Who saw this coming?! No one! Who ever thought that the tender dawg would defeat the heavily pimped Rock God in a landslide and take home the very coveted title?! No one! But it happened! On May 20th Kris Allen was announced as the winner of the eigthth season of American Idol!
Since the Top 13 contestants were revealed for this eigthth season of American Idol, many were expecting the final showdown to go between the 29 yr old Church Minister Danny Gokey and the 27 yr old theatre star Adam Lambert! People did see Kris Allen as someone who could do well, possibly lasting till Top 6. He had fallen into the category of 'Cannon Fodder'; a term commonly used in the world of Reality Television for those who are just in the competetion to extend it and are of no pivotal importance. But that all changed with Kris Allen!
Kris Allen auditioned Lousiville, Kentucky singing Leon Russel's classic 'A Song For You'. He was the only person in Top 13 besides the 16 year old Allison Iraheta who's audition wasn't aired. The judges commented him to be an average singer and he too didn't seem very confident of himself at the moment but the Golden Ticket was just a key to unlock the fortune that was to come his way in a few months.
During Hollywood week, he showed his artistic side to the panel by playing numerous musical instruments from acoustic guitar to electric and even a piano. His cover of Michael Buble 'Everything' was also not aired but mentioned several times by Kara DioGuardi as one of her favorite performances. He qualified for a spot in Top 36 and was placed in the second group to perform with the likes of Adam Lambert, Matt Brietzke and Matt Giraud; all of who happened to be judges favorite. Unfortunately this year the list for Top 36 leaked a week earlier over the internet. The one thing that was commonly being discussed over every message board was 'Who's Kris Allen?'
Everybody had a little to alot of idea about most of the names on the list but no one even knew who was this person. In his group night, he performed Michael Jackson's Billboard Hot 100 song 'Man In The Mirror' and was praised by the judges for his smooth delivery on the song. This was the first time Kris was given camera time that lasted longer than five seconds. On the following results show, he advanced into Top 13 along with Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta.
When Top 13 took the stage for the first time, the theme was Michael Jackson. Already quite familiar with the territory, Kris picked up 'Remember The Time' from the album 'Dangerous'. He performed along with his acoustic guitar in a very plaid manner. The performance was well recieved. Kris advanced to Top 11 smoothly.
Grand Ole Opry was the theme during Top 11 night. Mentored by the country star, Randy Travis; Kris decided to sing a stripped back mellow version of the Bob Dylan's classic 'Make You Feel My Love'. The performance was recieved with unanimous praise, Simon Cowell also stated that he has a decent shot of doing well in the competetion. Kris was declared safe on the result night and advanced to Top 10.
The Top 10 took on the Motown classics. Mentored by Smokey Robinson this time, he decided upon Marvin Gaye's 'How Sweet It Is(To Be Loved By You)'. Smokey commented that Kris was definitely someone who could go on to become a big star(Way to go, Smokey!). The performance was well-recieved with many of the judges praising his orginality. Kris was declared safe on the following night and advanced to Top 9 unscathed.
Top Downloads was the chosen theme for Top 9. Kris delivered his best performance on the Idol stage when he sang Bill Withers 'Ain't No Sunshine'. Kris was given the pimp spot this week and used it extremely well. The performance was praised to be his best with Simon commenting that he should be more confident of his talent on stage. Kris was declared safe and advanved to Top 8.
'Songs From The Year They Were Born' was the theme during Top 8. Kris Allen went ahead with Don Henley's 'All She Wants To Do Is Dance'. Though many believed that the song showed the edgier side of Kris and commented that he could perform the upbeat songs just as well as the ballads, the judges thought of it as one of his weak moments. The critical reason being wrong song choice. Fortunately America thought otherwise and forwarded Kris in Top 7.
Top 7 took on the 'Songs Of The Cinema' along with mentor Quentin Tarantino. Kris performed the Academy Award winning song 'Falling Slowly' from the movie Once. Kris did extremely well with this song as it revealed his compassionate side. While Randy commented on it being pitchy from note one(Why Randy?! Why? Why?), Kara thought it was one of his best moments ever and Simon stated that he was brilliant. America agreed and Kris advanced for another week of showcasing his talent.
Disco Week came as a real shocker for all when Kris performed the Donna Summer chart topper 'She Works Hard For The Money' in his own unique fashion. You people have got to hear this to believe this! No way on Earth could this seem like a Donna Summer signature peice after Kris gave it his touch. The performance was contempary, cleverly arranged and artistic, also let's not forget the most important original. Kris got a thumbs up from the judges and was declared safe for another round.
The Top 5 were mentored by Jamie Foxx and the theme for the week was 'Rat Pack Standards'. Kris took up Frank Sinatra's immortal hit 'The Way You Look Tonight'. Foxx was so amazed by Kris's spin on the song that he offered to collaborate with him if Idol doesn't work out for him. Three weeks in a row Kris delivered his best. America saw the tender dawg's(Randy's affectionate moniker for Kris) softer side once again that was highlighted during Country Week and this time he seemed more confident. The performance got mixed reviews with Simon stating it as wet(Just when I was beginning to like him?!). This week got a little scary when Kris made an appearence in Bottom 3 along with Adam Lambert and Matt Giraud. But he was declared safe first.
'Rock n Roll' was the theme for Top 4, and they were mentored by Slash. Due to time constraints, instead of the usual two songs per contestants, there was one duet and one solo performance. Kris performed alongside Danny Gokey the Styx hard rock chart number 'Renegade'. The comments on the performance were humorous. Kara stated that this was a thing more for the bad boys, Kris and Danny being strictly catholic and church goers didn't give the vibe. Simon blatantly favored Danny over Kris(He really does want me to start hating him!). For his solo performance Kris performed the Beatles signature number 'Come Together'. He recieved positive reviews on it with the judges saying that he did the best he could do with the song given that rock isn't exactly his comfort zone. Kris was predicted to be eliminated this week but survived(A Happy Dance Moment for me!).
Just a week away from the finale, the Allenation(Kris's followers had dubbed themselves as Allenation) were mighty unsure of this week. The underdog was up against two of the most heavily pimped constestants of Season 8, Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey. While still standing by Kris, there was a major belief that Kris won't survive this week. The night came and Kris performed 'Apologize' by One Republic as his first song. Randy and Kara had chosen it for Kris. The reviews were mixed with Kara stating that he didn't own it and Simon commenting on a foolish song choice. With the other song choice, thankfully being one of his own choice, Kris performed Kanye West's recent hot chart number 'Heartless'. This was unbelievable! Kris totally owned the song by performing it with an acoustic guitar. Simon stated 'Heartless' as his most favorite performance from Season 8 with Randy stating that he liked his take on the song more than Kanye and the Fray. Simon also said that he had written Kris out of competetion but 'Heartless' changed his mind completely. Kris was declared safe on the following night with Danny Gokey being sent home(Another Happy Dance Moment for me!).
Kris competed against Adam in the finale. While the gauntlet was drawn and nearly everybody expected Kris to be thrown under the bus with the judges favoring Adam, there was still hope. Kris performed 'Ain't No Sunshine' first as his reprise song. Kris made it more of his own style this time and declaring round one to be his by Simon Cowell. The second round was the producer's choice and Kris was given Marvin Gaye's soulful classic about social awareness 'What's Going On'. It recieved mixed reviews with the Judges stating that it was a poor song choice but he did the best he could do with it. Round two was declared in favor of Adam!
The coronation song 'No Boundaries' written by Kara DiaGuardi, Mitch Allan and Cathy Dennis. I so don't know what to say about this song. Of all the coronation song I've witnessed till now, this one takes the bottom spot. It's far too pop for Kris, it's something I would rather see Hannah Montana singing than Kris Allen. Therefore Round 3 was not declared to anyone and the judges chose not to judge the contestants on the song but on thier journey. Kris was told that watching him grow was incredible from the shy timid lad to the confident performer.
On May 20th Kris Allen was declared as eigthth American Idol. Nobody saw this coming! Heck nobody even thought he would make it to the finale. Everyone was predicting the last round to be between Danny and Adam or Danny and Alexis. But Kris won! And for the third time in a row, one of my picks has won!
Way to go, Kris! Way to go! Wishing you the very best for an amazing career ahead!
Copyright © Saad Khan 2009 (Karachi, Pakistan; saadkhalidkhan@gmail.com)
2 comments:
Wow, great review. You included every week in Idol. My favorite was Danny and I was thoroughly surprised that Adam didn't win the competition since judges gushed over him and since his range is pretty ridiculous. I hope they all go on to do great things. Certainly the most depth they have had for years on Idol.
@ Write Girl
Yeah, even I was expecting Adam to win! When Kris made in into Top 3 I was so surprised and plus I got nasty stares from a friend of mine who was supporting Danny!
In the finale I expected Adam to take the title but once again it was a shocker for me! And yeah, I got nasty stares from the Adam supporters! I was the only Kris fan in my circle!
Thanks for the visit!
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