Who'll Get The Confetti Shower Tonight?

Sauntering down a bigger staircase in front of an audience of 7,000 at the Nokia theater, Ryan Seacrest welcomed us to the battle of the acoustic rocker vs. the glam rocker...Kris Allen vs. Adam Lambert.

He introduced the judges, Randy Jackson (sporting at least three different plaids/patterns in his suit, shirt and crazy tie), Kara DioGuardi (looking like she had a little stage fright), Paula Abdul (sporting a tangerine shade of spray-on tan AND a bright green dress, yikes!), and Simon Cowell (sans babyGap tee...and of course his button-up shirt was very unbuttoned).

Kris and Adam had three songs to sing last night, their favorite from the season, a song chosen by Idol creator Simon Fuller, and the winner's single which was co-written by Kara DioGuardi. Kris won the coin toss last week, and chose to sing second, so Adam would be kicking things off...

Adam Lambert ~ "Mad World"
When I heard the guys would be re-singing their song choice, I hoped Adam would choose this one. It was my favorite of his songs this season...emphasis on the was. It wasn't bad...a little corny with the long gothicy matrix-style coat and the dry ice, but it didn't give the same chills as when he sang it the first time. I listened back a third or fourth time, and it was still great, but there was only one semi-"big" note mid-song. Here's hoping he gets to go bigger on his next song, because if you came to see Adam, you came to see big!
I: don't think it was OVER theatrical, it was just a little corny, but it was all Adam. Theatre is who he is and though he's trying hard to transition from that a bit, it will always be in his blood, I think. Anyway, I'm now questioning the re-singing of songs for the finale. We all knew Adam's first "Mad World" was awesome and I think a big part of this competition is being excited to see what the contestants choose to sing and how it sounds the first time. To hear "Mad World" again was just a little meh for me. Still hoping Adam goes big...or goes home.

Kris Allen ~ "Ain't No Sunshine"
Upgrading from keyboard when he first played this song, to piano, I think Kris was smart to showcase his ability to play multiple instruments. His next song would undoubtedly be sung while playing a guitar, making me wonder if he wins, will all future American Idols need to play an instrument from here on out? David Cook did, and if Kris wins, that's two in a row...is this what America is looking for in their next Idol? (Note to self: sign the boys up for guitar lessons *wink*).
I: My only criticism of Kris' song is that super high "gone" note at the end. "Oh man!" I yelled at Kris, and my husband laughed at me as I recited my hatred for them ending songs on those super high notes. "He should have made it low and like goooo-oone," I continued. "Oooh, that would have been SO good! Yeeeeeeeeeaahhhhhhhh," I purred...and suddenly, my husband wasn't laughing anymore and he was all "Uhhh, 'scuse me?!" And I was like, "No honey, not like THAT, I'm just saying Yeah it would have ended better on a lower note..." {crickets} Then I tried to distract with Mrs. Allen's babybump...(I don't think it worked either).

Adam Lambert ~ "A Change is Gonna Come" chosen by Simon Fuller
Finally, Adam went big. I tried to get past the overdone-ness of this song on Idol and listen to his interpretation of it. Adam did great, and it was a good combination of mellow Adam and screechy Adam.
I: think the more times I watched it back, the better it was. When we first heard the song, I thought Simon Fuller was crazy for picking such an oldie, but it wasn't that bad after all.

Kris Allen ~ "What's Goin' On" chosen by Simon Fuller
On stage with some percussion guys, Kris played the guitar and sang this heartfelt song in true Kris style. It was no "Heartless," but Kris sang it well, delivered the message, and I liked when the other instruments dropped out so we could better hear Kris' phrasing at times. It was a solid performance, a little mellow, but solid.
I: don't agree with the bedroom analogy, but I do think it was a liiiiiiiiitle bit light for this point in the competition.

Adam Lambert ~ "No Boundaries" co-written by Kara DioGuardi
It was soooooooo hard to critique Adam for his voice and not critique the actual song and lyrics itself...but corny hurricanes and mountains aside, I think that Adam did great with the verses and it had this whole soundtrack-to-a-movie vibe. He was breathless and felt rushed during the chorus, however. It is, after all, pretty hard to sing "hurricane" with your tongue out *snicker* jk
I: think Adam had a great season. If it hadn't been for his great arrangement of songs on AI8, he might have never made it off the musical-theatre stage. I'm looking forward to hearing what the producers in the music industry have in store for him to sing, and it will be great to see him in concert someday!

Kris Allen ~ "No Boundaries" co-written by Kara DioGuardi
I watched the two performances side-by-side online and thought that while Adam handled the verses well, the chorus was all Kris. He's definitely better suited to be singing about mountains and hurricanes, and though he flubbed the lyrics in one spot, and the song was in a too-high-for-Kris key, he did the best he could with what he had to work with.
I: peeking through my fingers hoping they wouldn't call him out on they lyrics, and was surprised to hear that they didn't...and that Simon didn't do a little vote for Adam spiel again. I also hope now that the season is over after tonight, he's done being in my dreams...not Kris, he can come anytime, but Simon has got to go! I hope I'm not being rude when I say this was a rather anti-climactic end to the season...kind of a blah finale. I remember being more excited last year with the two Davids' song choices. I think Kris and Adam are equally awesome musicians, just in different ways, and if there ever was a tie on AI, tonight should be the night...but we know you won't let that happen, will you America. Mmhmm.

My Prediction ~
Last year, in March, I typed: cue the confetti, David Cook is the American Idol. So this year, on the radio blog, I wanted to get another prediction in by the end of March. I typed up April 1st's post the evening before and typed this:

I: Think I’m ready to declare the winner of AI8...Kris Allen. He’s been the most consistent, without a single bad song choice yet…and he makes every one of them his own.

And is it a sign that was the same week Kris sang "Ain't No Sunshine" for the first time? Hmmmm, I'm thinking it might be!! I stand by my prediction...Kris Allen is American Idol's Season 8 Winner. I would be okay with either of these guys winning, though. I thoroughly enjoy Adam Lambert's songs as well, if not equally as much...I just hope they don't lose a little something when you can't "see" him singing them on the radio. So much of his performance is his facial expressions/snarls/sideways glares (hence, theatrical), I will miss seeing him perform them...Thank goodness iTunes has video downloads! :o) But, I think Americans (and the many texting teenie-boppers) have been favoring Kris lately...and I don't think the songs last night really swayed anybody from voting for their usual Idol. If anything, Adam was a little disappointing by not rocking out as much as he could and holding back a little.

I'd like to thank my Facebook friends for putting up with all the Idol links (LOL), I promise it'll be all about diaper changes and the children's messes from here on out...or at least until Season 9! Woot.

I've been complaining all season that the results night should be only 1/2 hour, so what do producers go and do? Make it two+ hours long. Thanks for that! Ryan Seacrest warned several times that they're slated to go longer than the two hours, so make sure y'all record the 10:00p show as well!! You don't want to miss the many rumored duets and awesome performances with such great artists as Jason Mraz, Cindy Lauper, Queen Latifah, Lionel Ritchie, Keith Urban, Black Eyed Peas, previous winners, your Top 2, and the rest of the Top 13, and more. Oh yeah, and Steve Martin will be playing the banjo...can't wait for THAT. What the...?

Just one final AI8 post tomorrow morning! I've been debating videoing our reaction. I think MTV or someone is having a contest, so if you record your reaction, let me know...I wanna see it!! :oD