Previous Next Latest

“American Idol” Finals Live Blog: Countdown to the Glamb-Slide!

5/19/09, 7:56 pm EST

Photo: Micelotta/FOX

Welcome to the American Idol finale. It is going to be a profoundly glambertaining night in America, as Glambskanks and Kristaholics join hands to watch together. What will tonight’s show hold? Will Kris wear a daringly untucked shirt and grin like a muppet stoner? Will Glambert descend a staircase and hit mating-ocelot high notes that have been banned since the Spanish Inquisition? Will Paula say anything remotely coherent?

This is the TV party of the year, not to mention the first Idol finale in a while that people are genuinely fired up about. I’m a Glambourghini all the way, but the great thing about this season is that the cast has been really likeable, even the ones who can’t sing, and I hope they all make appearances tonight. Will Anoop bust some of his funky moves? Will the crazy headband guy come back to sing “I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)?” Will the dangerously unstable Mormon chick return to do a few bird noises? God, I hope so. Let the glam begin! (And a special treat for Glambert fans: photos of Adam throughout the season.)

8:02 pm: I forgot that doofy hat Kris wore to his audition. I’m amazed he survived that.

8:04 pm: Nice Chuck Bass suit, Randy.

8:11 pm: “MAD WORLD”! It’s over already. Look at that cape! That smoke! That silhouette! I love how he originally sang this on a chair, looking like he was gonna cry, but now he’s all walking through the fogs of Transylvania.

8:16 pm: Randy’s right — very Twilight, but I was thinking Purple Rain. And was that Sir Anthony Hopkins in the crowd shot? I’m opening up a nice chianti in his honor. The Idols in the audience look pretty miserable — geez, Matt Giraud, try to look a little excited, and maybe ditch the Timberfake hat.

8:21 pm: “Ain’t No Sunshine” is a shrewd pick — when Kris is good, he sounds like Taylor Hicks, and when he’s bad, he sounds like Michael Bolton undergoing a particularly grueling backwax. This is good Kris. It looks like the show is pimping Kris really hard as the all-American fave. The mandolin music when his parents talk, Ryan’s blatant rooting for him in the opening speech. Is it just a ploy to drum up votes?

8:24 pm: OK, commercial break. What the hell was up with Gossip Girl last night? How can Vanessa skip high school and then show up at graduation and say, “I’m glad I took the SATs so I’ll see you at college next year.” Why did Little J attend her brother’s graduation ceremony in a black lace corset with a zipper up the front? How did Nate keep a straight face when he confessed about the Duchess and uttered the fateful words “She… well… She PAID ME!”

8:28 pm: “A Change Is Gonna Come” — wow. I heard a homeless guy sing this on the L train a couple weeks ago. Adam unleashes the Lam-Beast for the first time tonight; a song completely outside his comfort zone, but he does justice to the melody and adds glambo-gasmic screams on top. It’s even better than the version Bill Clinton’s brother Roger sang at the 1993 Inauguration! I’m seriously verklempt. This is far beyond what I even thought the guy could do — I’m even agreeing with Paula Wobbles: “That was the best I’ve ever heard you sing, ever ever ever!”

8:39 pm: Kris brought his A-game tonight. When they announced “What’s Going On,” I assumed he was going to embarrass himself, like everybody else who ever tries to sing this uncoverable song. But he’s getting it done. Damn — I was kinda hoping for a debacle on a “Come Together”-like scale.

8:43 pm: First Simon/Ryan homophobe banter of the night. Feh. I love how Kris winces when the judges bitch him out. That’s how you can tell Adam’s a pro. First round went to Adam, now it seems like a tie.

8:46 pm: This Kara song is even worse than “This Is My Now” and “Do I Make You Proud?” combined. Poor Adam. He can’t do a thing with this.

8:52 pm: Nice rosary, Glambert! Glamb of God, grant us peace. Look, even Glambert couldn’t salvage that song — all his quarters are stacked on “A Change Is Gonna Come.” And now poor Kris has to sing that same piece of crap about the mountains and the hurricanes and the sleet and the puppies? He’s going to get glambéd.

8:56 pm: Poor Kris, he’s blowing the high notes. That was a lot worse than the version we just heard of this song. A few Gokey-dreaming-on moments. Ugh.

8:58 pm: REAL pitchy. I love how even the judges were shocked that song was a puddle of poodle puke. Kris needed a knockout punch tonight to stay in the game, but he didn’t get one.

8:58 pm: “Don’t punish me with brutality” could apply to that Kara song. I still have 3rd degree suck burns all over my brain.

9:00 pm: Excellent pageant-queen hug at the end. Hey, Adam saying “I’m a dreamer” at the beginning foreshadows the Carrie Underwood version of the Motley Crue song. Damn, I wish Glambert would sing “Kickstart My Heart” right now!

Kris did okay tonight — I thought he might get Glamblasted, but he held his own. The thing is, he needed another Kanye-style coup, which is how he snuck past Croakey Gokey last week — he surprised everybody so much with “Heartbreak” that people remembered it when the show was over. But tonight? He did a MUCH better job with “What’s Goin’ On” than I would have predicted, the usual John Mayer/Jack Johnson thing he does… but he didn’t come close to Glambert’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” We’ll see who gets the crown in roughly 24 hours — but I’m predicting a GLAMBSLIDE!

Check out all our Season Eight American Idol coverage at our Idol hub and come back tomorrow night when Rob Sheffield live blogs the grand, star-packed finale.


Previous Next Latest

Comments

StrummerJones | 5/19/2009, 8:23 pm EST

“Purple Rain”? Man, you have a boner for this guy, haha. I hope Adam wins, because he’s the kind of guy who might give Idol another chart topper.

I gotta admit, though. Adam’s Mad World was a little shaky tonight as opposed to his original performance of it. Kris wins the first round.

StrummerJones | 5/19/2009, 8:31 pm EST

Top that, Kris.

pk8679 | 5/19/2009, 8:34 pm EST

OH…MY…GOD!!!!! How do you top that performance? Although Adam should win hands down it would almost be better if he were to come in second. That way he wouldn’t be saddled with the crap they are going to make him sing for his debut album.

StrummerJones | 5/19/2009, 8:39 pm EST

“That way he wouldn’t be saddled with the crap they are going to make him sing for his debut album.”

He would be anyway.

Jesus Christ, What’s Going On and A Change Is Gonna Come are gigantic songs.

Now for the shitty song.

pk8679 | 5/19/2009, 8:41 pm EST

Second round…Adam. But in the end it comes down to how fast you can hit that redial button. Start limbering up that index finger….

pk8679 | 5/19/2009, 8:44 pm EST

Oh I agree that What’s Going On and A Change is Gonna Come are great songs but the first song released is going to be the stinker they sing next. Who’s going to be the lucky one to have their name attached?

tj | 5/19/2009, 8:44 pm EST

Kris can never top that, never,never, never

StrummerJones | 5/19/2009, 8:47 pm EST

Wow, this song was horrible.

Kara Dioguardi is an awful songwriter. I’ve never heard any of her songs (Not knowingly), but wow. That was fucking terrible.

pk8679 | 5/19/2009, 8:49 pm EST

Adam looked pained singing that song. Maybe the Jonas brothers are looking for a song to equal their talent (or lack thereof). I think we’ve found one for them…..

StrummerJones | 5/19/2009, 8:50 pm EST

YAY KRIS TAKES ON THE SAME SONG NEXT
aji
ojsiejgoawejri

ajios ergj
io
jaeir
ojtawJFUCK

StrummerJones | 5/19/2009, 8:51 pm EST

THANKS ELIZA

Candi | 5/19/2009, 8:51 pm EST

Hey! Loved reading the article, Rob… you’re my new hero. :) GO ADAM!!!!

Get those fingers ready, you’re gonna need all the energy!

stephrock | 5/19/2009, 8:52 pm EST

But what’s with the change from “There’s too many of us dying” to “too many of you dying”?
It felt as if Kris feels removed from “what’s going on”.

StrummerJones | 5/19/2009, 8:55 pm EST

somebody needs to tell kara how bad she is

to her face

preferably simon

Je$$e | 5/19/2009, 8:57 pm EST

you people are complete LLOOOSSSEEERRSS…hahaha..you should be ashamed watching that train wreck of a show..

dlt | 5/19/2009, 9:02 pm EST

My favorite Desmond Child song: Sweet Fascist of Mine

Ray | 5/19/2009, 9:15 pm EST

What a pathetic excuse for television programming.

jennifer toronto | 5/19/2009, 9:27 pm EST

Well Well watched AI and the songs sucked.Why did Adam have to sing mad world? i thought he did ok and kris was well… kris
I will watch tommorow night im hoping mr adam will win its going to be close though keep my fingers crossed vote for adammmmmm

ruby | 5/19/2009, 9:29 pm EST

I think both Adam and Kris want to lose so they dont get saddled with that craptastic song. It may have been salvageable if they were allowed to input themselves into the song

krisallenfan! | 5/19/2009, 9:33 pm EST

what the hell was that final song?? what does she even do for a living?? way to ruin their chances at anything with that piece.

thank god they are both real artists and that the audience can ignore that last song and focus on their other songs.

yay Kris!!!

Adamo | 5/19/2009, 9:35 pm EST

Adam fans..off the blog..now..get voting only 3 1/2 left. Go. now.

DallasGal | 5/19/2009, 10:06 pm EST

After that last song, now I know why Adam pointed at Kris and said vote for this guy…. please never make me hear Adam have to sing that again.
ADAM ROCKS

DallasGal | 5/19/2009, 10:13 pm EST

P.S. Also, hilarious blog. LMAO. I am typing and hitting redial. Getting way too many busy signals this time…is that a good sign…? Adam should win this thing hands down…even if now he is rethinking it…LOVED the trench coat. I never understand why one of the Judge’s will say “over dramatic” or “theatrical.” Have they ever been to a concert?

Glambert-Fan | 5/19/2009, 10:37 pm EST

Adam won hands down. The Sam Cooke song was his best moment tonight. Kara’s song sucks!It was so badly written that Adam barely was able to wring a good performance out of it and it sabotaged Kris. It was full of trite concepts and words and the melody was written for a female voice. Can we vote Kara off American Idol for 2010? If she gets to stay, let’s agree to never saddle another contestant with one of her sucky songs!

dkstar | 5/19/2009, 11:09 pm EST

Kris was so much better than Adam tonight, I would spend money on an kris album, Adam not so much, If i want to hear someone yelling at me i will just let my wife do that, Vote Kris true talent!!

Good grief | 5/19/2009, 11:58 pm EST

ROB IS SO FUNNY!!!

smdg1011 | 5/20/2009, 12:03 am EST

i have NO idea why Little J wore that zip up hooker number to the graduation. i’ve been thinking about it all day.

Oliver | 5/20/2009, 12:18 am EST

Well I would not say Kara is a bad songwriter, she wrote a lot of songs for Kelly on her “Breakaway” album But yeah it was a bad song though.

But seriously Idol needs to stop pimping Carrie Underwood. I like Carrie, but she is always on every chance she gets every year. It’s a little sad to see.

Galacticmule | 5/20/2009, 12:20 am EST

Adam should win, of course, and do well afterwards. But does anyone doubt for a minute that this guy will be in Vegas eventually?

I mean, come on.

Great blog.

JD | 5/20/2009, 12:32 am EST

If Adam wins, the A side of his single should be either “Mad World” or “Change Is Gonne Come” not “No Borders.” The latter song is full of cliches and it’s probably the worst Idol Winner’s song yet. But it will probably be #1 on the Adult Contemporary Charts for at least 20 weeks. Not even Celine is saddled with such dreck.

bonnygd | 5/20/2009, 1:05 am EST

Adam could sing “mary had a little lamb” & send it into the heavens with his incredible vocals…his voice is like an orchestra!!! I haven’t heard anything so exciting in YEARS!! His first mad world performance was better…why was he playing it safe in the finals? He looked heart-stopping coming through the fog in a long coat. He should do a rock opera!

Steve | 5/20/2009, 2:34 am EST

Sure, Adam is the better singer. But someone please tell me A. How he is commercially viable and B. That they would actually listen to his record punctuated by squeals that belong in an 80s hair metal band? He may win, but this has all the makings of another Taylor Hicks: Rapid fans who love the drama, but then forget to buy the record.

Notreallyafan | 5/20/2009, 2:59 am EST

Every Idol “winner” song has been bad. Nearly un-listenable, until now–this Dioguardi co-penned (it took four people to write something this bad?)mess actually IS un-listenable! It’s a shame the last thing the audience had to hear (and base their judgments on) was this horrid “song.” Even the other judges basically dogged the song (you could sing the phone book and make it good but not even you could overcome this disaster…). The sad part is that whoever wins gets saddled with it.

Candi | 5/20/2009, 5:11 am EST

That was an interesting comment below regarding “hair metal bands from the 80’s”. While Adam will do well in ANY genre he chooses to experiment with, if anyone could bring back even a tiny iota of the excitement about music that was happening during the 80’s it would be a great thing… Adam could launch us into a new love for the fun in music. The 80’s weren’t just about long hair… long hair and rock music have been around since it began. The 80’s were about having fun… people that want to bag on that era either missed out on the fun or have fallen victim to 30 to 35+ year old’s that tend to nag about it, they were too young to be a part… so they fell into the “grunge” era that took over when 80’s metal went out… those people are the ones passing on whiny version of their take on the 80’s, of course they are, they’re professional b*tches. *lol* ;)

That’s what you call a “sense of humor”, don’t get bent grungies. Try to enjoy life.

Adam has a gift for inspiring people, he’ll bring about something new, it might resemble some of the old, but it will be the better parts of the old, he has a really great sense of the quality in things, that can only be done by people who have given things a chance, he doesn’t stereotype anything… that is a GREAT quality and one that will result in some awsome music. He’s destined to be a Superstar.

Pat | 5/20/2009, 5:19 am EST

Adam deserves to win because he has the best most fantastic voice, is a fantastic performer, and has incredible stage presence.

adamadmirer | 5/20/2009, 5:57 am EST

I think AI producers should put together an Adam Lambert hour-long show of his videos. They are sooooooo good! It’s not a question of his getting voted as the idol. He already is one!

Marilyn-Malaysia | 5/20/2009, 7:43 am EST

I just watched AI in my country (Asia get’s to watch 12hrs later!!), I think Chris is a good singer but he’s no match for Adam. Seriously, Adam looks like he’s cut above the rest in every aspect of the show. AI wasn’t a karaoke contest this year because of Adam Lambert; the other contestants pushed themselves after watching Adam’s performance week after week. Adam did save AI this year and definitely deserves the AI crown. It would a complete travesty if he doesn’t win, America. Rob, thanks for the wonderful blog – luv from Malaysia.

Brian | 5/20/2009, 8:25 am EST

Hey Sheffield, can you be anymore biased?Your pretty much insulting Kris and treating Adam like a god. He isn’t that good, and might not even win it. Last night Kris won the first round, Adam got the second and neither of their interpretations of the last song was that bad. Stop trying to gather votes for Lambert, can do it himself like Kris did to get in the finals.

Glam-Loaf | 5/20/2009, 9:49 am EST

Lambert is just a better looking Meatloaf

June | 5/20/2009, 1:09 pm EST

I thought the producer (Simon) kind
of set Kris up. He gave a great song from Sam Cooke to Adam and a mediocre song from an old Marvin Gay album to Kris. It wasn’t a good song when Marvin Gay sang it.
Third song was out of his range.
Whats Up with that. Hope Kris wins!! Adam will succeed without
the win. thanks
.

June | 5/20/2009, 1:12 pm EST

I thought the producer (Simon) kind
of set Kris up. He gave a great song from Sam Cooke to Adam and a mediocre song from an old Marvin Gay album to Kris. It wasn’t a good song when Marvin Gay sang it.
Third song was out of his range.
Whats Up with that. Hope Kris wins!! Adam will succeed without
the win. thanks
this is the 1st time I have ever taken the interest or time to writh a comment!!

David | 5/20/2009, 4:41 pm EST

What putrid dreck that No Borders song was. It sounded like all the crap coming out of the Nashville “new country” machine. Sentimental and bombastic anthem with formulaic structure and retarded lyrics. Someone said it best in this chain. It took four people to pen that puke?

idol watcha | 5/20/2009, 6:56 pm EST

kris has no flash. mashed potatoes without the gravy.

allenlover | 5/20/2009, 10:51 pm EST

congrats to u kris so happy that u’ve won. i hope u guys who voted for that other freak go kill urselves.now. i mean, seriously what happens when u take away all that hype and get up that is adam’s. You’ve got someone who’s screaming and screeching at the top of their lungs which is totally not worth listening to. sorry, that’s just how i feel

Kyle | 5/21/2009, 12:37 am EST

Now that Adam doesn’t have Idol weighing him down and his name is mainstream, the Kris Allen butt kicking starts!

Kyle | 5/21/2009, 12:37 am EST

Now that Adam doesn’t have Idol weighing him down and his name is mainstream, the Kris Allen butt kicking starts!

VancouverCanada | 5/21/2009, 2:24 am EST

I like to listen to Kris typical music but my vote based on the singer’s talent and Adam has it all. I am very disappointed that Adam didn’t win. I know Adam will have a great career ahead of him. Best of luck to Adam. Kris, same too you. I hope this won’t be another Taylor Hicks whom I have forgotten until he showed up on Americal Idol a few weeks ago.

By the way, “No Boundaried”, who want to sing that song & make as an album. Look at the positive way, Adam doesn’t have to sing that song.

terie D. | 6/27/2009, 5:35 pm EST

Does ANYONE think that a DANNY GOKEY/KRIS ALLEN FINALE would have brought KISS & QUEEN to the IDOL stage? I THINK NOT!!!!!!!! GO ADAM!!!!!!!!!!!

Sabine-Serfaklar | 7/23/2009, 5:10 pm EST

Hey, ok, I get it, I guess – but does this really work?

Money Chris | 7/24/2009, 3:22 pm EST

Great idea, but will this work over the long run?

Extenze | 8/3/2009, 12:15 pm EST

There is obviously a lot to know about this. I think you made some good points in Features also.

ElenaLisvato | 8/4/2009, 11:39 am EST

I don’t usually reply to posts but I will in this case. I’ve been experiencing this very same problem with a new WordPress installation of mine. I’ve spent weeks calibrating and getting it ready when all of a sudden… I cannot delete any content. It’s a workaround that, although isn’t perfect, does the trick so thanks! I really hope this problem gets solved properly asap.

Fast Money | 8/7/2009, 11:42 am EST

This brings me to an idea:…

pinksheets | 9/19/2009, 7:26 pm EST

A SUPPORTED BY THE DEVELOPER TOOLS? It was interesting. You seem very knowledgeable in ypour field.

penny stock | 9/20/2009, 3:54 pm EST

Please, can you PM me and tell me few more thinks about this, I am really fan of your blog…gets solved properly asap.

pinksheet | 9/20/2009, 4:30 pm EST

I usually don’t post in Blogs but your blog forced me to, amazing work.. beautiful …

pink sheets | 9/20/2009, 6:25 pm EST

Interesting article. Were did you got all the information from… :)

Post A Comment

Caution: Off-topic comments will be deleted

Name:

Comments:



Advertisement

Advertisement