American Idol rocked last night, but, in the end, it was business as usual on this show: Adam Lambert ruled!
As we rundown each finalist's rock 'n roll routine, we're gonna ignore the duets between Lambert and Allison Iraheta, and Danny Gokey and Kris Allen, because they were nothing more than time-fillers.
We're also gonna try to ignore Gokey's painful scream at the conclusion of "Dream On," but that may be a challenge. It continued to pierce our ears long after the audition was over.
- Adam Lambert kicked off the show with a Led Zeppelin classic, "Whole Lotta Love." Randy Jackson simply said “This is the Adam I love, dude," while adding that the performance should erase any criticism that Adam is nothing but a Broadway singer. The only problem, as Simon pointed out, no one would be able to top this all night.
- Allison Iraheta tried with the Janis Joplin song, “Cry Baby,” but Randy and Kara didn't think it was the right choice for her. Still, Simon hopeully helped her stave off elimination by saying her progress has been “completely staggering.”
- Simply put, Danny Gokey sucked on Aerosmith’s “Dream On." The primal scream at the end was a weak attempt to sound like Lambert and it annoyed our staff that the judges refuse to really criticize Gokey. Both Randy and Paula gave him him “A-plus” for his effort, while Paula simply asks the crowd who liked Danny Gokey. Nice job, panel.
- Kris Allen was also weak, as he chose a classic by The Beatles, "Come Together." This really isn't his genre of music. Good ol' Simon described it all as “rather like eating ice for lunch," meaning the performance was forgettable and unsatisfying. We think.
Which American Idol satisfied your craving for rock 'n roll last night? Click on each photo for a larger shot of each finalist.
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5 Comments
May 6th, 2009 8:37 AM
I would love to hear/see Adam do an Elvis song!!!
May 6th, 2009 12:07 PM
I have to start with a comment on the previous comment, I too would like to see Adam do an Elvis song, as his use of his eyes and smile to communicate with the audience is an almost haunting similarity to The King.
However, Adam made the right choice. I believe he would be an amazing Elvis impersonator, he has the looks and the connection to the audience that Elvis had, but then Adam would just be another imitation of what used to be, and while I would probably enjoy his interpretation of Elvis, I want Adam to be Adam, That alone is something spectacular. Some of Adam's mannerism's I admit remind me of Elvis, at times he even looks like Elvis, because of his facial expressions, Like Elvis he sings with raw emotion, and you can both see and feel it. It's like he's singing only to you. Even Slash made the comment last night that Adam's vocal range is amazing. I have checked every appearance I can find of Adam on Youtube, I encourage everyone to do the same, Instead of saying all he does is scream, check these performances out, I think even his critics would be pleasantly surprised. Spiritual performances such as The Prayer, and his appearance as Joshua in, The Ten Commandments The Musical. Which again he pulls you in, you feel Joshua's anguish. I was also impressed with his performance of Brigadoon, a classic musical originally performed by Gene Kelly. If those performances don't sway you Try, Dust in the wind, or Come Home. After that, If you are not moved, I would suggest taking your pulse, as you must be dead. On a serious note, Even if you do not like Adam's style I ask you to at least recognize he is more than just a screaming Gay performer, He gives every song his all, and if nothing else has earned your respect.
Last night the worst performance was by Danny Gokey, normaly I think he does a pretty good job, but last night he attempted to do something he's not, He doesn't have Adam's range, and that was painfully obvious in his off key screaming at the end, that was actually painful to watch. Kris has never been a favorite of mine, Last night I found his performance lukewarm but much better than Danny's scream. Allison was also in her element, I agree that she could have picked a better song, but my heaven this girl just turned seventeen. As to the duet betweeen her and Adam I think Adam's confidence brought out her confidence and as Slash had alluded to she was great. Danny and Chris's duet, was again lukewarm, however both these young men deserve kudos, This was not their element and I think they gave their best, I think in Danny's case he was desperate to try and upstage Adam, and that was a tremendous mistake, Had he picked a song more in his vocal range, I believe he would have had a shot at #2, now I don't think so.
I respect each and every one of them, I believe they all will have recording contracts, but I see only one star....Adam
May 6th, 2009 1:38 PM
Really good summary, Jodi.I am a big Danny fan and thought he was right up there with Adam, but he really shot himself in the foot last night.
Allison's new hairstyle was much improved by Adam's hairdresser.The two of them were a great duo, and I actually felt their duet surpassed everything else in the show, including Adam's solo performance.
May 8th, 2009 12:50 AM
couldnt've said it better myself
Adam is a star and him and Allison really shone on that duet, i hope that allison voters will vote for adam in the coming weeks I wanna see him become American Idol.
Ya danny is no Adam and he doesnt have adams range
another good adam performance was well he did about 45 seconds of we will rock you for americas best dance crew, for those of you dying to see him do a queen song
and I also 'i just love you', his version really touched me and i think that if more people see that he can sing ballads and not scream and the like maybe they will show him more respect. He made that song his own but it was still so nice
And brigadoon was almost opera seriously this guy can do anything
he even sang a song in hebrew
and he wears jewellery people send him on the shows which i think is really sweet of him and i think he pulled his right ear as a shout out to the glamberts, also cool
he really seems to be a nice humble outgoing generous humble kind of person, i dont think he's arrogant at all personally
he is truly an american idol in my eyes and I wish more people would see that because even if he doesnt win he will be a legend one day and outsell everyone else ever on idol mark my words
maybe even get an oscar for a stunning portrayal of elvis in a movie ;) who knows
May 29th, 2009 3:46 AM
the top four this season were my preferred contestants but i really like adam the most. i get really annoyed by other fans who keep bashing other contestants just to make their idol appear better? duhh. everyone has different tastes. it's just a matter of respect. and whose music appeals to more people. good luck to all of them!