May 19, 2009 11:45 AM
American Idol - finale tonight - Adam or Kris?
I haven't blogged much about American Idol this season, but that's not because Maddy's and my enthusiasm has waned. We've been faithfully watching and like most of America were pretty surprised last week when Danny went home, leaving Kris to face off against Adam, who seemed to have a juggernaut-thing. Seriously, did he seem unstoppable or what?
The thing is that Adam is enormously talented - in a league of his own. His theater background - which the judges in past seasons have not liked in contestants - has really helped him. Not only does he have an incredible voice, but confidence, stage presence, drama, and an ability to take any song, no matter how iconic, and make it his own.
And yet.
Had anyone predicted at the beginning - or even the middle of the season - that Kris would end up in the finale, they would have been laughed out of town. Kris's voice is not as strong as most of the others' and his easy-going aw-shucks manner made him seem an unlikely idol.
But each week he grew stronger - while still keeping the gentle, vulnerable attitude that began to endear him to many.
Last week's show - when they went home to their hometowns and 20,000 of the 40,000 residents of Kris's Arkansas homies showed up to greet him - was really the most touching hometown show ever. Kris's parents and his wife (he'd only been married a couple months going into the show, as I recall) seem like simple, unglamorous people who are humbly blessed and grateful to see the guy they believe in succeeding this way.
Adam's hometown visit, by contrast, left me cold.
Don't get me wrong. I like Adam enormously. And he will succeed wherever he goes once the show is over. In fact, in some ways he would be better off not winning as he would have more control of his career.
But when Danny was voted off the show last week, I sensed a sea change in what people were attracted to. And we ended up with the starkest contrast we could possibly see: the completely controlled, dramatic, predictably superior artistic megatalent vs. the sweet and unspoiled young guy anyone would be thrilled to call a friend, a brother, or a son.
This has definitely been the Year of the Guys on AI - as opposed to years when the male talent was slim. And the talent has been better than ever. It's been a fun year.
My prediction: no matter what happens this week, Kris will win. He will capture the majority of Danny's voters. And I think it's become an archetypal contest of two types of attraction: the wild and the winsome.
Posted in Entertainment, Music | Permalink
Comments
I hope you're right. Kris grew up about 20 minutes from my home town and now lives about 35 minutes away from me. It's amazing to see the way he's touched the lives of Arkansans and I think he will have an incredible impact on the world. I wasn't able to go see him when he came home and watching his homecoming footage on the show brought tears to my eyes. The unabashed love that pours out of his father towards him is most asuredly what has molded him into the man he is today. They are truly a blessed family.
Posted by: Joani | May 19, 2009 2:26 PM
Matt Giraud was our hometown guy; we were pretty disappointed when he lost, even though I didn't think he would win. I thought Adam had it in the bag, but I thought Kris would go far because of his looks and surprisingly nice voice. You give me food for thought coming into this finale.
Posted by: angie | May 19, 2009 3:25 PM
The show is about picking the most talented and commercially viable star, that is Adam. Who wants to see paparazzi photos of Kris, Adam is way more interesting and way more talented. It bums me out that he could lose just because of the pictures that were release or because he doesn't talk about Christianity. The press seems all a buzz about how the past Idols are all American cookie cutter Christians :
Posted by: Rosa | May 20, 2009 1:49 PM
You must be soo thrilled and proud. What a gift to have. My daughter and i will be following the success story.
Posted by: suzanne weidner | May 21, 2009 5:16 PM
Adam put up a good fight for sure... I'd be curious to know how many more votes Kris got over Adam
Posted by: coffee fan | May 21, 2009 11:02 PM
There is no doubt as to Adam's talent. I suspect that people preferred Kris' style (and talent). As to buying records...I will probably buy Kris'.
Posted by: Sue from Buffalo | May 22, 2009 7:56 AM
Here is a video I found of Kris leading a worship song at his church. The pictures you'll see are pictures of Central AR, mostly Little Rock. I pray that he will touch so many lives from his new platform.
Posted by: Joani | May 29, 2009 2:11 PM
