Music To My Ears: The Tortoise & The Hare

Season Eight Finale

The Top 2 In The Home Stretch:

Adam Lambert & Kris Allen

Some have called it a "David and Goliath" finish, but I prefer to think of it as the proverbial tortoise and hare. Because, before seeing any of the Finale performances, it seems to me that this best characterizes the journeys of these two top-quality competitors.

Adam, the star from the start, blasting out of the gates and capturing the crowd's attention with his over-the-top performances, soaring range and powerhouse vocals.

Kris, overtaking other contestants one by one and earning the respect of just about everyone for his quiet confidence, consummate musicianship, and interpretive skill.

It's come down to two guys from the original Group 2: BFFs who share nail polish and, up until this week, a room in the AI Mansion but other than that, two guys who couldn't be less alike. The extrovert versus the introvert. The flamboyant showman rocker versus the singer-songwriter balladeer with a pop star edge. Both highly emotive and both stylists, but in completely different directions.

It's going to be a GREAT show. The only question is, does the hare get edged out by the steady tortoise, or does he put in a final sprint to the finish? Why do I think that of everyone, it matters much more to us, than it does to either of them?

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Three performances from two Idols and the shortest recap I've ever written:

Adam: Reprise of Mad World was exceptional--better than the first time he did it, with new staging and costuming that brought a different feeling and intensity to it. There was less a feeling of isolation, which in fact matches the lyric of the song better, and more one of danger, maybe even repressed anger. An interesting effect; a powerful performance.

Kris: I'm SO glad he chose Ain't No Sunshine (I had heard he was contemplating Heartless or Falling Slowly). This was the song that originally turned people's heads towards Kris, so it was a perfect pairing with Mad World, which in many ways did the same for Adam. Loved the grand piano; Kris plays guitar very differently than piano, and so the choice of instrumentation is crucial and, one gets the feeling, a deliberate expression of his musicianship. Ain't No Sunshine on the grand piano gave it a more majestic feeling. Beautiful, heartfelt vocal, and with the occasional a capella and piano-only moments, he was able to bring a real intimacy to it on that big stage.

Round One: TIE (seriously, I'm not copping out: both were very, very strong)

Adam: A Change Is Gonna Come--iconic song, but too much theatrical over-acting, too little connection and too much screaming (for my taste) that overshadowed the message (song needs more subtlety than he could bring to it), but technically gorgeous.

Kris: What's Goin' On--I loved it. Great, great song choice for him, and he brought his Kris-ness to it. Judges: NOT FAIR to criticize him for not doing an appropriate song for "this night, this stage," given that it was Simon Fuller's choice, not Kris's. Vocal was spot on, Kris brought out the message of the lyrics well, belting out key lyrics: "War is not the answer / only love can conquer hate". You got the feeling he meant it. Connected with it. This is what he does best. Lost it a bit in the middle, where the song meanders into humming, nonsense syllables and the ending wasn't particularly powerful.

Round Two: ANOTHER TIE (again, not trying to sit on the fence, both strong songs but flawed performances in some ways)

No Boundaries (or as I like to call it, Kara's Krapfest -- I swear if this woman writes this kind of dreck for Jason Castro, it will be a travesty). Adam got through it and brought all the melodrama to the surface. Is that a good thing? Probably not. Will it matter? Probably not. He made a very rangy song sound easy, and/or brought his range and power to it to make the song itself sound better and more challenging than perhaps it is. (I guess I don't get my wish of seeing him do "Magic Rainbow" in a feather boa and sparkles. Oh well ... another time, another place maybe.) LOL

Kris's No Boundaries was a disaster all round. Key wrong, he missed some words, he was clearly uncomfortable, judges were kind to point out the rest of his remarkable journey to help him feel good about that final performance which WILL stick in people's minds and will likely make the difference in tomorrow's outcome, if all else is equal (including the ex-Danny vote being a non-issue).

Round Three: Adam

On first two songs, I would have put Adam and Kris in a dead-heat. On third one, Adam out-sang and out-performed. There will be the oh-so-obvious and sour-grapesy stuff about the song having clearly been written for Adam (and Danny?). It's a shame it comes down to this after such a long string of great performances from both of these guys: the crappy coronation song is the differentiator.

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Overall -- Adam and Kris picked their best and reminded us of why they ARE the final two standing.

Simon Fuller: kudos to you for picking two very socially relevant songs for these two contestants, whom everyone and their uncle have been trying to pit against each other in a "culture" (read, political/religious/social) clash. Instead, your clever song choices brought them, and those of us watching them, together and reminded us that music is a force for unity, for social change and for peace even among people who might appear so very, very different on the surface.

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No MTME Ratings, just a statement: The night, and the season, goes to Adam. (My dollars will be spent buying Kris's first album, though).

Let's see what the voters say!!

Music To My Ears: The Top 3 Make Their Choices; Stake Their Claims

Danny Gokey - “Dance Little Sister” by Terence Trent D’Arby

I didn't know the song. He brought a lot of energy to it, almost too much (it was a bit frantic). He didn't make me love the song, but although I have definitely seen Danny more engaged with the crowd before, he was in his comfort zone in terms of range. I would have liked to see him mix it up with the audience a little more. This song has a message (believe it or not!), but I don't know that he particularly connected to the lyrics and listening back, he missed a lot of them (letting the bgv's take over)--I think this might have been underprepared by Danny. Overall, an okay start to the show but not exceptional. MTME Rating: 3.75/5

Kris Allen - "Apologize" by One Republic
I thought this was a moderately strong vocal, just different enough from the original to have that particular Kris "uniqueness". Transitioning to head voice was smooth and lovely, but I noticed he didn't stay up there nearly as much as the original--so in fact, he DID re-arrange, and did so in a way that matched his vocal abilities and overcame his weaknesses. I didn't hear the bum note that Paula claimed was there -- anyone help me out here? I DEFINITELY loved him playing the piano on this. It was the right thing to do, especially given the emphasis in his second song on the acoustic guitar. Clever, showing us his musical virtuosity. I really like this song, and the hook, and the lyrics were delivered with the right amount of pathos. MTME Rating: 3.85 / 5

Adam Lambert - “One" by U2
Like Simon, this is one of my all-time favourite songs, so it's going to be pretty hard to get me to forget about the original (and Adam didn't manage to do it). The vocal was beautiful, of course, as usual. But there was something missing for me: I think it was the seriously abbreviated version, which didn't allow him to build the story of this song properly. He sang a couple of lines and then hit the most intensive part of the lyric and one of the key refrains: "love is a temple, love is a higher law". At that point, it became about the vocal acrobatics, and not the lyrics. He didn't sing any of the key lyrics, including: "You act like you never had love / And you want me to go without" and "Have you come here for forgiveness? / Have you come to raise the dead? / Have you come here to play Jesus? / To the lepers in your head" This song is a dialogue, and these lyrics are absolutely key to conveying the emotion and telling the story of the song. (Incidentally, the powerful dynamic set up in the lyrics are why this song works so well as a duet -- if you don't know it, check out the Bono/MJ Blige version. It is brilliant.) Adam also was not properly articulating the lyrics that he did sing. Also, I hated the ending in his arrangement--it left a very poignant song, which is filled with a sad anger and resignation, feeling sentimental and somewhat trite. I think Simon's pick for Adam fizzled out here: Adam didn't connect to these lyrics, as he did with Black & White or Mad World, and as a result his interpretation seemed over-dramatized and forced; and the rendition overall paled significantly in comparison to the original. MTME Rating: 4 / 5

Danny Gokey - "You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker
When I first heard this song pick, I thought it was a fantastic choice by Danny--a classic song, heartfelt but not overly sentimental, and perfect for his vocal range and tone. I expected him to just copy-cat it, and would have probably been happy with that. I don't hear Danny as much of an arranger, but he ended up bringing a really unique interpretation to this beautiful love song. And he managed to make an emotional connection with it, and with the audience, that was NOT overly sentimentalized (as is his usual way). When it comes to Hallmark sentiment, I have a hair trigger gag reflex so even though the arrangement veered every now and again into the land of cornball, it didn't stay there long enough for me to need to reach for the bucket. So kudos to Danny! And, yes ... the vocal was virtually flawless (boy can sing, you've got to give him credit--about time Danny was helped out by the mixer with the reverb as much as Adam has been all year). "Masterclass" said Simon, for the very first time this season. I agree. MTME Rating: 4.75 / 5

Kris Allen – “Heartless” by Kanye West
HOLY MOLEY, FAITH AND BEGORRAH. Kris blew me right off my chaise lounge, laptop landing on the floor and mouth agape. Let's start with: a) I hate this song with a passion. Hate it. When I first heard he was going to do it, I cringed, not only because -- did I tell you? have you heard? I hate it! -- but also because we just saw Kanye singing this how many weeks ago? I'm still not over that performance. BUT. Oh my dear, is Kris smart or what? He made us all forget entirely about that abysmal Kanye performance and made me (for one) love a song I hate. b) who knew this song had lyrics? Kris did, apparently. And we could hear them. And he brought them to life. Hence the reason why he changed many of our minds on this song. Yayy!! c) Acoustic guitar? Played for the first time since one of the earliest shows so we could actually HEAR IT? And ... played remarkably well (Kris is an exceptionally good guitarist; check out the homecoming vid of him doing "Come Together" or any of his pre-Idol recordings, and you will hear it)? Yesssss... This was pure, unadulterated Kris. Randy said after Apologize that he could hear what kind of record Kris would make. After Heartless, he must've been placing calls to all his producer friends: this was a stroke of strategic and musical brilliance by Kris, a huge risk and exactly what he needed to do to have a hope of making the finale. MTME Rating: 4.85/5

Adam Lambert - “Cryin” by Aerosmith
Definitely the right song for him. Definitely a sly retaliation for Danny's butchery of Dream On. (Incidentally, both Danny and Adam were playing strategy games and politicking in their comments to curry votes all night, did anyone else notice that?) Definitely showed all the Adamness that we've grown to love (or not, as the case may be). The BGV's needed to be strangled back a notch. All definitely very good, but not exceptional--not by Adam's standards, and not by the standards of the night. Kind of a denouement. Sorry Adam, still love you -- still believe you should be in the finale with either Kris or Danny. MTME Rating: 4 / 5

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MTME RANKS (Top 3):

KRIS: (3.85 + 4.85 / 2) = 4.35

DANNY: (3.75 + 4.75 / 2) = 4.25

ADAM: (4 + 4 / 2) = 4

Music To My Ears: The Rock Cream Rises To The Top

Rock 'n roll is the most brutal, ugly, desperate, vicious form of expression it has been my misfortune to hear. ~Frank Sinatra

It's only rock 'n roll, but I like it. ~Jagger and Richards

From Rat Pack week to rock 'n roll: could there be a greater contrast? Probably not, but one thing is for sure: whether it's classic standards or classic rock, it's all about ATTITUDE.

Rock is not just a genre or a music style, it's a personality. It's a lifestyle. You can't act it, finesse it, technique your way through it, or fake it. You either have it, or you don't. Tonight, the two with the rock 'n roll spirit soared and the two without struggled, just about like we all expected.

First, I hold my cell phone and glowstick high for:

- Ricky Minor and the band: THEY ROCKED!!!

- the Idol crew and especially, stage manager Debbie Williams, who was badly hurt in this afternoon's accident. Speedy recovery!

- Danny, Allison, Kris and Adam who performed without the benefit of a dress rehearsal

- Slash, for giving the Top 4 a rock 'n roll experience of a lifetime

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Adam Lambert - "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin
Adam was up first, for the first time. This was the first performance that I truly felt Adam was connected to himself, and not "acting". In fact, he seemed to almost UNDERperform this. He barely moved on stage! Even so, there was a head toss and a sneer that he kept doing that betrayed something ... a self-consciousness, perhaps. A bit of posing. I never really bought Adam being a straight up, heavy metal, hard-ass rocker, no sirree bub. He has the voice for it, but that broadway background puts a veneer over his performances that saps them of the true rocker spirit that is needed. Glam rock maybe, something with the right level of drama. But not dirt. Not out-and-out raw sexuality. And that's what this song is ... ("gonna give you every inch of my love"). His strength is in the kind of weird, emotional, dramatic place where he can do the vocal calisthenics in a controlled way -- the Mad Worlds and the Tracks of My Tears places. I did LOVE the a capella piece of it--compared to last week's sustained power/glory note, THIS was a much better demonstration of vocal control and power. He brought the right tension and angst to it. At that moment, he had the audience in the palm of his hand. One thing that truly distressed me: the line "woman ... you need love ........." Wow, that so didn't work. But that line is so much a part of the song, he couldn't change it. Can you say rock ... and a hard place? MTME Rating: 4.5 / 5

And PS: I thought it was EXTREMELY unfair for Simon to reference back to this performance throughout the evening.

Allison Iraheta - "Cry Baby" by Janis Joplin

She was considering Somebody to Love -- the Jefferson Starship song, not the Queen one, as she clarified. Allison doing Grace Slick, like I've been asking for all season long??? That woulda been freakin' AWESOME! What was she talking about that it had been done before -- no it hasn't!! Oh, CC is sad. Very sad. I love Janis, but Allison would've totally rocked with Grace Slick.

Not only that, but I'm with all of the judges who said that this might not have been the song to pick. It has very little energy. It's a little too slow and meandering in the verses, and then the chorus is just that great, distinctive "cry baby" bellow. But there's no real melody or lyric to grab hold of, so it was hard for Allison to sink her teeth into it and get that rocker attitude going. She works the stage well, but she didn't have enough lyric or melody to emote with. She got to put some flair into the phrasing, but it wasn't enough. Her backtalk to the judges showed more rock 'n roll spirit than the song did! Thank goodness for that last duet for Adam, because based on this performance alone, I would have ended up being very disappointed in Allison on a week where she should have blown me away. :( MTME Rating: 3.85 / 5

Kris and Danny Duet - "Renegade" by Styx
It was painful to watch these two attempt to be rockers. Classic example that you can sing the tune, dress the part, carry the mic the right way ... but it's still ALL WRONG. Now, having said that ... those harmonies were gorgeous. I mean, GORGEOUS. On their separate vocals, it was a disaster. Danny sounded breathless and Kris was reaching and missing notes and phrasing. But, what was wayyyyy worse, was watching the body language between the two of them. Not only were neither comfortable with themselves, but they were clearly uncomfortable with each other. They couldn't even LOOK at each other, and made only cursory contact at the end. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall during their rehearsals. Let's pretend this never happened.

Kris Allen - "Come Together" by the Beatles

And then, poor Kris ... to have to go on and do his solo next, especially right after Simon gave the duet to Danny. (hello, bus. Meet Kris. Kris, meet the bus.) And then Ryan (Ryan, what were you thinking!) decided to remind Kris of that fact right before he did Come Together. Hmmmm ... The Beatles, not my first choice for a Slash-style rock song, but Kris picked something he could actually work with (this was a better pick than Revolution--he couldn't have done that primal yell, and at least knew better than Gokey to even try). This was a subtly brilliant, or brilliantly subtle, song choice by Kris.

I did flash back to Carly Smithson singing this, but Kris did a different treatment entirely. And you know what (yes, I AM biased!), but geez ... I really liked this! First, I can't understand a darn word of this song no matter who sings it, it's completely absurd lyrically, but I enjoyed Kris's phrasing and I liked the way he punctuated (not enunciated, but punctuated) the a capella lyric bits, which are so very edgy: "Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease" among others. Kris always picks songs with great words, which maybe is not the rock 'n roll way, but it's something I appreciate. I also loved the low a capella section near the end: "He bag production he got walrus gumboot / He got Ono sideboard / he one spinal cracker" (seriously, WTF?!? it makes NO sense and I. Love. It.) Also, I liked him playing his guitar. I thought he did a typical Kris thing, which was to skew his song choice to make the genre fit him, instead of betraying his style to fit in to the genre. He is in trouble, but if he goes, he won't be going out on a bad performance. MTME Rating: 4 / 5

Danny Gokey - "Dream On" by Aerosmith

First, let's talk about the breathing. He was off in the duet with Kris, and he was off here. And it was distracting!! It. Almost. Sounded like. This. Also, not sure what area of the U.S. you are from when you pronounce the word "true" as "treeeyiuuu". Can anyone help out a Canuck here? So: song choice. I could barely tolerate it when Michael did it last year, but seriously Gokey, what were you thinking? I cannot believe that Kris is going to get eliminated, when at least Kris picked a song that was suited for a non-rocker, and Danny is going to sail through on this, you watch.

Bottom line: this was a mess from top to bottom. He shouldn't have picked this song, didn't sing it well, and didn't bring anything original to it. Finally, there was that ... that ... thing at the end that he did. With his voice. Or perhaps voices. I'm pretty sure there were a couple of other personalities sharing that note at the end. Perhaps an exorcism is in order. MTME Rating: 2.5 / 5

Allison and Adam Duet - "Slow Ride" by Foghat

Duelling rockers to end the show. They genuinely seemed to enjoy themselves, and the positive energy they generated was engaging and uplifting. Everything a rock finale needs to be (finale, there I said it. Could I just hope for it? Please?)

I liked this duet better than each of their individual performances. Everything about this was the opposite of the Kris/Danny duet: Adam and Allison, who have been splitting votes all season long, and who had the greatest opportunity (and reason) to seize the brass ring individually, both showed the generosity of spirit to allow each other to shine in the duet. They kicked butt on their solos, but shared the spotlight with each other, putting the overall performance and the audience's enjoyment, not their own egos or aspirations, first. That's not solely because each is more comfortable in the genre. I give Adam full credit here (because Allison is still a little too young and goofy to be doing this consciously): there is nothing I admire and respect more than someone who is good, who knows he is good, who has the humility and generosity of spirit to allow someone else to shine instead of selfishly needing to steal the spotlight all for himself. That ends up making BOTH people look better. It is a mark of maturity, of artistic integrity and of class.

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MTME Rankings:

Adam: 4.5

Kris: 4

Allison: 3.85

Danny: 2.5

Music To My Ears: The Rat Pack Five

Original thread on Americanidol.com

The trick with picking "standards" and singing them well is exactly what Jamie Foxx mentioned: it is about more than just singing, it's about conveying a "lifestyle"--a mood, a tone, a feeling.

Going into tonight's show, I was worried that our Idols would want to go all rearrangin' on these songs. That seems to have been the preferred approach this season. It would have been a bad move, in my opinion. These songs are classics for a reason, and rearranging them would do a disservice to the legacy that each one of these songs has. On the flip side of that, though, sticking TOO close to the melody without putting something of their own into it would suck the life out of these songs...making them sound like a parody, or worse ... the dreaded "k" word.

The other baggage that these songs bring with them is some pretty stellar performances by previous Idols. Four of the five songs we heard tonight have been done before on the show; two of them memorably by Katharine McPhee (Come Rain or Come Shine and Someone To Watch Over Me) who still, in my mind, totally dominates in this genre. Melinda Doolittle has given what still remains my favourite performance of My Funny Valentine on Idol.

Tonight, I felt the Idols all brought something uniquely their own to each song they chose, and they all did the Rat Pack proud. At this point in the competition, it's really tough to differentiate one from the other: it's a bit trite, but they are ALL pretty darn good. I'm finding my evaluation of each contestant's performance based on how they did tonight compared to their previous performances; not necessarily how they did compared to each other.Maybe it's just a cop-out, because I don't want to see anyone leave tomorrow. :(

Simon was being particularly ruthless tonight, judging them based on how much killer instinct they brought to their performances. Who wants to really WIN, and who is channeling that fierce competitive desire into something memorable and passionate on stage? Now that Lil and Anoop are gone, none of them, thankfully, went over the edge from drive to desperation.

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Let's get right to it ... the Idols picked some of the BEST Rat Pack standards I could have wanted to hear, and each put their own special touch on them. Still, this show has to have winners and losers ... so even though I want to pull a Paula and be nice to simply EVERYONE, here's the honest appraisal of what I heard:

Kris: "The Way You Look Tonight"

Sweet, lovely, deceptive in its quality but ... ultimately (and I love you Kris, you know I do) ... a bit disappointing. Kris is at his best when he can either pick an unusual song and bring it to life; or pick a well-known song and go to town on the arrangement. This theme didn't let him do either. Pretty, but not his best work on the show so far. MTME Rating: 3.75 / 5

Allison: "Someone To Watch Over Me"

One of my favourite "standards"...so rich and emotional. She brought a quality vocal to it, with her very distinctive style (it's odd to hear on this song which is typically sung so very smoothly). I noticed the diction problems much more tonight. Like Kris, solid but she's out of her element. MTME Rating: 3.75 / 5

Matt: "My Funny Valentine"

This one left me feeling a bit flat ... pun definitely intended. What Matt was trying to pass off as jazz stylings just did not hit my hear well. And when you're competing with Melinda and with a zillion other absolutely GORGEOUS covers of this song (from Chet Baker to Rickie Lee Jones and all points in between), you just can't afford to have a less than stellar performance. I wasn't feeling it; even though Matt clearly was in his comfort zone. He got a B in jazz class; I'm giving him a B for this. MTME Rating: 3.5 / 5

Danny: "Come Rain Or Come Shine"

The Gokester pulls it off!! Now THAT was a vocal. Best from him for the entire season. I loved the song choice; I thought it suited his voice perfectly. The vocal was pretty much impeccable, and didn't suffer from Danny's typical slow/pitchy start with a big, blustery finish to cover it up. He started with well-modulated intensity (with just the right amount of sexy growling--this is a blues song after all!). And the jazz/blues riffing at the end brought this vocal home with conviction and power. Excellent! MTME Rating: 4.75 / 5

Adam: "Feeling Good"

My dears, I think I finally heard Adam get the Goldilocks seal of approval: not too screamy and not too subdued, but just righhhhht!! And where did Adam find this middle ground? Yes, in a very cabaret/stage vocal of a jazz standard that in my mind will ALWAYS be linked to Nina Simone. I know he did Muse's version (which knocks off a 1/4 point for me), but while the arrangement may have been Muse-like, the vocal most definitely was ALL ADAM. That long last note, dropping down to a sweet whisper ... now that was just Adam showing off!!! Sticking to my principle to evaluate based on Adam's prior performances (and compared to Danny's finale-driven, pull-out-the-stops performance tonight), I'm giving it a shade under his highest marks for the season. (If he hadn't been so good all the way along, I wouldn't have to be so tough on him!). MTME Rating: 4.65 / 5

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MTME Ranks:

Danny: 4.75

Adam: 4.65

Allison: 3.75

Kris: 3.75

Matt: 3.5

Despite these rankings, I think Allison could be in deep trouble tonight. Matt has a certain site's endorsement, and Kris has captured a strong and loyal fan club and has never been in the bottom 3. Should be an interesting -- and nerve-wracking -- results show tomorrow.

One last observation: I thought Jamie Foxx did a great job mentoring. Similar to Tarantino, he was able to use his acting/directing chops to help the Idols connect to their songs. It didn't seem he added a lot of musical value, but that was really beside the point. I noted, in particular, how he was able to help Danny get out of that self-conscious, egocentric place that inhibits his performances; and how he helped Allison connect to the lyric by drawing upon her love for her family (and theirs for her). Nice job!!