AI Season 8 Final Show 05/20/09

Hi Everyone:

Well here it is, almost noon time, and I’m STILL upset over last night’s results. But let’s start from the beginning.

We have a reunion of the Top 13 all dressed in white singing “So What”. Good to see them again.

Tonight Randy has a BIG red bowtie on and looks very dapper.

Paula is dressed in gold.

Kara is dressed in black (I think)

and Simon has his OPEN button down shirt and grey suit on tonight.

We show the ‘catch” phrases over the season.

Randy: Me/Me/Me

Paula: Everyone’s “Sweetie”

Paula: words, words, words

Simon: What? What? I don’t understand. What?

Good Ole’ Mikalah Gordon (her of the Fran Drescher voice fame) is in AR with all the Kris Allen fans.

Carly Smithson (last year’s Irish lass) is in San Diego with the Adam fans.

Just about 100M votes came in last night….

We now have David Cook (our reigning Idol) singing his new song, Permanent from his CD. What touching words. I almost get the feeling that he is singing it about his brother, Adam who passed away recently. He was telling Ryan that it was ‘Great to be home’ meaning the Nokia stage.

We are going to have those stupid Golden Idol awards again this year.

First up is ’silliest’ male performance.

Will Kunuck
Michael Gurr
Elyajah Scarlett (loved the deep voice on him)
Dan Anthony Bradford
AND….Nick Mitchell aka Norman Gentle.

Well when Norman won, he came up on the stage and just had a sweatsuit on and said he had NO IDEA that he was going to win anything. He then stepped back and unvelcrowed his suit and there was the Norman Gentle we all know and love and he BELTED out, “And I Am Telling You” again and was absolutely hysterical. Lots of fun from Norman.

Afterwards the camera panned in on Ryan wearing Norman’s glasses and red headband – looking comfortable I might add.

Now here’s Lil Rounds singing with Queen Latifah, “Que The Rain”. It’s OK. Queen looks darn good.

Anoop sings with Jason Maraz and then the rest of the guys come out to sing with him (I think the gals did too) song: I’m Yours (I thought Kris would sing along with Jason..hmmm, wonder who they’ve got chosen to sing with Kris?)

I know sooner get those words out of my mouth than out walks Kris Allen along with Keith Urban…both playing guitars and singing, Kiss A Girl. They’re just two country boys having fun. (wonder if Nicole is in the audience?)

Now we have the girls come out looking mighty hot like Pussycat Dolls and who comes out to sing with them than FERGIE. Really cool. (lucky Josh)
Now she calls out the Blackeyed Peas to sing and the house is pumping and the Nokia theatre is rocking and I’m just too old to get it!

Let’s give out some more Golden Idols:
Best Attitude:

Bikini Girl
Crazy Girl (who gave Simon the finger)
Tiffany Shedd
Katrina (bikini girl wins) and comes out on the stage with her bikini on. I thought Simon and Randy would have heart attacks. Ryan says, “You look a little different from the last time I saw you (that’s because she had a boob job). Ryan asks her to sing and she takes to the stage and tries to sing and from behind the curtains comes Kara (now remember when Bikini Girl was auditioning…she told Kara she didn’t have much of a voice?) I think they were singing a Dionne Warwick song.
Anyway, at the end of the song, Kara pulls her dress apart and shows she has one great looking body in a bikini!). She said she did it for charity.

Allison is up next and is duetting with Cyndi Lauper to Time After Time. Cyndi is playing some type of harpsicord on her lap. Actually they are blending very well together…good job.

We talk to Kris Allen’s parents for a few minutes. She looks very pretty in a red, one shoulder gown. Hope Dad doesn’t cry if Kris wins (not that that is going to happen..)

Ryan comes across the stage and talks to Adam’s parents (he looks just like both of them).

Danny Gokey sings, “Hello” by Lionel Richie and…here comes Lionel to sing a few songs with him. AND he’s got the COAT on!!!

Next there’s ADAM singing a KISS song and dressed just like them with the big boots and leather jacket with wings. AND….you guessed it…here’s KISS themselves. Boy these guys may be OLD but can they put on a show. I’m talking pyrotechnics like crazy. And lost in the middle is Adam singing away..becomes one with KISS. Great idea.

Carlos Santana is next to take the stage. He is sooo talented playing his guitar. And here’s Matt Girard to sing, “Or Else Forget About It” or whatever and it’s just great.

We are now going to see the last FORD commercial (ohhh, I forgot, earlier in the day David Cook presented Adam and Kris, on behalf of FORD, a 2010 Ford Fusion. Kris said he really needed a car. Adam was very grateful too).

Now this next bit seemed a little strange but I guess Steve Martin (YES…the comedian) wanted to be a part of the show so he wrote a song and had Megan Joy and Mike Sarver sing along with Steve playing his banjo….not bad idea.

We now have the boys comes out to sing a ROD STEWART song. (you’re not going to tell me that HE is here are you????) YES, I am cause out comes Rod sinnging his signature song, Maggie May. Great, Great, Great.

By the way there are many celebrities as well as past Idols in the audience tonight.

They do another Golden Idol and Tatiana gets it and there’s a stupid bit trying to get her off the stage (Ruben Studdard doesn’t know what to make of it).

Both Adam and Kris come out on stage and are singing a QUEEN song. Now this is cool because I heard that they would love to have Adam be their new front man. I say, “There is no way QUEEN is here tonight. Not without Freddie.” I no sooner got those words out when out comes QUEEN (is this a show or what folks?).

Adam is in his glory and Kris is keeping up too.

Finally…we are here at last. It’s 9:55 so please let us know who won. Ryan asks Simon one more time if he wants to say anything and Simon says, “You are both brilliant and both deserve to win and will both have great careers (inside I’m thinking ADAM)…”

Now Ryan says, “After almost 100M votes were counted, the 2009 American Idol is: (now I’m on my couch, with my hands raised saying RAISE THE ROOF for ADAM folks…and my friends are quietly saying, Joanie, it’s gonna be Kris…and I say, No …. way!) and I hear KRIS ALLEN. I am now in a state of shock…Kris is in a state of shock. Simon isn’t even standing up he’s so stunned. Adam is very gracious hugging Kris and congratulating him.

OK….so let’s face it, it is now 12:40 on Thursday. I’m just about calmed down from last night and, frankly, feeling pretty good. I’m rationalizing that Adam doesn’t have to make a crappy CD. He doesn’t have to sing that crappy song anymore and he is in control of his own destiny after the Tour is over (see you in Sept!). These are all good things. I’m not saying Kris is not talented…he is. Adam is the star though.

As Paula said on Tuesday night, “Adam I am a fan of yours and will be for many, many years to come.”

And…Simon…well we know how he felt.

So Season 8 is now history. We don’t do this again until next Jan.

Will Paula and Kara still be judges? We’ll have to wait and see.

So You Think You Can Dance will start tonight and I will probably do a blog on it once it gets to the Top 20. Hopefully I can handle Mary and her Hot Tamale Train voice!!!

Ohhhh, I’m almost sad to see AI go even though it consumed like 5 months of my time!!

Talk to you soon people.

Once again, yes, you heard right…Kris Allen is your American Idol.

Joanie

AI Top 2 Finals – 05/19/09

Hi Everyone:

Well it was quite a nite of singing and ‘celebrity star gazing’…saw Anthony Hopkins, Kathy Bates, Katie Holmes plus some of the past Idols and this seasons’ contestants.

It was VERY exciting because we were in the Nokia Theatre.

Tonight the Adam and Kris will sing 3 songs; the first will be their personal favorite of the seaon the second will be on that Simon Fuller one of the show’s creators has chosen and the third will be the ‘new’ song that Kara was chosen to cowrite. (hope it’s better than past winners although David’s last year wasn’t too bad).

Let’s get this party started:

Adam is first and will sing MAD WORLD by Tears for Fears. I had a feeling he’d choose this one. This is the song that Simon gave hi a standing ovation for. Tonight he’s at the top of the stairs and the ’smoke’ is billowing everywhere and he has what I liked to call, THE COAT, on. I’ve been a fan of THE COAT ever since I saw Nic Cage wear it in the movie FACE OFF…ya know, where he gets off the plane and the wind catches it… Anyway, let’s get back to Adam. It’s sheer perfection in my eyes which is no surprise to anyone who has read my blog this season. He’s been my favorite all along. I love the voice, the looks, the theatrics (even).

Randy: Love your sensitive side dude and I love the coat! A+ in my book.

Kara: So happy you chose that song. You rocked it again.

Paula: I’m so proud of you. (ya see, the reason I don’t sometimes quote Paula is she tends to go off into left field because she is sooo excited for the contestant).
By the way, I like her in green.

Simon: That was the performance I loved the most from you this season however, I think tonight, with the coat and the theatrics, it was more like Phantom of the Opera (which reminds me…here I go again on another rant..there is a show on Sunday nights called ANY DREAM WILL DO looking for another Joseph for Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s play. Sorry about that. Once again, I got off track..talk about Paula!)

Kris will sing AIN’T NO SUNSHINE WHEN SHE’S GONE by Bill Withers. Another smart choice. This is the song that got him into the finals and booted Danny Gokey from the competition (of course DREAM ON didn’t help either). Kris sat at the piano and didn’t a mellow, laid back version of the song. It was very pleasant but not star quality. Nice job for Kris though.

Randy: You can tell what kind of artist you are going to be and I like that about you.

Kara: You have to feel a Kris Allen performance. You have unbelievable skills.

Paula: You were good….

Simon: When your name was announced last week, frankly I wasn’t sure America got it right. After that performance, I changed my mind.

Ryan asked Simon: OK, after Round 1, who won? Simon said, KRIS

For Round Two Simon Fuller has chosen A CHANGE IS GONNA COME by Sam Cooke for Adam to sing.

Adam sings this with little or no accompiamet(the mind has gone blank on the spelling!). I love the suit and the way he sings this song, brings us into a story of the 60s when the Blacks were struggling so hard to be heard. Excellent job…very heartfelt.

Randy: R&B legend Sam Cooke would love your version of this song Adam. From Day One, I knew you had it in you to be someone special. For me, that was unbelievable; better than the original.

Kara: That’s the best performance from you all season.

Paula: The best I’ve heard you sing……

Simon: Whatever happens here tonight YOU are going to be iconic!!!!

Simon Fuller chose WHAT’S GOIN ON by Marvin Gaye. This time Kris chose to accompany himself (that’s better for me) with his guitar. Another laid back, repetitive song. One that he did NOT choose but he did an admirable job. Kris is such a sweet kid. This show will take him along way.

Randy: You are one real life dude. It was a little light for a show like tonight’s though. (NOT his choice Randy)

Kara: This was another socially conscious song.
Very good.

Paula: You made Marvin Gaye very proud.

Simon: It sounded to me like 3 friends getting together in someone’s living room, hanging out. Much too laid back for tonight.

Ryan: OK Simon, Round One was Kris; who does Round Two go to? Simon pauses and says, “Adam 1M%”

Soooo, it’s all down to this. The last song of the competition. One that, in the past, has been brutal. Let’s see what Kara does with this song. It’s called NO BOUNDARIES

Adam’s up first and he gives it his all but the song is doing nothing for me. Don’t like it..but I DO like Adam. (have I told you that before?)

Randy: It was just OK for me.

Kara: You are amazing and I am so proud that you got to sing a song that I cowrote (blah blah).

Paula: I’m in awe of you and am a fan of yours and will continue to be a fan for many years to come.

Simon: I’m not going to judge you on that performance but on your whole season. You probably are the best original singer we’ve EVER had on this show. Every year we hope to find a star. In your case, there’s no doubt that we have.

OK, poor Kris has to follow that with a crappy song to boot. Of course he has a more mellow version of it and frankly it is more saleable than Adam’s.

Randy: You should be proud of what you have done this season. I think it was better than Adam’s.

Kara: I think it was a little too high for your range (whoops…did she do that on purpose knowing Adam would have no trouble?).

Paula: This has been one compelling finals.

Simon: Watching you tonight shows how far you have come from the shy, quiet kid with no confidence that we saw when you first walked in to the confident star quality singer you are today. You deserve to be standing on that stage tonight.

Nice words from Simon.

So there you have it.
Tomorrow is the 2 hour PLUS finale. Set those DVRs/TiVos or, in my case, VCR for another half hour…cause it will be a long one.

Now everyone has four hours to vote….get those fingers limbered up and away we go!!!

See you tomorrow and I’m sure we will see the winner on ALL the talk shows for a while to come!!!!

Joanie

AI Top 3 Results Show – 05/13/09

Morning Everyone:

Let me start by saying that, after last night’s show, I had to take a ZANTAC my stomach was in knots….I can’t stand the pressure. God knows what I’ll be like next week….
———————–
OK, we started the show with Ben Stiller and his costars for his new “Museum” pic. They were funny. I never realized how small Ben is….

Here’s Ryan comin down those stairs again.

He said that there were 88M votes counted last night and there was 1M votes separating the Top 2.

They then showed the last Ford Commercial. I thought it was cool jumping back and forth from real to animated like.

Here’s Alicia Keys (she is sooo pretty) to talk about the suffering in Rawanda(I hope I got that spelling right or George Clooney will kill me!). She was over there recently and brought back a young boy named Noah and he is going to sing a song tonight in English that took him just a week to learn (I’m assuming he doesn’t speak English which means it must have been very hard for him). Alicia’s cause is named: Keep A Child Alive. Noah then sings with a big group backing him up and he is just amazing!!!

Back to the show. Ryan says that next week will be at the Nokia Theater!

He brings out Danny and they talk about his visit to his hometown in Milwaukee. He hooks up with his pal, Jamar who competed this season but didn’t quite make the cut. It was a fun time for him. Lots of kids screaming. Jamar rode in the limo with him as well as his family. They had a parade too. He was so touched but everything and everyone.

Then Ryan goes thru a recap of last night’s songs and the Judges’ remarks and he is then asked to go take a seat on the stools. (OK?)

Next, Ryan brings Kris out. He is from Conway, AR (Arkansas, that’s Bill Clinton territory!!!). By the way, all these kids flew in private jets to their hometown. Wouldn’t that be cool if someday, they’ll actually own one!!!
Anyway, Kris goes to his family home and his dad is sooo proud of him, he’s crying like crazy. Kris’s wife is there too and the whole family piles into the limo and they go to Little Rock…WOW, look at all the kids who love Kris.

Now Ryan asks to dim the lights and he does a recap of last night’s songs….etc. Then he asks Kris to take a seat next to Danny.

Jordin Sparks comes out to sing her latest single, Battlefield. She is being accompanied on the piano by a member of OneRepublic. As you all recall, Jordin is the S6 winner. Now as I’m watching her, I’m noticing how much she has changed. She is a young lady now, growing up to be very beautiful. In fact, for those of you who watch Grey’s Anatomy, doesn’t she remind you of the doctor who married O’Malley and is now in a relationship with a woman???? Just throwing that out there.

Alright folks, let’s bring ADAM out here. Soooo hot Adam… OK, Ryan talks to Adam about visiting his hometown of SSan Diego and the gril who, Adam says, got so excited that she jumped on the stage ‘topless’!!! Obviously, being a family show, we didn’t get to see it. (bet it’s on YouTube!). So here’s Adam flying in the private jet….stepping out of the limo (LUV those sunglasses!) and what a crowd to see him. He is so humbled by all the attention and has such a good time. He tries to please everyone, signing autographs, visiting his school where he was an actor. This little boy asked him how to become famous and Adam (by the way, the kid couldn’t have been more than 8!) told him to work very hard and not give up. He said he was this boy’s age when he started and worked at his craft every day. They then went to a Marine Station where he sang the Star Spangled Banner (I think). All in all, thousands (as there were with the other two finalists) flocking to see him….

Then Ryan does the recap, etc…go sit beside Danny and Kris.

Then Ryan talks with the kids and Danny just wants this to be over and Ryan says, Not Before We Watch Katy Perry! Adam is jacked to see Katy. Ryan says she’s got like a small ‘army’ with her to perform…so here she is to sing her latest single, Waking Up In Vegas…Katy Perry.

Oh boy, this is so cool. She comes out dressed like Elvis and the cape says ADAM on it! A whole big production number. Wish I could say I like the tune but it’s not as catchy as I Kissed A Girl!

Alright, it is now 9:55 and we’ve got to get this over with…..

Ryan has the 3 boys stand beside him. He calls out Kris’s name and says, “After 88M votes, Kris YOU ARE IN THE FINALS! Go take a seat.” Kris is shocked as are a lot of people but they really liked his second song the night before and he’s kinda in the John Mayer league so I guess he’ll do very well for himself…and he’s a sweet kid.

Sooooo now we have Adam and Danny standing there. Oh boy, I’m not comfortable. My stomach is churning as Ryan says, “There was less than 1M votes between the two of you and the second person going to the finals next week is….drum roll in my head, torture in the Judges’ faces…oh Ryan say it….it’s ADAM who will be going to the Nokia next week.” Adam is beside himself and hugs Danny as he goes over to the seat beside Kris.

Ryan says to Danny, “Let’s go back and recap your journey on AI.” This is cool because we have followed Danny since his first audition for the show. What a great guy. It’s very touching. Ryan then asks him to sing, “You Are So Beautiful” and we’re allll crying.

So, what can I say. It’s Kris and Adam in the Finals next week and I can’t think of two more polar opposites. It is going to be very interesting to see how it plays out and if America can wrap it’s arms around someone like Adam “Glambert”. Hey…it didn’t hurt David Bowie!!!!

See you next week at the Nokia folks. I’ve got to go take another ZZantac now after writing this review.

Have a great weekend.
Joanie

Top 3 Perform – 05/12/09

Morning Everyone:

Well it was quite a nite for singing! Everyone sounded terrific.
———————–
Ryan tells us that this is the 300th Episode of AI. No wonder Simon is getting tired…he definitely needs a vacation!

The 3 Finalists will have 2 songs to sing tonight; one the Judges choose and one they choose for themselves.

They are also visiting their home towns which will probably play a bigger role in tomorrow night’s segment.

1. First up is Danny and he is in his home town at a radio station. He gets a phone call from Paula and she has chosen DANCE LITTLE SISTER by Terrence Trent Darby for him to sing. Now I remember this song and it’s really cool. I think Paula chose wisely because it is one that Danny could do well.

I love Danny and I think he could be an American Idol finalist. It was a great choice for him. LOVED IT.

Randy: Now this is the way to start the night. That was “dope” Dude!

Kara: Your voice was great but I didn’t care for the ‘dancing/gyrating.’

Paula: I loved it and thought, as a choreographer, that your steps were just fine.

Simon: Taking away the dancing aspect, and the sax solo, the voice part was very good.

2. Kris is in Arkansas when he receives a new phone and it has a text message on it. It’s from Kara and Randy and they have chosen APOLOGY by One Republic for him to sing.

(by the way, did you catch a little BLUE nail polish on one of Kris’s fingers?? Wonder if Adam is painting them for him????).

OK, now this is a cool song and the kids all love it. Kris decides to sit at the piano and sing the song. I’m not blown away by it though. It’s just not the quality it should be at this point in the competition….

Randy: Hey Dude, you could make a record of this and it would sell a 1M copies.

Kara: It was a confident performance but I wish you didn’t sit at the piano and sing it. I was hoping you would do an acoustic version with your guitar. (At this point, Simon jumps on Kara and Randy and says that they chose the song and they should have put in the time to help Kris with the arrangement…Kara was NOT a happy person).

Paula: Good choice of song. You had one loud bum note.

Simon: Now he starts fighting all over again with Kara. I don’t know if he liked it or not.

3. Here comes ADAM who is in his hometown of San Diego and gets a message from Simon who has chosen ONE by U2 to sing. Simon says that he had to get a hold of Bono to get permission for Adam to sing it and Bono said that it would be U2s pleasure to hear Adam’s version of it.

Is there anything else we can say about this kid that hasn’t been said before???? He is phenomanal!!! One of a kind. A STAR.

Randy: You are still in the zone. You have been HOT since Day One. Thought it was just a little off tonight.

Kara: You are a strategist. You changed up the song and made it unbelievable.

Paula: It was ONE brilliant song, ONE brilliant performance and ONE American Idol!

Simon: Brilliant song even if I do say so myself. You worked out the arrangement. If you are NOT in the Finals Next Week, I would think it would be the biggest upset in this show’s history.

Ryan now talks about IDOL GIVES BACK. Since it’s conception two years ago, $140M has been collected to help people not only in the US but all over the world. Tonight we are going to take you to Angola in Africa (thanks to Exxon). Carrie Underwood went there recently. Let’s watch. They then show Carrie distributing Bug Nets (to keep out mosquitos) so that people will not contact malaria. 33K nets were given to these people.

OK…all set for Round Two????

1. Danny thought and thought about what song he could sing that would more or less sum up his feelings on being on this show and taking this journey and he came up with Joe Cocker’s YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL (didn’t Taylor Hicks sing this at this point in the competition?). Anyway he really worked hard on the arrangement and the song was indeed beautiful. You could feel such emotion in Danny’s voice and I LOVED the arrangment. I can honestly see him in the FInals after this performance.

Randy: This song showed us that you can really sing. Mad Vocals!

Kara: Stunning

Paula: Breathless. You took this song and gave it magic and brought your own interpretation to it.

Simon: First of all, this is one of my favorite songs. The vocal was Master Class!!!

2. Kris will sing HEARTLESS by Kanye West. He is using the guitar for this one and it is somewhat acoustic; somewhat talking…I dunno. I’m not into this kind of song. I guess I’m just ool old….

Randy: This is gonna be one of the toughest choices of Idol’s seasons. All 3 of you are Stars. I loved it. Thought it was better than the Frays version; even better than the original.

Kara: Bold, brave, fearless.

Paula: U are the bravest Kris. Great job.

Simon: I had written you out after that first performance however, after this song…you’re back in!

On a side bar..I guess Paula and Simon were acting like ‘babies’ all night which distracted the heck ought of Ryan. Enough is enough guys….let’s take this show seriously please.

3. Now for the last performance of the night, we have ADAM. Ryan was teasing Adam saying, “You’ve sung, Zeppelin, Queen, Cher..what could you possibly choose tonight as your last song to get to the Finals?” Adam paused and said, “Aerosmith’s CRYIN’” He said he wasn’t going to stray far from Steven Tyler’s version of it and hoped everyone would like it.

PUHLEEZZZZ! Is there any doubt in anyone’s mind that this kid could sell out stadiums NOW?

Thank you Adam for choosing a Boston group to help you get to the Finals…

Randy: You are one charismatic Rock Star!

Kara: Who hits those kinda notes and then can talk afterwards? Oh, I know…ADAM.

Paula: We will be seeing you next week, next year and many years to come….

Simon: I just want to say that because we expect you to be in the Finals that fans will be complacent and not vote tonight. It is one of the best nights we’ve had on Idol and if you want Adam to be here next week, you MUST VOTE!!!

Adam said what a joy it has been to be part of this competition and how good both Kris and Danny are….a little humbleness there Adam?

OK, tomorrow night we will have Jordan Sparks and Katie Perry on the show.

Don’t Forget To Vote!
———————–
I know I did…many times for Adam.

By the way, I got my tickets last Saturday to see the Top 10 next Sept. 15 at the Verizon. Can’t wait for that night…..

See you tomorrow.

Joanie

AI Top 4 Results – 05/06/09

Morning Everyone:

Another week – another upset! Can you believe it?

OK, let’s talk about last night’s show.

Ryan – staircase – it’s a GREASE thing I read…

Judges: Tuesday night was fun. A few ups and a few downs.

New Ford Commercial: to the tune of MOVE ALONG.

Tonight Paula will be performing her new single. No Doubt will also perform AND Chris Daughtry is back to perform for us.

Recap with the kids on how they think they did:
Danny was the funniest talking about that last night he hit. He said that from where he was standing on the stage, it sounded like he nailed it and couldn’t understand Simon’s comments. Later, when he watched it again, he was laughing his head off. He thinks he should sell it to movie people who need to put a ’scream’ in their horror movies!!!

The kids do a version of SCHOOL’S OUT FOR SUMMER with Slash playing his guitar. It was a lot of fun. Slash sure can play but is one strange dude!

By the way, 64M votes were tallied last night! (I know I was redialing my fanny off for Adam!)

Paula is performing her new single, I’m Just Here For The Music. OK Paula, we know you’re in your 40s and you’re still lookin’ good. But we ALL know that this was lip synching and not very good either. I suggest you keep the “Judge” job and let your musical talent by in choreographing a few of the Idols numbers…leave it at that.

Now we have No Doub with Gwen Stefani perform. Once again, “Gwen, even though you are LIVE, the song is awful and you aren’t even singing. Do us all a favor and make more beautiful babies, be good to hubby, and push on with your clothes line cause singing ain’t your gig.” (Just my opinion).

Now, Ryan is going to give us some results:

The 4 are backstage waiting to see who goes home tonight.

He brings them out, lines them up and says,

Kris – (uh, oh I got a funny feeling Kris isn’t going home tonight). You, my man, are SAFE. Go take a seat on one of those crazy stools.

Chris Daughtry (who came in 3rd a fdw years ago…in fact, it was the year Taylor Hicks won and Katharine McPhee came in second…hmmmm, wonder how they’re doing now!!!???).

Chris and his band are awecome. The fella I’m sitting with says a friend of his new the drummer in Chris’s original band…cool.

After the song was over, Kris came out with an award from Chris. He has sold 5M CDs of his debut album! WOW! gotta love it.

I’m glad they brought Daughtry back because it just goes to show you that you can become a STAR and not win AI!!!

Alright, here we go.

Ryan is going to send someone back to safety.

Will it be Adam, Allison or Danny???? It’s ADAM. (whew..those phone calls paid off).

We now have just Danny and Allison left. Which one will get a rest before the tour???

It is Allison who is going home tonight. WHAAAT? I thought she was so much better than Danny. But, then again, it’s the fans’ votes that do the trick.

So now we have an all male semi-final. The 3 who are left will all be heading to their hometowns next week.

Actually, each will be singing 2 songs. One, the Judges choose; and one, they choose themselves….choose wisely boys cause it’s probably the most important choice you’ll make on the show….

So that’s it for another week. I still say Allison and Adam will do a duet on each other’s debut CDs.

Have a great weekend…maybe we’ll see the sun at some point????

Ohhhhh, before I go, I meant to say yesterday that I heard that Constantine Maurilis has been nominated for Best Actor in a musical on Broadway….I’m pumped!!!!!!!

Joanie

AI Top 4 Perform – 5/5/09

Hi Everyone:

Well it’s been rainy here in New England this week but, you know, the flowers are starting to bloom…and the grass is growing!

Before we start the review today. I’d like to say a few things.

1. I was very sad to hear that David Cook’s brother, Adam, succombed to brain cancer last Saturday. He was only 37. David was at a “Run For Hope” Marathon in DC and said he wouldn’t be anywhere else and he would return each year if they want him to.

2. Dom Deluise died the other day. He was 75. Dom gave us sooo many laughs over the years. Everyone loved him. He was in Burt Reynold’s movies (they were best BFFs) and about 6 of Mel Brook’s films. The man was a genius. He LOVED to cook too. He left his wonderful wife Carol and their 3 sons.

Our thoughts are with your families – Adam and Dom.

Now…what happened last night?

Ryan did the staircase thing again. He won’t give that up. He said that the night is Rock and Roll and Slash (of Guns N Roses’ fame) will be the mentor.

Let me say, up front, that Slash wasn’t much of a mentor. He didn’t have much to say to each contestant. I WILL say this though, the guy is one heckuva guitar player!

A few other notes before we get started.

1. There will be 4 singles and 2 DUETS tonight…something different. Sounds cool.

2. Also, one of the AI towers on the stage looked like it was ready to fall so the kids didn’t get much of a chance to rehearse on stage. (Hope the thing doesn’t fall while they’re doing ‘their thing’!!)

OK, let’s get started.

First up tonight is ADAM . He looks sooo hot in his leather outfit and I love the new hairdo. He will be singing, WHOLE LOT OF LOVIN’ by Led Zepplin. WHOA…this should be good….good…it blew me away. The kid did it again. The notes, the stage presence, the whole package is there. And, trust me, when I say, I WILL be voting tonight! There will be NO bottom for Adam tomorrow night if I have my way!!! – By the way, Slash said to Adam, “What a set of PIPES!”

Randy: I can’t peg you as Broadway enymore. U R A Rock Star!

Kara: U R A Rock God!

Paula: U R a whole lotta perfect.

Simon: I thought it was a little ‘understated’…kidding! Led Zepplin has never been sung by anyone before. They are one of my favorite bands and I think one of yours too. Adam said he couldn’t wait for Rock and Roll night because, when he found out that Zepplin was on the list of songs they could sing, he jumped at it. Simon said, only problem is now the other 3 have to see if they can top that!

Next up is Allison and she will be singing, CRY BABY’ by Janis Joplin (I saw Janis many, many years ago and you’ll never guess who her opening act was…Donovan! Can you stand it? He’s on stage singing ‘Mellow Yellow’ and then on she comes with her bottle of JD and a voice that just won’t quit. She was something else!!)
Well Allison certainly has the voice to sing Janis but I wish she would have sung another song. This is so repetitive that it doesn’t really show how great her voice is. Good job though…
She was saying that when she found out it was Rock and Roll night, she went to Adam and asked if he could borrow his hairdresser. Adam has had the same one for two years now. He said SURE and they gave her a new do….very rock and roll! Love the leather pants too.

Randy: Didn’t luv it.

Kara: You’ve go the right voice for Janis but should have chosen another song like, “TAKE A LITTLE PIECE OF MY HEART NOW BABY’. That would have been better for you. I DO see your personality though. (dig at Simon..)

Paula: If they ever do a biopic on Janis, you would be terrific in the role (ahhh…HELLO, Paula….THE ROSE with Berte Midler??? Memba that? She got nominated for an Oscar??? Good Movie).

Simon: Terrific vocals. You were kinda ’soundalike’ though. Not too much originality in the song like Adam does.

Here is the first Duet of the night and it is Kris and Danny singing: RENEGADE by Styxx (my kids did NOT like this band growing up..).

WOW they started out in complete harmony and it was awesome. Unfortunately, they then did a solo bit and both were NOT that good. They should have gone back to the harmony late in the song.

Randy: Great harmony. Loved it.

Kara: I liked some of it better than other parts. United – you were strong.

Paula: I like that we’re doing Duets. Good job.

Simon: Danny, you were better than Kris.

Next we have Kris who will be singing, COME TOGETHER” by The Beatles. Now Kris knows his limitations and chose the Beatles which was smart but I’m not so sure this is the song he should have sung. He’s a sweetheart and a heckuva guitar player but I wasn’t blown away by this song.

Randy: We all know by now that you are NOT a rock and roll guy. I liked the vocals. Liked the guitar playing. All in all, it was good.

Kara: This is the softer side of you. However, it was NOT a great performance.

Paula: You are an ARTIST.

Simon: I actually didn’t like it that much. It wa like ICE; when it’s gone, there’s nothing to remember…. (that was kinda harsh).

Danny: Will be singing, ‘DREAM ON’ by Aerosmith…Steve Tyler?

OK, I can understand what Danny is trying to do, at least in my mind. He is trying to show us he can sing those high notes just as much as Adam…WRONG. It sounded like he was screaming. Danny should know his limitatioins and comfort zone by now. You don’t tackle Steve Tyler when you’re down to 4 people in this contest..sorry Danny. I feel you are in jeopardy tonight.

Randy: This is not what you do. It was OK. I give you an A+ for effort.

Kara: You tried to add more edge to your personality and it just didn’t work.

Paula: You went with the song you were drawn to. It would not have been my choice.

Simon: That last note was a SCREAM from a horror movie! However, I think you wil be safe tonight. (Apparently Simon has it in his mind that it will be Kris leaving the building tomorrow night.)

One Duet left. Allison and Adam will sing:
SLO RIDE” by Foghart

WOW! Boy these two were fantastic together. Adam kinda stepped aside a little bit so Allison could shine (nice guy). Their singles were cool but together…they should cut a track with this song.

Randy: You are two seasoned Rock Stars! The BOMB…

Kara: Oh boy…..

Paula: You are a perfect blend. The full package.

Simon: In the battle of Duets – you two won. And, might I add, Adam, I think you put her through tonight. (Adam says, as he hugs Allison, “I Hope So.”)

OK, there you have it. This night had some great highs and a few lows but all in all, I enjoyed it.

I now feel that it will be Allison and Adam in the Finals. I have to go and vote for Adam now.

Kris will be going home tomorrow night; however, remember we will see him on Tour this summer.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Joanie