StoneRose Valley My Thoughts, Expressions, and Passions

Once again, it’s that time of year. The Finale of finales’ has arrived.

We have Rod Stewart, Black-Eyed Peas, Cyndi Lauper, Lional Richie, Keith Urban, Queen Latifah, Carlos Santana, Jason Mraz, and David Cook, all gracing the stage tonight (reportedly).

Right now, we have the top thirteen performing Pink’s “So What”; great to see some old faces-Alexis Grace, for example! That was interesting; hearing the last words uttered by these thirteen contestants “I want to start a fight!”, while all decked out in white….yeah, this is american idol.

David Cook is performing “Permament” in honor of his brother, Adam, who passed away a few weeks ago. All the proceeds from the I-tunes sales of this song will go to charity.
It is wonderful to see David on this stage again…this man, is, IMO, hands-down the BEST american idol winner ever. He is the embodiment of everything that an A-I is supposed to be. He was obviously very touched by this song. That was another thing I loved about DC, the emotion he showed during his performances.

Now we get a tribute…Norman Gentle, anyone?
And I was right, Nick Mitchel, aka, Norman Gentle wins the male contestant tribute. And he takes the stage, singing for us one more time…wasn’t that something.

Queen Latifah is singing “Cue the Rain” with Lil Rounds…this is the kind of music Lil should be singing. But I’m tired of it already; can we move on now?

The top thirteen (minus Adam and Kris) are performing “I’m Yours” now with Jason Mraz; love Alexis Grace, as usual. She and Anoop each got their little solo’s.

Now we watch Kris’ journey through A-I…was so proud of him as I watched this.
We get to hear Kris perform with Keith Urban, “Kiss A Girl”.  These guys sound great together! Great choice putting Kris with Keith. Thoroughly enjoyed this performance.

The girls are performing now. Not liking Megan Joy or her outfit. Allison looks nice; Jasmine is darling! And Allison introduces Fergie…not one of my favorite singers out there. Now that number is over; Allison introduces Black-Eyed Peas. A-I blacks out a bit of the number…and when they brought it back, I changed the channel.

Back to the “Golden Idol”; tribute to those with the “best attitude”. Katrina; Tiffany Shedd; another girl in there; are the contenders….but the winner is Katrina. Yeah. Wasn’t a fan of her, either. So, once again, the channel changed.

Allison Iraheta takes the stage with Cyndi Lauper, singing “Time After Time”. Great performance by Allison. There’s something about this night; maybe because it’s no longer a competition, but more a time to have fun. Just much more relaxed.

Ryan talks with both Kris and Adam’s parents.

Back to the stage is Danny Gokey, singing “Hello”. Awesome song-one of my fav’s ever since DC did it last year. Danny’s performance is no David, but still quite enjoyable. Good song for him. Now Danny introduces Lional Richie for their duet; they’re doing a medley of Richie’s songs. Loved this! Also, this was the sort of music Danny said he wanted to do. I would definitely buy his album.

Now we get a glimpse of Adam’s journey….What in the world is he wearing?! That was a boring song….Now he’s singing with Kiss. All I can say is…did we just get transported to the circus?! These people are seriously disturbing. But Adam fits right in. I can’t say anything more about this. The scream in the middle didn’t even sound like it fit in the song, but it was like they said, “oh, we have to put an Adam signature scream in”, and so did. Just weird.

Guitar legend Carlos Santana is performing “Black Magic Woman”….we hear an awesome solo by Matt. Now we get the top thirteen for “Smooth”. Adam heads the group up; Jorge follows with some creepy moves; and then some awesome solo’s by Kris and Danny. Great number! Absolutely loved it!

Ryan promises the results soon. Final Ford Music Video…nice one; featuring clips from all the video’s this season…the song is “I Will Remember You”. David Cook shows up to hand over the keys for the guys new Ford Fusions….man, I need to get on this show.

Steve Martin, Megan Joy, and Michael Sarver are all on-stage singing “Pretty Flowers”…Steve with a banjo. What is this? Hilarious…my fam called it the “Clampett’s”. lol  Enjoyed Micheal…but he and Megan didn’t sound good together…I think that was Megan. Steve slips in a joke; when asked who he hope’s is the winner after tonight, Steve replied “I know it’s kind of a long shot, but I hope I do!”.

The guys from the top thirteen are back singing a pretty cool (and a bit funny) version of “Do You Think I’m Sexy”. Adam introduces Rod Stewart  after the guys are finished. Stewart is singing his “Maggie May”.

Last Golden Idol of the evening we are told…”Outstanding Female”….nominees are Chelsea, Irene, Dana, and Tatiana Del Torro. Tatiana is going to win this one….I was right. Of course, there’s a lot of drama here; Ryan says he’s out of time and has to cut to the commercial…Tatiana forces her way on stage, grabs the trophy and bursts into song…some escorts try to get her off-stage, but we cut to the commercial before anything else….this was so totally staged.

One of the best numbers tonight, Kris and Adam sing “We Are The Champions” together. Queen joins onstage with the guitar. The top thirteen join the chorus. Must be nearing the very end. Love watching the comraderie between the two guys as they share the stage here at the end. These guys sounded great together.

Soon, we will hear the results. My guess is that Kris wins….but it really could be either of them.

Simon said that either one could win and deserve it. 100 million votes…wow.
And the winner is….KRIS ALLEN!!!!! So totally deserved…and he still remains humble.
The judges make me so embarrassed…they really had a look as if to say “this is SO wrong”. I think Kris has shown amazing artistry this season; consistently growing each week, more so than any other contestant.
He sings once more “No Boundaries”…I like him singing this; and despite what others say, calling it a ‘corny’ song-I like it. Afterwards, before the station cuts, we see Kris locked into a hug with his wife. This man is amazing, I’ll say it again.

And so ends another season of american idol. I have to admit, I’m relieved that I don’t have to keep up with this show twice a week anymore. It will be nice to have my Tuesday and Wednesday evenings back.

“American Idol Hall of Fame”

Kelly Clarkson
Reuben Studdard
Fantasia Barrino
Carrie Underwood
Taylor Hicks
Jordan Sparks
David Cook
Kris Allen

“These names will go down in musical history as some of the best. Congratulations to each of you. And welcome to Kris Allen. Sometimes, slow and steady still wins the race.”

Posted under American Idol, Entertainment, Music

Over 88 million votes were cast we are told….that’s a lot of votes.

Love the dogs on the Ford Music Video; Break My Stride.
Alecia Keyes introduces Noah from Africa…missed where. This kid is so cute, and has a lot of energy.

We are promised a glimpse of the hometown visits after the break.
We will also see Jordin Sparks and Katy Perry tonight.

Danny got to hang out with his friend, Jamar Rogers, when he visited his hometown. He got quite a reception. We are reminded that Simon called one of his performances a “vocal masterclass”. Very impressive.

Kris gets free cheese dip for life…that’s the first time I’ve heard that one. Watching Kris’ homecoming…this guy really is the winner in this competition as far as I’m concerned. The depth, the growth this young man has exhibited during this competition is incredible.

Next, Jordin Sparks and the results.

Who is leaving tonight? I think it will be Danny, unfortunately. He did have the best song of the show last night; maybe just not enough at this point.

Back to Jordin Sparks, singing her new single, “Battlefield”. She looks a lot older, not too surprising since she’s about 19 now, versus the 17 we saw her win season seven. Like the song…but not such a fan of how she looks. Lost a lot of her sweetness, it seems. Just like Kellie Pickler.

Adam Lambert…his visit home was to San Diego. They visited his childhood theatre group; I’m sure he is an inspiration to those children. The judges thought Adam deserves a spot in the finale.

We have to sit through Katy Perry before we can hear the results…she’s doing her latest single; I actually couldn’t stand to watch it.

Kris Allen is competing next week; he made it into the finale! Yeah!
Adam Lambert is also in the finale. I am so very sorry to see Danny go; extremely talented man. We get to hear “You Are So Beautiful” again…he has a really pretty falsetto!

Simon said we might have a big “ding-dong” next week with Kris in the competition. We’ll see.

Posted under American Idol, Entertainment, Life Thoughts, Music, Quotes, Video's

The Ford Music video featured the song “Mixed Up”…and it lived up to it’s name! Quite strange…

The top nine are singing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”. I love the group numbers as the group actually diminishes in size…it affords everyone a chance with their own little segment, a chance to showcase their individual voices.

We also get a chance to hear the contestants impersonating each others voices…pretty hilarious! And they all handled the jokes with fun and grace.

Tonight we will be treated to David Cook’s new single, “Come Back To Me”…as well as Lady Gaga’s hit “Poker Face! Lady Gaga, haven’t been looking forward to so much….but Cook? Oh, yeah!

Dim the lights, etc…
We’re dividing into three groups…? So, Kris, Megan, and Matt in one. Adam, Lil, and Allison in another. Leaving Scott, Danny, and Anoop in the last grouping. There is no way that either Kris, Danny, or Adam are in the bottom three; so I’m going to put out an early guess that one out of each group actually make up the bottom three…?

So good to see and hear David Cook again…so what if it was pre-recorded? Watch the music video for Come Back To Me. And David is presented with his platinum debut album commemorative whatever-they-call-it…nice. Of course, no new news, but great to watch him receive this. Loved his performance, as always.

Back to the results: Kris is safe, as everyone knew he would be.
I think Matt will be safe too. And he is after Ryan pulls an April Fools on him.
Megan is in the bottom three. But the girl handles it with grace. And perhaps a bit of cornyness.

Second group is up.
Lil is safe!
Allison is next…I’m going to have to say that I think she’s going to find herself in the bottom three. And she is.
Adam is of course (at least this week) safe.

Third group…Danny is safe.
Scott should be safe too…and I think we’ll see Anoop joining the girls in the bottom three.
Anoop is indeed in the bottom three. Anoop has been accused of being arrogant, but tonight he was anything but. Very gracious, and that put him far in my opinion.

Yeah; we get to watch Lady Gaga! Kidding-April Fools (lol)! not really excited about her; just not a fan. Honestly, I don’t think they should have allowed her on a ‘family-friendly’ show. So no more about her.

Back to the bottom three…Simon says that ‘only one of these three (Anoop, Allison, or Megan) are worth saving’. That would be Allison, I’m sure.

Allison is sent back to safety…leaving little hope that the bottom vote-getter will receive a save from the judges.
Anoop is safe. Simon tells Megan that they’re not even going to attempt to evaluate her performance or save her. That was harsh…don’t think she deserves a save, but she does deserve the respect of an evaluation.

Megan was called hip, relevant, and the most original artist ever to grace (my new word for tonight!) the A-I stage. I think this girl was just plagued with bad song choices, like several others have been throughout this competition. Unfortunately, she caught a lot of flack; but definitely a contestant full of originality, and talent. Kudos for going out with grace, Megan!!

Posted under American Idol, Entertainment, Music

The results show is here. We will be hearing Brady Paisley, and I duet from Randy Travis and Carrie Underwood before the show is over.

Who will be leaving tonight? After yesterday’s performances, there is no telling. The favorites came out towards the bottom, and some of the tail catchers showed up with what they really can do.

The top eleven is giving out a rousing rendition of…I’m not sure. Maybe TROUBLE; that or a medley. But it sure is good and rousing. Genius putting Scott on the piano. Probably makes him a whole lot more comfortable and allows the other guys to get out some choreography on the floor.

“Here It Goes Again” was the song for the Ford Music Video. IMO, it wasn’t nearly as good as last weeks.

Enjoyed seeing the clips from the going away party for Jorge and Jasmine. And LOVED Jorge’s comment; “Don’t get too comfortable, ’cause we’re not the only ones who will be eliminated!” And all this with a twinkle in his eye! Loved it!

Ryan was pretty hilarious tonight; with all the flu talk.

But to the results.

Danny is up first; and will be heading on to the tour.
Lil is next; her song was Independence Day…was probably not her best performance in retrospect. But she is safe.
Anoop is also safe after his very good performance last night.
Allison and Michael are standing now. Allison was called “dope” by Randy….Michael was criticized a little more. Ryan asks Paula who she thinks should be in the bottom…to which Paula is rather flustered. Ryan, from her ramblings, brought out the comment that Paula would be surprised to see anyone in the bottom three! Hilarious! Paula is so sweet, but sometimes….well, she makes for some comic relief also. Of course, Ryan egged that on some too.
We are told that Allison is in the bottom three. But with a cruel twist, after making Michael think that he is safe, he also is told to head for the three stools on-stage and join Allison.

At this point, we get to hear Brad Paisley perform his single, “Then”. I really like Brad’s voice. I told my youngest sister earlier today that he was performing tonight; usually, she’s not a fan of A-I, but she said she was definitely going to watch it tonight with me just to see him. Strange, but Paisley looks a lot like a friend of mine. They both are singers, both in the country genre, but they have very different voices. But now I’m just rambling. Paisley just finished and I really liked it. My sister loved it. And my ‘baby’ brother walked in with this comment; “Oh, is that the one they’re kicking off tonight?” To which my sisters and I burst out in laughter, “Of course, they’re kicking Brad Paisley off American Idol!” Gave the four of us some kicks. lol.

Now we are continuing with the results.
Scott is up. He is safe. We’ll be seeing Scott on the tour.
Megan is up…and I wonder, with panic, why she’s already standing up?! She’s safe; I really don’t believe this.
Matt is standing…and is safe.
That leaves us with Kris and Adam. What?! Kris is safe, and Adam–?!
Oh, no. I forgot Alexis. Now we have Alexis and Adam. Randy thinks Alexis will be in the bottom three. And he is right.
Adam is safe, leaving Alexis to join Michael and Allison on the stage.

One is sent back to safety…and that is Allison.
We now have to suffer through another commercial break. After the break, we’ll probably hear from Randy and Carrie…and then we will finally learn if it will be Alexis or Michael leaving. Personally, I think it’ll be Michael. As you may have already noted, only one of my original bottom three guesses are actually in the bottom three. I didn’t expect to see Alexis here at all. If she is the bottom pick this week, I hope the judges exercise their save, ’cause Alexis is really so talented and has so much potential; it would be just so wrong for her to leave.

Back to the show. Indeed, we do get to hear Carrie and Randy’s duet. My sisters and I are wondering what in the world happened to her hair?
For the first time ever together live, here is Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis performing “I Told You So”.
This song is so sweet! I love it.

Back to the bottom two. Simon shares, at Ryan’s prompting, that they would consider saving one of the two. I think that would be Alexis. We’ll see, though.

OMW–Alexis is the last. Michael is safe. Simon said she was the one who they were thinking of saving. We get to hear her one more time. I don’t think her vocals are as good as they were last night, but she is showing a whole lot more fight.

The verdict is: a good performance, but not good enough. I am still in shock. She is going to go so far. Honestly, she was the one with, by far, the most marketability. I believe someone will offer this girl a record deal; if they don’t, they’re fools.

Posted under American Idol, Entertainment, Music