In my opinion, when American Idol gets down to its final five finalists, that’s when the competition truly heats up. With two performances every week, the contestants need to be stronger than ever in order to remain tin the competition. Plus, usually by this stage of the competition, the remaining contestants are usually strong; with maybe one or two exceptions.
Looking at this competition, probably from the week after Alexis Grace’s elimination, I would’ve said that my desired top five would’ve been Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, Danny Gokey, Kris Allen, and Matt Giraud. I have to say that looking at the top ten, I was nervous that a few of the aforementioned contestants would’ve fallen by the wayside, but it’s nice to see that America recognizes the same talent that I had hoped to see singing two songs each week.
So, the question then arises, was the judges’ save worth it? After all, it saved Matt from Top 7 elimination, but it came at the expense of Anoop Desai and Lil Rounds. Looking at al three of their track records, I would’ve been happy with any of the two of them going home. I think Matt is a smidge better than Anoop and Lil, but his weak performances are the weakest of all three. Overall, I’d say that keeping Matt in the competition over Anoop and Lil was probably not a terrible thing. However, when Anoop was standing next to Allison Iraheta in the bottom three and I knew one of them was going home, I seriously questioned the judges’ save. Allison sings and performs circles around Matt, and knowing that he may have been spared at the expense of the last woman standing was a little alarming. It goes to show you that using the save is a real risk, only because it comes at the expense of two people.
This week’s theme is “Standards from the Rat Pack”. With so few contestants left, there’s nobody who’s really in trouble, just people who are safe and not safe. For this article, and for the rest of the articles in this series, I will simply rank them in numerical order, from first to last. Let’s see how our five finalists rank this week:
1. Adam Lambert – I loved Adam’s performance during disco week. He took a true disco hit and made it an impassioned ballad and combined it, to quote Simon, an “immaculate vocal”. I feel like a broken record when I say that we are now X weeks in and Adam has still failed to hit a single off-note. With jazz standards coming up, I think everyone is excited to see Adam switch up the songs and make them truly unique and exciting. In my opinion, there has been no one this consistently excellent on the Idol stage since the cocktail waitress from Burleston, Texas took the Idol crown in season 1.
2. Danny Gokey – Was I the only one who thought Danny had his weakest performance to date? On top of it, his arrangement was lazy and clumsy. My biggest gripe with the performance was the idea that the judges slammed Lil Rounds for choosing a disco song, keeping the arrangement the same and pairing it with an average vocal, and yet, Danny had done the same thing and got nowhere near as much criticism. Oh, I also hate his new facial hair, it has to go. With standards week coming up, I expect Danny to do quite well, but if he doesn’t do anything different to the arrangements, then I’ll be quite disappointed.
3. Kris Allen – I did truly love Kris’ performance this week, but I do have one quick question to ask; While Kris certainly did something different with the song, did he truly make it original? Or did he just make it exactly like every other Kris performance? I love Kris’ voice, and his personality seems to be expanding every week, but I’ve begun to think that he’s a little predictable; I don’t think he’s at the level yet where he can truly surpass Adam and Danny, but his lack of bottom three appearances suggests otherwise.
4. Allison Iraheta – Why doesn’t she get the votes? Allison’s performance this past week was so wickedly cool; and yet, she still ended up on the brink of elimination. I think being the last woman standing will help her out, but Allison needs to be on the top top top of her game if she wants to crack the final three. The finals is not out of her reach just yet (ask Katharine McPhee), but it’s a tough climb.
5. Matt Giraud – In my opinion, Matt didn’t prove with his performance last week that he truly deserved the judges’ save. I agreed with Simon that his performance was just okay and a little bit desperate. America disagreed with me, but I don’t know if they will keep him around for much longer. This week’s theme may be one where Matt shines, but he may also fall apart. The other reason he is ranked lowest on my list is because in this competition, only two of the people have graced the bottom three, one of which faced it last week and is the last female, therefore will probably get out of it. That spells trouble for Matt.
With only five contestants left, there are no more contestants to hide behind. We writers have been fortunate enough this season to always predict the demise of Megan or Michael or Lil or Anoop and be more or less right; now, we have nobody to make our scapegoat. I think Allison and Matt are both in serious trouble, seeing as the other three contestants have all been free of the bottom three; I think that will remain that way next week, and I predict that Allison and Matt are going to be the bottom two. Unfortunately, unless he pulls out all the stops this week, I predict the end of the road for Matt Giraud. However, as usual, the performances will change everything, so let’s watch and see what happens!
It appears they may be “pimping” Allison this week, just to save a girl. But I hope Allison goes and Matt stays.
Top 4 – All boy! That would be cool!
*Adam
*Danny
*Kris
*Matt
I want Matt, Allison, Kris, and OF COURSE HNN to stay. However, I see Hokey getting to stay yet another week (WHY, AMERICA?!) and Matt leaving. Hokey does the same bloody thing every week, but apparently his fan base doesnt’ care.
It’s always possible that Allison departs, but I think too many Matt viewers go for Kris and Allison holds her own for one more week. And it has nothing to do with EW.com’s Idolatry pimping. They get mad at Gokey pimping and then do the same? WTF? Matt will need a REALLY STRONG WEEK to stay. Go back to the keyboards, Matt, and give us the performances we *know* you have in you, or it’s the end of the road for you.
Adam FTW
Don’t forget to vote, and I mean it
Matt has had way too many chances. He got the wildcard and the judge’s save, and he needs to go home. He is the weakest contestant left by a mile. His voice is shaky and he can’t control his vibrato at all. Danny needs to go next week, then Kris, and an Allison VS Adam finale would be awesome.
This week and next–I think Matt and Allison will be eliminated.
Who will the Matt & Allison voters then vote for? What percentage will just no longer vote?
BTW–that was a good article–because it’s pretty much the way I thought–ROFL
Adam and Allison or Kris=the perfect finale.
I don’t always love Kris’s performances but last week’s and Ain’t No Sunshine…were just superlative, IMO.
Danny and Adam=pain for half the program, awesomeness for the other. And I thought Archie was boring…Then only advantage for HNN fans in that finale scenario is that I think Adam will smash Hokey IF Adam supporters pick up the phone, the way Cook fans did last year.
“I feel like a broken record when I say that we are now X weeks in and Adam has still failed to hit a single off-note.”
Actually, although I am a big Adam fan, this isn’t exactly true. Adam has blown one note all season and it was spectacular if for no other reason than it was so unexpected.
During his live performance of “Mad World”, Adam reached for the final falsetto note and initially found something “unusual” to say the least. Recognizing his error, he quickly fixed it, but the damage was done. Glad to see they cleaned it up in the studio version.
So anyway, an entire season and one blown note. Not too shabby.
One hidden advantage Kris and Danny may have is that right now, they may be splitting the Christian vote. Once one is gone, the other will likely suck up that entire block which could make the finale actually competitive.
Yo, Adam fans, get here stat and vote and then post (yours truly did, twice):
http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/04/kris-allen-idol.html?cid=152393559#comment-152393559
DON’T FORGET TO VOTE
I voted and posted. Mmmp!
This is all very dangerous from here on out. There’s no way you can write Matt off considering the theme and Danny will probably get the pimp spot which will help him considerably.
Matt hasn’t been popular with viewers though and since he’s been voted off a few times already he’s still in the hot seat. I think Allison, Adam and Kris join him there. It may come down to performances.
Slezak is beyond help at this point. If things don’t go his way I get the feeling he is going to picket the finale in protest. This is so much worse than his Carly fixation last year.
I know. I’m thinking Matt is going to be staying.
Can someone tell me what HNN stands for? I see it used as a reference, i think, to Adam.
Bill, the only note (besides the one you mentioned) that I think Adam is still missing is that (those) spectacular note(s) from “Is Anybody Listening” or “Brigadoon”. Those big emotional notes have yet to be seen!
The reason Allison keeps landing in the bottom 3 is that her voice does not come off so well or so polished through the TV set. She may well be a great singer in person, but that same voice just sounds like a woman who smokes cigarettes when we, the home audience, go out and vote. It’s not that she’s terrible, but that the vocals don’t come across via the tv channels. We all have been to concerts where the singer sounds better in person. Unfortunately for Allison, that’s probably the case as well.
Rawk, Glenda! Adam is now tied with Kris at 39 percent each on Slezak’s poll. The Adam voters have arrived. (And of course I had to post again. LOL)
Now you have to pick up the phone on Tuesday night and vote!
Adam #1
Kris #2
Allison #3
Matt #4
Danny #5
And I agree…NO ONE IS SAFE ANYMORE. No one.
If Matt is on his game tomorrow and Danny is in the pimp spot it really complicates the situation. I know Anoop went out when he had the pimp spot but Danny is a completely different story. I can’t see him going out if he sings last and is even half-way decent.
That leaves Adam, Allison and Kris in a precarious position and I think it will come down to performances, performance order and judges comments.
I think Allison gets the pimp slot, b/c I don’t think she has ever had it, right? Matt goes second. Kris goes first? Adam goes third, Danny goes fourth, and Allison goes last. Just a thought. I can’t see Matt going first or last, and I also don’t see Adam going first or last, though he might go second.
I honestly think Matt is leaving, but if not Matt then Allison. I believe Adam, Kris, and Danny are safe for another week at least.
Actually, Adam has this so in the bag at this point that none of us really needs to worry about voting for him.
(lol, said this just to annoy sue…)
Allison had the pimp spot already. It was the week Simon drew on Paula’s face with crayons – Motown week, I think.
I think Danny is the only person left who hasn’t had it.
“While Kris certainly did something different with the song, did he truly make it original? Or did he just make it exactly like every other Kris performance?”
This is a pretty surprising comment, I think. After all, Kris gave this week’s performance a *Latin* twist! Last week he sang the song straight. The week before he gave the song a jazz twist (which was not entirely popular, but oh well). Before that he entirely reinvented Ain’t No Sunshine (not sure what category that fits in). These are extremely different performances. Yet they all fit a “Kris style”…which is exactly what you want. The idea that Kris “does the same thing every week” is unpersuasive, I think. I actually think you could argue that he has more diversity than Adam since he has more shades of gray than Adam’s alternating LOUD / soft habit.
I am not trying to make this an Adam vs. Kris thing, since they are together the two most creative constants. But to say that Kris is not original because he is so consistently original does not make sense to me.
ROFL @ Bill–I am glad you put that footnote in your post. I’d have to fly out and revive Sue.
NOBODY is safe. In my opinion–this is the best TOP 5 ever. They are all a tad different from each other. This ensures a fan base for each. I really, really like them all. But–ADAM is just the best Idol ever had–again–this is MY opinion. I just hope it is the majority opinion, of course. I love this kid to pieces.
But, tomorrow night–I will vote for the entire 2 hours for Adam. Hang up–redial, hang up–redial until I am daft (ier).
/falling down (and sticking tongue out at Bill)
I think Kris is VERY imaginative. He and Adam, IMO, put the best interpretations on the songs; very original, and Kris reminds me quite a bit of David Cook. (I so want the both in the finale.) Allison and Matt do change up their songs, too, to an extent, but I think Allison pretty much sounds the same, albeit good, every week, and Matt’s songs are hit or miss (e.g., last week’s, which DID, to my mind, sound somewhat desperate, especially the last 60 seconds of it). Hokey: Uh, no. EVER. Please don’t give him the pimp slot…which means he gets it. But maybe Idol will run over again…heh heh.
DON’T FORGET TO VOTE, AND THAT MEANS YOU, BILL
I’m picking Danny to have the pimp spot thie week.
Idolfan5, those are my sentiments exactly…those performances are nothing alike (other than Kris’ voice) and yet, I’ve heard this comment before. I don’t quite understand the sentiment, and I suppose it would apply to every contestant if you think about it. I like people to be recognizable. There’s nothing wrong with saying “Hey, he really made that song sound like Kris.” You can recognize a certain artist’s style, but that doesn’t make everything “soundalike.” I really like Kris, I don’t think he will win (and I don’t really think he should), but IMO he has done enough to make someone take notice and offer him a contract.
I agree with Dee. I am a bigger fan of Kris each week. He really does have a Jason Mraz/Gavin DeGraw kind of vibe to him, and I love them. Awesome albums to listen to anytime.
I’ll be very surprised if Danny doesn’t get the pimp spot this week, and I think they’ve been saving it for him for F5. Adam might lead off the show, followed by Matt in the death slot, then Allison and Kris. They want Matt gone, but I think jazz standards is right in his wheelhouse and he could kill it. If so, it’s buh-bye Allison, and Slezak will have to cry in his teacup.
This is the really tough part of the competition as I think most of these performers (sans Gokey) are talented. But someone has to go.
The folks at Idolotry have lost their minds in fantarding, imo. I get that they like to play devil’s advocate, but, seriously, does anyone think that Allison and Kris are better vocally than Adam? Allison has a great voice but is hampered by garbled phrasing and the inability to change up her performances, and Kris is the kind of singer you can find in any Starbucks on a Saturday night.
It’ll be funny when they have to interview Gokey. As much as I don’t like Danny, I hope he tells Slezak to take a hike for all the Put the Go in Gokey stuff.
But Kath, Adam has been at the top of the Power Rankings @ EW for WEEKS. You are acting like he never gets any respect. He is moved down to the second spot for one week because Kris had a particularly good performance, and he is praised on Idolatry but less effusively, and you (and so many others) act like Adam has been horribly slighted. I don’t understand that.
Also, seriously, American Idol is a fairly competitive process, and Kris has made it to the Top 5 and has more and more buzz. Is it really fair to compare him to a Starbucks signer? Really?
Final point. People appreciate different kinds of singing. Don’t you see why some people would admit that Adam’s voice is extremely unique, but not especially pleasant? Some people aren’t drawn to the “wailing” that sometimes occurs. It is not an objective fact that Adam is the best…especially not for those who don’t like his style of singing. We can, of course, disagree about who is better, more marketable, etc. I just don’t like the notion that unless Adam is given nothing but praise and seen as the only contender, the commentator must be “fantarding”. That is not fair.
The pimp spot just may run over. 10 songs 1hour and 1 minute. ROFL–that one minute? Corporate execs meet to decide that?
Good luck Kris Allen! for us Asian’s you are our American Idol this season.
Top 4 all boys, sexist! I hate that idea. And Allison is a great singer
The problem with Kris, Matt and Danny is we’ve seen this before…we’ve heard it before…..same ole, same ole. Adam brings a vibe to this show that has really never had a Vibe!I know there are alot of Kris fans, but I just can’t see him becoming nothing more than someone who sings ballads well. He totally blew the Eagles All she wants to do is dance”. I’m 55 and the only reason I watch Idol right now is to see what Adam brings again. Bought all his songs/studio versions and they are on my Ipod. I have not purchased any other songs from the group….I’m just not feeling them. Fantasia is a great singer, Daughtery, Bo Bice, etc. Remember Bo singing accapella? You won’t see Matt, Kris, Danny, do that…Adam could do it. No disrespect to the other contestants……
I hope that Allison is saved on her birthday week! <3
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=92208924858&h=jr4D7&u=46bVS
I like Kris a lot; as Paula would say, he and Kris are like apples and oranges. I love Adam (duh), but if Kris won, I could deal (I would be very disappointed, but I could deal). If Hokey wins, no. (GOD, NO.) Matt, no. And I like Allison, but no. If Adam is not in the finale, see ya, bye.
As far as Idolatry:
1) They don’t like Adam. They just had to get on the bandwagon b/c he was too far ahead to ignore him anymore. They do nothing but pimp Allison, which is too bad for her, and also isn’t helping her at all.
2) There is, to me, a sudden Kris bandwagon. Understood: he has had two very strong performances in the last three weeks. But when Adam does slow, they say it’s sleepy, and when he does uptempo, they say he wails. It’s hypocritical.
Let’s see how tomorrow pans out. I have to say, though, that this is starting to get very ugly. I know there was a major Archie v Cook battle last year, but it wasn’t like this so early on!!!
ADAM FTW
Video which features talks about Danny Gokey being clumsy hehe
http://www.ew.com/ew/package/0,,20007164_20174011,00.html
I think/hope Danny is the “total surprise” boot this week — kind of like Melinda Doolittle and Chris Daughtry were.
The other four are much more interesting to think about as artists.
I’m pretty sure that Adam is going to win the whole thing since he’s really great but I’d like to keep the show interesting for the next few weeks. Gokey just doesn’t cut it. He’s the most boring contestant out of the top five.
wht if adam is the surprise elimination?
only because so many people say that he’s most likely to win, so it would be kinda a surprise if he is voted off.
DONT MEAN TO JINX HIM! HOPE I’M WRONG. VOTE PEOPLE!
Opinions vary and your cup of tea is just that.
But my cup runneth over with a funky, theatrical, new wave glam, with blow the doors and roof off gravity defying vocals…and the music gods smiled and were pleased.
Vote early vote often vote for those who can’t.
Honestly i don’t think anyone is safe this week. There are a couple (Allison and Matt) who may be more in danger, due to previous performances and percieved lack of viewer support. However anyone of them could go home this week, Adam could quite easily if viewers get complacent (that said i hope he doesn’t as it wouldn’t be quite as exicting for me), if Kris doesn’t pick a decent song then he’s in trouble too. And well the less i say about Danny the better (i have given up listening to him at this point) but america seems to love him so far. We shall see what happens after the performances tonight, as that will probably give a much better indication of who’s going to be eliminated on Wednesday
And please vote for Adam for me!!!
Kris Allen = Jason Mraz/Gavin Degraw? Yes, I quite see that. Can’t get into any of the three. Too much n love with alt rock/metal/screamo. Which explains my Adam love. I’m not in the US either, so vote Adam! For me!