American Idol - The Finale Part 1

The acoustic rocker vs. the glam rocker is how Seacrest decribes the final showdown between Adam Lambert and Kris Allen. Or, the guy next door vs. the guyliner. Good one. Kris is certainly the underdog here, and it was a tremendous victory for democracy that Kris Allen is here in the finale instead of Danny Gokey, who was widely expected to be here tonight with Lambert. I am very happy with this result, and even feel like it's possible that Kris could pull off what would be one of the great upsets in American Idol history.


3 songs each tonight, one contestant favorite, one selected by American Idol creator Simon Fuller and one written by Kara LaGuardia.

Adam Lambert is up first and has chosen "Mad World", and descends down a foggy staircase in a menacing trenchcoat. The stage is now covered with smoke and this seems even spookier than the first time he did it. He looks like a villian. Seen it before dude. It reminds Simon of Phantom of the Opera.

Kris Allen's choice is "Aint No Sunshine" and it's a brilliant choice. One of his best from the season, and shows his versatility playing the piano. If the screams from the young girls in the audience are any indication, Kris has a chance in this thing. Randy in his ridiculous suit thinks it was one of Kris' best performances. Kara has more good things to say about Kris than ever before, and Simon admits he was unsure about America's selection last week but now is on board and even awards a Round 1 victory to Kris Allen. Nice.

Adam Lambert's second song for the night, chosen by Producer Simon Fuller, is Sam Cooke's "Change Gonna Come", and he takes it remarkably easy on the song at first, then gives it a few trademark Lambert screams towards the end. Adam mysteriously sings at the end of the song "My change is gonna come" rather than the lyrics "A change gonna come." Overall it was a pretty good performance, not nearly as cringe inducing as many of his past performances. Judges are once again in awe of the Lambert and Simon proclaims he is back in the competition.


Kris Allen was done a huge favor when Simon Fuller chose "What's Goin On", the Marvin Gaye classic. He sang with emotion, rocked his acoustic guitar and the hand drummers were a nice touch. Kris lucked out with the selection there, and held his own that round but Simon happily gives Round 2, one million percent, to Adam Lambert.

"No Boundaries" is the new single by either Adam Lambert or Kris Allen, depending on who wins the competition. It was co-written by hit song maker/judge Kara Laguardia. It rhymes pain and hurricane, repeatedly mentions climbing mountains and generally sounds like a cheap concocted pop scheme song. The crowd goes wild. Randy says he could sing he phone book, and he would have preferred it. No he doesn't say that last part, but probably thought it. Slam to Kara and her two co-writers, but Kara couldn't be prouder. Perhaps she wrote the song for Adam, and not necessarily for Kris Allen.

Kris Allen closes out the season of performances with a spirited, if a little awkward rendition of the same song, "No Boundaries." I can honestly say though, even though it is a typically trite pop song, I guess I wouldn't mind hearing it on the radio as performed by Kris Allen. Hopefully enough millions of people agree. Randy thinks the song may be better suited to Kris' voice than Adam's. Kara and Paula congratulate him on a great season, and seem to be saying good job runner up. Simon thinks his first was his best and seems to be giving round three the Lambert. Predictable.

I am expecting upwards of 100 million votes to be cast in this Finale, and a Kris Allen win would be spectacular.