Season 8: Finale...The Climb

Well, Season 8 has almost come to a close. We ended up with the guy everyone knew would make it to the finale and the guy nobody guessed would ever make it (literally, NOBODY guessed that Kris would be the winner). Personally, I felt disappointed by Season 8. It seems like we had a lack of dynamic personalities among the Top 13 this season...nobody laughed, nobody really cried that much...there were a few annoying characters, but there really wasn't that "connection" (to employ a grossly over-used Idol term here) with the contestants as we have had in the past. Does anyone remember seeing David Cook moved to tears last season after his performance during Mariah Carey week? Or Carly Smithson finally giving the performance we all knew she was capable of with Broadway week, only to be sent packing the next night? This season to me was so mild, so emotionless, and so.....boring. I'm not sure if I can stomach another one...unless, of course, another David Cook comes along, or maybe an Allison Iraheta for next season. We'll just have to wait and see what Season 9 has in store for Idol, I suppose.

Adam - Mad World. Adam chose to don a vampire coat and then proceeded to make wide-eyed creepy vampire eyes at us through the camera during this performance. I thought his vocals sounded good, although this encore performance lacked the "moment" that his original had. This performance was way over-the-top as far as the drama was concerned. The fog machines and the pandering to the cameras was overkill for me (for you). Rating: 8


Kris - Ain't No Sunshine. Kris, on the other hand, chose to sit behind the piano and give a performance that was more earnest, more emotional and more raw than his first try. I think he had an absolutely stellar performance this time, and rather than relying on theatrics, he allowed his musicality to shine. Rating: 9

Adam - A Change is Gonna Come. I think this song was a very good choice for Adam. It allowed him to scale things back a little and to sing in his lower register, which, according to my calculations, we have heard a total of once this entire season. Adam's voice sounded incredible with this performance. If you closed your eyes while he was singing, you would have thought it was a large woman in a gospel choir. I don't know if that would generally be taken as a compliment, but I definitely mean it in the highest regard. Rating: 9

Kris - What's Goin' On. I am playing the SABOTAGE card here with Simon Fuller's choice for Kris! It is not fair in the least for the American Idol people to require Kris to sing a politically-themed anti-war song, considering Kris's roots (the Church, and the South) and his fan base. That was a low-blow, Idol people. I can't say that I'm surprised, though. Kris did not seem like he connected to this song as much as his last song, but he still did his job and performed the song well. I think Kris's vocals sounded great, but he lacked the charisma Adam had with his song on this round. And why in the world did Randy critique Kris for this song choice? Do the judges listen at all to what's going on around them (please do not think there was an intended pun there..it's not my style)? Rating: 8

No Boundaries - This year's coronation song happens to share a name with a clothing and accessories brand carried in Wal-Mart stores. Funny, both the brand and the song (and its writer) are generic, cheap, and about a decade behind. And the lyrics to this song sound eerily similar to a Hannah Montana song (the only reason I know the Hannah Montana song is because it has been on the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown which I watch every Saturday morning when I wake up earlier than I wanted to). I would encourage you to listen to the Hannah Montana song "The Climb" and then listen to "No Boundaries"..if your stomach can handle that much cheese in one sitting. I'm telling you, Kara should be arrested for plagiarism. On a positive note, though, at least this year's coronation song contains no magic rainbows on the horizon.

Adam - This song is so clearly not Adam's cup of tea. His voice did not sound right singing those lyrics. He hit some bad notes and fell behind the tempo of the song a little bit. It was one of Adam's weakest performances of the season in my mind. Rating: 6

Kris - Kris also hit some bum notes in his performance, and he got a little screamy toward the end. I don't know if the song was in the right key or the wrong key or what, but I think he flubbed a couple of lyrics, too. I do think, though, that Kris sounded much more natural with this song than Adam did. Rating: 7

Here are some bonus questions for you (one question for each of the Top 13--even Gokey)....once again, you will receive bonus points based on how quickly you answer the questions:

1. How many times during tonight's show did someone use the phrase "dark horse"?
2. Who originally sang this year's goodbye song "Home Sweet Home" which was performed by
Carrie Underwood tonight?
3. What season 7 finalist was shown in the audience of tonight's show?
4. What happened to Paula's hair?
5. What did Adam's parents say he didn't do until he was 18 months old?
6. How much did Kris charge his parents to sing for them when he was a kid?
7. How many times did Randy say "Check it out"?
8. How many times did Kara say "artist"?
9. How many times did Paula stand up while she was talking?
10.How many times did Simon say "look"?
11.How many times did someone say "True to yourself"?
12.How many times did someone say "American Idol"?
13.How many times did someone say "iTunes"?