Kris Allen & Adam Lambert battled it out on last night’s final performances for the 2009 Season 8 of American Idol. This is such a close competition right now, and literally anyone could potentially walk away with the title tonight.
Review of Kris Allen & Adam Lambert’s Performances on Idol on May 19, 2009
I thought that Kris Allen had very strong performances last night. His first performance was a song titled “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and he did a fantastic job. It really showed that he was a true performer. The judges all loved the performance, and Simon even hailed Kris as the “winner” of the first round based on it.
The first song Adam Lambert sung was “Mad World.” Personally, I thought it was Adam’s best song of the night, but the judges didn’t seem to be crazy about it (especially Simon who suggested it was too “theatrical.”). But I thought it was the best performance he did for the night. I didn’t have to endure the “screaming” so much during that one.
The second song Allen performed was “What’s Going On.” I thought he did a great job with this one as well. I love his acoustical/guitar versions he does. It really shows that he has true talent. The judges liked this one as well, but not quite as much as the first song. In fact, they gave this round to Adam.
Adam Lambert’s second song was “A Change is Gonna Come.” I thought this performance was flat out terrible. He had a few decent moments, but overall his high “screamy” voice just didn’t match the song at all. It was everywhere in terms of pitch/melody in my opinion. Simon actually gave this round to Adam, but I thought it was actually much worse than his first performance.
The final song was “No Boundaries” which was co-written by Kara. I thought the song was terrible for both contestants, simply because it didn’t match either of their vocal talents or musical styles. However, I have to admit that Kris Allen absolutely did a better job than Adam Lambert on this one.
You could tell that Kris was struggling a bit to hit the high notes, simply because he doesn’t sing in the high range. However, he didn’t flub any of them, he just really sounded like it was difficult for him. Parts of the song sounded really well, however, and Randy said he too thought it was a better fit for Kris.
Adam’s version of the song sounded even worse. His voice just has a really high-pitch “screaminess” to it, and at this point it seems like if you have heard 1 Adam Lambert performance, you have heard them all. I didn’t like it at all, and it sounded really rushed too. Again, no one did great on this song, but Kris did much better in my opinion.
Who Deserves to Win Idol? Adam Lambert or Kris Allen?
First, just let me say they are both great singers, and no doubt both will get a record deal & have a career in the music industry. With that being said, I think the winner of American Idol should be based on a few key factors:
- Vocal Abilities (it is a singing competition after all)
- Performances (their overall performances throughout the season)
- Musical Talent (overall inclination for music/singing/performing)
- Musical Popularity (can they sell records/make music people will enjoy)
Based on the above factors, I have to say that Kris Allen deserves the title. He has incredible vocals. His performances have been varied & highly entertaining (from sitting at a piano, to strumming a guitar, to freestyle with the mic), his over-all musical talent is tremendous (he can play the piano/keyboard, and guitar extremely well…all while singing in tune. Adam didn’t play 1 musical instrument that I can recall), and Kris’ style & song interpretation is something that is constantly different, fresh, and new.
In contrast, Adam also has a great voice, but tends on the screamy side, which doesn’t sound very pleasant at all. His performances have ranged from great, bizarre (Ring of Fire), and even annoying. His musical talent seems to be limited to vocal/theatrical talents (no known musical instrument abilities), and his style is good, but a small niche of punk rockers. I wouldn’t buy his album, but then again, I never buy albums (that is what YouTube is for). If I did buy an album, it would probably be Kris.
So all things considered, I really think Kris Allen deserves the title. I think he will make better records. I think he is a flexible & talented artist. While some of his songs didn’t blow me away during the season, they never annoyed me (like some of Lamberts). So I am really rooting for Kris Allen tonight, and I hope he wins. We will have the results in just a few hours.
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