IdolHeadEd.com - A Sharp, a Flat, and the Thoughtful versus the Theatrical (Finale Recap)

Jlynn206: We’ve come down to the final two! Adam and Kris couldn’t be more opposite if they tried. In fact, the only thing they have in common is they like to make bold new arrangements of songs. People might think Adam has it in the bag, can Kris prove them wrong?

The dramatic versus the subtle. The in your face confidence, versus the quite confidence. The stadium entertainer versus the house of blues performer....

I’m excited about tonight. I’m excited to find out the producer’s picks, and excited to hear Kara’s single. Is it going to be a Pink/Kelly Clarkson caliber song, or will it be a Hilary Duff/Lindsay Lohan caliber song. The options are endless.

Ryan opens the show with lots of Kris and Adam comparisons, my favorite being: the guy next door versus the guyliner. I like it. Adam as a baby, awe he would just scream and be noisy! That’s kind of adorable, as long as you are not his parent.

ADAM: “Mad World”
Other than being terrified of his Matrix trench coat, I am excited he picked this song and not one of his scream fests. There is smoke all over the place and it’s really spooky and haunting. It takes quite a falsetto to be tolerable for this long. I liked the jump on “nervous.” His voice sounds so much better with belting and light falsetto. An occasional falsetto jump is okay. Ahh! Crazy eyes at the end. It was a perfect vocal. The final slide up at the end lingered a moment longer than I would have liked, but no problems. I don’t know why Simon is shocked that Adam was theatrical. Duh.
Performance: 10/10
Vocal: 10/10
Total: 20/20

KRIS: “Aint No Sunshine”
Awe Kris won’t sing for his family unless they pay him...I should start using these tactics! Oh good, he’s really playing the piano this time. I loved it. He just does so much vocally, without going over the top. This kind of thing makes me want his cd, and his single, and on and on. I feel like Kris has 100% thoughtful performances, while Adam has 100% theatrical performances. They are both amazing at what they do. It’s a win/win situation. His runs, how he used the change in tempo to his advantage, everything was perfect.
Performance: 10/10
Vocal: 10/10
Total: 20/20

ADAM: “A Change Gon’ Come”
This is a perfect song for our first openly gay American Idol contestant to sing. I get the resonance of the song choice Mr. Fuller. It’s a powerful thing for America to get behind Adam with everything that is going on politically. I never thought I’d hear this song in a wild falsetto scream, and that’s because I never wanted to hear it like that. The first half was great, and than the runs near the end were just ridiculous. I think Kara’s praise is a little extreme. I do think he sold it, and I didn’t dislike it. I just didn’t love it. But then again, I am wild about Sam Cooke’s.
Performance: 10/10
Vocal: 8/10 (points off for excessive falsetto wail)
Total: 18/20

KRIS: “What’s Goin’ On”
I “love” that they have two white dudes singing these songs surrounded by talented black musicians. Just sayin’. Did you think about that Simon Fuller? That felt WAY shorter than Adam’s. Maybe it’s because he didn’t scream for ten minutes. Anyway, I liked it a lot, but like Adam’s I didn’t love it. I don’t agree that it was like people strumming along. It was definitely his version. The vocals around the middle got a bit off for me.
Performance: 10/10
Vocal: 8/10
Total: 18/20

ADAM: “No Boundaries”
A good start. Some really weird off vocals going on now. It sounds totally off in his belting mid range. Hmm...is Adam a wailer because he can’t just plain belt that high? It’s interesting to find that out in his very last song. I thought this big ballad would have been easy as pie for him. This is just interesting, because as he’s sliding around he’s definitely hitting notes outside of the chord structure. At the end he sounds like Kat McPhee with a cortisone shot in her finale. That means, not so good. That was probably his weakest to date. Thank you Randy, it sure enough was pitchy. Could he not hear himself?
Performance: 9/10
Vocal: 7/10
Total: 16/20

KRIS: “No Boundaries”
Will he be Blaked? God, I hope not. A bit shaky at the beginning, a little low for him. It sounds good going into the big chorus. He misses a couple lyrics. A nice slide into “higher” but than he’s definitely at the tippy top of his range. Some pitchy action. Wow, this is the worst vocal from both of them. Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting with how rangey it is. He actually seemed to pull it off. I agree with Kara, he shouldn’t be judged by that incredibly rangy song. The judges are acting like he is already voted off.
Performance: 8/10
Vocal: 7/10
Total: 15/20

THE LIST:
ADAM: 54/60
KRIS: 53/60

It was a close race. I’m sure Adam fans would disagree, but I’m telling you, there’s only so far falsetto wailing can get you. I want Adam to do well, but I’m not sure what kind of radio play he will really get. You know?

I did like Simon Fuller’s picks, sort of a throw back to Clay and Ruben’s songs. They were culturally and political relevant, but at the same time, I don’t think they were the best songs for these particular guys. I think they would have been better on Clay and Ruben, or David and David. What did you think? Kara’s song was extremely tolerable. Heck of a lot better than the last few!

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