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“American Idol” Coronation Songs: How Does Lambert or Allen’s “No Boundaries” Rank?

5/20/09, 5:27 pm EST

Photo: Granitz/WireImage

When Adam Lambert and Kris Allen sang “No Boundaries” — the Kara DioGuardi co-written Season Eight American Idol coronation song — last night, the judges came dangerously close to calling the track utter crap (since when has Simon Cowell restrained himself from judging the song?). But has Idol ever given its victor a decent tune at the finale? The tracks are universally schmaltzy ballads that try to capture the awesomeness of the show’s rags-to-riches premise: a no-name plucked from obscurity earns his or her shot at superstardom.

Kelly Clarkson’s “A Moment Like This” may be the best of the bunch — it features a memorable hook, hit Number One and even became the soundtrack to a series of Sandals resorts commercials. Taylor Hicks’ Season Five stinker “Do I Make Your Proud” could be the worst (hint: never title a song with a rhetorical question when the answer is almost always “no”). Jordin Sparks got off relatively unscathed with the timely “This Is My Now,” though few were convinced that Ruben Studdard could pull off “Flying Without Wings.” So where does “No Boundaries” rank among Idol’s eight attempts? We’ll take your reviews in the comments (watch all the songs after the jump). And don’t forget to check back later for Rob Sheffield’s finale live blog.

Season One: Kelly Clarkson’s “A Moment Like This”

Season Two: Ruben Studdard’s “Flying Without Wings”

Season Three: Fantasia’s “I Believe”

Season Four: Carrie Underwood’s “Inside Your Heaven”

Season Five: Taylor Hicks’ “Do I Make You Proud”

Season Six: Jordin Sparks’ “This Is My Now”

Season 7: David Cook’s “Time of My Life”


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Comments

confused J | 5/20/2009, 6:13 pm EST

?????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????? ??????????
Kara can writing song not really ???????????????????????/
kara is the a bad judge and a bad songs writing I am Still Confused>>>>>>>>>>>>>????????? ???? Kara is the worst judge ever

mr wildflowers | 5/20/2009, 6:22 pm EST

God, it was just a string of cliches. Climbing mountains and weathering hurricanes and some bollocks about your dreams coming true? No thanks. The best part of the song was the Donovan-esque “there is no mountain.” UTTER CRAP.

Zia | 5/20/2009, 6:24 pm EST

Obviously, this one was the worst. It was a horrible experience to see Adam and Kris singing this. I am an absolute fanatic for Adam, but I almost could not vote for him, imagining ‘No Boundaries’ as a single, his single. I imagined googling him and that song coming up, I imagined going on iTunes and seeing that song, I imagined hearing it at the finale tonight, I imagined hearing it sung at the end of the Idol Tour concert. It was all just so horrible. I spent an hour and eight minutes debating with my sister whether I should vote for Kris instead of Adam so Adam did not have to be saddled with that song.

Really, these songs have to be done away with. I think the worst, aside from No Boundaries, is ‘Inside Your Heaven,’ although since Carrie Underwood was such a personality-less bot it really didn’t matter much. With Adam and Kris it matters–it really matters (sob)!

Ralph Jones | 5/20/2009, 6:35 pm EST

Can Kara already, she’s dragging the show down. She’s hot and less crazy than Paula, but that is no reason to keep her.

Shelby | 5/20/2009, 6:45 pm EST

Yeah, it’s bad. But Adam said it was “beautiful”. Just being nice? And apparently that wasn’t the song he was worried about singing last night. It was “Change is Gonna Come” which IMO was his best performance of the season. Go figure?

mudshark | 5/20/2009, 6:46 pm EST

I’m angry and bitter! Along with millions of others, I’ve been mesmerized by Adam. He’s already larger than life. And I wanted him to go out with a BANG! But making him sing “No boundaries” was like putting sour milk in the gas tank of a Ferrari! Whoever wins, I feel sorry for them. What an awful “song” to hope to start a career with! It’s not even a song. My dog could have written it.

Robin Yudelson | 5/20/2009, 6:56 pm EST

That song was a treacly, gooey, icky mess. A sad that one of these two really talented guys are going to have to put that out as their first single.

blackeyedpea | 5/20/2009, 7:01 pm EST

I’m surprised you’d say that about last year’s song: Time of My Life. That song was a genuine hit, played at the end of the Olympics, on the radio a lot, selling more than a million singles and seems to be the defacto graduation song for every kid graduating in 2009!

And yes, Kara’s song BLEW. very bad.

wow | 5/20/2009, 7:10 pm EST

The song that Kara helped write was horrible. It will be a bad song choice for Adam and Kris. Sucks for who ever wins

janice | 5/20/2009, 7:39 pm EST

Adam Lambert can sing anything and performances make me very happy!

janice | 5/20/2009, 7:40 pm EST

Adam Lambert can sing anything and his performances make me very happy!

janice | 5/20/2009, 7:40 pm EST

Adam Lambert can sing anything and his performances make me very happy!

Liza | 5/20/2009, 7:41 pm EST

Utter crap. They should really reconsider making either Adam or Kris record this junk. Blech.

Does ANYONE think this is a good song? Can anyone hear it without wincing? Or am I just out of touch with pop music today?

malo102 | 5/20/2009, 7:44 pm EST

EVERY seaon ending “winners” song has been sugar sweet pablum for the masses and this seasons is the worst. It took 3 writers to string this thing together. What? each one took a third of the cliche thesaurus to read and contribute from. PURE GARBAGE. it is a shame either one of them will be forced to sing it or be associated with it.

p.s. Kara’s input throughout the season was equally bland and useless so the song is fitting as far as she is concerned.

Idol fan | 5/20/2009, 7:50 pm EST

I really hated both guys’ versions of the song, and the song itself.

But I actually did like Kelly Clarkson and Fantasia’s songs. Though nobody’s performance of the song on the season finale is ever great since they’re always on the verge of crying or actually crying.

I think both guys should have had their own songs to sing. It wasn’t right for either of them.

loveadam | 5/20/2009, 8:40 pm EST

sorry man, this song is just terrible! the melody is nothing special and the lyrics… all i heard was hurricane! crap! the winner should DEFINITELY NOT record the song as it would totally ruin his album! i aboslutely love adam and don’t mind kris but both didn’t quite pull it off. kris looked and sounded like he was running out of oxygen. kinda painful to watch. adam’s performance was more effortless but he is not suited for the song either. frankly, i doubt anyone can make it work!

Shelley | 5/20/2009, 8:46 pm EST

Time of My Life written by Regie Hamm in last year’s finale went platinum, and is still being spun routinely on AC radio. Although sappy, it’s a well written song, and David Cook did a fine job with it, although I know he’s glad to not have to sing it anymore. But this song by Kara is horrible…if neither contestant could sing it, who are both talented but have vastly different styles..that says a lot. So much for her song-writer career. Yes, they should dispense with the cheesefest.

Gracie | 5/20/2009, 8:50 pm EST

I think it’s really unfortunate that whoever wins will be stuck with that song as his first single. It would be torturous to have to hear that on the radio once, but hearing it twice last night was really painful. The song is utterly a piece of garbage, patched together from every hackneyed cliche ever used in the music biz.

I’m a huge Adam fan and would buy just about every one of his singles right now, but I just cannot envision myself ever wanting to listen to this song, whether or not I payed for it. It almost makes me hope that Adam loses so that he’s not stuck with this craptastic song.

Teejay | 5/20/2009, 10:01 pm EST

Kara’s song was the worst piece of crap I have ever heard on idol, bar none!

What a shame to have the last song these two talented contestants had to sing THIS weak, horrible cliche effort… how this ever got past the producers and was allowed on the show is incredible… does Kara have pictures of Simon with a goat or how did she leverage this waste of tape onto the show?

Very sad indeed… I hope the powers that be reconsider releasing it as a single… it should go no further than the floor of the cutting room… period.

coonsy | 5/20/2009, 10:19 pm EST

Well, one of the deals with AI is if you win you pretty much sell your soul for 10 years(sounds about right but im not sure of the exact number) so it serves the winner right. The song sounds like Miley Cyrus’s: cliche, motivational, and incredibly bad

caution | 5/20/2009, 11:35 pm EST

Well, whatever about the song.Whow cares really? Taylor did the best singing job, thats for sure.

sweetsmoke | 5/21/2009, 3:16 am EST

I’d be willing to bet that Do I Make You Proud is sung more often by graduates and other groups than any other Idol Coronation song year after year. It’s inspirational and beautifully sung by Taylor Hicks. It already is a classic.

sven11 | 5/21/2009, 6:48 am EST

I pretty much agree with what everyone says here. kara’s song is TOTALLY crap and feel sorry for kris getting stuck with it. I guess now there is one upside to Adam losing.

Denise | 5/21/2009, 12:06 pm EST

This song is a perfect of example of ‘who you know’. What a total piece of crap song…AND it took 3 people to ‘write’ it! What a joke. Kara should be hiding in shame. With all the amazing talent available in this world, how did this song ever even get considered, let alone actually produced and aired? I’d love to get the behind the scenes info on who, how and why this song was ever made it out to the public. What a joke!

Anonymous | 5/21/2009, 12:21 pm EST

Kara is a nice gal, but SO BORING and the song is unbelievably treacly. I cannot imagine it being Chris’s first single! I like him, but I would NOT buy this song. Who in the world allowed this song to be chosen?? That’s the person who needs to be fired.

rland77 | 5/21/2009, 12:25 pm EST

I think the word “boundaries” is the stupidest word ever to show up in a chorus, ever. It sounds weird and it’s impossible to sing. Otherwise I’d say this is in the middle of good to bad – mediocre verse, totally awful chorus. Here’s a free verse for next years crapfest:
“A stich in time saves nine,
It’s always dark before dawn,
Objects in the rearview mirror
may appear big before too long”

Amber | 5/21/2009, 12:35 pm EST

I think all these songs were cheezy but I don’t think “No Boundaries” was the worst. I think the worst was Ruban’s song “Flying without Wings”. I still fall asleep when I hear that! The best song was Carrie’s “Inside Your Heaven”..only because it’s Carrie and she made that song interesting. I am glad Kris won and I do like his version better. He sang it better on the finale too. I just don’t think it will be well recieved..so I’m praying for a Kris Allen CD soon and can’t wait to see him here in Tulsa OK in July! WAY TO GO KRIS!!

sara | 5/21/2009, 1:14 pm EST

The song is absolutely horrible. Even with Adam singing. It makes me want to vomit

J | 5/21/2009, 4:04 pm EST

well i hated the live performances of No Boundaries but actually quite like the studio versions, especially Adam’s.

My personal ranking:
1. I Believe
2. A Moment Like This
3. Inside Your Heaven
4. Do I Make You Proud
5. No Boundaries
6. Flying Without Wings
7. Time of My Life
8. This Is My Now

abliable | 5/21/2009, 4:46 pm EST

I thought the song was cliched but it sounded pretty good sung- good melody.

Sister Titty Titty Gang Bang | 5/21/2009, 5:48 pm EST

That song is HORRIBLE. I would think they would want the new AI star to have a HIT!? As my good friend said, “I could eat the sheet music to that song and then shit a better one!” I am an Adam fan, but I am okay with him losing just so he will never have to sing that piece of poo EVER again. Kara, you have a good voice, maybe you should try SINGING….

kris fann | 5/21/2009, 5:56 pm EST

I THINKK THEE SONGG IS VERY APPROPRIATEE FOR THE WINNER IF YOU LISTEN TO THE LYRICS DUMB ASSESS ITS FITS THE WHOLE WINNING OF AMERICAN IDOL

U TRY TOO SITT THERE ANDD WRITE A SONG AND… TELL ME HOW THAT WORKS OUT DONT BASH KARA CUZ SHE HAS WRITTEN MILLIONS OF GOOD SONGS SOO LOOK AT ONEE OF UR FAVORITE ARTISTS SONGS BET KARA WROTE IT ;)

LoveCheese but not this! | 5/21/2009, 6:25 pm EST

Yes, “No Boundaries” tops my list of sappy songs. I’m not a songwriter, but I’m pret-ty sure I could’ve done better.

Personally I hated “Moment Like This”…I thought THAT was cheesy. There are way too many songs with “Moment” in them. Yuck. True it had a memorable hook in the tune, tho.

“This is My Now” is the third worse. The title alone is a turn off, like a “cheese alert!”

For that matter, most of the titles are “chesse alerts”. *LOL*

I liked Taylor’s and David’s songs the best.

queezy | 5/21/2009, 7:40 pm EST

No Boundaries song was baaaad. Sappy crappy radio pop. I can’t imagine anyone buying this song. Kara can do a lot better than this. Makes me wonder if she actually wrote it, or just put her name to it for promotion. AI should be ashamed to play favorites like this. Historically, the worst song is Do I Make You Proud, but this one is a reeeeeal close second.

strix | 5/21/2009, 9:15 pm EST

“No Boundaries” sounded better when Kris sang it after he won…the night before when both he & Adam sang it, I thought it was horrible, but maybe it is one of those songs that grows on you, I wish they would have done the Idol Songwriter contest again to let the fans vote for their fav…Ruben’s Flying Without Wings was a recycled song…hmmmm, Simons creation in Ireland, the Mega-boyband, Westlife did the song first and thought Ruben ruined it – they were right…Sorry Westlife!

devestated aussie | 5/21/2009, 10:47 pm EST

I am still devestated that America voted for Kris – a nice boy with a nice voice – which adds up to totally forgettable! I can’t remember the last time I saw someone as talented & charismatic as Adam and I waited eagerly each week for his next version of a great song – and he NEVER disappointed.

I was always a bit worried that conservative America would go for the bland boy-next-door rather than exception talent which defied boundaries. It was very frustrating each week not to be able to vote.

The one shining light about the result of AI is that Adam won’t have to record that truly dreadful, schmaltzy, boring, tuneless ’song’ served up by Kara & friends. I’d never heard of her before this year and if that is an example of her talent(?) then she should be very grateful to have a second job on AI.

But to move on I can’t wait to hear Adam’s first release.

very very, mad world | 5/22/2009, 3:00 am EST

With remarks made that the runner up has a better success than the winner. It goes without saying. ADAM LAMBERT shouldve been the American Idol. I think Adam has been the winner hands down all along. So where the heck do they come on Kris winning. He couldnt even hit those high notes of that horrible no boundaries song.

from
very very, mad world

very very, mad world | 5/22/2009, 3:01 am EST

With remarks made that the runner up has a better success than the winner. It goes without saying. ADAM LAMBERT should have been the American Idol. I think Adam has been the winner hands down all along. So where the heck do they come on Kris winning. He could not even hit those high notes of that horrible no boundaries song.

from
very very, mad world

Annie | 5/22/2009, 1:11 pm EST

Terrible song – not only cliche, but the tune was awful – the lyrics were clunkers – they had no flow to them whatsoever. I think this is the worst Idol song I’ve ever heard. They should stop writing these schlocky winners’ songs. Give them something decent for goodness sake!!

jimbo | 5/22/2009, 9:42 pm EST

I loved “No Boundraies”. It rocked. I don’t see how people think Adam’s better than Kris. They are the confused one’s.

oasiscom | 5/22/2009, 10:55 pm EST

Noticed that none of the judges talked about Allen’s singing but only “you’ve done a good job this season” thingy?! The song sucked so bad that Simon had to restrain with “not judge about the song”?! And Kara the ultimate show-off with “you made the song proud blah blah blah?!”

ak | 5/22/2009, 11:57 pm EST

im glad kris won.
this show is about finding RAW TALENT that can be improved upon, NOT already polished perfections.

look at kelly clarkson and carrie underwood. they were by far not the frontrunners of their season but ended up to be at the very end due to their improvement.

D BUTLER | 5/23/2009, 1:59 am EST

I think Adam did the best he could with it, like he did everything he was given, but it WAS too cliche. But I don’t understand how people think Kris sang it better when he sounded strained through the whole thing, and his ending was so flat… oh well.

Raquel from Arizona | 5/23/2009, 4:18 am EST

This was the only season in which I picked a favorite early on (Adam), and caught the show and its horrors every week to see if he would survive. The finale was the biggest disappointment in my entire Idol failure library. The best vocalist lost, *and* was kicked in the teeth when the judges said Kris sang “No Boundaries” the best. This is judgmental and harsh, but I’ll say it anyway: the best thing Kara has created for Idol was her bikini body because it benefited a charity. Bring Sanjaya back on stage before subjecting the public to that [useless sugar sprinkled chicken turd] song- at least he was fun.

chrisinuae | 5/23/2009, 9:44 am EST

Really lame song..I felt sorry for Adam, especially having to sing it..so corny..and Kara was proud..paaalessse, it was lame!

n*dawg | 5/23/2009, 5:56 pm EST

When Adam sang the song it sounded like utter CRAP!! I just goes to show that he is a COVER ARTIST and can’t sing anything original! At least when Kris sang it, it sounded like a real song that could be on the radio… I think Adam’s version sounded strained and choppy and he didn’t know what to do with it. Obviously it’s not a “screaming” song so he can’t do it. Kris rocked the entire night! I am so glad he got to go 2nd so he could show Adam up EVERY chance he got… and he did! It got really hard to sit through all the judges blowing smoke up Adam’s bum every time he took the stage. I am so glad America is smart enough to know not to listen to the judges!!

Bot | 5/23/2009, 9:06 pm EST

‘No Boundaries’ was the worst of them all. If Adam(soft rock version) or Kris(adult contemporary version) cannot please both of their fans with this song, then we all know its going to fail miserably at the charts.

Mel | 5/24/2009, 10:35 am EST

Inside Your Heaven was definitely the worst by a glory mile, then Do I Make You Proud – such boring, nothing songs.

I absolutely LOVE Adam’s studio version of No Boundaries. He’s turned a mediocre song into one that has no boundaries!! It’s FABULOUS!! Adam is a STAR!!

lor lor | 5/24/2009, 1:17 pm EST

probably the best three songs the Idols sang were
1. This is My now
2. Time of my Life
3. A moment like this

the “No Boundaries” song was just completly un original, it had absolutely no creativity in it.
if it were me I would have mistaken it for Miley’s song “the climb” with the “with everystep you climb another mountain, and every breath its harder to believe”

obviously she made the song overly cliche-ish and corny.

it was sooo unoriginal

no name | 5/24/2009, 5:20 pm EST

totally agree with what mel said. bad song, but adam did GREAT!!! but he always does great.he can make any song sound good:)
i liked his performance, hated the song, and don’t like kara that much. GO ADAM!!!!!!

kalila | 5/25/2009, 9:48 am EST

NO BOUNDARIES works for me. It grows on me. And the longer I listen to the song, the more I see myself in a better light. =)

Kudos to Kara. And to Kris whose own journey to the realization of his dream births spirit to the song.

THERE ARE NO BOUNDARIES TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE!

Blech | 5/25/2009, 11:21 am EST

“No Boundaries” should go down as one of the worst pop songs ever created. Lyrics are utter nonsense, but more importantly, it is musically awkward. Odd key changes, non-intuitive notes. Kara has had a part in some truly catchy, enjoyable songs (Ashlee Simpson owes her career to Kara’s pen), but “No Boundaies” is not one of them.

Ben | 5/25/2009, 11:35 am EST

I absolutely love “No Boundaries!!!” I can’t stop listening to it!

:) | 5/25/2009, 4:18 pm EST

i love adam, but when he sang no boundaries he sounded really bad! i mean it was horrible. and the judges couldn’t say anything bad without insulting karas (horrible) song, so all they said was you’ve done so good this season and we’ve loved having you on the show. i mean come on really? when kris sang it at least it sounded like a song, cuz i love him too.

Katie | 5/25/2009, 5:44 pm EST

Joel McHale said it on his show, “The Soup,” but Adam really is the real winner for not having to put this on his album and sing it on the tour. Adam deserved to win anyway, but I am so glad this will not be on the album and he won’t have to waste one of his songs singing this. His studio recording is sooo much better than what he did live and it’s better than Kris’s. I

motherbear | 5/25/2009, 10:54 pm EST

I went to the tubey site and listened to both studio versions of “No Boundries” by Adam and Kris. Adams version really made me forget how corny the lyrics sounded, and I kind of really liked the whole sound and vibe to it. I could actually see how this one would play well on radio stations.
Kris’, while being alright, just takes on the corny take of the song and does not scream “Hit” to me.
I can see Adams at least staying on the charts down the road.

jfb | 5/27/2009, 8:07 am EST

The song grows on you. Kris CAN’T sing it at all. But, Kris’s vocal range and talent are limited at best. If you listen to the Studio version, Adam nails it. I am coming to terms with the Idol outcome. I realize more and more how very talented and humble Adam is so he will be the real winner with a long and glorius career.

jansenark | 5/30/2009, 12:02 pm EST

KRIS WON….ADAM WON…..

I’m from Arkansas and I loved Kris.

I’m of an age where the screaming rock music doesn’t appeal to me..and believe me there are a lot of us that vote…not teeny boppers.

I listened to Matt Lauer of the Today Show (who never watched AI) as he commented on clips from the show. Meredith asked him to choose who would have the LONGER career based on the clips he saw. His answer: Kris…because of the type of music.

My opinion on why the voting % was given out…..KRIS WON BY AN OVERWHELMING MARGIN and the show and the judges didn’t want to look stupid for pushing Adam all season!
Access Hollywood reported this same info.

If this was not true, why doesn’t AI just give us the vote tally like they have in all the previous years?

Ariana | 6/5/2009, 6:58 pm EST

I think I might be the only person on the face of the planet who actually LIKES “No Boundaries”.

I genuinley do: I like the lyrics-cliche, yes, but it’s got a good meaning and it relates to their journeys on Idol. I like both versions, however, I prefer Adam’s because I think that his musical arrangement is better suited for such powerful lyrics. I liked the beat, I liked the music, liked the sound….I don’t know, I just actually liked this song. I thought it was a good way to end the season, but I guess I’m the only person who does!

I thought this was a step up from the other singles, actually. “Time Of My Life” was hands down the best, but for me, all the others blew! “Time of my Life” and “No Boundaries” are the only ones that I like.

Bryan | 6/6/2009, 11:48 am EST

Taylor Hicks Do I Make You Proud is the best of all the winners songs. Taylor got a gold record for sellling 500,000 singles in a very short time. Over the years Taylor has received more cruel and totally un-called for bashing from so called web journalists like yourself who just really copy what others say with no real grounds. I suppose it gets a cheap snigger. Lets bash Taylor Hicks co’s it’s the done thing.no worse than playground bullying Shame,because Taylor has an amazing voice and has suceeded with barely the minimum of promotion from AI. Time to start giving him some credit I think.

Elaine | 6/18/2009, 11:33 am EST

That boy’s going to be scarred for life!

malamusa | 8/23/2009, 3:10 am EST

Adam-hands down. He was able to take a piece of ‘bubble gum’ and turnit into something that could stick. He’s amazing and I am anxiously waiting to hear from him again

Sandy | 10/8/2009, 9:14 pm EST

Without Paula on the show ,I will no longer watch american idol.
I will be at the gym working out,
because i don,t like Kara, all she talks about is peoples chops .
Will someone tell her that chops are teeth, not vocal cords!
I bet this is the year 2010 that the ratings will start to tumble down.
shoulda gave Paula the money!

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