely feel your excitement about seeing Adam live and I’m glad it was everything you hoped for.

I have to admit when I read your comments about Kris, I cringed a little. I know this is your opinion and you have a right to express it. I just think Kris deserved to win as much as Adam did. I happen to prefer Adam’s style to Kris’ but I definitely see the appeal Kris has for many people. I also look at the tour as it’s own thing, different from what happened during the competition, but I realize it’s hard to separate the two. Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to write and share your experiences.

I’ll say it again: Adam is a great stadium gladiator. Kris is the guy you want to hear on the radio, in your car and in a large but no humungous theater. Given that AI show is a stadium show, sounds like (with most fans) Kris is holding his own….

“Thanks for your recap. I could feel you passion and exuberance throughout the piece. It was nice of you to give your gut interpretation of the concert. I don’t see it as right or wrong just how the experience made you feel. I felt your feelings which means you wrote a great review, (whether I agree with your opinion or not) (by the way on Adam I do) (on Kris I agree with Q3 no one deserved to win but Kris did and I respect America’s choice).”

ITA 100% with this.

Jackie, I’m of the same age as you, and have a passive AI fianc also. I hope he can be as open as yours and come with me to the show.

I was also a casual AI viewer and usually taped the show to watch later until Adam who made me curious what he would sing each week and watch the show live. I recognized the poem you used at the beginning so I think I’m at least as obsessed as you are

English is not my native language, but in my language, the fact that someone get something doesn’t necessarily mean that he deserve it. I believe lots of people still don’t think George W Bush deserves winning the election five year ago. Just saying.

I think everyone is entitled to his opinion and the right to express it. Of cause other can disagree. If being honest to one’s feeling and not candy-coating it is called bitter, then so be it.

I haven’t met one Kris fan who even remotely likes Adam.

Now you have. :biggrin_wp:

I think everyone is entitled to his opinion and the right to express it. Of cause other can disagree. If being honest to one’s feeling and not candy-coating it is called bitter, then so be it.

I really hate that everytime someone don’t exactly care for Kris they are bitter or if someone say something not very kind about Adam they are envious. It’s grates the nerves after awhile.

Kris is most welcome to the title. Can you imagine the uproar had THE AMERICAN IDOL straddled a mic and fondled it only minutes after grabbing his crotch!!!! Oh my dizzy aunt, the world as we know it would have crumbled in one AI fueled thunderous calamity.

No, I personally wouldn’t have Adam be the winner for all the fan worship that AI has to offer. He would have been chained and manacled in a Disney fairytale for an entire year, if not more. Singing safe, tame Mad Worlds, Black or Whites and Tracks of My Tears all through the summer. And his album would have been designed entirely differently than it is now I suspect.

Kris is The American Idol, and he is the right man for the job. America chose well. I wish him and his fans all the best in the world.

Adam can be just Adam Lambert, and that is more than this fan ever dreamt of. My glittery rhinestone encrusted cup runneth over. Hand the man the mic and bring on the sexy baby.

I could feel you passion and exuberance throughout the piece. It was nice of you to give your gut interpretation of the concert. I don’t see it as right or wrong just how the experience made you feel.

I agree with this. Thanks for the recap! Can’t wait to hear Adam and the others in person too! And I wanted to add, your fiance sounds like a keeper since I’m assuming he also waited an hour and twenty minutes to see Adam.

Great pictures too. Adam’s stage make-up looks profesh, although I’m pretty sure he does it himself.

It was a good review until the Kris part, where it just came off as bitter.

First, Simon Cowell did get up and applaude when he won!!! look again the video.

Second,

I genuinely don’t think he is comfortable with it because he knows he didn’t really deserve to win.

..let me laugh at that.. don’t project you feeling into Kris especially when you’re definitly not vibrating to him….

Third, San Jose is in California, isn’t it? and this is where Adam is from, isn’t it? I’m not surprised than people stood on their feet ONLY for Adam. But hearing the videos, i hear the crowd goes nuts with Kris, so I guess he receives a lot of love…

Can we have a few concert reviewers who aren’t Glamberts? Seriously. Having been to a concert myself already…

Eileen99Which one did you go to? Did you re-cap? I’m sure I missed it if you did, is there a link?

We seem to get Glambert re-caps because they re-cap.

Brandon, a few posts back was not a Glambert though. Nor was Kirsten. I’m pretty sure I’ve read re-caps from folks other than Adam’s fans. He just has a lot of fans, and they’re a chatty bunch it seems.

If this would have been more review and less Adam fantarding, it might’ve sucked less.

Peacock feathers are bad luck, I hope he doesn’t keep it.

Never knew that they were bad luck! So I had to look it up. Indeed, butit appears that the peocock feather superstitions vary. In England, bad luck to bring peacock feathers indoors (earliest reference I can find in 1866 – Derbyshire and the surrounding counties) or will make you an old maid.

In India peacock feathers are supposed to be unlucky because they bring in the evil eye.

But in China, Japan and Egypt, peacock feathers are considered auspicious and protective.

It seems that both the bad luck and the good luck superstitions live side-by-side in the US. Since Adam is on the West Coast, and is a fan of Egyptian astrology, this is probably a good luck peacock feather. ) !

I hope so because it ended up in his bag of fan gifts that one of Adam handlers had. So I guess he kept it. And I believe that Adam loves feathers.

Glad you enjoyed the concert. It’s obvious that you love Adam. I do too.

However, imo, Danny and Adam were both “pimped” on the show because they were/are the best singers in the bunch. Many, many people who didn’t even like Danny are saying what a great singer he is after seeing him in the concert…now that the competition is over and he is no longer a threat.

Also, I don’t believe that Kris believes he didn’t deserve to win. I think his comments after he won were coming out of shock. I like Kris alot, even if I’m not a big fan of his “singing” per say. I still think he deserved the win…of course he did.

Can we have a few concert reviewers who aren’t Glamberts? Seriously.

I’m sure MJ posts all the recaps she receives. Maybe some Kris fans need to write more recaps? It’s Jackie’s opinion, that’s all. She’s not a paid reviewer for a newspaper, it’s a recap as SHE saw it. I think it was pretty harsh on Kris, but that’s her opinion. She’s not the first recapper or critic to say that the change in performance style between Adam and Kris is jarring. I’m an Adam fan primarily, but I like Kris too. I’m going to the Phoenix show on Monday, but probably won’t write a recap because I’m travelling to the show and then on to Vegas for the rest of my vacation, but I’m sure I’ll enjoy all the performers, some more than others, but I will enjoy them all.

Reminder:

Some of you are forgetting your manners. Why get so defensive and angry over somebody you don’t even know?

I’m going to allow criticism of the review, but I will be deleting rude posts and remarks that target or generalize about the fanbase.

Weareallinnocent: I went to Tacoma – didn’t do an official recap, but made my observations in the comments section.

The difference between Kirsten’s review (as a Kris fan) and this review, is that while she obviously wasn’t a fan of Adam’s performance, she was respectful; this isn’t remotely respectful to Kris or the many fans who voted for him. I’m disappointed this was posted as an official recap. I had really enjoyed the recaps till now, but this is over the line in my opinion, and has moved beyond being fun to read.

A few of the Re-caps are NOT fans of Adam. Since I am, I read them, agree to disagree and move on.
Thank you Jackie for your recap-I really enjoy reading all of them. I think QE has it right-Kris’s type of music is better suited to a coffee house or small intimate settings. I can see him releasing something catchy and nice for the radio in the future. But I think Adam will fill stadiums.

We all know that winning doesn’t neccessarily mean the “best” won. That can be debated in every political election, every awards show, every talent competition and in every season of American Idol. And if someone believes that the “best” person didn’t win, that is their opinion and they have the right to express it.

And from everything I have seen and heard from Kris through his demeanor and his thoughts and how he responds to “wearing” the Idol crown, I also feel that he isn’t “super” comfortable with the outcome of the competition…though he has been a very gracious winner and has been a very good representative of American Idol. Of course he may think that he is the best thing since sliced bread but I really don’t get that vibe from him.

So far, and this may totally change as the tour keeps moving on, the consensus from the majority of reviewers and posters and twitterers is that Adam tends to be the big draw for the concert and the biggest crowd pleaser. No matter how the fans of the other idols may dispute this, Adam gets the most love and attention. There are lots more you tube videos of Adam, there are many more pictures on the web, newspapers usually blurb about Adam in their pre-tour publicity for the concert. He is the one that gets mentioned the most on entertainment shows and the reviewers give him the most press.

This doesn’t mean that Kris or Danny or Allison or the others don’t do a terrific job….from what I can tell by the Youtube videos they are performing magnificently. But, it hasn’t seemed, yet, as though they have grabbed the attention away from Adam. Adam’s fans aren’t “over stating” what is happening…they may see it through another filter but they aren’t making things up. I think it is a little unfair to expect those talking about Adam and how he pleases the crowds to tone down their reports so that they won’t step on another fans toes.

When Kris commands the evening and is the big draw I’m sure it will be reported. Until then…it is what it is.

Great review Jackie! I thoroughly enjoyed your enthusiasm – not only in the review, but at the concert. I’ve never been to an AI concert before, but IMO if you can’t enjoy it for what it is and celebrate all the Idols, why bother? Regardless of their talent level, it takes guts and heart to put yourself on that stage night after night and sing. I, for one, would hate to sing to a dead audience in a huge arena!

My feelings on many of the Idols mirror yours, and if I write reviews of the SD/LA shows, they may wind up pretty similar! Thanks for giving us your honest opinion, however popular it may be with some posters. Reviewers aren’t obligated to like or appreciate everyone!

As far as your fiance’s thoughts … I agree, most, if not all, of Adam’s pre-Idol appearances are incredibly non-commercial. Adam can’t give Upright Cabaret, etc. performances in the future if he wants a broad audience. He definitely took a HUGE risk with Bowie on this tour (I’m surprised more people haven’t noted it). It seems to have paid off, but it will be interesting to see what he does in the future.

Adam’s biggest asset is his ability to be a chameleon – masculine at times, then feminine at times. He needs to walk that fine line and keep people guessing to a certain extent. It’s the same with his voice – for every “Whole Lotta Love,” he needs a “Mad World” – and the theatrics – it’s very effective that he changes it up, from the drama of “Starlight,” to the dancing in Bowie, to the rock godness of “Whole Lotta Love” to the stillness of “Mad World.” The contradictions will help him appeal to a wider audience than he otherwise would and keep people from pigeon-holing and disregarding him in the future.

okay MJ, then i’ll rewrite my comment SPECIFIC to the reviewer…..i chuckled at how you added I love kradam after spending much effort ranting against Kris….color me amused

I’m a Kris fan, and I would do a concert review because I honestly thought Adam was good except for his second song and the last song was merely okay.

Only reason I wouldn’t do a review is because I’d give Kris an Infinity/10. Too much Kris bias.

Actually, except for the obvious Adam bias and crossing the line a bit with your opinion of Kris (I kinda got that feeling that “If you don’t agree with me about Kris and Adam you are evil”), I agreed with a lot of your review. Michael was still not as good as the others but he surpassed expectations, Lil and Matt really improved, Anoop was fun, Scott felt real, Allison was cool, Danny did seem a bit hypocritical with that comment but was still decent…

Also, I didn’t get up at the Sacramento concert because I didn’t want to block the view of the people behind me. I did get up and give standing ovations for Kris, Matt, and Allison, though.

Thanks for the recap! Great review! I enjoyed reading it.

Adam can be just Adam Lambert, and that is more than this fan ever dreamt of. My glittery rhinestone encrusted cup runneth over. Hand the man the mic and bring on the sexy baby.

THIS!!!

Thank you for taking the time and effort to share your review and giving your honest opinion and I hope that you don’t in any way feel bad for sharing it, you should be entitled to voice your opinion just like any fan of the others who doesn’t like Adam would be.

edit: keep your remarks focused on the review, not on the other commenters

Also, most importantly, glad you enjoyed the concert, it sounds like it was lots of fun.

edit: put it in the headlines thread

for the record, i dont mind that the reviewer doesnt like Kris or whoever….its when she makes statements like “kris believes he didnt deserve to win” that i have to call BS and laugh at the idea that we can actually KNOW whats going on in a person’s head. wth.

also, when it is clear you didnt think kris deserved to win and are upset at his win…its pretty odd to call yourself a “kradam” fan. umm, kradam does mean KRIS and Adam, you know that right? LOL

what happened to kradam equals love yall?? ha

Anybody who wants to take the time and effort to write a recap? Send it to me. I don’t care who you are a fan of. I post 99% of what I get.

I would suggest that folks who don’t like the content of these reviews be part of the solution. Write one of your own.

Also, I never promised anyone a puppies and rainbows experience at my blog. if you want that, you might want to consider heading back to your fan forum.

I think it is perfectly reasonable to like Adam and Kris as people without being enamored with their voices or their performance styles or their choice of songs. Both men seem to be exceptionally nice and the interaction between the two is fun and, I believe, very heartfelt.

Whether someone feels that the outcome of this year’s Idol was ideal or not they can still like the participants and maybe even like their singing. The manipulations of the show and the idiosyncrasies of the voting methods shouldn’t reflect on the character of Kris and Adam.

Third, San Jose is in California, isn’t it? and this is where Adam is from, isn’t it? I’m not surprised than people stood on their feet ONLY for Adam.

Adam is from San Diego. The fact that San Jose is also in California (northern cal) would probably have no bearing, whatsoever, in how fans up there respond to Adam….

California is not like Arkansas (or wherever Kris is from) in that respect. The entire state of Calif would not be wrapped up in Adam’s performance just because he grew up in San Diego. Now, if the concert had taken place down here, then I could see your point.

(Gosh, I can’t remember which state Kris is from. I dont mean to be insulting, I just don’t)

I’m glad you had a great time and I Love your review.

edit: don’t criticize your fellow posters

First, thank you for spending time on writing a review and it’s interesting to read your thoughts, especially since I was at that same concert! =) Though I don’t necessarily agree with all of your opinions, I do respect that it is your own opinion and you spent a good chunk of time to write it all down.

Adam’s set simply felt like a completely different concert. No one comes even close to him.

However, I just wanted to add in something since I would agree and disagree with what you said. Yes, Adam’s set felt like a completely different concert but I would like to add that every single one of them felt like a completely different concert since all their musical styles are different. I mentioned this in my review of the Oakland concert (can I pimp out my review? haha) but I honestly think that any one of them in the top 6 could have followed Adam and it still would have been great. Each of them excelled in their own style and I wouldn’t have wanted any of them to change it up to cater to anyone else.

Loved your review Jackie! Like Sunn above, I did read Kristen’s recap which was pro Kris & not so pro Adam. I didn’t feel the need to jump in & defend Adam. Most of the reviews (by fans & reviewers) have been extremely complimentary to Adam, so I doubt that Adam fans are “bitter”. Why would they be?

Perhaps the part about knowing how Kris felt could have been left out, but otherwise it was great. Thank you.

I’ve read all the concert reviews (from Kris Fans and Adam fans) and I really liked them, but this one is way to bias…You can express your feelings about Kris’s set and what you think about his song and performances, that’s perfectly fine…but mentioning in the review of the concert if this or that one deserved the title the most is totally off topic.

edit: keep your remarks focused on the topic, not on your fellow poster’s opinions

Q3, you always impress with your willingness to research the tiniest little details. I had no idea that peacock feathers were unlucky in Egypt, and I live in the mideast and spend a substantial portion of my year in the country. LOL!

Thank you for the info, but I would still rather Adam didn’t keep the feather, why risk it ay?

ETA:

LisaE, That was a great post. I agree with everything you said about Adam’s future challenges and assets. It will be interesting to watch how his career develops.

I haven’t met one Kris fan who even remotely likes Adam.

Ha, that’s funny. I’m a Kris fan who adores Adam. The majority of my friends are Kris fans who also love Adam.

Kris has stated so many times that after the results were anounced he didn’t mean ‘Adam deserved to win and I didn’t', just that they were both equally deserving. From what I’ve seen I’d say Kris is very comfortable with the title of American Idol, doesn’t feel undeserving and would hate anyone to feel sorry for him.

This was my first post on MJ’s. I always really enjoyed reading everyone else’s reviews of the concerts and I felt compelled to write one myself. I had such a great time at the concert and was soo excited writing my review this morning after seeing Adam in concert and being so close to him afterwards. He was the only reason I went to the concert so of course my review was going to be biased. Opinions ARE based on our biases, from what we like to how things make us feel. I guess I should have prefaced that the review was going to be biased but I kinda think I did that in my opening lines.

I’m sorry to those who were offended by my Kris remarks. I know he has lots of fans and I realize the way I phrased that he didn’t deserve to win was harsh. But it IS my honest opinion and I am entitled to it. Should I not have written that? Maybe, but this was also my first time posting on this site and I felt I should say how I felt. I do feel bad writing negatively about Kris because he seems like a nice person. That is where the Kradam thing comes in. The Kradam phenomenon introduced me to Kris, the person, a guy whose name I barely remembered on the show. Sorry if this offends people. I think Kris is adorable but I don’t think he was supposed to win a talent competition like AI this year when there was someone as incredible, to me, as Adam.
Plain and simple.

To me, the right person didn’t win. However, I am honestly not bitter because I do think that America chose the right person for America. I am happy with Adam’s second place when I think about his future. It’s not about the title, although it will always be weird to ME that Kris won over Adam. I think not winning has allowed Adam to be Adam and I am sooo appreciative of that. He can perform the ‘freakiest show’  AI has ever seen and I am so grateful I got to experience it last night. I can also see that Kris might have more radio hits than Adam in the US. Still, that won’t convince ME that the right person won.

As for why “I” thought Kris thought he didn’t deserve to win, it’s based on a few factors. It’s based on how he reacted when he won, which to me was a very genuine reaction. I respected him for that. He had watched Adam for months and I think he IS a huge fan of Adam’s. He is also a humble person who thinks there are better singers out there than he is and based on that he might have thought Adam was more deserving I agree with that. I also understand that isn’t the most important thing in an entertainer. Also, watching Kris’s interviews I got the sense he wasn’t as comfortable with winning against Adam. This is my impression and I am entitled to it. Maybe it’s just Kris demeanor and this is how he appears to ME. Adam to me is a force of nature, a person I think Kris really looks up to and respects. That is another reason why I thought Kris felt undeserving of the win. Kris has been a very gracious winner and I respect him for that. I also like how Adam has praised Kris and told all of us he was just as deserving of winning.

I also agree with someone who said that it would be great if they did a group number after Adam’s set because it would be a better set-up for Kris. I really don’t dislike Kris. I enjoyed watching him; I was one of the very few people in my section who was actually singing along. I knew and liked the songs and he performed them well! I enjoyed the show altogether, but it seems people only like to focus on the negative.

In the end, I shouldn’t really have to apologize for how I feel. I guess neither should you, Kris fans. If I offended you, you are also entitled to voice your disagreement. To each his own.

Sunn Jul 13th, 2009 at 4:51 pm

Kris is most welcome to the title. Can you imagine the uproar had THE AMERICAN IDOL straddled a mic and fondled it only minutes after grabbing his crotch!!!! Oh my dizzy aunt, the world as we know it would have crumbled in one AI fueled thunderous calamity.

No, I personally wouldn’t have Adam be the winner for all the fan worship that AI has to offer. He would have been chained and manacled in a Disney fairytale for an entire year, if not more. Singing safe, tame Mad Worlds, Black or Whites and Tracks of My Tears all through the summer. And his album would have been designed entirely differently than it is now I suspect.

Kris is The American Idol, and he is the right man for the job. America chose well. I wish him and his fans all the best in the world.

Adam can be just Adam Lambert, and that is more than this fan ever dreamt of. My glittery rhinestone encrusted cup runneth over. Hand the man the mic and bring on the sexy baby.

You stated exactly how I feel and wanted to say, only you said it so much better. No need for me to say anything else.

edit: thanks for your kind remarks, but they are off topic. please stick to discussing the review

edit: i edited the original post. other recaps are not the topic here. Stay focused on responding to THIS recap

Ha, that’s funny. I’m a Kris fan who adores Adam. The majority of my friends are Kris fans who also love Adam.

Kris has stated so many times that after the results were anounced he didn’t mean ‘Adam deserved to win and I didn’t', just that they were both equally deserving. From what I’ve seen I’d say Kris is very comfortable with the title of American Idol, doesn’t feel undeserving and would hate anyone to feel sorry for him.

THIS! Kris has explained that comment many times and has carried himself with nothing but class and grace since then. He (along with the other Idols) appears to be having the time of his life up on that stage, so I think he’s doing just fine with the results.

mj Jul 13th, 2009 at 5:20 pm

Anybody who wants to take the time and effort to write a recap? Send it to me. I don’t care who you are a fan of. I post 99% of what I get.

I would suggest that folks who don’t like the content of these reviews be part of the solution. Write one of your own.

Also, I never promised anyone a puppies and rainbows experience at my blog. if you want that, you might want to consider heading back to your fan forum.

Direct, concise, non threatening, informative and humorous.

Scotty cancel that order to beam me up. There is intelligent life down here. :lol_wp:

I’V never posted on here before, and you can tell by my username that am a big Kris fan. But am also a big fan of Adam to. I don’t think jackieo should have to apoligize for what she said. I think everyone has a right to there opinion. I was just upset that She said that Kris feels like even he didn’t deserve to win.

I haven’t met one Kris fan who even remotely likes Adam.

Now you have. :biggrin_wp:

Ditto

Adam was my second favorite this year. He’s talented yes. But I don’t think I can take an hour of his singing. If he stayed in his lower register then yes. I still think his voice is better suited for Broadway.

I prefer low-key, subtle singing – which is why I liked Kris best from the beginning.

Matt could have been up there for me but he had some really bad song choices that I wish he could take back.

Just my opinion.

Jackie thank you so much for your recap. Since I am unable to to a concert I have been living vicariously through these recaps and videos so this is much appreciated. I have to admit have been pretty much blind to any of the other idols since my eyes have been on Adam from the first time he auditioned in SF. Pretty much everyone else just didn’t register with me because he just was so above and beyond everyone else. After the finale he just cemented my regard for him with his courage, humility and wonderful personality. I absolutely plan on seeing Adam some day on his solo tour and his new music. Thanks again for giving me a taste of what he is like live until then.

Forgot to say this after my earlier rant but I enjoyed your recap. Glad you had fun!!

Jackie, I loved your review. I think I would loved to have attended a concert with you because you went to have fun! I am sorta pissed, even though I am not a fan of all of them, I would have stood up and danced for most of them. I don’t get concert goers…..I remember going to a concert and the people behind me were mad because I wouldn’t sit down. Sorry dears, but this isn’t the opera. As for people panning the Adam love, she’s a fan, this is what fans do!

I haven’t met one Kris fan who even remotely likes Adam.

Seriously? Shocking! Q3, can you get some stats on this please, rofl!

Jackie one again I agree with your opinions in your last post, that ´s exactly how I feel and think about Kriss and Adam.

edit: OFF TOPIC

Thank you so much for your recap. Since it was/is your opinion I certainly think you have the right to say what you believe here. What you think Kris thinks or feels has no bearing on what he actually does feel or think. But is always insightful to look at something from another point of view.
I am an Adam fan who would very much like to read recaps from fans to the other contestants even – maybe particularly – if they didn’t like Adam. I want to know why people find Megan appealing, or how they think Scott’s voice is compelling. But then I love to know the opinions of others, especially when I can’t fathom the reason for a particular idea on my own. Like the idea that Kris fans do not like Adam and that Adam fans are the originators of Kradam. I did throw a few votes for Kris and Allison in among my Adam votes each week (until the final), so maybe I am guilty of having a narrow Kradam view here. But (leaving out the actions of Adam fans) why wouldn’t Kris fans like Adam? Their Idol certainly does.
Thank you MJ for posting all the recaps – and thank you to anyone who does post a recap. They are always fun to read!

I love reading these recaps regardless of who each person is a fan of because it gives an insight of how diverse ppl’s musical tastes are. Neither Kris nor Adam are my favorite but it doesnt mean that I don’t recognize their immense talent. It is what it is and honestly it was a TV show.

I would like to add that every single one of them felt like a completely different concert since all their musical styles are different.

This sums it up pretty well…nice thing is if all 10 of them released a CD we have the option of buying 10 diff styles..

edit: Kirsten’s recap…not the topic…neither are the other fans in this thread

I do think that any of the top 4 could have easily won, and I am fine with Kris winning. But truly it’s only because of all of the attention that Adam has been getting where like last year, Archie was not forgotten, and was in fact embraced, his losing was easier to deal with. Adam is just so compelling and is the story now, or at least a big part of the story, so his losing is far more palatable to me. So Kris won, but Adam is reaping alot of the benefits of coming in second, and it’s all good. Why isn’t everyone happier? We are all getting what we wanted, a shot at a career for our favorites.

jackieo

I guess I should have prefaced that the review was going to be biased but I kinda think I did that in my opening lines.

The second I read the poem cited in the FIRST line of your review I knew I would like it.

Jackie, thank you for sharing your experience. Fans must realize that you are not a professional journalist/critic, who should therefore write an unbiased review, and you do not need to defend your own personal view of the concert. I can understand how some Kris fans might take umbrage, but I, too, am a Kradam fan bc Adam and Kris are good friends and admire and respect each other’s musical talent. I also agree that Adam is much better off not having won and that Kris is a worthy AI2009. Please continue to share your views on here — and duck the tomatoes!!!!! :doh_tb:

In the end, I shouldn’t really have to apologize for how I feel. I guess neither should you, Kris fans. If I offended you, you are also entitled to voice your disagreement. To each his own.

I agree, and thanks again for taking the time to make a review even if I personally don’t agree with parts of it. I respect your experience and taking the time to write this up. Like you, I enjoy reading the recaps here, so I hope that other will continue to provide them. Even if some of us aren’t going to agree with them. It’s bound to happen.

Jackie – Although you are right you should not have to defend yourself I liked what you said and I agree 100%.

I especially agree with this

To me, the right person didn’t win. However, I am honestly not bitter because I do think that America chose the right person for America.

Believing Adam should have won does not mean I’m bitter that he came in second. Coming in second has not hurt him in the least, but part of me thinks Kris would do better review wise if his performance was before Adam’s.

edit: the generalizing about other fanbases is baiting and over the top. Plus, it’s off topic

jackieo
Jul 13th, 2009 at 5:33 pm

In the end, I shouldn’t really have to apologize for how I feel. I guess neither should you, Kris fans. If I offended you, you are also entitled to voice your disagreement. To each his own.

You don’t. Fans are passionate by nature, and biased by definition. Each can state their opinion freely, and without fear of offense, as far as I’m concerned.
If it makes you feel any better, I tell you again that I loved your review and the pics that came with it.

Thank you again for taking the time to share. You really took me there.

I feel for Danny, I do. But I agree with you that he is naive and a little lost in his thinking about what’s going on now and what he hopes to accomplish in the future. I wish him all the best though. Hope he finds some good, honest people to help him along the way.

I appreciate your thoughts on Kris and his position in the concert. I’m looking forward to hearing from him, and I’m trying to go without any preconception of how the order will translate in a live concert experience.

Funny, I could have written this! I am not a Danny fan but I find myself really feeling sorry for him and hoping someone helps him. The tour really has shown that he has some real raw talent and can actually dance a little. (I wonder why I keep feeling I have to make it clear that I am not a Danny fan!)

And regarding seeing Kris in concert, I am trying to keep an open mind about it, too. But even before the first concert and without reading any reviews, I thought that Kris would have some difficulty in a large venue. I will see the concert for the first time in Little Rock, so that will be a great night for Kris. And the following night in Memphis which should be another Kris-heavy crowd. So I expect the crowd response to be somewhat different for my concerts than in other places. (Yes, I will be the 1 screaming Adam fan in Little Rock!)

Reminder:

STICK TO THE TOPIC PLEASE.

The topic is Jackie’s recap.

The topic is NOT

1) how you responded to other recaps not in this thread.

2) whether Jackie has the right to express her opinion or not. She obviously does, because I posted her recap

3) Your OTT generalizations about other fanbases.

4) Your opinion of other posters’ opinions. This last one is NEVER the topic.

send me an email.

“Then Matt Giraud came out, and he made an entrance!!!! That was the first performer who got the crowd going! People weren’t up yet but there was a different energy in the arena. He seemed like a real pro, a real entertainer who had a GREAT time on stage! You could just FEEL what a great time he had. He later even tweeted that ‘Tonight when I did hard to handle, it just felt really good!! I’m just looking for that one person that’s focused on me and I sing to them.’  Matt, it came across! I just wish he could end his set with a song as upbeat as ‘Hard to Handle.’  Though he is good on all his songs, his last song was kinda too slow and it would be great if he could leave the stage on an even better note.

I have to say that I wasn’t a big fan of Matt’s when he was on the show. I didn’t get what the judges saw in him and was annoyed the save was used on him. I thought it was there to be used on someone like Allison or Adam. But I definitely became a fan of Matt’s after the concert and really believe that he will get a recording contract. I hope so for him and am happy that his dreams are coming true as it is evident that he truly enjoys performing and takes it seriously. This is his life. He didn’t try out for AI on a whim, and I like that. Though it’s nice to find pure, undiscovered talent on this show, I think hard work and dedication should be rewarded as well. Matt and Adam and Kris take this career seriously and will make sacrifices to make it in the industry, unlike some of the other performers this season, like Lil and Michael, imho.”
:clap_tb:

Great review, Jackie, really! Don’t let any negative comments get you down – this is your opinion, it’s your review, and it was your concert experience. I’m so glad you had a great time … and I’m sure your fiance did, too. (My husband says he’s going to change his name to ADAM so he can get some equal time!).

Knock on the door – FEDEX with my floor section two second row seats for the Staples concert this Thursday!!!

I expect to enjoy all ten Idols (each one is special in their own right – they were chosen over 100,000 others at auditions, for goodness sake!) … I’m a music/theatre geek and enjoy amateur shows as much as professional ones … but I know going into it that performer number 9 in concert order (who is termed overall #2 but in reality is #1) is the real deal: ADAM!!

Jackie, thanks for the incredible write up! I am sooooooo excited to see Adam in concert. I can’t wait to hear him live since everyone is saying you have to experience it to believe it!!!!!!!!

We got it. To you the right person didn’t win. Apparently to the majority of vote casters the right person did win. I’m not sure that needed to be in a recap. I will be happy to write a recap when the tour comes to the midwest and finally leaves the far west and you are welcome to dis it. However, I will try to be fair in my recap as I’m not sure this writer even attempted to be. Biases always get in, but if the “recap” is meant to simply pump up one artist at the expense of all of the others it loses something for me. Maybe it should have been posted on an Adam fansite. Everything about the concert with the exception of the effusive praise for Adam was kind of an afterthought. Just my honest opinion. I am glad that Adam was all that you hoped he would be. He is lucky to have you as a loyal fan. All of the other contestants also have fans as crazy about them as you are about Adam.

Jackie:

I enjoyed reading your recap very much. I’m a huge Kris fan, but I also love Adam and Allison and think all three of them are mad talented. The only issue I had was your saying you don’t think Kris thinks he deserves to have won. I don’t have any issue with your saying that YOU don’t think he should have won (although calling it a joke is overly harsh — Kris is very talented in his own right) — that’s your own opinion. But it’s clear Kris believes he deserved to win, and isn’t going to apologize for it. He has said in several interviews that he DOES think he deserves to have won — just that he thinks Adam would have been an equally deserving winner. If you remember, Kris was almost always stunned when he got through any week (the finale was far from the first time we saw that shocked Kris face) — whether that was because he underestimated his own talent/appeal to the voters or because he just appreciated the other contestants’ talents as well, who knows. Maybe it was because the judges clearly were angling for an Adam/Danny finale.

Also, I only know a handful of AI fans. Most people I know have no interest in AI at all.. But of the ones I do know who watched Season 8, all of them are fans of both Adam and Kris. And the Kradam fanbase — if you believe all the internet sites/threads devoted to them — is HUGE (well, huge in terms of the AI fanbase as a whole); and somehow I doubt that this fanbase consists primarily of Adam fans who also like Kris. It’s probably fairly equally split between people who like Adam better and those who like Kris better.

Anyway, thanks for the recap. Glad you had a great time and got to hear Adam perform live. Sounds like your fiance had fun, too, which is nice!

Oh, and I hope that you aren’t scared off from posting again. I like to read everyone’s opinions, even if they disagree with mine, as long as they don’t disrespect any of the performers. I think all 10 if this year’s finalists deserve respect for their talent and hard work. I know they are all way better singers/musicians than I could ever dream of being!

AC said: However, I just wanted to add in something since I would agree and disagree with what you said. Yes, Adam’s set felt like a completely different concert but I would like to add that every single one of them felt like a completely different concert since all their musical styles are different.

Yeah, they all definitely had their own distinct sets. I just felt that Adam’s seemed more evolved, similar to how his performances were on the show. His seemed more professional to me but then again I am biased and love everything that involves him! For example, I didn’t like the pink intro for Megan or Anoop’s head floating in the clouds during his intro. Maybe he thought that was cute but that wouldn’t be a way I’d want to be introduced to the audience.

Amazing review. Thank you. (Boy, is mine gonna seem like a let down after all of yours!) After reading this recap and others, I have decided that I will stand up and applaud each Idol (tho I might not/will not scream for all of them ), b/c each deserves this at the very least. They do put their hearts on the line every night, and for viewers to sit there and twiddle their thumbs seems wrong to me. The more I read about the Idols, the more I appreciate their work ethic. I luuuuurrrve Adam, and am a Kradison fan, but I feel more and more respect for the others as the Tour goes on. (I bet they all get better and better, too.) I don’t know if the floor goers (I will be one of them) tend to stand more than those in the upper seats. If not, I hope I don’t look funny if I stand up after each performance.

The difference between Kirsten’s review (as a Kris fan) and this review, is that while she obviously wasn’t a fan of Adam’s performance, she was respectful; this isn’t remotely respectful to Kris or the many fans who voted for him.

Eileen99 Thanks for responding. I had to run out for a bit, so I’m late in getting back to you.

Sorry you didn’t have a chance to re-cap and be posted. That’s too bad, I wish you had.

IMO though you may be confusing “respect” with “objectivity.” The prior re-cap to which you refer was largely objective. IMO, that was what she was striving for. That is her choice and that’s great. In that regard, to me, her observations were offered more as a review.

Jackie, OTOH, made very clear from the beginning where she was coming from (and who she was coming for! ) Hers was a re-cap in the truest sense to me, and she re-capped her experience and along with it, her views, emotions and opinions. I.e., not objective. But, to me, there was no disrespect.

Not everyone’s views are going to be to my liking, and I can get as perturbed as the next gal. No doubt about it. But the way I see it, Jackie went to the trouble to share her in depth views. And I’m grateful for that. I know I don’t plan to do it. I plan to take in the experience and music as a whole, as I’m there, and not be distracted by trying to record it for future experiencing (and that includes pictures.) I’m an in the moment (selfish) kind of gal that way. (Well, my kid will be there, so I won’t be that in the moment, and I’ll have distractions a plenty, but you KWIM.)

Thanks again, Jackie!

ETA: Having now read your post below me, Eileen99, I appreciate the clarification. Point taken. I still say if these thoughts occurred to her at the time she was at the concert, they’re fair for her personal re-cap. But, I do see your point.

I believe reasonable people understand that there are differences of opinion and respect that. The problem for me (for you) with the review, is that I felt it had extremely inflammatory opinions within it that were unrelated to the concert itself, which was what the recap was for (I thought). Off topic squared, IMO.

Examples:
“I thought it was a joke he won over Adam”
“I am not surprised that Simon didn’t get up when Kris won”
“it is ludicrous to have Kris win over Adam”
“he knows he didn’t really deserve to win”

HOWEVER, other than the Kris section, I did enjoy all the other parts of the recap. I’m glad Jackie likes her fave as much as I like mine

And, I’m pretty sure I read in the guidelines that this IS supposed to be about puppies and rainbows. No?

I don’t think any of the performers have much input into how they are introduced. That’s likely pretty much in the hands of the producers. Although I supposed if they hated it and complained enough about it, they might be able to get it changed.

Not to fuel any more fires – hahaha, like there’s a chance of them dying out – but:
I sincerely do feel, along with Jackie, that Kris was surprised to win and felt that Adam should have won, based on his reaction on the last night. Unless you’re telling me that he’s an even bigger strategist than some say others are?! It was his words and his facial expression … by the next morning, what we heard from him was AFTER TPTB probably told him it was not in his best interest to feel that way.
Notice I started out by saying “I sincerely do feel” so don’t jump all over me – just my opinion.

Janie, I’m not sure this is on topic and am sure MJ will delete it if it doesn’t belong here, but I think anyone who wins is shocked that they made it through all of those people. David Cook was shocked. Carrie Underwood was shocked. That doesn’t mean he felt he didn’t deserve to win. I think in the case of Kris with all of the judges comments the night before (you should be proud to be right where you are [in the top two], your parents should be proud of you [for making it this far] etc., etc., it was clear the judges felt Adam should win. I think h e was surprised, but not because he didn’t feel he deserved it. I think he felt either of them could have won and that it was just a matter of who got the most tireless voters. In this case it was Kris. I think Kris would have been just fine with Adam winning, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t happy to win himself or that he doubted his own talents.

Thanks for the review/recap. I appreciate the time you took to write your experience at the concert and your fiance’s reaction too. Its always interesting to hear what non AI watchers think, I am taking one with me too.

From most of the papers/internet reviews, Adam does seem to get the large share of excitement and cheers. Some reviewers are non AI watchers too, so I think they are fairly neutral. That doesn’t mean the other contestants don’t have something to offer the stage though. I always thought Adam performed in the pimp spot on the t.v. show because he was hard to follow, many times I forgot who went after him, because I was still thinking about him. Adam shines on the stage, he is just pure entertainment in a glittery package. I think it would have probably been better to have a buffer between sets like someone mentioned before…group number?…to set the stage for Kris, who is more mellow and subtle.

That being said, yes, the only reason I bought an AI ticket was for Adam’s performance, but I love Kris and Allison too. Since the videos of the tour have been on youtube, I also am starting to enjoy the others more.

I am going to the concert next week and can’t wait.
So excited!

I agree with Eileen99′s criticism of the review. What I liked about the review was that Jackie gave some background and context for her remarks, and gave a lot of details that gave a good sense of her excitement about the experience. That was fun to read. What I didn’t like were the elements that Elieen mentioned. But I appreciate Jackie’s coming back to say that she was ok with other posters giving their reactions to what she said. I don’t respect people who blow raspberries at the other kids and then hide behind mama’s skirt, in a manner of speaking. So I admire Jackie for coming back in the way that she did.

Jackieo- Hi! omg, I was laughing my ass off at the Anoop cloud intro. Super cheesy! I was joking with my friend that he was sent from the heavens to perform for us. hehe

About your statement saying that you liked Adam’s set cuz it seemed more professional and I agree since that’s him. Basically, that he’s a very polished guy and I expect that from him that it’s a “show”. I do however want to say that the reason I liked so many of them was because they bought their own type of show instead of trying to match anyone. I don’t want to comment on Kris because I don’t want it to be a Kris vs Adam type of thing so I’ll use Anoop as an example. I would like to say that he was fantastic (and dare i say.. equally as good as Adam) because he brought out the type of performance that is totally “Anoop”. He was nerdy-sexy, worked it out on stage, and gave a totally cool r&b performance. It was not the same as Adam who I loved too but I loved it just as much… well, except for the cloud intro.

edit: you’re still baiting and generalizing about fanbases. stop it or I’ll put you in moderation

I also want to add, (because I tried to edit but am new here and a total idiot), that if Jackie said “Kris is not my cuppa tea and I HATED his performance”, that would have been fine. I am not against people hating my fave!! Just didn’t like the examples I cited, which I do feel are off topic.

Jackie, thank you so much for the recap. I am unable to go to a concert so it is wonderful hearing first hand people’s impressions. Especially about Adam!

Sunn-
Kris is most welcome to the title. Can you imagine the uproar had THE AMERICAN IDOL straddled a mic and fondled it only minutes after grabbing his crotch!!!! Oh my dizzy aunt, the world as we know it would have crumbled in one AI fueled thunderous calamity.
LOL!!
I realized that however it happened Kris was the right one to win the title when a couple of days after the finale I saw the announcement from Kris that he was going to Disneyworld. It hit me what the hell would Upright Cabaret, Zodiac Show, Glittery Alien, Adam do at DW? I thought then thank God he didn’t win because he can just be Adam and soar anyway.

Honestly, I don’t think it’s disrespectful to say “I THINK Kris knows he didn’t deserve to win over Adam.” This is not supposed to be a statement “Look, even HE gets it!” It was just my observation. Yes, I don’t know if that is what Kris feels but I also said I THINK. Of course, Kris later on said “I deserved to win just as much as Adam.” TPTB wouldn’t want their new, and somewhat controversial, idol to doubt himself. What kind of message would that send to the fans? It would have only fueled the fire among Adam’s fans.
I am of the opinion that Kris thought Adam was more deserving also because he is a real person who has doubts about his abilities, like we all do. We’re all taught to mask these feelings by people like Simon who wants everyone to think they deserve to win. Kris said himself that he is his own worst critic and notices everything he does wrong. I’m sure there were many performances he reviewed of his and cringed at things we wouldn’t even think to criticize. From that standpoint he might have looked at Adam or someone else and thought “Man, that person is way better than me.” That is what I meant when I said what I said. I’m sure Adam, despite his swagger and confidence, has those moments too. Kris also had not been praised as much during the season, wasn’t written about as much in the media as Adam and based on all that didn’t expect to win and MAYBE, i am saying maybe, thought he wasn’t deserving either. I felt bad for him in interviews after the finale when everyone focused on Adam and why Adam didn’t win. I think Kris was uncomfortable in that situation, as anyone would be, and I think he would have preferred to avoid that.

I was at the concert too and couldn’t agree more with you Jackie. I brought along a couple of friends who don’t watch AI at all, and they also felt that Adam was out of place there. Kris is super cute and you can tell he sings with passion, but having to follow such high energy and intense act as Adam’s feels like an uphill battle.
Allison’s voice was gorgeous and she has great stage presence, though she sounded a little bit strained at times, maybe she’s coming down with something.
Danny was way too preachy for my taste. He starts with something like: “I wanna share with you that a year ago my wife passed…” And I’m thinking, yeah, and 99% of the people here have already heard about it 1,000 times. Why keep bringing it up? Shouldn’t Lil take the chance to tell about overcoming hurricane Katrina? Scott about his challenges about being blind?
Oh, and regarding the protesters outside the pavillion, it really wasn’t a big deal at all, they were just kind of annoying since we were stuck in the line and couldn’t turn off their shouts of “don’t worship the idols” thing.
Just my opinion folks.

Eileen99 Jul 13th, 2009 at 6:56 pm

I also want to add, (because I tried to edit but am new here and a total idiot), that if Jackie said ‘Kris is not my cuppa tea and I HATED his performance’ , that would have been fine. I am not against people hating my fave!! Just didn’t like the examples I cited, which I do feel are off topic.

Eileen99, I totally get what you are saying. Although I had been reading this blog for a while, this was my first post. I guess I went back to the night of the finale and how I felt when Kris won and I expressed that in my recap. As in, I said things that should and could have been said 2 months ago when it was all fresh and it was normal to see comments like that. If I had gotten it off my mind back then, I wouldn’t have included those comments in my concert recap. I kind of tried to get all my impressions of the concert and the show in my recap because I had never done it before.

And if writing about all the other idols besides Adam came as an “afterthought” to me as someone here said, man, I must have had a LOT of “afterthought!” Phew!

You really have to take any of these reviews with a “grain of salt”. I am sure the idols see some of these reviews but I really think Kris and Adam are professional enough to move on.

edit: no lecturing, no fingerwagging

As far as the tour, Kris and Adam have totally different sets. Adam’s is like the main course of a fancy meal. You really enjoy it and get your fill. Kris’ set is more like the dessert. You just sit back and enjoy. It doesn’t have to be flashy but it is just as good. I can see both of these guys doing very well after the tour. Even if Adam sells a million records on his first album and Kris sells half as much. Kris would not consider this a failure on his part because he is doing exactly what he set out to do in Louisville when auditioned. Both of these guys are about to embark on the dream they both shared when the came into the idol world. Kris and Adam are both who they are and no one is going to change that. This tour is just their obligation to AI. Kris, Adam and Allison have their eyes on the obligations after the tour. To me, the other members of the top ten are the ones who have something to prove if they want record deals and this may be their last shot. Kris may be better off if Kradam is no more after the tour. He will be free to be on his own and do his own thing without all the comparisons.

Go Kris, Go Adam and Go Allison, I can’t wait to see what comes next.

To ShariG
Thanks for your post – and I hope it isn’t deleted. And I do think that we can all be friends! I’m old enough to be all of their mothers and do wish them all the best. How wonderful to be able to work toward your goals … and they have all put themselves “out there” and have to have such thick skin to not be crushed under all of this attention, whether it’s positive or negative or some stupid rumor that gets blown out of proportion. I think that’s why I admire Adam for being proud and unashamed of who he is and his family for being so supportive. There’s certainly room for all sorts of opinions in the music world – we don’t all like the same things, thank goodness, or we’d never get any concert tickets!
The thing that gets me about Idol is the notion that even someone who makes the top ten is somehow deserving of a contract or attention. Sometimes it will be just 15 minutes of fame – and that doesn’t mean they won’t have a fulfilling life or that they have failed in some way.
I think this year was particularly difficult because one person came into the competition already having the full package and not really needing anyone’s help in showcasing himself. I truly wanted him to win because of his awesome and awe-inspiring abilities.
Having said that, I don’t think any of these kids have earned anything but our admiration: after all, we were mesmerized by them all year! I think we can be honest in our critiques of their sets while also applauding them for having the guts to make the world (or America, at least) the stage (to kind of quote Shakespeare).
So if you’re at Staples Thursday night and you see some goofy older lady with black fingernail polish in the front second section second row standing up to applaud each and every Idol … and then going stark raving mad about that #9 guy in concert order (who is termed overall #2 but in reality is #1) … please stand with me!
…

Yeah the notion that Adam or his fans are those who have “more to prove” seems odd, considering the part of this re-cap to which Kris fans took offense. Seems Kris, in the eyes of this re-capper as well as some critics and reviewers (not mine, but possibly Kris’s own), is the one who needs to prove he deserved to win. It shouldn’t be that way, imo, but seems it is.

On the bright side, glass half full and all, Kris will benefit in the Fall from lower expectations — just as imo he did on the show. Getting underestimated, then shattering those misconceptions, will be tons of fun for Kris (again.)

All the while, Adam will have to continue to top himself and others’ stratospheric expectations of him. Not an envious position to be in, imo. But, I suspect he too will continue to shine — just as imo he did on the show. Which will be tons of fun for Adam (again.)

How’s that for balanced? Ok? Everybody happy? LOL j/k

Jackieo: You rock.

KRIS = KRIS, ADAM = ADAM, KRADAM = LOVE.

Anyways, just a little background on me. I am a 29 year old professional woman, engaged to be married next year. I’ve always watched AI but never really had clear favorites. I liked Kelly, Carrie, Bo, Daughtry but I never voted or ever considered going to an AI concert. I didn’t care who won last year at all’”I thought Brooke was sweet, Carly had a great voice, Cook surprised me with Billie Jean, and Archie was a sweet kid who could sing.

I was one of those casual viewers who listened to the judges, even though I sometimes disagreed with them. I remember there were times I thought a particular performance was good/bad and when the judges disagreed with my opinion I thought that I was simply wrong. Back then I never considered the fact that judges have agendas and are pushing for certain contestants and want to throw others under the bus.

Anyways, all of that changed when I saw Adam Lambert during Hollywood week performing Cher.

I smiled as I read this because you appear to have fallen into the spell of AI and will probably never watch the show the same way again.

It will be interesting to see who the Adam fans go gaga for over the next year or two. I’ve watched the show since season 1. It’s nice to keep adding to the favs. Kelly, Bo, Taylor, Blake, MJ, Kris….each of these made the season for me. There have been others I’ve enjoyed, too, like Adam this year or DC last year.

The Adam obsession and fandom this year reminds me of season 5′s Taylor obsession. Enjoy it! I’ve seen Taylor once a year since AI 5 and have enjoyed every performance. There were other talented people in season 5 but I didn’t feel like I had to like them all as much as TH. So, I understand your Adam obsession. I may not agree with your remarks about Kris but understand it’s your opinion. Looking forward to seeing you post about who you really like in season 9.

I am not against people hating my fave!! Just didn’t like the examples I cited, which I do feel are off topic.

thankyou.

mj proably hates me by now, but i have to add: jackie’s review of kris’ set was so heavily focused on why kris should not have won, her post was more of an essay about AI Season 8, rather than a concert recap.

edited: just the part where you refer to my modding. DON’T DO THAT.

And, I’m pretty sure I read in the guidelines that this IS supposed to be about puppies and rainbows. No?

NO. Posters are allowed to flame and criticize the idols and any other outside forces (you can call an outside reviewer an idiot if you like). But posters CANNOT flame or criticize each other.

Jackie is a reviewer posted on the front page. Just as if I were writing a review. She’s free to express whatever opinions she wants to, and you are free to disagree. Other posters may also disagree, but this side conversation aboutwhether Jackie is free to express her opinion or not is OFF TOPIC.

It goes without saying that she IS.

I will try to express my discomfort with this “recap” without generalizing to entire fanbases. I agree wholeheartedly with the previous poster who mentioned very inflammatory statements in this supposed recap. This felt much less like a recap of an American Idol concert and more an opportunity to tell the world that in her opinion the wrong person won American Idol. There was very little about any of the other performers much less anything positive. At most rock concerts I’ve attended people stand up and dance around and scream and yell and that is fun for rock concert goers. Adam is the rocker in this group. But it isn’t an Adam concert and it isn’t a rock concert. It is an American Idol concert with all kinds of styles and voices that people react to in different ways, and all kinds of people from very young to very old attending. I’ve attended the AI concerts practically every year and am always pleasantly surprised at the huge appeal across ages. At most rock concerts I’ve attended there is a pretty specific demographic, far more limited than at an American Idol concert. Most of the other 9 contestants have very limited stage experience in comparison to Adam. It would be shocking if he wasn’t more professional than the others considering he has had ten years by his count of professional singing experience that the others have not had. To interpret a lack of screaming and dancing as a lack of appreciation may be off the mark. People respond to Adam as they would a rocker and they respond to Kris, Matt, Anoop, Scott as they would a balladeer. I can enjoy just as much a beautiful song, out of sight guitar playing, and a lovely interpretation of lyrics without all of the screaming, yelling, and dancing around. That is fun, too, for this concert goer and may be more appropriate for other types of performances. Isn’t that the beauty of American Idol? Something for everyone?

Yeah, Tripp, what you said! “Kradison” have a lot of promise for their respective careers. Also, the other idols will undoubtedly have opportunities open to them that they would never have had if it weren’t for AI. It’s amazing the way AI kind of brings them along the road a little at a time: the weekly singing, the group songs, then the tours — easing them into the limelight and seeing who can handle it. They really do get a great education and are pretty well-protected in the idol bubble. And the opportunities are not limited to recording contracts.

Love each and every one of these fan reviews and give a lot of credit to Jackie and others who are willing to publish them here. Thanks again, Jackie.

I’ve been reading the recaps and reviews and have been wondering about why audience reaction seems to be so subdued for Kris. I was wondering how the crowds reacted to David Cook last year? He seems to be from the same singer/songwriter vein. Did people stand and sing,etc.through his set or was the response closer to what Kris is experiencing this year?

There is no such thing as OFF TOPIC in a front page essay. Bloggers are NOT bound by my guidelines! And in this case, Jackie is a blogger.

Now, let’s get back to discussing her review.

edited: edited the post you were replying to

Tiger92, David Cook calls himself a rocker. He wants to be a rocker. I personally prefer his softer side, but I have seen him in concert since Idol twice and let me tell you he is a rocker! And, yes people stand and scream, and sing along, and your ears and voice are gone at the end of the concert and it is great fun.

Jackie, your review echoed some of the same sentiments that I’ve been reading in newspaper critiques of the show. Critics whom are unfamiliar and unbiased overwhelmingly state that Adam Lambert is in a league of his own. It’s easy to impress your fans, it’s more difficult to impress critics who are watching you for the first time. Thanks for the review, I for one think it was spot on.

Wrong again jackieo. Kris did not say he deserved to win as much as Adam. He said he meant that Adam deserved to win as much as him. Maybe that is my problem with your recap. There are too many statements made in error to make a point that you are trying to make and it has more to do with the win than the concert.

Jackie, a BIG THANKS for the time and effort you took to share your experience with us. I felt like I was there! Brian Mansfield (Seattle Times) is a big Kris fan, but he had pretty much the same reaction as you did in his Portland review. The LA Times had a completely different reaction ‘“ described it as a ‘feel good’ set that was a perfect ending ‘“ crowd seemed unified with their glow sticks and cell phones, singing along, etc. I enjoy reading everyone’s take whether I agree or not. Since I love both Adam and Kris, Q3 pretty well expressed my viewpoint. And I appreciated your take on the protestors (Idolatry and not just Adam) as well as the comments about Danny (heart goes out to that guy).
Again, thanks for a detailed /exciting review and congrats on your engagement!

Q3 ‘“ LOVED the fan quote. Just made my day!

I agree with you wand3rful and ShariG. The recap was fine up to a point and then it suddenly had nothing to do with the concert experience.

Thanks for the recap. Too bad you didnt like Kris’ set, but YAY for Adam and Allison!

I love both Adam and Kris, perhaps, Kris more because I am just as laid back as he is, personality-wise. As for the need to get defensive about everything good or bad said about the two of them…I know it’s human to feel just that. But personally, tomorrow’s just another day. This review is Jackie’s opinion and perception about what she saw, heard, and felt. It may not cater to everyone, but this is her own opinion.

That being said, I’m confident about Kris’ talent, but he is bound, as with everybody else, to get criticized every so often.

Jackie did you notice anything about allison? She was sick yesterday and had to go to the hospital..did you notcie anything different in her set?

Thanks, Jackie, for sticking your neck out like that and giving your opinion. It was the truth as you saw it and kudos for being honest. It’s been difficult this season with two such divergent performers as Allen and Lambert to arrive at any type of comparison. It all comes down, however, to the fact that it’s a singing competition, and that fact is the elephant in the room.

No, I didn’t notice anything different about her. She had a lot of energy and stage presence and was running around the stage, but my fiance did say she sounded a bit hoarse to him. He loves Allison and felt she sounded a bit different than usual. If she was really sick, I give her major props b/c I didn’t notice!

This review cracked me up because the first 5 paragraphs could have been written by me, except I’m older and it’s my husband I have been driving crazy for months now. :biggrin_wp:

I can’t wait to see the concert. I’m sure it will be a fantastic show. Thanks for sharing your recap. I enjoyed your enthusiasm!

Just wondering… you said you waited to see the idols for over an hour. Did they all come out? Did everyone who waited get to meet them or just the lucky fans in front?

@tiger92

I saw the idol show last year in NJ and the crowd went crazy for David Cook. People were screaming through his set. It was almost too noisy.

Shari G, Is David’s set comparable to Kris’s as far as the AI tour goes? I was unable to attend last year. If it was and the audience response was basically the same, then we shouldn’t expect more! They were both the winners of their respected years.

Brian Mansfield (Seattle Times)

Just a note, Brian Mansfield is from USA Today. And Mischa Berson is from the Seattle Times and for the record, didn’t like Adam’s set in the end.

I’m so frustrated because we went to the Tacoma show and had no idea where to find them for autographs after the show was over? How do you find and buses and where they come out?

David Cook is actually on television right this minute at the All Star Game. He is definitely rock. More so than Kris. Kris is more a John Mayer type singer. David and the group sang Declaration. Just love both of these winners, David and Kris.

No, I didn’t notice anything different about her. She had a lot of energy and stage presence and was running around the stage, but my fiance did say she sounded a bit hoarse to him. He loves Allison and felt she sounded a bit different than usual. If she was really sick, I give her major props b/c I didn’t notice!

Thanks..yeah, she was taken to the hospital I believe..thanks for responding.

Iluvai and kitay72, I asked the guards before entering the arena where the idols might be after the show and where the fans should wait for possible autographs and they told me where. I was aware that the idols did this sometimes after the concert from these blogs so I definitely wanted in on the action.
There is no guarantee that they will all come out. It seems that Michael, Matt and Danny come out the most. Last night I think all of them came out, except the girls and Scott, but I’m not sure. First it was Michael, then Adam, then Anoop, Matt and Danny and Kris. Last night they signed everyone’s stuff and went to every fence. Matt was very fun and danced like Michael Jackson, Danny had a lot of energy too. He likes to do that “hump” move a lot! Anoop was pretty reserved but I think that’s just his personality. Kris and Adam moved along pretty quickly and didn’t have as much interaction with the fans.

Thanks Jackieo! I’d love to get a chance to meet some of them!

Thanks for your recap Jackie! I’ve already read a couple of reviews that said a lot of people are sitting throughout the concert – this scares me. I like to have fun at concerts and dance and sing along. I suppose I can still do that but it might be uncomfortable since I’ll be worried if the people behind me are thinking I’m rude for blocking their view. I’m glad to hear that most of the people stand and cheer for Adam because there is no way in hell I’m sitting for that one but there a couple of others that I’m excited to see as well. I hope the Chicago crowd is more enthusiastic!

Mileage may vary, but I only mourned Adam not winning for about 24 hours. Do I think he’s more talented, you betcha. But, not having the crown frees him from ‘Going to Disney’ and having people freak the F out when he does his solo concerts, complete with impregating microphone stands.

This reminds me of Idina Menzel’s solo tour where she was trying to shake off the Wicked tween fans (who Adam also has to shake off) . She had the mouth of a sailor at her concert and parents who brought their kids weren’t happy, but if any had done their homework, they would have known better.

Adam is just trying to lay the groundwork for the future, I applaud that.

iluvai,
i’m sure you’re going to get to meet them! it’s just a matter of your fav idol coming out! i am was surprised at how easy it was to get to the fences and get a good spot. good luck and have fun!

MelP75,
I hope your crowd is better as well! Contrary to what many here seem to think, that I hate Kris, I was totally up and singing along to Heartless. That is, until everyone else around me sat down and then I did the same b/c I felt stupid being the only one who was standing and singing along.

Perhaps just the title recap is inaccurate.

Well, there are over 20 paragraphs in that recap. The bulk of them discuss the concert, and only 2 of them contain the references to the win, etc. that some find objectionable. So, to me, “recap” is actually a pretty accurate title.

I disagree with some of the sentiments about Kris in the recap. I believe that whoever wins AI is the one who “deserved” to win.

But I still found the rest of the recap informative and an enjoyable read.

Jackie, thank you for your honest opinion and the time you took to express it.

This reminds me of Idina Menzel’s solo tour where she was trying to shake off the Wicked tween fans (who Adam also has to shake off) . She had the mouth of a sailor at her concert and parents who brought their kids weren’t happy, but if any had done their homework, they would have known better.

Adam is just trying to lay the groundwork for the future, I applaud that.

Very true Heather Headley is another stage star who tried to become a recording artists, her albums were good but she was never able to shake the stage. I really hope Adam succeeds in his dream to be a ‘rockstar’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lzlitXYVfk
Heather in case you are curious

Woohoo, I finally got an account here! I went to the concert yesterday–I got stuff signed by Michael, Adam, & Kris. Kris even used my silver sharpie! And, that peacock feather in the last pic was my present to Adam. He said, “Aw, thank you, that’s beautiful.”

And, my share of pictures, of varying quality.

http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b214/Dr_Jam/Adam/concert/?start=140

jackieo, How did you, and your fiance as a non Adam fan, like Starlight? From the videos I’ve seen, I think San Jose’s version was the best yet.

ETA

Alyonia
Jul 13th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Woohoo, I finally got an account here!

Congratulations! And welcome aboard (pun most definitely intended). =)

Thanks for the recap. Don’t apologize for your opinions and I’m glad that you said what you were thinking. Too many filters in today’s society, IMO.

I think that it needs to mentioned, though, that when you watch these folks on stage, none of them should be able to compete with ADAM. When you watch Adam, you are seeing 10 years of performing experience on a big stage. This isn’t high school drama class…no. He’s been doing off broadway productions for years and has had time to hone all of this skill that you now see. Nobody else can claim this and none of the others even remotely have this type of experience. Bottom line, he SHOULD be better on stage than the rest.

What has Danny done? Church? Same with Kris. Leading a worship service is TOTALLY different from performing on stage. From personal experience doing both, it’s not even close. In church, the focus of your performance is GOD…meaning when you perform, people should see that, not you. On stage performing your own material, it’s totally different. Not to make excuses for anyone, I just think that it needs to mentioned that a lot of these people are working out the kinks in their performing styles. They will grow.

Bottom line, I’m glad the tour is getting a good reception. It’s a good experience for them and I’m glad they get to experience it with friends.

BTW, I can’t believe anyone is protesting an American Idol concert. Ridiculousness…

Thank you for the recap and your honesty and bravery with it. It agrees with my experience at the Vancouver concert totally ))

ShariG

Only I don’t see — and would be surprised if Kris sees himself as, or would want to be called — a “balladeer”

The guy rocks it out on ATTTID and Bright Lights. He might be a pop-rock guy rather than a harder rock one, but I wouldn’t call him a “balladeer”

Jackie, thanks for the review! I have also been an Adam fan since Hollywood week. He is one in a billion. He is truly in a league of his own and is destined to be the next legend! I, for one, can’t wait.

The guy rocks it out on ATTTID and Bright Lights. He might be a pop-rock guy rather than a harder rock one, but I wouldn’t call him a ‘balladeer’ 

I disagree girlygirl, I think balladeer fits Kris.

Sunn, I totally agree about Starlight! I thought the SJ version was his best yet. I had seen the other versions and his voice seemed a bit too high for me in the youtube videos. I was also a bit concerned that he would be a bit too theatrical for my fiance with all the hand gestures. But last night was awesome! His voice wasn’t as high and all the little movements weren’t as visible from where we were.
Fiance and I both love Starlight by Muse so it was a good song he could sing along too. He thought Adam sounded great and was so impressed with Adam, that at times I think he might just be humoring me! Ha, but he’s not, he really was very impressed with Adam last night.
Also in general, I said my fiance and other critics feel that Adam is too theatrical (Starlight) or “too gay” with his dancing during Fame but it really comes across differently when you see him on the big stage, as opposed to watching a video of his close-ups. There are some awesome youtube vids that show him dancing to Bowie and I think those shots appeal more to those who aren’t as into Adam as the hardcore fans are who like everything he does. Like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ARXffSbVzA&eurl=http://idolforums.com/index.php?showtopic=619449&st=1280&feature=player_embedded

@iluvai: I got there around 4, for the concert at seven; the idols came out from 2:30-3:00, so I missed all of them except Allison, who we saw drive away (and then return). According to those who /didn’t/ miss it, everyone except Adam, Allison, and Lil came out before hand, although Kris only signed a few things before returning inside.

From my seat, I thought quite a few people were standing up for Allison, except during Cry Baby. Like Jackie, I tried to stay standing as long as I could.

This isn’t meant to be an insult to any of the contestants (edit if it is?), but while we were waiting out by the back, a radio station came and asked who was there to see Adam. Almost the entire crowd (50 or so?), donned appropriately in black, cheered. They proceeded to interviewing a few people and taking some pictures. Once they were done, they asked the same question for Gokey. Everyone went quiet to see who would clap, but no one did. Then for Michael Sarver; there were shouts of “yeah, he’s such a sweetheart,” since he had just come out. The radio guy said “He’s from Louisiana.” Some said, “No, Texas.” And I added, “Yeah, he’s from Jasper.” After an awkward silence, the radio host asked about Allison, and everyone gave a cheer. When they left, we were all left wondering why he didn’t ask about Kris. :C There were a couple of girls holding a Kris sign that looked particularly disappointed.

Oh, & I saw those protestors, too. I’m Catholic, and I thought their restriction of the word “Idol” to mean something representative of a god was ridiculously annoying. They kept shouting at us in line. >>

Heather Headley is another stage star who tried to become a recording artists, her albums were good but she was never able to shake the stage.

Wasn’t she the one in Aida that had an ego as big as Bway? No one wanted to work with her.

From reading the stories about the autograph sessions that take place outside (not the Afterparty or the inside m&g where you have to have a ticket/pass), it appears that usually most of them come outside unless they are doing press or have some other obligation. But Kris and Adam move more quickly and spend less time outside than the others — probably because they are the ones who get more attention. As far as I can tell, they are the only ones who have handlers and security guards assigned to them, and on the videos I can often hear these handlers urge Kris and Adam to keep moving.

jackieo, Thanks for the link!!!!! I’ve never percieved the audience reaction as clearly as in this vid.
The screams from the audience when he did the hip thrust/roll are priceless!

Thanks again, You really made my day with your post. You are just full of win.

In a way I feel bad for Kris for winning. I genuinely don’t think he is comfortable with it because he knows he didn’t really deserve to win. Yes, he got the most votes that night but crowd reaction every night lets him know he isn’t the real winner. I got a feeling last night he knows that. My fianc actually brought that up. As much as he wanted to dislike Adam and always thought Kris had a more radio friendly voice, even my fianc felt it was a letdown having Kris go last. Just my opinion!

Jackie, this not only strikes me as a reasonable thing to write about after attending an Idol Tour concert, but I understand where you are coming from and agree 100%.

I actually believe that losing American Idol was the best thing that could have happened to Adam Lambert. It makes his story one of “too much for the American Idol crowd” which is a good thing in any of the possible music categories that might interest him — from Zeppelin to Gaga.

Conversely, I think winning Adam Lambert’s season of American Idol was the worst possible outcome for the kid who won. I can’t even remember his name and I feel sorry for him. He would have been much better off finishing second and would have been basking in the glow of universal good feelings all summer long on the tour. He would have a strong following of fans, including much of Adam’s fanbase, and some time to gain some confidence and grow as an entertainer. Instead, he is faced with the reality of the situation (as Tess said upthread, “It is what it is….”) night after night, review after review. He’s basically being thrown to the wolves and there isn’t a darn thing anybody can do about it. There’s a disconnect between the finishing order, and therefore the performing order on tour, and the reality of the situation. The kid who won bears the brunt of that because he’s simply not capable of a performance that would plausible follow the performance Lambert is delivering night after night. It’s like poor Elliot sandwiched between DAUGHTRY and Taylor Hicks on the Season 5 tour.

Thanks for your recap. I know you put a lot of effort into it. I enjoyed reading it and I think you raised some points that have become more and more obvious with each passing tour stop.

Jackie I’m glad you got to post your recap. I almost wish I were attending simply so I could post my own. I appreciate your perspective that you prefer the more polished performer. I’m also happy you had a wonderful time, I truly am!

Heather Headley is another stage star who tried to become a recording artists, her albums were good but she was never able to shake the stage.

Wasn’t she the one in Aida that had an ego as big as Bway? No one wanted to work with her.

Really, I never heard that but it could be true. I actually never saw her on stage, when I saw Aida on Broadway it was with Deborah Cox. Now that I think about it Heather hasn’t starred in anything in awhile.

His voice wasn’t as high and all the little movements weren’t as visible from where we were.

We all should be wary of drawing conclusions from YouTube videos. The cameras either go “blat blat blat” from gross bass distorion or filter out all the bass. It is nearly impossible to really tell what a singer sounds like on these YouTubes, unless the guy is hitting bum notes or just butchering the song.

Same with gestures and dancing. These kids really have to exaggerate everything they do on stage for it to have a prayer of working in an arena setting.

I wouldn’t say anything ,so not to sound like I’m angered by this review, because after all Jackie is entitled to her opinion. I would just try to defend Kris here a little bit. I perfectly understand how Kris felt when he was announced as the winner. Not that he felt Adam was better than him, but maybe he was shocked for the reasons I’m going to state below.
1) We had judges who throughout the whole season, kept telling him how he could not win because he lacked star quality.
2) He was competing against some equally good contestants who being pimped throughout the season.
3)Judges go on television shows and tell the whole world how he was not a good enough singer to compete with certain contestants.
4) When judges try to tell the voting public who is going to be in the final from the word go.
5) You give wonderful performances each week and you see the audience loving you, yet judges either give you romantic comments( Paula), reminding the public that you only have the looks and nothing else, or show you disrespect by playing with each other anytime it’s your turn to get their comments(very disrespectful).
6) And finally, on your final performance night, they just thank you for participating in the competition this season, meaning you don’t deserve the title. There are still many reasons that I can’t list.
My brothers and sisters, I don’t know about each of you,but honestly,if it were me,I may have fainted with shock if I were announced the winner after all these. Kris at least was able to hold it after Adam shook him to come out of the shock. I remember perfectly that he had said so many times he felt he could do well after he did ANS. So, for anyone to say he feels he doesn’t deserve the title, is wrong. I hope Kris is keeping all those pictures with the O (suprise) faces, so he can show it to his kids in future and tell them never to let anyone bring them down but to continue doing what they can do best and hope for success. Kris will definately see his win as a miracle, taking into consideration what he went thru’ from audition to finale. That in no way mean he feels he did not deserve to win. I hope he brings out an album that will be a hit to put all his doubters to shame. I strongly believe TPTB really believe in him.God bless him.

edit

Simon also thought Kris didn’t deserve to win so I’m guessing it’s not a minority opinion. However Idol tradition dictates that the “true winner” is the Idol who sells the more albums/has the most radio hits. That’s why Daughtry is the winner of S5.

It’s obvious Adam has a big, committed Idol fan base but it’s still not obvious that his original music will connect with the general non TV audience. So I wouldn’t count Kris out yet as the “true winner.”

If Kris got trashed in every review from here until September 15, it ultimately means nothing as long as his original music connects. The opposite is also true obviously. In the end, the tour is a fun prelude to their future as recording artists. Adam may be a great live performer and have a dud album.

Did Carrie have them standing on the seats screaming during the tour? No, but she’s a monster when it comes to moving those units.

Jackie, how perceptive of your fianc regarding Allison. Sarver twittered earlier that night, ‘Allison is ok her voice is just under the weather.’ 

Truthiness ‘“ Thank you for the correction! And why would Mischa Berson care for Adam’s set (past reviews I found she labeled him ‘screeching’ and ‘screaming’). Different strokes for different folks.
Which reminds me’ ¦.

Jackie, here is an Adamgasm I found on twitter: http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=10dfxmq&s=3

To play devil’s advocate, the touring is where the money is made for the performer. While I’ve bought a single here and there for Carrie, I’d never buy a ticket to her show because honestly, she’s fairly bland as a performer. But Adam, I know I’d get my money’s worth. I’d buy Kris’s cd to mellow out at home, but I wouldn’t see him live because I know I don’t like concerts where I sit the whole time. ie James Taylor.

I’m hoping Adam fills club like spaces where you can dance for his tour, not some god awful state fair places.

edit: I warned you about this. it would be easy to put you back into moderation

Sunn:

Sorry, but we’re gonna have to disagree. Kris isn’t a balladeer. Balladeers don’t rock it out on electric guitar. He can do ballads, yes. But he isn’t a balladeer. Two different things, entirely. I have to wonder that since you are a huge Adam fan, whether you have even seen the YouTube videos of Kris doing ATTTID and Bright Lights? He has one ballad in his entire set and that’s ANS. The others are all pop-rock songs (or in the case of Heartless, a pop-rock version of a rap song). You may consider Hey Jude a ballad, but I call it a pop-rock anthem, not a ballad.

I’ll go out on a limb and say I’ve seen the Kris ATTTID and Bright Lights and he’s not rockin… this coming from the wife of a guitarist. Yes, he’s playing A guitar, but rockin.. nope.

“Thanks, Jackie, for sticking your neck out like that and giving your opinion. It was the truth as you saw it and kudos for being honest.”

I agree. You put your comments in a very clear context, so we knew where you were coming from, which isn’t something that all reviewers do.

I’ve never followed AI after the show is over, so don’t know how unusual all the after-show comments seen this year are compared to the norm, but would guess that fans are more polarized this year. Does that seem true?

I never voted for any of the kids before, but did vote for both Kris and Adam, (but only Adam in the finals–for the full 4 hours.) I think that the right person won, though, considering the DW trip, and a few other things that maybe wouldn’t suit Adam’s personality quite as well. But, the media seems to be loving Adam more than Kris, (RS cover probably is highly unusual for the AI runner-up, especially right after the show ended, right?), and things like that might at times cause Kris to wonder if he should have won. We’ll never know for sure.

Do the winner and runner-up usually do this much press together, (they seem kind of joined at the hip), or is Kris in an unusual position with that, too?

It’s got to be incredibly difficult to follow Adam in concert. Even if we say that Adam and Kris are equally talented, (some will agree, some won’t), for a more mellow set to follow such a high energy set is going to feel like a bit of a let-down for a lot of concert goers, IMO. Kris has a tough job, even if you’re a fan of his. I can see why Jackie might feel like Kris like “a cigarette after good sex”. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

To play devil’s advocate, the touring is where the money is made for the performer. While I’ve bought a single here and there for Carrie, I’d never buy a ticket to her show because honestly, she’s fairly bland as a performer.

I’d have to dig out my stats, but I do believe her tour last year was one of the Top 5 money earners, maybe in country At any rate, she moves concert tickets as well as units.

Idina Menzel

Wow…her voice reminds me of Ariel or Belle from the Disney movies…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRBHITLKMag

“complete with impregating microphone stands. ”

I want to adopt the off-spring that results from this.

If they don’t sell albums they don’t get big tours. And if radio doesn’t play the crap out of their singles, they don’t sell albums.

I can’t imagine Adam doing country fairs (traditional Idol venues.) He’ll need to go on tour with Gaga/Britney type artists since I can’t see him touring with any current rockers.The glamrock thing is dead unless he tours with some 80s hair band making a come back.

Country artists rank among the biggest money makers for tours by the way. So the county fairs add up to big $. Way more $ than performing at clubs.

Muzic2luv, I’ve already seen that Adamgasm, duh! Haha, but it always makes me happy to see it again!
I don’t know what it is about him, he just plain out makes me happy! Hey, he inspired me to write this long recap. He seems to inspire and touch people and they all want to share love and amazement for him. I think that’s the “it” factor that people are simply born with. He also takes care of his talent. He took voice lessons and carries his humidifier everywhere with him. All of that is just irresistible to me!No, I don’t expect the other performers to be as polished as he is but he was in a competition in which he was supposed to be judged against the others.
I do worry that he has set the bar really high for himself though and I worry for his debut album. the expectations are so high and almost impossible to live up to. It seems that people will only consider it a success if it’s “Thriller” like and changes the musical landscape…(ok, a bit of an exaggeration). The idols have to put that thing together so quickly and while on tour. I really hope he can take his time with it and come up with something awesome!

jpfan
Jul 13th, 2009 at 9:12 pm

It’s obvious Adam has a big, committed Idol fan base but it’s still not obvious that his original music will connect with the general non TV audience. So I wouldn’t count Kris out yet as the ‘true winner.’ 

If Kris got his ass reamed in every review from here until September 15, it ultimately means nothing as long as his original music connects. The opposite is also true obviously. In the end, the tour is a fun prelude to their future as recording artists. Adam may be a great live performer and have a dud album.

Does Carrie have their standing on the seats screaming? No but she’s a monster when it comes to moving those units.

Nearly everything you said is true. The success if these AI artists will depend solely on the quality their recording debuts. However, let’s not forget that a built in fanbase is a hug leg up, and a marketable reputation as an audacious rocker is also an advantage. Selling albums these days, is far more dependent on marketing than on quality I fear. So, taking those two points into consideration, the Buzz and the rep generated from this tour and post AI in general, I’d say Adam has an advantage over Kris.
Kris’s advantage ofcourse is that his style of music is more predictable, generically friendly and radio compatible.

In short, If I were a betting shop, I would offer a slightly higher spread towards Adam, but not by much.

As for Carrie as an example of performance vs sales, here I disagree with you jpfan. She does country music not pop/rock, it’s apples and oranges. Country has a huge fanbase that was hungry for young fresh faces country singer to replace the aging ones, like what’s her name who’s married to what’s his name with the cowboy hat. Carrie slid in there a the right time.
Also, country music is not the stand on chairs, dance till you drop, scream till you can’t speak and jump around until your dizzy kind of concert. Rock/pop is. So the comparison between Carrie and Adam just doesn’t work for me at all.

If they don’t sell albums they don’t get big tours. And if radio doesn’t play the crap out of their singles, they don’t sell albums. Although Adam may have enough of a fanbase to make it as a mid level success (19 may be happy with that if he does well internationally.

Have you checked the charts lately?!

And what’s Hair and Glam got to do with each other? (I didn’t quote that bit) Stop confusing genres, a glam rocker wouldn’t leave a hair band concert alive. LOL!!!

I’m going to have to agree with girlygirl that I don’t think Kris is a balladeer. Soft, pop rock definitely, but not really a balladeer.

Also, I agree with sr4mjc, & I think that’s probably why the crowds at these places seem to be mostly Adam fans. And people did seem reluctant to actually dance in the Shark Tank, much to disappointment. D:

Idina..love me some Idina. She’s amazing live. Her husband Taye Diggs is pretty fine as well!

As for concerts, i didn’t mean to imply Carrie isn’t selling well, she’s obviously doing fine. But still little stage persona compared to her recorded albums, which are pretty good. Incredible range.

Adam won’t be touring with hair bands, but I’m not sure how they will promote him. I have a feeling he’ll be touring Europe and Asia possible before the US, that’s where his money will be.

He’ll need to go on tour with a Gaga/Britney type artists since I can’t see him touring with any current rockers.

I could see Lambert opening the 2010 Madonna World Tour.

The glamrock thing is dead unless he tours with some 80s hair band making a come back.

Eh, it might have been in a coma for awhile, but I do believe that I detect a blip on the monitor.

But seriously, I don’t get the sense that Adam intends to go completely retro, although there seem to be elements of that style that appeal to him, along with others. I think he will be pretty unique, we can’t know until he does it, but it will be fun to find out!

I have to wonder that since you are a huge Adam fan, whether you have even seen the YouTube videos of Kris doing ATTTID and Bright Lights? He has one ballad in his entire set and that’s ANS. The others are all pop-rock songs (or in the case of Heartless, a pop-rock version of a rap song). You may consider Hey Jude a ballad, but I call it a pop-rock anthem, not a ballad.

girlygirl, it’s not what he sings in this concert run, it’s how he sings it. It’s the quality of his voice and his performance style. I have watched the youtubes and I think his best performances are still ANS and HJ. He does a competent job on the other 2 songs, but I wouldn’t write home about them.

I truly do think he’s more of a balladeer, which is why I never rooted for him on the show.

Although Adam may have enough of a fanbase to make it as a mid
level success (around where Cook is but not at Kelly/Carrie/Daughtry megaplat level.) They may be happy with that.

In DC defense he’s just starting out. As for Carrie, country always sell, this is why Kris should reconsider this direction, and I just can’t get with Daughtry. Kellie C has done well but she seems to be faltering. Only time will tell with this current batch, for all we know Megan may be the one to go megaplat.

It’s got to be incredibly difficult to follow Adam in concert. Even if we say that Adam and Kris are equally talented, (some will agree, some won’t), for a more mellow set to follow such a high energy set is going to feel like a bit of a let-down for a lot of concert goers, IMO. Kris has a tough job, even if you’re a fan of his. I can see why Jackie might feel like Kris like ‘a cigarette after good sex’ . Thanks for sharing your perspective.

That makes sense to me. Knowing what to expect from both of them, I’m looking forward to Kris’ set following Adam’s. It will be a great set, and I’ll have time to calm down so I can just enjoy the final group number with all of them singing and having fun together. :smile_wp:

I edited my post because I didn’t want to get into a side topic. By Kelly/Carrie.Daughtry league, I mean having the #1 album of the year. It’s very hard in the market today to go multi plat. Even they can’t touch their sales from years past.

.

All that being said previously, I think Kris may have more longevity. Safe musician, nice melodies and lyrics. Adam could go out in a huge flame in 2-5 years. Big glittery flame it might be,but it will be fun to watch!

Idina Menzel

Wow’ ¦her voice reminds me of Ariel or Belle from the Disney movies’ ¦
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRBHITLKMag

No offense to those who said they like her. But I really didn’t like the tone of her voice. Maybe she was just singing in a “character” voice for that performance???

Kris = Not balladeer

Anoop = Balladeer

@Eileen99: Agreed. & I lovelovelove Anoop, too.

One last post I think regarding the sales, and then I’m finished with the topic.

All the AI artists sited here are American success stories. Especially Carrie. Kelly has had reasonable success internationally but she is yet to break big.

Now let’s see which young artists are selling outside the US, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Green Day, BEP (though they’re not young). Who did Glastonbury in England and the T in Edinburgh Lady Gaga, Katy Perry. BEP did Glsto 2 years ago I think.
Adam won’t be judged by his record company as a success or failure based on US sales. He will be targeting the international audience. Simon said it on the show, the first international star.

Al has never seen his type before, therefor all comparisons o previous AI contestants are invalid, imo.

Mark my words, Adam will be on the the newbie stage at Glastonbury next summer.

Mark my words, Adam will be on the the newbie stage at Glastonbury next summer.

That would be cool. :smile_wp:

What has Danny done? Church? Same with Kris. Leading a worship service is TOTALLY different from performing on stage. From personal experience doing both, it’s not even close. In church, the focus of your performance is GOD’ ¦meaning when you perform, people should see that, not you. On stage performing your own material, it’s totally different. Not to make excuses for anyone, I just think that it needs to mentioned that a lot of these people are working out the kinks in their performing styles. They will grow.

I don’t know his resume, but in the press conference before the finale, Kris said he had “just as much experience” as Adam, he just hadn’t performed in Wicked so people didn’t know it.

Kris is a very good balladeer and a very good pop-rock artist. I see him doing something a bit alternative in the pop-rock genre in the future. He does great on ATTTID and Bright Lights

I could see Lambert opening the 2010 Madonna World Tour

– that would be a good style mix… however i don’t think Madonna would like to be shadowed with Adam’s superb vocals… just sayin’

Jackie – I share the same concerns about the expectations of his album. Planning on buying those of Kris and Allsion too. Well, since you know about the humidifier, you probably followed the reviews from professional vocal critic MasterClassLady and expert site IdolRanges.com. I just loved the way she described “that beautiful tongue” and his vocal techniques. I also bought the “The Ten Commandments” DVD. A wonderful surprise was the awesome performance of Alisan Porter as Miriam. She also performed with Adam in The Zodiac Show. Also glad to hear your take on his dancing. When I first saw his moves on that Bowie Medley, I saw too much of “Kiss and Tell.” But now I just love the way he moves – it’s all Adam!

Even IF Adam’s album flops, he has already been approached to star in both Superman (U2 project) on Broadway, and the Greenday project.. Although things are different today, many huge Broadway stars do make a crossover onto the pop charts-Evita and Patti LuPone comes to mind, Michael Crawford etc. That is assuming that he continues to take care of his voice and he doesn’t suffer from vocal nodes.

Even international stars come to the U.S. to “make it big.” So being a success outside the U.S. won’t make you a superstar unless you’re a success inside the U.S.

Gee, poor Kelly Clarkson, you sell ten million albums and dominate the charts in England, Australia, Germany, etc. and you’re still not an international star. Her star is fading but at least let’s credit her with being Idol’s first (and really only) international star so far.

I don’t know his resume, but in the press conference before the finale, Kris said he had ‘just as much experience’  as Adam, he just hadn’t performed in Wicked so people didn’t know it.

Kris has not only performed in worship service, but has done the bar scene in Arkansas and has written and recorded an album; he considers this whole thing as as much experience as Adam.
I would say he still has a little less experience than Adam because after all he’s 4 years younger. 4 years is a pretty big thing at this age

P.S.: When I hear and see Kris-I think future country star. Yes, I know he doesn’t want to go this direction, but it is a shame.

edit: newbie aren’t you? Read my guidelines before you post again.

Gee, poor Kelly Clarkson, you sell ten million albums and dominate the charts in England, Australia, Germany, etc. and you’re still not an international star.

No she’s not. She’s known and popular, but a star no.

As for Adam making it in the US. His AI fans alone will cover that quota, as well as dance club sales and demented americans who, shock horror, might like his style of music. The major portion of new fans will come mainly from international venues and sales.

At the end of all these fascinating prognostications on Adam’s career, we inescapably must come to one fact; We still don’t know what kind of album he’ll produce.
He may surprise us all and have a ballad or two to win him those intransigent US radio plays. After all, you only need one real hit single to break. I’m sure Adam knows that as well as we do.

Nice pics Jackie!!! Loved your review…at least you’re honest

Err Kris isnt a baladeer, he’s a staple crooner…meat and potatoes stuff, with the truly abused word of “artiste” thown in for good measure, …he’ll do well on radio, as staple goes….if he can make enough of an impression that lasts longer than 5 seconds…he doesnt hold my attention for that long, so good luck!

Adam’s the tricky one, but I think he’ll do ok also,,,,,he’ll take a few risks ad they may or may not pay off in the long run……I think he’s really unique and really talented, so I hope he does ok, he deserves a shot..will need to tone down a few excesses though…hopefully he finds some balance

Mark my words, Adam will be on the the newbie stage at Glastonbury next summer.

That would actually make me consider going back “home” (I’m American, but have lived in the UK more than the US most of my adult life, so it’s more home to me) and to that festival. I love festivals, but I am getting to the point where I can handle them less and less (Reading 2003 was the start of it when people started throwing cups of piss around the pit). I bet you next year if Adam performs it will also be a horrible “mud” year like every time Radiohead headline.

Opening for Madonna sounds like an interesting speculation as she was my first concert ever when I was a very, very small child.

Anyway, thanks for the review, Jackie. I am a twentysomething, casual AI watcher who is going to the show for the first time as well, so it’s nice to see this sort of review. People tell me not to compare it to “proper” gigs, but I know I won’t be able to help it.

So being a success outside the U.S. won’t make you a superstar unless you’re a success inside the U.S.

The Killers and Kings of Leon were a lot bigger outside of the US before they got some success here. I would say that you could call The Killers international superstars before they broke the US properly.

Also, with Adam, unless he crazy flops (which is a possibility), I think “lesser” success compared to some previous Idols in the US would still count if he gets international success. It’s all wild speculation now, for sure, but another thing about “star power” is recognition as well. I know it’s all sales data, but Adam could sell less albums than, say, David Cook and be the bigger star due to media buzz, singles, international success, video sales, etc. which is possible if you look at the likes of Lady GaGa

By the way, I am not saying with Adam that this a guarantee, nor will it really suffice in the aruguments of the AI board, but in other ways one could emerge as a bigger star by not only looking at album sales.

“Adam could go out in a huge flame in 2-5 years. Big glittery flame it might be,but it will be fun to watch!”

He seems well aware of this. He said in the RS article:
“On life after Idol:
I’m hopeful. I have a great opportunity right now. There are a lot of people who want to work with me that I really respect. And hopefully it works. I’m not cocky because I’ve seen a lot of guys come off this show and bomb, so I recognize that I could crash and burn. But if I play it safe, it’s not going to work, so I might as well go for it with the same intention that I had on the show.”

So, I don’t think that he’ll tone it down, but he’ll either be a huge star, or crash in that big glittery flame. I’m guessing that he’s got a sense of what he needs to do to be a huge star, though, and he’ll follow that path. But, time will tell. If he ends up back on Broadway, though, I think it will be in a more major role than he had before AI, so even that could be considered to be a success.

Any of these kids could end up with a great career, or crash and burn, even without the glitter. I look forward to interesting careers for both Kris and Adam…and Allison as well.

When I hear and see Kris-I think future country star. Yes, I know he doesn’t want to go this direction, but it is a shame

He would make a killing……….Country staple cleans house big time!

Too bad he doesnt want to go that route..He could do country real welll…..that’s what I thought when I listened to him on the show initially, but he fancies himself as something else…so good luck to him

Loved your re-cap, Jackie – probably very similar to what I would have written! Don’t worry about being honest. We’re all entitled to our opinions. I’m crazy mad for Adam and his incredible talent and charisma. He just has IT. Love Kris too, but I have yet to see the truly unique in him. He has true talent, but that in itself isn’t enough to draw people to concerts. Adam is already huge and his star will just continue to rise. I hope Kris’s does as well.

Country is defintely the kid’s natural niche. He already sings with a pinch between his cheek and gum.

No Sunn, Adam will not be at Glastonbury next summer, he will be at Roskilde:)

Even international stars come to the U.S. to ‘make it big.’  So being a success outside the U.S. won’t make you a superstar unless you’re a success inside the U.S.

Is that totally true?? Sounds a little USA centric. I think a lot of american stars go international to also make it big. It’s done to expand their audience. But I really don’t know.

Muzic2luv, I have seen Alisan Porter and she is an incredible talent as well! She IS Adam’s idol as he said in that phone convo at the Upright Cabaret show in his honor. Have you seen her perform Xtina and Joplin’s Cry Baby on youtube while sitting down? Wow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3ZYHl4QINI

I always thought Adam helped Allison quite a bit with song selection. I know he suggested Papa Was a Rolling Stone and I always thought that he suggested she do “I Can’t Make you Love Me,” a song he had done, and also “Cry Baby.” I really loved that performance on the show and was so sad she left after that. At least she left on a good note though, b/c that good bye performance was one of the best AI performances.

Al has never seen his type before, therefor all comparisons o previous AI contestants are invalid, imo.

I think this is a very valid point about Adam and one which seems to be the fly in the ointment concerning everything about AI this year and the tour this summer. Also Adam is not the second coming of anyone…he isn’t Elvis, or Michael, or Freddie….he is Adam with a whole different vibe and persona then most people of the current music buying generation have seen or heard.

Adam made a point during the season of AI which sticks with me to this day. He was talking about toning it down for the TV audience because he didn’t need the big sweeping gestures and movements that a stage performance demanded. He worked hard on that during the season, and I think he was at his absolute best on finals night when he sang Beth and sang with Queen. He was totally in control and was working with a TV audience…keeping his performance intimate.

Now Adam is back on the arena stage and he is back to the “play for the balcony performance”. These shows aren’t meant to be seen on Youtube but are meant to be seen in person…to move the audience out of their seat, to get a reaction from the crowd, to pull them into the performance. Everything is big and overdone and dramatic and elongated and deliberate. Gosh…the man is PERFORMING while he is singing. And that is why there is such a discrepancy between him and many of the other idols, including Kris. Kris is still performing for the TV camera…that is his style, it is intimate and relaxed. And until Kris can figure out how to be intimate and BIGGER THAN LIFE he will always be less dynamic on the big stage and won’t reach the uninvested fan as easily as Adam does. That’s a performing truism that is as old as stage production and can’t be denied. Microphones and video screens have helped the less dynamic performer but there will always be something extra that the big voiced singer has while on stage.

And none of us can compare Adam to any other Idol, because he isn’t like any other Idol. Others have tried to do what Adam does on the stage but they just haven’t possessed all of the stuff in one package IMHO. He is unique and different…the recording industry won’t easily pigeon hole him so the next 6 months are going to be interesting for everyone.

hey Jackie, from this concert, would go to a solo concert and buy an album from any of the idols?

hey Jackie, from this concert, would go to a solo concert and buy an album from any of the idols?

Obviously, I would definitely go to Adam’s concert, no matter how his album turns out b/c he simply entertains me.
As for the others, it would depend on their albums. I would buy Kris’ if I liked the singles, Allison’s and Matt’s. If Danny had an awesome and catchy song, I’d buy it on Itunes as well.
I can honestly say that Adam might be the only concert I’d go to, except that I COULD see myself going to a Matt concert (if his album is awesome) b/c he is an entertainer, as opposed to Scott whom I found kinda bland. I just like to be entertained when I go to a concert. Maybe Allison? I don’t know. I don’t go to TOO many concerts so I would be pretty picky.
I am really surprised how my opinion of Matt has changed. Really disliked him on the show but he was soo personable and enjoyable at the concert. I felt HAPPY for him that he was enjoying himself and was working towards making his dreams come true. His desire and love of performing came through w/o being desperate.

Jackie: Just wanted to say I agree with your assessment about Kris feeling like Adam should have won instead of him. His statement that Adam deserved this was telling. I believe he meant it literally that Adam should have the title, not him. I don’t believe he changed his mind about this either. I think TPTB sat him down and told him to start acting like the winner just like Simon told him to start being less humble. They didn’t want Kris to project an image of “I don’t deserve this”. He has the title now and how to act like he deserves it whether he really believes it or not. From what I’ve seen so far, I believe Kris would have been more comfortable in second place and it would have made the whole tour thing a lot more comfortable for everyone. It also appears that Adam does have the most fans from the concerts so far, so it’s looking more and more plausible that Kris’s votes did come from Arkansas texting their little tween butts off. If you look at google trends by state, the only state that Kris surpasses Adam in is Arkansas. The rest of the states are very Adam centric. Of course, this is just one example of where Adam is outnumbering Kris and I believe that as the tour moves through the United States, that the Arkansas voting scandal will prove to have been the real deal.

Congratulations Jackie, you’ve got the comments going with your blog! I think that’s pretty cool!

I also think there is room in the industry for both Kris and Adam! I hope they both sell millions overall, including future sales! I also hope both fan groups realize this can happen! They are two different artists, with two different sounds that appeal to large fan bases and quite possibly beyond.

Ha, thanks, Cookcricket! I love a healthy discussion. I love reading Adam’s critiques as well, trying to see what people don’t like about him. Didn’t quite expect this response but it’s been fun. I would love to hear what people think about Anoop, Scott, Megan and Lil? Anyone?!
I do wish all the best for all of them!

Jackie, yes but it was months ago when I first discovered her through the musical/Youtube and listened to songs from her band website.
Loved seeing it again and perhaps others on the post will check it out too! And you’ve seen her… and Adam! Ahhhhh! LOL Wish her band could get a break/recording contract. I have a theater background, so I would just love to see her perform (ei. Kirk Douglas Theater show) – live in Ga (*sigh*). I look forward to Adam’s eventual return to his roots… and maybe film? Just can’t wait to see that first music video! UGH!!!!!

I look forward to Adam’s eventual return to his roots’ ¦ and maybe film? Just can’t wait to see that first music video!

Fans love his voice, the camera loves his essence.

that the Arkansas voting scandal will prove to have been the real deal.

…there was NO scandal – that was entirely made up to justify Adam’s lost!! … like if Adam fans didn’t power texting for him. Arkansa is 3M and California is 30M….duh!! And further more, Ryan Seacrest on Larry King did say that Kris got a LOT of votes, so it wan’t even close.

oh my god, the body rolls in that video! the closer up videos are hot, but i dont think i appreciated his dancing until that one from farther away. you can see his stage training come through because i had thought his moves were a little exaggerated before, but i realize now that they are absolutely perfect for translating to an arena full of people. god that boy can move.

that video plus the adam appreciation post going on at ONTD_ai are killing me right now.

also – thank you for your review. i appreciate anyone who takes the time to actively process and compose thoughts during the concert. especially during the mind-erasing 20 minute adamfest.

The rest of the states are very Adam centric. Of course, this is just one example of where Adam is outnumbering Kris and I believe that as the tour moves through the United States, that the Arkansas voting scandal will prove to have been the real deal.

We’re back to this again? There was no scandal, and there still isn’t a scandal.

Kris and Adam are no longer competing. Oy.

Thank you Jackie for taking the time to give us your candid review. Even from this distance, I can feel your enthusiasm and excitement for this new music find.

I can also see the various reactions prompting this vocal exchange of opinions.

The music and entertainment industry is one of the most fickle businesses . Largely because its success is not just solely resting on the artists talent but on his consumer appeal. Right now it is not spontaneous appeal but a created one. An appeal than is a product of marketing strategies.

Did our kids crave for hiphop and rap or did they learn to crave that ? Did the popular mass crave for Italian classical pieces before Andrea Bocelli ? Or was it marketing genius that made the rest of the world want his music even if we have no idea what he is singing about?

A lot of strategic planning goes on, in selling an artist. Talent and Timing are crucial.

The thing with Adam, is that he burst in the center of worldwide attention by just being who he is. It is rare for someone to burst into the music scene and spontaneously combust into a star.

You can argue that he has limited sales track record . But for those in this business , he has already started the battle for a market share for his music. If it’s a new genre of a modern glam rock – maybe. Certainly there are several “rock gods” whose retirement are already past due -( Rod Stewart ? Gene Simmons ? Steven Tyler ? maybe ? ) . Adam’s timing might be just right.

As to his financial success, no one holds the crystal ball for that. Time will be the judge of that. We can go blue in the face arguing. There will be no certain answers.

As to Kris, he steers his own ship. His definition of success may not be the same as Adam’s or even to our own . Kris has certainly garnered the support of millions who can quietly continue to support him or they can also quietly go their way, once someone new from AI comes along. Who knows. Time will be the judge of his career as well.

Jackie, very astute recap, very well written. Am older than most bloggers and hope a bit of wisdom has come with age. I almost feel sorry for Kris. For 50 shows the audience will remind him he was not the rightful winner. Votes, shmotes. Cannot deny reality. AI was supposed to be about crowning the best vocalist and Adam was IT, in his own league from day 1. Unmatched. To Kris’ credit and perhaps religious upbringing, his own uncensored, initial response to victory was his honest and accurate one… the trophy belonged to Adam. This was not a sweet win for Kris, unless he already has compromised his own values, which I doubt, cause he’s a real nice kid. On tour, he will never emerge from Adam’s shadow. No point in saying more about this.
Your description about seeing Adam Lambert perform live was so good, it made me feel a little of the electric nite you experienced. Nothing equals a live performance and I await the time when Glambert travels solo. I’ll be there.

Also, with Adam, unless he crazy flops (which is a possibility), I think ‘lesser’  success compared to some previous Idols in the US would still count if he gets international success. It’s all wild speculation now, for sure, but another thing about ‘star power’  is recognition as well. I know it’s all sales data, but Adam could sell less albums than, say, David Cook and be the bigger star due to media buzz, singles, international success, video sales, etc. which is possible if you look at the likes of Lady GaGa

It’s all wide speculation now — but so much fun!

Clearly, Adam is great in concert, even though this is his first concert experience — he seems right at home on the arena stage. I am certain that he will sell a lot of tickets for his first concert tour.

Although with the Fall release date and the demands of the Idol Tour, I think it will be a miracle if his album is great, but I bet it will be good and commercially successful. Adam has a great list of producers and songwriters working with him, three of which really seem to be a good fit — RedOne, Sam Sparro and Ryan Tedder. People who respect Adam and, more impartantly, who Adam really respects and will listen to. I don’t expect that we will a CD filled with upper-register vocal excesses — but can’t imagine a Adam album without at least some of this.

Will Adam sell as many albums as Daughtry or David Cook? Who knows. Even if he doesn’t sell many records, he is assured of a big entertainment career even if he “just” ends up on Broadway or in Vegas.

I would be happy if Adam manages to get a Top 10 hit in the US and Canada. I can’t imagine he could get into Lady Gaga league of international success — “Poker Face” — #1 in US, AUS, CA, FR, GE, IRE, NL, NZ, SE, SWE, UK and other countries.

Thanks for the recap, Jackie – loved the detail and appreciate the time you took to write it.

Ultimately, I, personally, don’t think the “who deserves to win” question is all that interesting. It’s really no different than thinking that Sarver should have gone before Alexis, or that Matt should have gone before Anoop, or that Allison should have been in third place. The difference between any two slots is trivial, and both the reasons for a given placement and the consequences of it are insignificant. Kris has eluded, more than once, to the fact that Adam was consistently good throughout the show, and I’ve wondered if that was his own personal criteria for who should win (we all have our own critieria), but he is deserving of the win and I’m sure he knows it.

What I do find interesting, though, is this: the fact that, with the few concerts so far, we keep hearing (a) that the crowd reaction to Adam is far beyond that given to the others, and, to a somewhat lesser extent (b) individual people with no favorite going in find Adam to be performing at a higher level (in some sense), and (c) music critics, some of which are biased against all things Idol.

It sets me wondering a lot of things. Some general, and some related to the fact that I’m pretty amazed at Adam’s talent and am very interested in what he’s able to do with it. Some wonderings:

1) Why the bigger audience excitement/uproar? Is it because:

a) Although fewer votes, he has more fans?
b) Not more fans, but more fans likely to go to a show? Maybe people who like more intimate singers are more likely to prefer intimate venues. (that would be me, btw, I hate arena concerts)
c) He’s just that much better at performing in this context.
d) His fans are just louder – maybe big voices flock together
e) That voice is just that shockingly impressive in person (I’ve heard that from an unbiased friend)

2) Is this significant outside the AI world?

a) Is the crowd just so thoroughly AI oriented that it portends nothing about the wider musical world?
b) Is it a statistical blip that will disappear as the tour continues?
c) Does it say anything about the kind of venue he’ll play later.

I don’t care of Adam (or anyone else) becomes a huge super star. I’d like him (and Kris and Allison) to have a healthy career that lets them make the kind of music they want to make.

But in a sense, Adam is a big performer. He can obviously fill a big space. But, since he doesn’t actually physically get bigger, I hope he can do his vision in a smaller space, too. Maybe not intimate, but a few thou. Because I hate arenas for anything other than sporting events.

It also appears that Adam does have the most fans from the concerts so far, so it’s looking more and more plausible that Kris’s votes did come from Arkansas texting their little tween butts off. If you look at google trends by state, the only state that Kris surpasses Adam in is Arkansas

Adam has always had the most rabid fanbase of the contestants this season. It’s not a surprise that at all that he’s getting the loudest screams.

But loud screams at the Idol concert don’t always translate into record sales. And it’s pretty amusing that so many people are declaring Adam the next international music superstar when he can’t even outsell “that kid who won.” Kris and Adam are essentially tied in sales of their singles plus albums on iTunes since the show ended. Does Arkansas also buy as much music as the rest of the country combined?

I’d say Adam’s sales are somewhat disappointing. Someone who was on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and pretty much living on ET/Extra/E! for weeks on end should be attracting more new fans to his music.

wow! this recap has started a huge discussion! good recap jackie and i really like the details. LOL at the peocock feather gift for Adam. It must be some life for these idols. bet they are getting paid a good amount for the concert: big bucks, free gifts, awesome wardrobe (well except maybe Danny), crazy fans, publicity. what a life!

anyway, like many of the others the only thing i dont agree in the recap is about the ‘Kris doesn’t believe he should have done’ part. but i do get ur viewpoint. for a casual viewer, Kris’s reaction when the name was announced showed that he believed that Adam should have won more than he. when he said ‘Adam deserves this’ that day, and me being a Kris-Fan from Day1, kicked myself cos i was so sure that everyone, including fans, media, reviewers and even casual viewers will never forget that. maybe afterwards, he did say ‘yah i deserved it just as much’ but i have a sinking feeling those first words will never be forgotten.

but as an afterthought, even if he didn’t say those words, people would still be comparing him to Adam. Adam was a very Different contestant (mildly put) and so beating him to get the AI crown, or following him on a concert, or even getting out a record at the same time as Adam, Kris will always be compared to him and made to feel undeserving and unworthy by the media. having said all this, what counts to me is NOT if Kris sells more record or if he sells out bigget concert arenas or gets into the cover of Rolling Stone but…getting out a record he loves and his fans love cos in the end its the music that matters.

Adam has always had the most rabid fanbase of the contestants this season

That’s a pretty big generalization…When I was on the AI website during the show, I cringed at what some non Adam fans said about him. They seemed pretty rabid to me.

.

I think those shots appeal more to those who aren’t as into Adam as the hardcore fans are who like everything he does. Like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ARXffSbVzA&eurl=http://idolforums.com/index.php?showtopic=619449&st=1280&feature=player_embedded

OK, I take back any criticism I had about the “moves”. They ARE getting better and they look great from this distance!!

ptslittlecomment I totally agree with you about Kris but he is not a true amateur either. I remember reading an article that before he returned to school, Kris actually did a stint in Nashville trying to promote his music. He actually received a lot of positive feedback and made a few contacts. Nothing ever materialized from the venture but he is not new to the music biz and how things work. I think he is more than happy to let Adam shine but you can see subtle changes in Kris that lead me to believe we may soon be seeing another ‘Heartless’  moment in the near future. I think it may not be a bad idea for Kris’ album to be released after Adam. Let Adam’s album float for a few weeks and then drop a bomb on the charts that will be radio ready from the get go.

webster, I think those are all great questions and they could all be answered in the affirmative. Maybe Adam does have more fans, which doesn’t necessarily translate into AI votes. Maybe there were more Kris fans at the concert but they are less vocal? Maybe the love from AI fans won’t translate to actual album sales. That has happened to many AI favorites. I am not naive to think Adam will be a world wide star and I even worry about his career, considering the expectations for him and the fact that the album has to be assembled so quickly.
I don’t measure the idols’ future successes based on how the crowd responded to them in concert. All I can say is how a particular performer made ME feel.
I sincerely hope for all of them to be successful. I hope so for Adam especially because to me he seems like a wonderful and warm soul who has worked hard and simply deserves it b/c of his talent. I am not hoping for his success so I can be proven right. If arenas is what he wants to do, go for it! I’d probably prefer him in a smaller venue like the Cabaret performances, but for selfish reasons only.

Adam has always had the most rabid fanbase of the contestants this season

That’s a pretty big generalization’ ¦When I was on the AI website during the show, I cringed at what some non Adam fans said about him. They seemed pretty rabid to me.

Yeah, I agree. I think there is a certain segment of Adam’s fanbase that is very vocal, “rabid”, if you want to call it that. I think the “rabidness” of those fans is directly related to how “rabid” the anti-Adam faction became on many message boards and forums. Look at most stories on E!, ET, Perez, EW and especially TMZ, regarding Adam and the comment section is filled with the most nasty, homophobic, vulgar, sexually-explicit insults against any AI contestant that I’ve ever seen. I think some of the “rabidness” came about in response to those comments. Reading this post, as well as the comments on several of the newspaper reviews, I would say that Kris has a pretty “rabid” fanbase that is at the ready to prove and justify Kris’s win by putting Adam down.

Them’s the breaks.

Thanks for a great and honest recap. I love the diversity of performers and opinions.

The music business is a tough industry. I’d say Adam and Matt are lucky to have their entertainment skills. They should be able to have some sort of show somewhere at the very least. Adam would be very happy (and lucky) to do Broadway if he can’t sell records. We also don’t know how strong their songwriting skills are. Many artists sell their songs to really make a living. (Daughtry has that to fall back on) Maybe Kris or any of them have that skill which would be nice. I think if they can have a home, make a comfortable living while making music then they are successful.

I’d probably prefer him in a smaller venue like the Cabaret performances, but for selfish reasons only.

me too.

But loud screams at the Idol concert don’t always translate into record sales. And it’s pretty amusing that so many people are declaring Adam the next international music superstar when he can’t even outsell ‘that kid who won.’  Kris and Adam are essentially tied in sales of their singles plus albums on iTunes since the show ended. Does Arkansas also buy as much music as the rest of the country combined?

He did outsell “that kid who won”. Kris had a boost in sales on his singles when he won which is what always happens but when itunes had the leak during the season it was shown that Adam’s singles were selling better than Kris’s and Adam’s season 8 album has sold way more than Kris’s season 8 album did. That’s very telling, imho.

I’d say Adam’s sales are somewhat disappointing. Someone who was on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and pretty much living on ET/Extra/E! for weeks on end should be attracting more new fans to his music.

What is there to buy? His AI album is still selling. His music videos dominated the Itune charts for weeks after the show, which we have no sales numbers for. Also, Adam was selling consistantly through the season from what we saw from the leaked popularity chart. Until we have all of the numbers for the whole season, it is hard to tell how he really has done. But unfortunately, there is nothing new to purchase. Kris is in the same boat. Also MJ’s death pretty much knocked everyone out of the itunes chart.

I think if they can have a home, make a comfortable living while making music then they are successful.

That is a great sentiment.

8D Thank you for mentioning my feather. *honored* He said, “Aw, thank you, that’s beautiful,” when I gave it to him and he signed my RS. I’m glad my gift stood out, though the glittery bow fell off somewhere in the shark tank. xD

Alyonia, I saw his reaction to the feather and how much he loved it! That is why I had to include it in my recap! It was really adorable and you must be so excited that he loved it and that there are pictures of Adam with your feather on the internet

CindyM

Yeah, I agree. I think there is a certain segment of Adam’s fanbase that is very vocal, ‘rabid’ , if you want to call it that. I think the ‘rabidness’  of those fans is directly related to how ‘rabid’  the anti-Adam faction became on many message boards and forums. Look at most stories on E!, ET, Perez, EW and especially TMZ, regarding Adam and the comment section is filled with the most nasty, homophobic, vulgar, sexually-explicit insults against any AI contestant that I’ve ever seen. I think some of the ‘rabidness’  came about in response to those comments. Reading this post, as well as the comments on several of the newspaper reviews, I would say that Kris has a pretty ‘rabid’  fanbase that is at the ready to prove and justify Kris’s win by putting Adam down

CindyM-I agree. Last year I was a Cook fan, but if someone called him fat or bald, chances were I wouldn’t bother to pipe in. Who cares? But when the attacks on Adam as a person were launched, I felt the need to defend him. After awhile, there were so many people defending him, I didn’t have to. But in those early days, it felt like I was logging in and doing battle daily.

ptslittlecomment I totally agree with you about Kris but he is not a true amateur either.

I think Kris is a pretty sophisticated and experienced musician. He really held his own on AI, with Ricky Minor and the other musicians, and he clearly had lots of interesting musical ideas which he could realize in part because he plays several instruments, and his vocal range (while not in the ballpark of Adam’s) is fairly flexible.

But Adam iwas clearly a far more experienced and professional performer before he hit Idol, than anyone on the show. He did a ton of theater and cabaret, both excellent training grounds. His ease on stage and dramatic presentation, IMO, come out of working in shows like “Wicked,” where if you aren’t hitting it right, every single night, you don’t get the job. And theater requires very serious and disciplined training and rehearsals.

Kris admits he was more of a procrastinator, even rather lazy. But tell ya what: it’s obvious he’s a fast learner. Getting rid of the Natural Disasters/No Boundaries was qiuite a coup, and I betcha he was the one who initiated that. He’ll never be as flamboyant onstage as Adam, but just as he grew and grew as a performer on AI, this tour is really gonna groom him…..

I think the ‘rabidness’  of those fans is directly related to how ‘rabid’  the anti-Adam faction became on many message boards and forums.

Adam had a lot of backlash. No wonder he and his fans are so grateful that he made it through to the finale. That was a major triumph.

Danny definitely has a place in the music industry and I hope he’s headed to Nashville. Chris Sligh who wrote Rascal Flatt’s latest hit wants to write for him. Love Adam! But no matter what, Danny has so much talent still a little raw but WOW to come from a church boy to his performances now is amazing! Kris, like someone mentioned earlier, would be a superstar if he just flirted with country. He definitely has a Keith Urban vibe going.

Jackieo Thank you! And yeah, I’m super excited. I was like “woah, that’s my feather, with Adam! *o* ” I’m so happy, still floating. C: And Kris used my silver sharpie to sign some stuff, and gave it back.

Elm17:

I like Danny’s voice a lot.

btw: Kris has said he doesn’t want to do country.

In a way I feel bad for Kris for winning. I genuinely don’t think he is comfortable with it because he knows he didn’t really deserve to win. Yes, he got the most votes that night but crowd reaction every night lets him know he isn’t the real winner. I got a feeling last night he knows that.

I haven’t seen the concert live yet, but I’ve had the same thought. It is not that I don’t think Kris is talented, rather it seem that he is almost reluctant to accept the victory.

When it was announced that Kris was the new American Idol, Kris Allen is the one who said: “Adam deserves this. I’m sorry.” It is a very strange thing for someone to say when they have just won the biggest talent contest in the US.
Moments after winning Kris told Ryan Seacrest, “It feels good, man, but Adam deserves this.”

If it was a couple isolated statements, then I would attribute it to the shock of winning. But it is just one of a string of statements that make me believe that Kris isn’t really comfortable with being the winner. I want the American Idol winner to be gracious, but I also want them to accept the title with pride and excitement.

Kris was an underdog and possibly Idol most unlikely victor. Now he’s getting his opportunity to show that he is really talented and did deserve to win. First with the concert tour and then with his first studio record.

Unfortunately, comparisons are part of the whole Idol game. Unless Kris is as successful as Adam, he will always be remembered as the guy who said, “Adam deserves this. I’m sorry.”

Jackie, thanks for your recap IT WAS GREAT
I am a Kradam fan, but i LOOOOOOVE Adam, I was not at all offended in any way by your review, It’s your opinion, you treated everybody with respect cudos to YOU

Yes, he got the most votes that night but crowd reaction every night lets him know he isn’t the real winner.

And thus the all-knowing clap-o-meter strikes again. :sleep_tb:

For the record, Constantine received some of the most deafening cheers during his season’s AI Tour, as well. Does that mean he was the “real winner,” after all? :shock_tb:

I think that Adam is in his natural element on a stage where big gestures are needed, and he has the advantage there. He will do well in stage situations. I think the jury is still out on how radio will receive him, and what kind of sales he will achieve. He may have won the record ‘battle’ so far, but not by that much and with fairly low sales of ‘records’ for both men to date. Arguably, many had already bought his work as singles, but those would be the AI fans. The sales post-Idol are more revealing of sales outside the fanbase. So far Kris is doing better on radio, and throwing in the singles sales for him (that we’re privvy to) puts him ahead, though that is a bit of a sloppy way to assess things. We will simply never know the total sales without knowing the one missing time period. Since they haven’t released this for season 7, I’m not optimistic they ever will for either. I’d LOVE to have that info.

Much is being made of the one leak of iTunes sales, including inferences that Glambert sold steadily and that he outsold Kris the whole time. That is impossible to say from the rankings coming out on ONE DAY. All we know is the rankings at a single datapoint. It is pretty dangerous to extrapolate from that. You could pick a point in time and compare sales between any two artists and a myriad of factors could skew the data for that one day. I imagine we could find many examples where the sales of one day between two artists represent a gross distortion of their relative overall sales over time. That might be kind of fun to dig up examples if I had the time, but I don’t.

For me, I find it best when speculating to not state things as fact, but to admit my assumptions (i.e. that one day is representative of all of the competition) and admit my words are unproven speculation..

Great unfiltered recap jackieo. Thank you. I loved all the details. As a huge Adam fan I am really happy to hear that he got the bottom heavy – or so I thought – San Jose crowd up and dancing at least in some sections. Where were you? I could have sworn I only saw some people stand on the floor but wasn’t even sure of that. I was up in 212 and it was all sitters who screamed loudly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ARXffSbVzA&eurl=http://idolforums.com/index.php?showtopic=619449&st=1280&feature=player_embedded

This totally makes up for my sucky seat experience. Thanks so much!

i will be damn surpirsed if any of the other idols will surpass adam performance-wise as of this stage, considering his 10 years or more years of stage and musical background…so duh! obviously, adam was already polished even before AI so what do you expect these other kids? surpass him with over 6 months of experience??

this is his forte, THE STAGE, he is expected to excel in it…so no surprise there anymore!

twinkle, can you post a link to that Adam appreciation post? I cannot find it

“Yeah, I agree. I think there is a certain segment of Adam’s fanbase that is very vocal, ‘rabid’ , if you want to call it that. I think the ‘rabidness’  of those fans is directly related to how ‘rabid’  the anti-Adam faction became on many message boards and forums. Look at most stories on E!, ET, Perez, EW and especially TMZ, regarding Adam and the comment section is filled with the most nasty, homophobic, vulgar, sexually-explicit insults against any AI contestant that I’ve ever seen. I think some of the ‘rabidness’  came about in response to those comments. Reading this post, as well as the comments on several of the newspaper reviews, I would say that Kris has a pretty ‘rabid’  fanbase that is at the ready to prove and justify Kris’s win by putting Adam down.”

@CindyM

I agree with you on this 100%. All fans have the capability to be rabid if given the right reason. Sometimes, one fan base might look tamer when outnumbered by another fan base. But this doesn’t make them less rabid.

As to Adam’s career, i really don’t know what the futures hold for him. I really hope it is good ‘coz i believe he deserves it. He has loads of talent, persona, charisma, fashion, intelligence and wit. His style is something i haven’t seen before, that’s why i am truly a convert. UNIQUE is the right word for him. I just don’t want his kind of UNIQUENESS to disappear.

@Jackie

Love what you wrote. Thank you for sharing your event experience. It feels like i am also there. Sadly, because i am in Asia, i can’t watch any of the concerts. I will only be in the US by end of the year.

@ richie10

“He did outsell ‘that kid who won’ . Kris had a boost in sales on his singles when he won which is what always happens but when itunes had the leak during the season it was shown that Adam’s singles were selling better than Kris’s and Adam’s season 8 album has sold way more than Kris’s season 8 album did. That’s very telling, imho.”

Yes that’s what i remember as well. Coz i was happy that people are buying his album vs. singles. And i know people didn’t want to support NB because it was S**** SONG. Anyway, i asked friends to download itunes for me coz it is not available in my part of the world. If it is, it would have contributed some on the sales.

I think that it needs to mentioned, though, that when you watch these folks on stage, none of them should be able to compete with ADAM. When you watch Adam, you are seeing 10 years of performing experience on a big stage. This isn’t high school drama class’ ¦no. He’s been doing off broadway productions for years and has had time to hone all of this skill that you now see. Nobody else can claim this and none of the others even remotely have this type of experience. Bottom line, he SHOULD be better on stage than the rest.

What has Danny done? Church? Same with Kris. Leading a worship service is TOTALLY different from performing on stage. From personal experience doing both, it’s not even close. In church, the focus of your performance is GOD’ ¦meaning when you perform, people should see that, not you. On stage performing your own material, it’s totally different. Not to make excuses for anyone, I just think that it needs to mentioned that a lot of these people are working out the kinks in their performing styles. They will grow.

TALENT! It’s about the TALENT! Performing Style is NOT why AL is getting ALL the press! It’s about the VOICE that goes with the performing style!!!! Saying the other Idols will become Adam when they’ve had more time on stage is…?????

I would just like to add that I only found MJ’s blog the nite of the finale because I was trying to find out what K & A were going to sing so I know nothing about fan wars etc. but I saw the remark about Adam having “rabid fans” and I said the other day and again tonite on a totally different issue having to do with Kris that his fans are pretty “aggressive” too so it seems pretty even…

…but my point is I am going to Ontario on Friday and I was thinking of writing up something afterward cause so many people seem to enjoy them but I decided NOT to cause the first ones were fun with the responses…this was just ugly!

Hope everyone enjoys their concerts and idols! I know I will!

MJ, you ARE amazing! Thanks for the posts and altho I had done all my Itunes prior to finding your site does the blog benefit if I go to Itunes for other than American Idols music? Sorry if that is stupid question! Would like to support your efforts!!!!

Jackie, i loved reading your article. It was like I was there in the concert. What a great feel! I am from the Philippines and all I could do is just read everything written about Adam Lambert. …and boy, how i love to read them! Not a day passes by without opening my computer and reading about Adam! Please keep on posting more info about him..

but my point is I am going to Ontario on Friday and I was thinking of writing up something afterward cause so many people seem to enjoy them but I decided NOT to cause the first ones were fun with the responses’ ¦this was just ugly!

Oh please don’t be put off. I really enjoy fan recaps, they are also my only peak through the personal experience window of the concerts. I’m an international who has no hope of seeing the idols perform live this summer.

I know you think this was ugly, but it wasn’t really, it was just passionate. Personally I enjoyed this thread because everyone on either side of the fanbase was animated in their opinion.

mj is always very good at keeping the ugliness at bay, she is a staunch moderator with a trigger finger on the deletion button, so don’t worry about causing anything.

I hope you reconsider your decision about the recap sunsurger, a lot of us will be sorry to miss the chance of sharing your idol experience.

@sunsugar

“TALENT! It’s about the TALENT! Performing Style is NOT why AL is getting ALL the press! It’s about the VOICE that goes with the performing style!!!! Saying the other Idols will become Adam when they’ve had more time on stage is’ ¦????”

Yes, it is all about Talent. If you have it, you have it. If you don’t then don’t. Talent also varies. It can be improved. But there should be basic talent. I guess not everybody is on the same page here.

I think that it needs to mentioned, though, that when you watch these folks on stage, none of them should be able to compete with ADAM. When you watch Adam, you are seeing 10 years of performing experience on a big stage. This isn’t high school drama class’ ¦no. He’s been doing off broadway productions for years and has had time to hone all of this skill that you now see. Nobody else can claim this and none of the others even remotely have this type of experience. Bottom line, he SHOULD be better on stage than the rest.

What has Danny done? Church? Same with Kris. Leading a worship service is TOTALLY different from performing on stage. From personal experience doing both, it’s not even close. In church, the focus of your performance is GOD’ ¦meaning when you perform, people should see that, not you. On stage performing your own material, it’s totally different. Not to make excuses for anyone, I just think that it needs to mentioned that a lot of these people are working out the kinks in their performing styles. They will grow.

Adam’s pre-idol experience in musical theater and gay cabaret is completely different from mainstream performing and he picked up bad habits he had to get rid of and is still in the process of doing. He has gone a very long way since Satisfaction, and even since idol. He is still constantly adjusting his performances and there is no doubt in my mind that he is still growing and will do for a very long time as long as he keeps exploring his artistic vision.
Danny, I agree had mostly church experience, but although Kris had never performed on a big stage, he did have substantial experience as a mainstream singer as he stated himself.

They are all still learning somehow, and in time they will all grow and become more consumed professionals in time, but experience doesn’t replace talent and all the practice in the world won’t make them stars if they don’t have star quality in the first place.

Adam’s pre-idol experience in musical theater and gay cabaret is completely different from mainstream performing and he picked up bad habits he had to get rid of and is still in the process of doing. He has gone a very long way since Satisfaction, and even since idol. He is still constantly adjusting his performances and there is no doubt in my mind that he is still growing and will do for a very long time as long as he keeps exploring his artistic vision.
Danny, I agree had mostly church experience, but although Kris had never performed on a big stage, he did have substantial experience as a mainstream singer as he stated himself.

They are all still learning somehow, and in time they will all grow and become more consumed professionals in time, but experience doesn’t replace talent and all the practice in the world won’t make them stars if they don’t have star quality in the first place.

@Zombini I agree with this 100%. Musical theatre is about as far away from what Adam is doing on the AI tour as you can get. Adam thanked Kara and Simon for pointing him in the right direction with his performances. You are also right about Danny and Kris.

As to the question between Nature vs Nurture.

No matter how much training and experience a person has, if he has no innate ability no talent , no inherent charisma ‘“ you cannot draw blood out of a turnip.

Sorry, one cannot use this argument that the audience gets drawn to Adam because he has been performing since he was 8 years old .

‘ ¦but my point is I am going to Ontario on Friday and I was thinking of writing up something afterward cause so many people seem to enjoy them but I decided NOT to cause the first ones were fun with the responses’ ¦this was just ugly!

Go for it…please recap and give it your best shot! And I love honesty, so dont hold back………Anybody who feels their fav has been slighted will get over it eventually, life is tough! :thumbup_tb: It’s just a fan’s recap, and Jackie’s has generated a good discussion, so I enjoyed reading this thread.

I loved all the recaps I’ve read over the last week or so(pererau’s my fav so far!)..so the more the merrier!

I loved all the recaps I’ve read over the last week or so(pererau’s my fav so far!)..so the more the merrier!

here, here
ALL RECAPS are welcome!!!
It’s great fun to read them, this is the only way I can be closer to AI tour

Thanks for your re-cap Jackie.

“Megan was gorgeous but I really hated her intro. It was pink and she looked like a Barbie doll. [...] She wore a short pink dress and looked cheesy. It was especially weird because I always thought of her as more alternative and ‘cool’ .”

Yeah…It is weird for me too. The whole pink thing is just opposite to her unquestionable uniqueness: her voice and her manner. And, what’s more important, she seems to feel uncomfortable with this dichotomy. Maybe it distracts her performances in some way. It is always better to be who you are.

Still, I’m a big fan, waiting for a change.

I had done all my Itunes prior to finding your site does the blog benefit if I go to Itunes for other than American Idols music? Sorry if that is stupid question! Would like to support your efforts!!!!

Yes. It doesn’t matter what you buy, I get credit. Thank you.

Even international stars come to the U.S. to ‘make it big.’  So being a success outside the U.S. won’t make you a superstar unless you’re a success inside the U.S.

Well, it depends on how you define “making it big,” seems to me. Most people try their luck in the United States because there’s a lot of money here. They’re in business, so once they’ve gotten the money that’s in Japan and the UK and Brazil, why not try for the U.S. money?

But there have been plenty of people that I would call big stars who haven’t been particularly popular here. You can have tons of fans and tons of acclaim and tons of fame and even make tons of money — all of which make you a big star — without getting much access to the particular money that’s in American pockets. Different areas of the world have different tastes. And while we’re richer per capita than most, the world has well over 6 billion people in it, and we only have 300 million of them here. So we’re not the be-all and end-all.

Kris and Adam are essentially tied in sales of their singles plus albums on iTunes since the show ended.

FYI: Wikipedia disagrees with this. Kris’ album charted @ #50 in the US with sales of 14,000 and Adam’s album @ #33 with 30,000.

Anna, I think the commenter was adding the singles sales to the album sales for a total including both. Some have tried to come up with an album equivalent using the sum of a number of singles. Clearly by this measure they are more even, as Kris’ sales post-Idol are much higher for singles. The methodology may be questionable, but at least does not contradict known facts.

IMO, comparing post-Idol sales to draw any conclusion at all about whether and to what extent Kris’ and Adam’s sales are comparable is ludicrous. If they’d only had music available post-Idol, I’d sing a different tune. But they had music available and selling throughout the season, the totals for which we do not know now and likely never will.

Saying one “out sells” the other is nothing more than baseless speculation. “Facts” have no bearing on the analysis, for one reason and one reason alone — we don’t know the facts.

“It will be interesting to see who the Adam fans go gaga for over the next year or two.”

If they are like me they won’t be watching again. I never watched any season before this year. I saw a performance or two of Daughtry and thought “how weird” when I heard he was voted off but bascially wondered why this show had never found anyone profoundly good. Then my daughter said, “Mom you have to see this guy” and I watched Satifaction. I was blown away and ROF sealed the deal. Adam was so amazing I watched the rest of the season and actually voted. He is the only reason I’m going to the concert.To have someone with that vocal range and that like Alt music was exciting. I doubt I will ever watch the show again since most everyone I’ve heard off it is so vanilla. I like Rocky Road. That’s just me, but I’m betting there are a few others.

he is Adam with a whole different vibe and persona then most people of the current music buying generation have seen or heard.

Oddly enough, there are a bunch of glam and/or androgynous types running around the underground right now…. Goldfrapp, Semi Precious Weapons, etc etc etc. none of them have hit pop yet, so Adam might get ahead of the wave if he’s lucky.

“Yes. It doesn’t matter what you buy, I get credit. Thank you.” – MJ

If any of you are thinking of converting your entire iTUNES library to the premium versions – this would count towards credit for MJ as well.

I don’t know her “cut,” but when I upgraded my iTUNES library, if cost a couple of hundred bucks… nice way to support her site. Just FYI.

IndyMuse
Jul 14th, 2009 at 9:44 am

Anna, I think the commenter was adding the singles sales to the album sales for a total including both. Some have tried to come up with an album equivalent using the sum of a number of singles. Clearly by this measure they are more even, as Kris’ sales post-Idol are much higher for singles. The methodology may be questionable, but at least does not contradict known facts.

Thanks for waking me up this a.m. IndyMuse, lol. Guess I read it wrong. We just have to wait and see who/what sells and like many others have stated, I really don’t care as long as Adam has a successful career. I still don’t “get” Kris and I have tried. I also agree with those who think he could be big in country. But if he wants to be a popstar, good luck to him.

I also think that the Idol tour is just the second step in what can be an amazing career for Adam. :clap_tb:

IMO, comparing post-Idol sales to draw any conclusion at all about whether and to what extent Kris’ and Adam’s sales are comparable is ludicrous.

It may not be an exact science, but I wouldn’t say its ludicrous. In theory by the time you get to the finals both have been on sale all season long with the same number of songs available, and both have strong fanbases. Kris was never in the bottom that we know of, so he was popular too. The post Idol buying frenzy should effect them both about the same with a slight advantage to the winner, I would think. It’s not a perfect measure but it can be a decent way to get a rough idea of fanbase strength. If anything, I would say the Itunes sales point to them both being pretty popular. I don’t think either one eclipsed the other’s sales to the point one can say either ‘won”.

The tour is too early to call, but we know Adam has a strong fanbase so far and Kris, Danny and Allison are also hearing strong cheers. Combined with the ITunes sales I say both Adam and Kris have a good shot at opening strong if their fanbases hear something they like.

I don’t disagree with you at all tinawina. But you are using the information to consider the affect of “the post Idol buying frenzy” and “to get a rough idea of fanbase strength” and to surmise that the sales “point to them both being pretty popular.” None of your observations or your supposition that they’re both popular make any effort to compare their sales and declare one the sales winner. (Probably because doing that would be ludicrous. )

It’s interesting that it is Kris himself who seems the least concerned about being overshadowed by Adam. If you watch him up on stage or in any of his interviews or fan interactions that are up on YouTube, it’s clear that he is having a blast. And his performances are steadily getting better. Since he is playing an instrument on every song, he isn’t able to work the stage like Adam or Allison or Danny, even if he wanted to. But judging from the amount of cheers I hear on those YouTube videos, he’s doing just fine, even if he isn’t getting the praise from reviewers that Adam is.

What kind of career he or Adam or any of the others end up having will depend on the music. If they can put out music that connects with people, they should be able to have decent careers.

As for who’s outsold whom, Adam’s “album” has outsold Kris’, but the top 2 selling singles have been Kris’ (Heartless and No Boundaries). So again, apples and oranges. There’s a chart over on the IDF forum that shows which of the 2 is selling better overseas (the chart breaks it down by country), and it’s pretty even (12 countries for Adam, 10 for Kris, with Kris leading in overall total # of sales). I think (but am not sure) that this chart only refers to the sales of their respective versions of No Boundaries. But again, apples to oranges. This just shows that AI has a bunch of international fans, and that both guys already have some name recognition outside the States, which hopefully will help them once they get outside the AI bubble.

As for who’s outsold whom, Adam’s ‘album’  has outsold Kris’, but the top 2 selling singles have been Kris’ (Heartless and No Boundaries).

Still not possible to say “outsold” for anything but the so-called “albums” because those first became available as a unit post-finale and we have total numbers for post-finale sales. Even that is artificial though, because they aren’t really “albums” and the “parts” were available as each was sung on the show.

We have NO IDEA which two songs are the “top 2 selling singles” because we don’t know any sales numbers prior to the finale and we do not have total sales numbers. That’s my point. Are those the songs whose sales after the finale rank as the “top 2″? Yes. Does that mean they sold the most out of all the songs? No.

I don’t disagree with you at all tinawina. But you are using the information to consider the affect of ‘the post Idol buying frenzy’  and ‘to get a rough idea of fanbase strength’  and to surmise that the sales ‘point to them both being pretty popular.’  None of your observations or your supposition that they’re both popular make any effort to compare their sales and declare one the sales winner. (Probably because doing that would be ludicrous. )

Alrighty then, I get you now! Yes, I do think you can’t declare a winner from the information we’ve gotten so far, mainly because the difference between sales isn’t stark enough and its only a rough indicator anyway. So I guess we are sayingthe same thing. Sorry!

You can probably go on some ITunes site and look up the digital download sales. I would be surprised if any of the other AI songs by any of the contestants have outsold NoBo, Heartless or Mad World (which is listed as the 3rd highest seller).

@Sunsugar: See you in Ontario!! If you want to write a recap, I’d say go for it. They have been a blast to read and though this one (THANK YOU, JACKIE ‘“ I loved it!!) was put up to the scrutiny of her being a professional reviewer and not a fan recording her honest experience, complete with emotional reactions and stream-of-consciousness thoughts. Isn’t that why we’re reading? To experience it through another’s eyes when we can’t be there. Or, if we were there, someone else’s take on the situation?

I plan to break my recap into sections with disclaimers. I’ll do one overall (trying to be as objective as possible), one focused for KRADAM/KRADISON fans and one for my fellow hardcore Adamtards (non fans, read at your own risk ‘“ there will surely be gratuitous hyperbole bordering on deification, to put it mildly).

Borrowed the video camera from work (this baby is TINY, but it is HD). I don’t know if my Club seats for Ontario will give a decent view for videotaping, but I am still going to try to check on individual floor seats in San Diego for Saturday, so hopefully can get a straight-on view. And also won’t have to freak out my friend that’s gong with me to ONT, who is a more casual viewer. (Being in media, I’m the one who usually takes these things with a grain of salt, she’s going to think I’ve LOST it, which of course, I have. But oh well, it’s a blast!)

You can probably go on some ITunes site and look up the digital download sales.

No, actually, you can’t. This is my last comment on the topic (hooray for everyone!) Idol does not release sales figures from during the season. So total sales are not reflected anywhere at all.

No, actually, you can’t. This is my last comment on the topic (hooray for everyone!) Idol does not release sales figures from during the season. So total sales are not reflected anywhere at all.

I see this ^^^ opinion stated as fact by Adam’s fans all the time. How do we know that the first figures released, do not include those sold through the season? It would only make sense to me, that the total released after the first week, would include all of the sales up to that point.

The numbers game…

why would I go to I-tunes after the season and buy anything since I collected what I wanted during the season. And I am sure I am not the only fan who did this…based on the comments after each week’s show here at MJ’s.

Unless all of these sales are added to the after show tallies the whole numbers game becomes a totally mute point and has absolutely no bearing on the popularity of any of the idols.

“”"FYI: Wikipedia disagrees with this. Kris’ album charted @ #50 in the US with sales of 14,000 and Adam’s album @ #33 with 30,000.”"”

By album, do you meant the songs they sang on AI? Where can you get them now? I really really want Adams and maybe Kris, I like ALL of Adams and some of Kris. Adam is mindblowing and amazing – Kris is very pleasant and nice to listen to – so getting both would mix things up a bit

I see this ^^^ opinion stated as fact by Adam’s fans all the time. How do we know that the first figures released, do not include those sold through the season? It would only make sense to me, that the total released after the first week, would include all of the sales up to that point.

Vada, I’ve seen fans of all these guys say that Idol never releases the full season figures. We get week by week figures or figures for one day sometimes, but they never release the total sales, as far as I know. Who knows why, but they don’t.

This season tour reminds me a lot of Season 4. Carrie had to follow Bo in the concert and he was the one getting the most applause, etc. Carrie didnt have much stage presence in those days and I, for one, didnt think she ever would. I was so wrong! She is a great performer now and doing well. Bo, due to poor health and rotten material he was given, hasnt had nearly the success he should but is still doing what he loves and making a living at it. It would be hard to be the winner and have to follow someone getting more attention. How they do after the tour remains to be seen. I am a big fan of Kris, Adam and Allison. I see a lot of posts of kris fans liking both guys, not so much of Adam fans liking both. There are a lot of comments comparing Adams’ fans to the Claymates. Maybe the “rabidness”, as some call it, is because their guys didnt come in first and they feel defensive and upset by it?? To me, anyone on the show that can make a better living after the show then they did before, has been successful. Getting paid to do what you love, you can’t ask for more, imo.

I think that it needs to mentioned, though, that when you watch these folks on stage, none of them should be able to compete with ADAM. When you watch Adam, you are seeing 10 years of performing experience on a big stage. This isn’t high school drama class’ ¦no. He’s been doing off broadway productions for years and has had time to hone all of this skill that you now see. Nobody else can claim this and none of the others even remotely have this type of experience. Bottom line, he SHOULD be better on stage than the rest.

Just a few comments: Adam’s experience certainly helps, but I agree that it takes a great amount of talent as well to pull off what he does. There are plenty of people out there who have a ton of experience, but not the best performance instincts, or ability to connect with the music or the audience, or a voice to do the music justice. So I don’t think Adam is really at an unfair advantage to the others (many of whom also have some kind of “performance” experience. )

I see this ^^^ opinion stated as fact by Adam’s fans all the time. How do we know that the first figures released, do not include those sold through the season? It would only make sense to me, that the total released after the first week, would include all of the sales up to that point.

I believe the first numbers released by itunes after the finale pretty clearly stated that they did only represent the sales AFTER the finale (nothing during the year). I believe as a general “rule” itunes doesn’t release #’s during the show, because it could potentially sway the votes (the mid-season leak was an unexpected bug).

TALENT! It’s about the TALENT! Performing Style is NOT why AL is getting ALL the press! It’s about the VOICE that goes with the performing style!!!! Saying the other Idols will become Adam when they’ve had more time on stage is’ ¦?????

This is such a great point, it deserves repeating. It is about that incredible VOICE and the charisma and a whole host of intangibles that cannot be learned or gained simply through repetition or experience.

Vada, I’ve seen fans of all these guys say that Idol never releases the full season figures. We get week by week figures or figures for one day sometimes, but they never release the total sales, as far as I know. Who knows why, but they don’t.

We still don’t have any proof of that. People who say those things have no way of knowing it to be true.

Also, the one week that sales figures leaked from iTunes, were mid season, before Kris really started to take off. I don’t think that leak can be used to cover the entire season.

In fact, when that leak occurred, everyone still thought Danny would be selling second most, when he was barely in the top 10.

I see a lot of posts of kris fans liking both guys, not so much of Adam fans liking both

I’ve seen people say that most Adam fans don’t like Kris and I’ve seen people say that most Kris fans don’t like Adam. My impression is that most people at least like both of them as people, and many like both as artists–they just prefer one over the other, sometimes by a lot. Personally, I flove Adam (started watching the show after accidentally seeing a clip of his performance), I love Allison a lot, and I either love or really like Kris, I’m not sure. But I will almost certainly buy all of their CDs and I’m really excited to see all of them in concert.

I’ve also seen both guy’s fans (as well as Danny’s fans) compared to the Claymates. I’m not too familiar with previous seasons of AI, but it seems to me that such comparison are made a lot but that no one’s fans (except possibly some of David Cook’s fans?) have reached such levels of craziness. Not yet, anyway. However, Kris and Adam have both mentioned being forced to change phone numbers because of fans, so let’s hope that most people continue to maintain a firm grasp on their sanity while these guys are on their solo tours.

Thanks for the review, Jackie, your enthusiasm was really infectious–I’m even more excited for the concert (I’ve heard people say that the LA concert is possibly going to be extra-crazy because of Adam’s and Allison’s family and friends all being there–I hope so. )

It is a stated fact (stated by either Idol or iTunes, I forget which) that they deliberately will not release the in-season sales so as not to bias the voting. Why they continue this after the season is over, or a year later in the case of AI7, is beyond me. The little info we have is from leaks made by accident. I know ladymadonna had access for a long time during season 7 to popularity bars and even chart rank, something which was unavailable for season 8. So actually, we do know for a fact that we have no sales figures for in-season. It has been stated all over the internet and by TPTB. As little info as we can glean about in-season AI7 sales, we have less for AI8.

It is true that you can only draw limited conclusions from post-Idol pre-official-album sales because of the inability to know about in-season sales. Did Adam fans buy all theirs in season? Maybe. Did Kris fans wait? We really will never know. It could be the reverse. The bulk of the sales post-Idol would not be to uber-fans posting here, I would wager, except for the songs that only became available after Idol, so anecdotes from here are useless. All the rest is speculation, some informed and some not. All based on questionable assumptions.

IndyMuse, we know that itunes doesn’t release week to week sales during the run of the show, so as not to influence votes.

We don’t know that those sales are not included in the first week, end of season sales, do we? I have never seen any proof of that, just extrapolation as fact.

I wasn’t going to read this ‘review’ at all due to the intro. I knew that it was going to be a fan letter to Adam. But I came back and read it anyway because I decided I’d like to see if the reviewer could be unbiased in her reporting and if I’d get some snippets that I hadn’t seen via video clips or other first person accounts.

I will say that as I was reading, there appeared to be nice things said about those who preceded Adam’s performance and it seemed pretty fair. I had hopes that there would be similar fairness in the Kris portion. Boy was I wrong.

I was seriously shocked by the slams at Kris Allen. He’s an incredible artist and he DID get my vote and he DID deserve to win. My top 3 were Kris, Allison, and Adam in that order and I’ve been very pleased with what I’ve seen of their tour performances on Youtube and via the links here. All three are very worthy of the success they are experiencing and I hope will continue.

If we have to revisit the show’s finale, get the quote right. After he said, ‘Adam deserves this.’ (they both had been using that mantra for each other leading up to the finale), he said, ‘I’m sorry I don’t know what to say.’ People consistently leave off the complete sentence to make it look like he is apologizing for winning. He wasn’t. The guy was in shock as I’m guessing Adam would have been also. It was a big deal and for both of them the competition was over when they made top 2.

Thanks to all the press coverage of Adam (and Danny) throughout the show, he was expected to win or be second to Danny. Be honest, the media were not concentrated on his voice or showmanship as much as they were other aspects about him. It eventually took that turn and there was an army out there for a ‘gay idol’ or a ‘Broadway/theatrical idol’

I knew Adam before the show and I was rooting for him. I’m proud of what he’s accomplished and hope he continues to. I didn’t know Kris, but he caught me from the start with the little snippet of his audition and his Hollywood group performance. He’s small and easy to overlook and wasn’t hyped at all on the show. But I was very pleasantly surprised that he held strong and like him, his not very vocal fans out here got him to the end.

With all that said, I can understand a feeling of dichotomy going from Adam’s set to Kris’. I think the tour producer could find a better way to work the transition, possibly with a rearrangement of song order.

IndyMuse, we know that itunes doesn’t release week to week sales during the run of the show, so as not to influence votes.

We don’t know that those sales are not included in the first week, end of season sales, do we? I have never seen any proof of that, just extrapolation as fact.

Vada, either itunes or AI has said that full season figures are not released, even once the season is over. They just don’t release them, for a number of possible reasons. In addition to their statements, there’s also the fact that the numbers we have are not high enough to logically be from the whole season. I suppose we have the total sales numbers for the season albums since they were only released after the show was over, maybe? But for each singer’s individual singles, we don’t have the full numbers. What was clear based on the mid-season numbers is that Adam and Kris were by far the best sellers.

I knew Adam before the show and I was rooting for him.

TwigLA, I’m sorry if you’ve discussed this before, but how did you know Adam?

FWIW, my top 3 were (in order) Adam, Allison, and Kris (the mirror image of yours, TwigLA. They seem to be a lot people’s top 3 in different orders.), and I’m extremely happy with how things are turning out for them all.

isisdagmar

TwigLA, I’m sorry if you’ve discussed this before, but how did you know Adam?

FWIW, my top 3 were (in order) Adam, Allison, and Kris (the mirror image of yours, TwigLA. They seem to be a lot people’s top 3 in different orders.), and I’m extremely happy with how things are turning out for them all.

I haven’t discussed it I won’t go into much detail, but when he first moved to LA he was working retail. He worked at a store I frequented.

I’m the type of person who sings and dances to in store music. He noticed me before I noticed him. For the record, I’m probably more a female version of Kris than Adam. We’d have casual conversations when I went to the store. He was obviously ‘theatrical’ to me at the time and I learned he was trying to break into musical theatre and entertainment. I asked him if he was any good. Typical Adam, he said he was fantastic.

I also learned he was living in a too small dump apartment with a bunch of friends. At the time I was considering renting space in my too big for one person (perfect for artists and musicians) house. Alas, when I was ready to offer the opportunity to him, the manager told me he got a gig touring in Europe with ‘Hair’.

I think there are a lot of us who had those three as our faves and really didn’t care which won out of them, as long as one did.

baxterlf Jul 14th, 2009 at 9:57 am

‘It will be interesting to see who the Adam fans go gaga for over the next year or two.’ 

If they are like me they won’t be watching again. I never watched any season before this year. I saw a performance or two of Daughtry and thought ‘how weird’  when I heard he was voted off but bascially wondered why this show had never found anyone profoundly good. Then my daughter said, ‘Mom you have to see this guy’  and I watched Satifaction. I was blown away and ROF sealed the deal. Adam was so amazing I watched the rest of the season and actually voted. He is the only reason I’m going to the concert.To have someone with that vocal range and that like Alt music was exciting. I doubt I will ever watch the show again since most everyone I’ve heard off it is so vanilla. I like Rocky Road. That’s just me, but I’m betting there are a few others.

This. I completely agree down to the Rocky Road preference. Bye Bye AI.

Cool story, TwigLA! That is very awesome that you knew Adam before! I have seen on other boards that people will mention being a friend of this or that contestant before the show – and I’m always so jealous! I never seem to know anyone who shows up on the show

Regarding your comments on the review, I just wanted to put in my 2 cents:

FWIW, Adam also said in interviews that he actually knew Kris’s name would be announced right before it was. Just to add to the “they both kind of expected the other to win” notion.

Be honest, the media were not concentrated on his voice or showmanship as much as they were other aspects about him. It eventually took that turn and there was an army out there for a ‘gay idol’ or a ‘Broadway/theatrical idol’

I do have to disagree with this assessment. Most of the sites I frequented (which tended to be general entertainment sites (tvguide.com, msn, Eonline, EW, etc.) seemed to give him a lot of props and attention mostly for the level of performance and the voice. Not so much the social issues (though those cropped up in other outlets and after the finale).

Re Kris and his attitude about winning, I think he is comfortable with it, but also incredibly humble – in general he just doesn’t seem to want to telegraph his pride in his accomplishments – he’s just very low-key, under the radar in that regard. Even in interviews, he seems to prefer to let others talk, share the spotlight, what have you. That’s just his style.

At times, it’s a bit at odds with the spotlight whoring attitudes of many idol wannabes (Tatiana, anyone?) But, Kris loves music, and wants a music career, so the platform definitely helps him achieve that goal, even if he’s not necessarily the kind of guy who creates a larger than life stage persona. Radio airplay, studio tracks, none of those have to do with how the person is on stage, nor will it be compared to what Adam does/did once the tour is over. At that point, Kris can make the tracks he wants to, and put on stage shows that don’t have him following Adam, and serve as a better fit to his over-all style.

End of 2 cents

Just had to add: Ok, I feel bad, because at first I didn’t even read Jackie’s recap (I thought I had, but with so many coming in everyday, I just realized I hadn’t).

Jackie, just had to say, your recap read a lot like mine would have – we definitely share some of the same thoughts (crazy love for Adam, plus the sentiments about Kris – I feel happy for Kris, don’t feel bad for him for performing and think he’s having a blast too, but I get your comments about how Kris struck you during the season, but how you became a Kradam fan, esp. after the show).

Also, very cool that you got so close to Adam at the end of the concert! I wish I could be so lucky (we’ll see!)

And I just have to say that it is too bad that the audience there was so sucky. I love the mad Adam affection, but not standing up or cheering during the other hopping sets, esp. Allison, Danny, Kris – just seems really sad. I know the frustration of those kinds of audiences. It’s got to suck for the performers too – who tend to feed off the energy of the audience.

Otherwise, your parts about Adam have me so excited for the tour – it’s like I was feeling it right along with you!

Susan M.
Jul 14th, 2009 at 10:45 am
…one for my fellow hardcore Adamtards (non fans, read at your own risk ‘“ there will surely be gratuitous hyperbole bordering on deification, to put it mildly).

Breathlessly waiting!

love love love your recap :wub_tb: I’m so glad you enjoyed the show :devil_tb:

I’m an ADAM fan because of his voice/performance skills – in awe of his talent and maturity – he oozes that IT factor. I truly do think he came in second because of social issues and the fact that Idol appeals to a more middle of the road, conservative audience. I just thought that this might have been the year for a super star (and yes I think ADAM is the most talented contestant to ever be on the show) … but, as I stated after the finale, America is kidding itself about a “liberal” media: the press Adam got, especially in the final month or so of the season, was extremely biased. The whole gay or not, club scene, photos, ad naseum, were just too much. I just love ADAM for being who he is, without apology. What great role model he is – no excuses, and the guts to be himself.

But the haters?! He’s “too Broadway” (like that’s a dig: does anyone fathom how many people would just die to have even one paying gig on Broadway?!) … “he screeches, he puts out his tongue” (yea, it’s called singing technique – he was reviewed by vocal coaches/opera coaches and given mad props for his talent) … blah, blah, blah, when all anyone has to do is go to youtube and find examples of his exquisite vocal skills.

ANYWAY, I’m going to stop this now because I’m getting sucked right back into the controversary …

but what I want to say is this in reference to comments comparing fans:
after spending what seems like a lifetime on the computer feeding my obsession, it is my OPINION that most ADAM fans are reasonable and just fine knowing that we have a lot more music to look forward to from this awesome guy. I don’t see much hate or criticism toward Kris as a person – the general consensus is that he’s a great guy. The most personal comment I’ve seen is that he “moves his mouth funny when he sings” (and I don’t think anyone can deny that!!). But it’s WAY different by the ADAM-haters – and it’s ALL personal: he’s fat, his arms are flabby, he looks like a girl, too much makeup, he screeches, he’s a diva/he thinks he’s too good to visit the fan lines, his coat/jacket/vest/whatever is too glittery/ugly/old school/whatever, his hair is …. blah, blah, blah.

So to the person who became particularly inscensed over Jackie’s review but then goes on another thread to “critique” ADAM and says:
“vocals are not good”, “too theatrical”, “can’t stand the gyrating”, “not buff, but paunchy”, “awful, all over the place, don’t like his style”, “Mad World is a bore … too theatrical” – you can dish it out but you can’t take it, whether the review is by a fan-blogger or a journalist.

The knee-jerk response by a lot of the Kris fans is to go straight for the personal with a vengance … and that is just not fair but it has gotten pretty predictable.

Janie, so well said! Thank you!

I posted this in another post where people were congratulating a blogger for his “bravery” when speaking of his dislike for Adam and love for Kris and Danny. Do we really have to congratulate people on their bravery to speak their mind on what idols they enjoyed?? I got a lot of those comments here yesterday and while I REALLY appreciated them b/c wow, I really offended some people, I thought, “Am I really that brave?” Haha, it’s just American Idol, people! We’re just here to offer our opinions on a show & concert and what we thought of these kids.

Jackieo,

We’re in sync! I just went back to reread your review and you were in no way disrespectful to Kris … who by all accounts is a really nice guy (LOL, I think we all need to now begin EVERY comment with that disclaimer!!).

I LOVED your recap and can’t wait for Thursday at Staples! I’ll have my sister beside me to keep me in check and my son and his girlfriend several rows back in case she needs help!

And I know what you mean: it’s just American Idol!

P.S. Isn’t ADAM’s mom so cool?! Did you read the threads today where she’s standing in line along with everyone else?! What a thrill this whole experience has to be for her!!
P.P.S. Saw Beyonce at Staples last night! What an entertainer and her vocals are amazing … and she loves costumes and is a great dancer … and she shows such love for her fans and vice versa – the place was rocking, everybody singing along with her … it was just about sold out and I’ve never heard the place roar like that. I went for the spectacle but came away with such admiration for her abilities. Can I whisper that I think we might have the same experience with our fav someday?!

To me this was the most disrespectful concert write-up I’ve read here to date. It’s great that you’re an Adam Lambert fan because he has a mad amount of talent. But the tone of this write-up regarding both Danny and Kris reminds me of the Bitterbert mentality. They are both very talented in their own ways as well and this just seemed to be full of complete disrespect.

Thanks for your recap. I could feel you passion and exuberance throughout the piece. It was nice of you to give your gut interpretation of the concert. I don’t see it as right or wrong just how the experience made you feel. I felt your feelings which means you wrote a great review, (whether I agree with your opinion or not) (by the way on Adam I do) (on Kris I agree with Q3 no one deserved to win but Kris did and I respect America’s choice).

Again Thanks for a great recap.

Jackie above was my original post to your recap. I was post number 15, now this post is somewhere around 303, I have to say I was right you put feelings into you recap and getting well over 300 responses just shows what a wonder piece it was. Whether people had the same opinion as you or not your piece compelled people to write. Which is a great homage to you favorite Idol Adam whose singing either people like or not but they are always talking about it.

Again great recap.

I don’t normally reply to posts I read online but this is the BEST review. I felt it was very fair and right on. Of course this is easy to say b/c I 99% agree with you LOL. I liked Matt from the beginning so it was the only thing I disagreed with but we agreed in the end haha. I watched AI for the 1st time this year (what a year huh?!) and only saw others on youtube (agreed also with you on previous Idols). I decided this year to watch and fell hard for Adam in his 1st audition. Something about his voice/looks/persona/confidence just mesmerized me. I looked on youtube right away for him to hear everything he ever has done and regretted not living in Ca to hear him sooner. Even though I’m not a theater buff I’d love to see him in theater. Again great review! and best wishes to you on your wedding next year.

Thanks to everyone for their comments and the lively discussion! Have to be honest, I didn’t expect such a response and I still don’t understand why thinking someone wasn’t deserving of a win is disrespectful to that person. Oh well.

With Matt, maybe I would have liked him more on the show had I seen his audition. It seems many people liked him from that. At the same time though, he didn’t seem to thrive on the show and didn’t perform as well as he is capable of, which is a shame. Luckily, the show isn’t everything and he got his name out there and has a growing fan base.

Someone said they were curious to see who I root for in the next season, as in “who are Adam fans going to like in S9?” I am not sure I will be rooting for anyone next season unless they dazzle me as Adam has. My AI experience isn’t about my guy winning and me being right as to who is the most talented. Even if Adam’s album bombs I will still think he is the most talented. This year a rare talent appeared on the show and touched me the way very few people and entertainers have. You cannot deny that connection when you feel it with someone and it’s a rare one as well. Not everyone is equally talented. I don’t need to give everyone cookies for participating. Finding a talent like Adam’s is rare and I hope the universe is on his side again as he continues his career

To everyone who has shows ahead of them, I am envious! I hope you enjoy your favorite, support all of them and have an open mind!.

My AI experience isn’t about my guy winning and me being right as to who is the most talented. Even if Adam’s album bombs I will still think he is the most talented. This year a rare talent appeared on the show and touched me the way very few people and entertainers have. You cannot deny that connection when you feel it with someone and it’s a rare one as well.

ITA. I’ve had a few absolute favs on Idol, but I think Adam has surpassed them all in terms of talent, the impression he made on me, and the future success I feel he deserves. Some people wrote off Idol after being depressed about his loss, but the thing is, none of us fans were losers, because we got to see his talent on display, week after week, and can now share his journey. The fact that I am still hanging on every interview, video, review, tweet (twat?) of his is a testament to that.

I tried to put myself in a non-Adam fans shoes with your review. Sure, it’s going to strike a particular chord with his fanbase, but I’m sure if I read a glowing Kris or Matt or Allison review, I’d be able to take it as a new and uniquely personal POV on the concert. Which is exactly what you offered

BTW – we should be envious of you – getting to meet Adam up close like that!