The show was done in a ‘countdown’ format. So the show opened up with Michael Sarver singing ‘In Love With a Girl, ‘ by Gavin DeGraw. Being a big Gavin DeGraw fan (got me hooked with One Tree Hill!) I enjoyed this song’ ¦ I always liked Michael Sarver too. He did a good job of trying to get the crowd amped up. He followed that up with ‘Closer’ by Ne-Yo, another song I enjoyed. I was honestly surprised how well he pulled it off!
Megan Joy was next, who I personally didn’t care for on the show. She also surprised me! She did ‘Put Your Records On’ by Corrine Bailey Rae and was awesome! That was a great song choice. She followed up with Amy Winehouse’s ‘Tears Dry on Their Own.’ I think Megan picked songs very suited for her voice. Also, a shout out to her stylist. The hot pink dress and hot pink strappy shoes were my personal favorite ensemble of the night Wink
Next was Scott MacIntyre. He rose up through the stage playing the piano on Keane’s ‘Bend & Break.’ Scott’s voice has improved since the show. ~ On a side note, I found that EVERYONE has improved. ~ He then did Vanessa Carlton’s ‘A Thousand Miles’ which was a nice upbeat song to end his set.
Lil Rounds came next. I was worried for her, because on the show she seemed to fall apart. Not here! She opened up with ‘Be Without You/Just Fine’ from Mary J. Blige so she was definitely in her element. Next was one of my favorite songs ‘No One’ by Alicia Keys and it was GREAT. She ended with Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it).’ This was the weakest of the 3 in her set, but definitely still strong. Lil was the first one to make me say ‘wow!’
Next was Anoop Desai. Now’ ¦ I was not a fan of Anoop while watching the show. I didn’t see what the big deal was honestly’ ¦ Well, he opened up with Willie Nelson’s/Elvis Presley’s ‘Always on my Mind.’ I’ve always found that song to be painfully boring, but Anoop pulled it off. He followed it up with Ne-Yo’s ‘Mad’ which I LOVED!!!! His voice is perfect for that song! He finished his set with Bobby Brown’s ‘My Prerogative.’ I still felt that it was slightly cheesy, but it had great energy, so it served its purpose!
Matt Giraud came next. Now, anyone that followed my favorites during the AI season knows that I am a HUGE Matt Giraud fan. I was expecting greatness from him. AND HE DELIVERED! He opened his set with Otis Redding’s/Black Crowes’ ‘Hard to Handle.’ This was the most high-energy number of the entire night! Everyone was dancing and singing along and Matt was AMAZING! He finished the number with some CRAZY piano playing skills. He followed up with ‘Georgia on my Mind’ which was, of course, awesome. Midway through it, he grabbed a fedora off of the piano and put it on his head and said ‘this is for the hard-core fans!’ He finished his set with The Fray’s ‘You Found Me’ which was a great finish to his set.
Prior to intermission, there was a ‘production number’ with our #5 through #10 idols. It included ‘Can’t Take My Eyes off of You, ‘ ‘Tell Her About It, ‘ ‘Suspicious Minds, ‘ and ‘Beggin’.’ The highlight of it was Scott and Matt on dueling pianos to ‘Tell Her About It.’ They are truly talented musicians.
~ 20 minute intermission ~
Allison Iraheta came out with a *bang!* She opened her set with Pink’s ‘So What, ‘ playing ELECTRIC GUITAR! I honestly wasn’t thoroughly impressed with the song though, it seemed as if she really only sang about half of it’ ¦ I think this was because she was saving it all for the next 2 numbers! Next was Janis Joplin’s ‘Cry Baby!’ Which was absolutely amazing. I can’t say anything else about it. It was just amazing. She followed that up with Heart’s ‘Barracuda!’ Tough song to take on, but Allison held her own.
Danny Gokey opened his set with Michael Jackson’s ‘P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)’ which I always enjoyed his version of this. Definitely high energy. He followed up with Santana’s ‘Maria Maria’ which was surprisingly very good! I wasn’t sure how that would go! He finished his set with two Rascal Flatts numbers. ‘What Hurts the Most’ and ‘My Wish.’ I love Danny’s voice no Rascal Flatts songs, so these were very enjoyable for me.
NOW’ ¦ let me start by saying I made it VERY clear during the idol season that I was NOT an Adam Lambert fan. I found him to be very talented, but phony. I must say, since his ‘coming out’ in Rolling Stone. He seems different to me. Not phony and restricted. I think he was being held back. Well, last night he was awesome. He opened up with ‘Whole Lotta Love’ by Led Zeppelin which was, of course, in typical ‘rock-god’ style, very good. He then performed Muse’s ‘Starlight’ which I really enjoyed. It wasn’t that high-wailing nonsense or the subdued falsetto from ‘Mad World.’ It was full-voice but still subtle. It was nice to hear the natural timbre of his voice. He followed up with aforementioned ‘Mad World’ which was a crowd pleaser as expected! Next Allison came back out and joined him on ‘Slow Ride’ which I really enjoyed. They both were obviously having a great time. Now is where it got’ ¦ interesting’ ¦ the next number was ‘Life on Mars/Fame/Let’s Dance.’ A David Bowie medley. As the music began, Adam stripped his jacket off to reveal a sparkly v-neck sleevless getup’ ¦ he performed this medley VERY WELL complete with pelvic thrusts, body rolls, and snake like dancing all over the stage. I’m not mocking, I was honestly very impressed. I LIKE this Adam Lambert! He’s being himself and just doing what he likes to do! Overall, thoroughly entertaining and very talented.
Now’ ¦ my absolutely favorite’ ¦ Kris Allen *sigh* too bad he has a wife ;) Kris opened up with his rendition of Kanye West’s ‘Heartless’ which was a crowd pleaser as we knew it would be. He really milked the opening to it, which was nice to hear. His voice is actually VERY GOOD! Originally, Kris was to follow this with ‘No Boundaries’ but he replaced it last month with The Killers’ ‘All These Things That I’ve Done.’ I was VERY HAPPY with the swap! Kris really rocked that song! I was happy to see Kris COULD ‘rock!’ He did Bill Withers’ ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ next’ ¦ and I was disappointed to hear it was cut even SHORTER Sad It’s already a short song’ ¦ but it was awesome as ever! Next was my favorite of Kris’ set. ‘Bright Lights’ by Matchbox 20. He really showed his skills on this one! His voice was perfect for the song, and he played the piano throughout with excellence. Then, after finishing up the vocal part, he jumped up from the piano and grabbed an electric (yes ELECTRIC) guitar and rocked out for a good 2 minutes! I was AMAZED! I didn’t know he could do that! I thought he was just the little acoustic boy! He finished his set with ‘Hey Jude.’ This one was amazing as well’ ¦ his voice was perfect for the pure melody The Beatles created. All of the other idols (with the exception of Scott and Matt who were getting in place for the finale) joined him at the end with the ‘naaaaa, naaaa, na na na naaaa’ chorus. I was thoroughly impressed with Kris’ performance and was glad he showed all of the nay-sayers why he won the competition in the first place.
To end the night, Scott and Matt rose up through the stage on grand pianos playing the opening to Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin’.’ Another one of my favorite songs’ ¦ but it just sounds cheesy when anyone does it other than Journey! However, I love cheese Open-mouthed It was a great way to end an amazing night of performances!
