And so comes the end of another American Idol season. After surviving 18 cuts, Crystal Bowersox finally succumbed to Lee DeWyze, the newly crowned season 9 American Idol.
True to form, American Idol stretched out the results show to a seemingly never-ending two hours until it reached the climax in the final moments announcing Lee DeWyze was the new American Idol of season 9.
Each season, American Idol travels the country searching for the best new talent in America. This season covered seven cities, over 100,000 auditions, 14 weeks of live competition, and more than 500,000 votes. Host Ryan Seacrest announced that coming into Monday night’s performances, less than 2 percent of the votes separated Lee and Crystal.
Throughout the evening, Seacrest checked in with the hometowns of finalists Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox. Toledo, Ohio’s Huntington Center held a stadium full of Crystal fans, and Mount Prospect, Illinois’ Village Green was brimming with Lee followers.
American Idol finales are always chocked full of celebrities and guest appearances. Overall, the guest performances were lukewarm and a bit odd at times. It seemed to be a tribute to the ‘70s and ‘80’s, strange since most of the contestants were not even born until the mid ‘80s.
Starting off the night were the Top 12 contestants singing School’s Out, accompanied by Orianthi jamming on guitar. Then, in probably the biggest thrill of his life, third place finisher Casey James introduced none other than Alice Cooper himself.
The reigning American Idol champ Kris Allen performed next, his latest hit The Truth. It was good to see Kris doing well, and his performance was worthy of his title.
Next in the guest line-up featured Siobhan Magnus and Aaron Kelly singing Bee Gees hit How Deep is Your Love, joined by Barry and Robin Gibb. As expected, they looked a little older and sounded a little rougher. There was no introduction, and I wondered how many kids in the audience even knew who they were. Victoria even asked me, “Who is Oldie-locks?” (referring to Barry Gibb’s flowing now-gray hair.)
Mike “Big Mike” Lynche came out singing the Doobie Brothers’ Takin’ it to the Streets, and was joined on-stage by Michael McDonald. I think Big Mike missed his first few notes, but he got into a groove and did okay.
In preparation for the Summer Tour, the top 6 girls came out and performed a medley of Christina Aguilera songs, starting with Beautiful. Aguilera joined them for the last line of Fighter and then the diva did a solo performance of You Lost Me from her upcoming album Bionic.
Back to the 1970s, Lee and the rest of the Top 6 guys took the stage for a Hall & Oates medley, joined mid-way by Darryl Hall and John Oates (although I think Lee introduced him as Dale Hall). This was really lame and Lee looked uncomfortable.
In one of the best Idol moments of the night, Crystal sang Alanis Morisette’s Ironic and was then joined with Morisette for a rocking rendition of You Oughta Know. This is one of the hardest songs to sing – I know from karaoke experience – and to sing it with the artist had to be nerve-wracking, but Crystal held her own. It was awesome!
Carrie Underwood rated a solo performance of her latest hit Undo It, which she co-wrote with Kara DioGuardi. More rock than country, this was another great performance from Underwood.
In a brief break from the Nokia Theater LA Live, video showed Crystal and Lee going to what they thought was to be another photo shoot. Instead they were greeted by last year’s winner Kris Allen and presented with their brand new Ford Focuses, the ones they designed several weeks ago during their Ford promo spots.
Back to the stage, Casey James performed Every Rose Has Its Thorn with Poison lead singer Brett Michaels, who is recovering from his brain hemorrhage and is awaiting surgery to repair a hole in his heart. One of the better performances of the night, Casey actually sounded good.
The next Idol finalist/guest spot was probably the worst of the night. Poor Lee had to perform with Chicago, a medley of songs about time. Sorry Chicago, bur your time was up long ago – don’t bring Lee down.
What would the Season 9 finale of American Idol be without a mention of Pants on the Ground. Yes, we were forced to witness a prolonged version of the pseudo-cult classic. Worse yet, General Larry Platt was joined by William Hung (of She Bang notoriety) and a bevy of boys barely bearing their briefs.
This American Idol finale finds me a little more nostalgic than most, as it also marks the end of Simon Cowell’s run as the judge everyone loves to hate. The show was filled with clips and tributes to Simon’s time with Idol, and culminated in a performance by (almost) all of the past American Idol winners and a couple of dozen past finalists.
Read my other post here for more on the American Idol farewell to Simon.
With the American Idol finale nearing its much-anticipated conclusion, the Top 10 took the stage one last time for a sleepy version of Janet Jackson’s Again. Then viewers were treated to a special two-song medley from Ms. Jackson of her new song Nothing followed by Nasty.
With the excitement building, Lee and Crystal joined forces in their last performance as finalists, singing A Little Help from My Friend with Joe Cocker. Crystal and Cocker overpowered Lee in this performance making him seem a little out of place on stage with them.
And the Winner is…..
As the lights dimmed for the last time on the American Idol Stage, the music thumping, the crowd eagerly awaiting the result. Crystal looked cool as a cucumber, without a care in the world. Lee looked like he was about to pass out or throw up.
Finally, Ryan announced the winner of American Idol season 9 is…..Lee DeWyze! Lee was immediately overtaken by emotion. Tears of joy streamed down his (and my) face. When Ryan asked how it felt to be the winner, Lee replied, “I don’t know. Oh my god.” I think he said ‘Oh my god’ about ten times. He thanked everyone, told Crystal he loves her and said he has never been happier in his life.
This season of American Idol was perhaps not as exciting as some, but it was fulfilling nonetheless. Crystal and Lee are both tremendously talented artists, and I really didn’t care which of them won – they both deserved it.
Don’t feel bad for Crystal. Her career is just beginning, too. Being the runner up on American Idol is not a bad thing. Just look at Adam Lambert, Chris Daughtry, Bo Bice, or Clay Aiken, to name a few. They took the momentum and recognition gained on American Idol and parlayed it into successful careers. Crystal will be fine – we haven’t seen the last of her. Not by a long shot.
There you have it. Another American Idol crowned; 99,000 dreams dashed. So as we wait patiently for the next installment of Idol to begin, how do we get our American Idol fix?
Look for many new CDs to be released, not only by Lee DeWyze, but by many runners-up as well. And if that’s not enough for you, check out the American Idol Summer Tour. Click here for a complete list of Idol tour cities.
For more articles and Idol recaps, click here.
0 comments:
Post a Comment