The New American Idol: Unbelievable

The Winner

I was really really happy last night about the American Idol result. My husband said, it was not a singing contest. Just the previous night, he could not believe Shawn Johnson won Dancing With the Stars because his favorite Melissa Rycroft did not win it.

Oh well, American Idol is based on popularity, no matter what people say. And Kris Allen is popular to me. I want him to win. He's my the one I think deserves to win. A hundred million votes and Ryan Seacrest did not even mention by how much he won. It meant it's not necessary, Maybe it's a big gap, who knows. But the thing is, we have new American Idol.

The Show

Compared to the last two seasons, this American Idol season final is so well thought, so well coordinated. Even the scripted looked unscripted. And most of the top 13 contestants have a singing number except for the blind guy. I think the production did this because it will be very hard to direct.

The last American Idol I enjoyed so much and which I believe turned up a lot of singers is Season 5 - with Taylor Hicks winning (I liked him, too). That was the season I began watching American Idol.

I thought of the finale two years back and it looked like they were just throwing people in -- guests and numbers that have no coherence to the entire show. I figured that during the last two seasons there was Idol Gives Back. An event that is arguably bigger than the finale. Maybe all the production effort went to this very big event which was five weeks before the final show.

Last night I would say is the best finale ever in terms of production. One thing I noticed was a lot of old singers performed. Talk about legendary.

The Result

When Ryan announced Kris Allen it was like the Nokia Theater went to a shock. Yes, there was an applause but the audience could not believe it. The Lambert's camp could not believe it, the Allen's camp could not believe it, even Kris Allen himself could not believe it.

The last I saw before Fox finally ended the coverage five minutes after 10:00 PM is Kris finally breaking out when his wife came to hug him.

They showed Kris' first audition with him saying that there are probably better singers than him. He was right. But he was also modest, truthful, and down-to-earth. Maybe those were what the people saw and liked in him. Now, he is American Idol.

The Loser

As for Adam Lambert which my husband really liked and who I called the "vampire" because of his makeup and nail-polish and flamboyant outfits, I would say the American Idol is not the end of the road for him. I'm sure he would be in recording business and he would have his market share even if he lost the title.

During the last number when the two of them sang the same song, Adam out sang Kris. In that instant you know who must American Idol in terms of talent.

Simon Cowell

When the result was announced the camera showed a bit of Simon Cowell. He was not cheering, did not get up from his seat and the look in his face registers "duh."

Just last week I saw Simon in Oprah saying it would be Adam Lambert. I guess when he says things like this, it was to broadcast to the people who he thinks should win and who he thinks should people vote. Guess what? People did not listen.

Bikini Girl and Kara

I think it was so brave of Kara to get in there and expose herself. It was so uncharacteristic of her. She was not tanned like the bikini girl and she sure does not have the guts to bare herself. She covered herself so abashedly after the performance explaining it was all for charity.

I think Kara should have not done it. She should have not stooped down. During the audition of the bikini girl, she was insulted and her reaction was to show she was better. She sang to make a point. Point taken. Period. Because of last night, it's now twice a laugh.

Judges Rule

I was just thinking about this new rule on American Idol where a losing contestant can be saved by the judges once during the entire competition through a unanimous decision.

I should say judges always have a bearing on who people vote. So if the judges don't like the performance and the next day (on the result show) the person gets to the bottom, then it would be most unlikely that he/she would be ruled to stay because it's the judges comments that made him/her be at the bottom in the first place.

Only during very rare occasions that the judges can prevent the least voted contestant to go home and that's when every one of them was impressed during the performance night. But as I said, this is unlikely to happen as people vote who the judges like.

My TV Crisis

Last night, it was a hop between Dancing With the Stars and American Idol, with occasional sneak at the USA vs Puerto Rico World Classic baseball game. It was crazy.

Of course, we missed song renditions, dance numbers, most home runs. But what can we do? It was a dilemma of television programs clashing with time.

Last week, I happen to catch the first episode of the season of Dancing With the Stars so I watched and got involved. I got to have favorites by the time I watched again Monday night. American Idol, I've been watching since January. My husband is a baseball fanatic and he saw Cubs players in the team USA so he really wanted to see the game.

So the crisis went. I'm just glad I did not miss my favorites' presentations in both shows though. I know there will be more nights like this for the coming weeks -- that's eight weeks.

American Idol Is Back

This week is the third week for American Idol 2009. And as I checked the schedule, they would be airing from 8PM eastern time from Tuesday to Thursday.

For me, that is good because I really like American Idol. It just makes me excited to wait for the show and watch it. It's a singing contest but it embodies many things America and many things universal.

American Idol is about dreams and working one's way through achieving her/his dreams. It is a personal story of a struggling single mom, a loving son whose mother is battling cancer, and a teenager going through financial crisis. It is about family and friends supporting each other. It is about the weird side of America with all the kinds of people auditioning with or without singing abilities.

Guess what, I strated this blog because of American Idol itself. I watch American Idol because it is about American culture and universal culture. I know it gets criticisms (which are very grounded) and questions about its selection process but I still watch it. I like the show and I know most people do.

New Idol is Cook

For the first time, America elected a rock star as its singing idol in the person of David Cook.

A rock star, as what the producers hoped for, would sell records, which is ultimately the goal of the show -- to build a recording star.

Ryan Seacrest did not announce how many voted for this year's American Idol finale. He just said the winner won with a margin of 12 millions votes. Major newspapers had already reported that viewership of the show had dropped to seven per cent. Compared to all seasons past, the roster of talent in this season is more superior. But this did not help in boosting television ratings.

The nation is watching what would become of David Cook after this big win of his life. Truly, an American idol should sell even after the show. Let's see what happens.

Idol Drama

The big news at American Idol last night (Tuesday) was Syesha Mercado's meltdown. She was so touched by Paula's standing ovation during the critique portion. That after being turned down by Randy. Nevertheless, Simon agreed with Paula.

But with all the wet face of Syesha (from crying) all I could think of was why the production people could not give her a tissue. Ryan Seacrest thought about it and asked for one. That after Syesha's emotional outburst had already subsided.

Maybe a crying moment like this was so unexpected that's why the crew/staff did not think of having a tissue at arm's reach when the need arises.

Personally, I think Syesha did a good job. The performer who did not was Jason Castro. He is literally laughing his way to the finals. You could see it in his eyes Wednesday after Wednesday that he is the first one not to believe that he was safe. Think of all the young girls who are crazy about thouse eyes. They constitute the big fan base that he has.

In one interview, Jason said he has a girlfriend now and he wanted to spend time with her. So maybe this is part of the reason why he is not singing his best? The thing is, whether he loses, he still wins. He gets to see his girlfriend!

Bye Brooke!

She made it to the top five. The sweetest contestant at the American Idol left with tears and gratitude.

So Brooke White was voted off last night. There are four left, Syesha, Jason, and the two Davids. It looks like it's going to be a male American Idol winner this year.

Good luck to this year's fantastic four. It really is so, because there is just one girl left.

Is Paula Losing It?

Paula Abdul slipped in major live TV where millions are watching.

How could she think that the contestants on American Idol already sang two songs? Was she hallucinating? Too much drugged maybe?

Maybe the production people did not brief her enough on what is going to happen. So the next round of songs, they had to make the judges do their comments and criticisms rather than have all the five sing first.

I felt bad for Paula. I watched Hey Paula and kind of understand where she is coming from. On her reality show, Paula was so swamped with engagements, too busy to eat, to sleep, and to even pack her own clothes. She was also not on the top of her health. She was physically and emotionally drained. Poor girl. She may have fame and wealth but she lacks the time for her own self.

Brooke Is Not Broken

So it was Carly Smithson and Syesha Mercado at the bottom two Wednesday night. Odd. These two got the judges' nod, and Simon even "loved" Carly that week. Jason Castro made it to the top four even if his performance was forced and did not wow the judges. Syesha Mercado on the other hand was so good and comfortable doing broadway, which was the theme of the night.

So what's happening with American Idol? Well, at this point in time, it is not in the performance nor in the judges. It's in the fans who are voting.

Brooke White who was supposed to have the poorest performance among the women competitors (she forgot the lyrics!), is still standing. And strong. Her vulnerability and down-to-earth-ness is really making her survive. Brooke is not broken because she is the real deal.

People make mistakes and we are not all perfect and we forgive Brooke for being one of us. The thing is, she admitted that she "lost the lyric." What is even more real than that?

One Cook To Leave

It's about time.

Kristy Lee Cook did a stellar performance Tuesday night but her time is up. She was at the bottom two too many times. It's time to go.

All these young men and women have already proven their talents. It's actually better not to win. The winner of American Idol will have a lot of expectations and plenty of pressure. Look at Taylor Hicks, season 5 winner. His album has limited success so he seemed not to be a "favorite" of the producers. Nevertheless, I like Taylor Hicks.

So there are now six Idol contestants lefts. Coincidentally, they are three females and three males. Alternately, a boy goes one week, then a girl goes the next.

Mariah Carey looks good. She did not change all through these years.

The Results Were In

So my prediction was wrong, it was not Carly Smithson who went home, it was Michael Johns. Carly Smithson was among the bottom three though.

I have never seen Paula during this season's American Idol looking fresh. She was last night.

The Idol Gives Back was really a parade of stars. Good production and great coordination.

Idol Blah

Kristy Lee Cook sang my favorite song last night. That's Anyway by Martina McBride. Apparently, the judges were impressed. My own impression is that they have never heard the original nor even knew it was by Martina McBride. As my favorite song, I listened to this song endlessly myself and I know Kristy Lee Cook did not do any justice to the song. But of course I'm not a professional listener nor a judge at American Idol so she may have sang it good. But my personal say is, "Nope."

There has been a rumor going on that Paula Abdul is going to be in the Dancing With The Stars next season. How could it be? Isn't American Idol in the competing time slot with Dancing With The Stars? Does Paula Abdul's contract as an American Idol judge end this season? Everything is unconfirmed at this point but there won't be smoke if there is no fire, right?

I'm excited to know who is coming home tonight at American Idol. I'm thinking it would be Carly Smithson.

Remielle out; 8 Left

Last night ended Remielle Malubay's saga as an American Idol contestant. She is really a great talent and in my ealier post I even wrote that she got a chance at top five. But week after week, she failed to impress the judges with poor song choices.

I call Remielle a one song wonder. On the first show on stage of American Idol Season 7, she sang "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," wowing all three judges. Even Simon said she outsang everyone. After that, nothing she sang made a difference. I think it's really time for her to go. It could have been earlier.

It was her first time to be at the bottom three and too bad, she really was at the bottom. It was, again, a stroke of luck for Kristy Lee Cook who has been at the bottom three for five times but fortunate enough to be second to the last. She is a survivor.

Syesha Mercado was not at the bottom three last night although she had been twice. It just proves that previous performances do not have an effect on votes. It could be anyone any week.

My other favorite, Brooke White is still in the competition. Good for her. I hope she makes it to the very top.

Dolly Parton was phenomenal. She sang "Jesus and Gravity," her new song from her latest album. Dolly was bursting with energy, good spirits, and love.

I had this vision of death in one of the remaining American Idol contestants before the final show.

Remielle Malubay

I think Remielle Malubay has a chance of making it to the top five in this year's American Idol. Come to think of it, among the girls left, only Remielle Malubay and Brooke White have not been in bottom three. These two are my favorite girls, by the way.

After last night, there are only nine idols left.

But here's what, Remielle needs to sing big songs and singer's songs. Show off the extent of her voice range. She has been criticized for choosing the wrong song. It's a pity if she loses her chance just because of wrong song choice rather than her real talent.

I watch American Idol every Tuesday and Wednesday night. Yes, I'm a big fan of the show. Aren't we all?

American Idol is something to look forward to on weekday nights. Thank God for American Idol.