Welcome back. Well we are finally here after nearly 5 months of auditions, and eliminations and shockers and some great performances it's finally here, the next American Idol will be crowned. It will either be 16 year old medical marvel Lauren Alaina, or 17 year old front runner Scotty McCreery. We picked Scotty to win the whole thing a while back, and despite a valiant effort by Lauren, I think Scotty has got this. But crazier things have happened before.
Since this is our last blog of the season we thought we'd provide a recap of some of the more memorable times on this blog. As well as see how we did in predicting the Bottom 3 or 2 and who goes home:
Eliminated Contestant/Season Grades:
Here's a breakdown of how each of the Top 13 were graded and a line from what was said about them the week they performed.
Best Performance of The Season=Haley, House of The Rising Sun
Worst Performance of The Season= Jacob, No Air
Bottom 3 or 2 Predictions= 21/29. Not bad at all. I was able to narrow it down pretty well.
Going Home Predictions= 3/12. Not so great, this shows how shocking some of the eliminations were this season.
Alright, hope you enjoyed that blast from the past number of months. Now let's get on with tonight's recap and find out who will win American Idol.
Let's get to it:
VOTES:
122 Million Votes Last Night, 750 Million Votes This Season. A New World Record. At least according to Ryan Seacrest.
Top 13 Perform:
All dressed in White, the Top 13 are back together singing Lady Gaga's "Born This Way". It's nice to see them all again, love that they have continued to have them sing live and not with the pre-taped recordings. They actually sounded pretty nice all together. It's a nice way to start the show.
James & Judas Priest:
This is obviously one of James' favorite bands, so it's probably pretty cool to sing with Judas Priest. Not gonna lie I'm not the biggest fan of theirs but when you think of heavy rock music they definitely are high up on the list. James is definitely in his element. Very cool performance.
Judge's Review Part 1:
They have a pre-taped packaged piece on the judges. They make fun of Randy's repetitiveness and him saying "What Kind of Show Is This" or "In It To Win It". Randy is Randy. He tried so hard to be the anchor and "bad guy" of the show, but it just didn't fit. He is too crazy with his sayings and isn't consistent with his critiques. Randy will be around until American Idol takes its last breath, I hope he'll take something away from this season and maybe grow from it. Ya gotta hope.
Jacob, Kurt Franklin & Gladys Knight:
Jacob paired up with this Gospel singer is a perfect match. Jacob is definitely in his groove right there. You can see him doing this type of style of music. During the middle of the performance Gladys Night sans Pips joined in. They all sounded really great together.
Casey & Jack Black:
This is a match made in crazy dude heaven. Both Casey and Jack Black have that intense and crazy fun style of performing. They both look sharp in their suits while they sing Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls". Cool performance, but I wouldn't expect any less from these two.
Ladies of The Top 13:
They sing a compilation of Beyonce's "Single Ladies", "Irreplaceable", "Move Your Body", "If I Were a Boy", and "Deja Vu", oh look it's Ashthon and Karen, it seems like they were on a different show, it's been a long time since they were eliminated. I wonder if Beyonce will show up if they are singing a few of her songs? Haley sounds great, even though she has only been gone a week I missed her. Even 13th place finisher Ashthon sounded pretty good. Guess what, Beyonce showed up. Can you say predictable, I will, predictable. Beyonce then sang a bit of her "Crazy In Love" and the ladies backed her and danced a little bit with her. Beyonce is cool, she really knows how to work a stage.
Judges Review Part 2:
It's Steven Tyler's turn. They call him a loose cannon who curses, smokes and does whatever he wants. The thing that I find the saddest looking back on some of his clips is how much promise and creativity he showed during the audition rounds and how much it lacked during the live performances. Honestly if I had a nickel for every time he said someone's performance was "Beautiful" or "He Loved It", I would have a lot of freakin' nickels. He did prove that he is very endearing and sweet, something a lot of people, including myself didn't know about him going in. I think if he comes back next year he has to learn from his mistakes and step it up. People do love him, he is a legend.
Haley & Tony Bennett:
What an interesting combination, but it makes perfect sense. Haley has such a cool jazzy voice and they sound great together for a bit there, even though Tony forgot a lot of the words. But Haley sounded great and stepped in for him. Don't know what happened there, but he is a legend and you can't say anything negative about him.
Judges Review Part 3:
It's Jennifer Lopez's turn. They go over the fact that the contestants really loved J.Lo. They show all the contestants that gave J.Lo compliments, Casey giving her a kiss, Stefano flirting with J.Lo several times. I thought she did a nice job this year, better than I expected going in. I feel she could have been more critical and consistent with her comments. Honestly one week she told Haley "don't pick a song that know one knows" because it's tough for the audience to connect and the next week she tells her "it's tough to sing a well known song". There were also some performances where she literally said "You can't be judged". Well they really could, no one is perfect and these are mainly kids who needed the guidance and help. If J.Lo comes back I would hope that having a year under her belt will help her be a bit more guided and focused with her comments and critiques.
Lil Jon, TLC and Ladies of Top 13:
I love Lil Jon, I pretty much like anyone if they have the guts to be called "Lil". Since I haven't seen TLC in about 10 years it was cool seeing them again singing a couple of their hits like "Waterfalls" and "No Scrubs". Some of the ladies of the Top 13 join TLC during "Waterfalls".
Scotty & Tim McGraw:
What can I say, it's a perfect match and Tim McGraw is exactly who Scotty wishes he could be. If Scotty has half of the success that Tim McGraw has had then he is in really good shape.
Memorable Contestants:
They show a compilation of some of the more "memorable" contestants from the audition rounds. By far my favorite moment is when one of the contestants tried to do a back flip or two or three and landed right on the cameraman's face. I didn't see in the package the time that Randy punched the girl in the face by accident, that was pretty funny as well.
Marc Anthony Performs with Special Guest:
Who does this guy know to be able to perform on Finale night? Oh, that's right. We also get Sheila E. on the drums, which pretty cool. After getting through about half of the song, his better half J.Lo comes out and performs some sexy dance for/with him. She then joins some of the backup dancers. Really fun performance.
Shocking Results Debate:
The contestants talk about some of the shocking results this year. Stefano thinks that James was the most shocking elimination. Casey said he is the most shocking. It's a pretty funny bit. Then after debating who the most shocking was, Pia steps in and with her "Most Shocking" sash and crown stops the debate. There really is no question that Pia's elimination was the most shocking. But it's possible that her early elimination might benefit her in the long run. The fan support that she garnered from this can catapault her career. If she puts out a decent record she can have a nice little career.
Top 13 Men Perform:
The men of the Top 13 sing Prince's "Kiss", Tom Jones' "She's A Lady" "What's New Pussycat", "Love Me Tonight" and "Delilah" and Katherine Jenkins' "Green Green Grass of Home". After singing the majority of Tom Jones' songs I wonder if he will come out? Holy smokes he did. Shocking oh so shocking. He sings his big hit "It's Not Unusual". He still looks and sounds pretty great.
Ford Music Video:
Didn't want to talk about it during regular shows, still don't want to talk about it during finale. American Idol did give a car away to a couple of deserving teachers. Ford also gives Lauren and Scotty a car. Thus ends another season of the ridiculous, tedious and shameless plug of Ford.
Lady Gaga Performs:
Live and in person singing her new song "Edge of Glory". A couple weeks ago the contestants got to watch Lady Gaga on their TV's now they get to see her up close and crazy. Love Lady Gaga because she is nuts and is proud of it. She also always sings live and sounds great. Plus she was a really good mentor a couple weeks back, I hope she comes back next season to help out.
Lauren & Carrie Underwood:
Singing with her "Idol", Lauren and Carrie Underwood' sing one of Carrie's most famous songs "Before He Cheats". Like with Scotty and Tim McGraw, if Lauren can achieve half of Carrie Underwood's success she'll be in really good shape with her career. Damaged vocal chords and all Lauren definitely keeps up. Carrie and Lauren look great tonight. It's weird that Lauren was only 10 years old when Carrie won American Idol. Doesn't seem that long ago does it?
Contestants Take on Lauren & Scotty:
They make fun of the "school children", they make fun of the fact they can't drink, can't vote, and can barely drive. They are just learning cursive still. Funny little bit.
Beyonce Performs:
"One Plus One" is Beyonce's new single. I guess her album is coming out soon or something because she is getting a lot of her songs out there tonight. Hey if they let ya sing twice and have the Top 13 ladies sing about 5 of your other hits then good for ya. She always sounds great.
Bono & The Edge and the Broadway Cast of "Spiderman: Turn Off The Lights":
As longs as no one gets hurt then this is a successful outing and gives the very notorious Broadway show a lot of exposure. Plus having Bono and The Edge come out is always a huge bonus. If I were to see the show I might still be going to see if someone gets hurt and not for the music, but maybe that's just me.
Steven Tyler Performs:
Singing "Dream On" is none other than Steven Tyler. Supposedly Aerosmith did not agree to come on, but as long as we hear Steven Tyler's voice then that's good enough for me. He is the man, there's no denying it. He is such an exciting performer, even when his voice is a little hoarse like it sounds, but he hits that high note like only he can. Amazing.
Oh Yes, The Results:
So after a looooong show it's time to announce the winner. One of these two people will be something that only 9 others have achieved.
The Winner of Season 10 American Idol: SCOTTY McCREERY
Final Thoughts:
*Scotty had it, we all knew he had it, he was so consistent week to week. Lauren did an amazing job but Scotty was the front runner for such a loooong time. His fan base was huge and despite a valiant effort by Lauren last night she just couldn't make a big enough dent to steal it away from him.
*Scotty now is the 6th male to win this show following Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks, David Cook, Kris Allen, and Lee Dewyze. The only females are Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks.
*The streak continues of Idol Winners never to be in the Bottom 3. Only Fantasia was Bottom 3 and won. Scotty's fans always kept him in one of the top two spots, and they came through big for him again.
*Where Scotty's career goes is anybody's guess but no one can take away the fact that he is the American Idol. Congratulations to him and all the American Idol contestants. It's been a fun season.
Well that's it. I hope you all enjoyed I'dol Be The Judge. Please come back here over the course of the Summer and Fall for all your Idol News. We will keep you updated as to what is going on in the Idol World. Thanks to everyone for reading. We'll see you real soon.
