Finals Night- Results 5/20/09

Kirs Allen won. Did America get it right? Nooooooooo!
Yes, Kris is a good singer and a likable guy, but Adam has the goods. Kris couldn't believe he won and even said that it should have been Adam. Well, luckily these guys all are good friends by now and are supportive of each other, so no hard feelings (much to Simon's chagrin). I'm sure Adam will have a great career. Kris will be a pop star, but Adam will be a mega-star.
It was so satisfying to watch Adam sing with Kiss and Queen tonight. I was grinning from ear to ear. He just fit right in. I've never had so much fun watching Idol, as when I watched Adam perform; he's been so unpredictable and original, a breath of fresh air! It's been a great season.
Thanks to all of you that read my blog and for commenting, to the Poughkeepsie Journal for asking me to blog again this year and thanks to Morning Mix 97.7 FM's Bob Miller for having me on his show every week. Hope to see you at one of my performances near you sometime this summer. For more info, check out www.vickierussell.com
Keep on singing!

Finals Night 5/19/09

Okay, Adam is my choice by a landslide. That's really all I have to say.

Adam Lambert-Mad World-Cool, Wow! Speechless! Fantastic!
Kris Alan-Ain't No Sunshine-Nice job, original.
I think Adam won the first round.
Adam Lambert-Change Is Gonna Come-Whoa! ! His vocal control and range are amazing. His dynamics and stage presence, captivating.
Kris Alan-What's Goin' On-I wasn't very moved by that performance. It was nice, but not anything special.
Adam wins the second round.
Adam Lambert-No Boundaries-Why did they make him sing that song? It was such a mediocre song!!!!! Poor Adam.
Kris Alan-No Boundaries-No one wins singing that lousy song! I guess Kara is counting her money now, but who decided they should
The song suited Kris better, but they both lost if you ask me.

Who do you think should win?

Result Night from 5/12/09

Danny said it, let's get to the results already! Oh no! Not Danny! Why? Why? Oh well, never in the bottom 3 and then........ousted. Whaaaaa! Did you see the look on the judges' faces? Shock and awe! As was mine. He was always my second favorite. Kris was good last night, but not that good! If Kris wins next week, we know who is voting: teeny-bopper girls. He is a cutie, and he belongs on teen magazine covers. But as far as talent goes, (isn't this a talent contest?) Adam still has everyone beat. I am sorry to see Danny go; I really like him. He's been consistently good week after week. He's been through so much, can really sing, has such a great attitude and is so soulful. I know he will be one successful entertainer. I am a fan for life. Same with Adam, whether he wins or not. But Adam's got to win! He's just got to! Okay, he doesn't have to, but I think he should!
What about the rest of the show? Ehh. Not very thrilling. Can't we just have the result night like they do when they read the lottery numbers, like at 8:58, Ryan comes on and just says, "and the winner for this week is............., okay goodnight!"
Instead we have to listen to singers who are very successful and not even as good as the amateur contestants on the show. Alicia Keyes looked great and seemed really into her charity work, but I couldn't understand a word of Noah's song. Hope they raise a lot of money for Africa, a worthwhile cause. Katy Perry was just weird, but didn't do much for me. What kind of a song was that????? Jordan Sparks looked great, lost some weight, grew up a bit, but her song seemed so formulaic, soulless and contrived. I think she might have been lip-syncing; poor thing, she has no say in all this I'm sure. Good singer, but you couldn't tell from the song. And compared to Danny's singing at the end, no one could hold a candle to his heartfelt passion on You are So Beautiful. He brought me to tears. I was a huge Melinda Dolittle fan last year, and she didn't win either. Haven't heard much from her since. I learned a long time ago that the music business isn't interested in incredible talent, just in making quick money. I have so many incredibly talented friends who never got signed, and some mediocre ones who did. I thought the public was smarter than that. What a shame.

Thanks to Bob Miller on morning mix 97.7 FM for having me on his radio show every week this AI sesaon. I'll be on at 7:35AM tomorrow morning talking about tonight's results. Tune in! And check out my videos on you tube under Vickie Russell. Please feel free to comment on my blog if you have something to add to or disagree with! I love hearing from you all; you have great opinions and insights!

Adam, next week, okay? Did Amerca get it right? What do you think?

Judge's Choice/Singer's Choice 5/12/09

Judge's Choice/Singer's Choice

Always an interesting night when the judges give their choice of song and when the singers pick their own songs. I like to see who the judges think the singers are and also who the singers themselves think they are. For the most part, the songs worked well tonight. Adam was amazing as always and Kris did surprisingly well on the second song. Danny always touches my heart. Here's my take on tonight's performances:

Danny Gokey-Dance Little Sister-Lots of energy, limited range in the song, but he performed great! I wouldn't have chosen it for him.
Kris Allen-Apologize-It sounded a lot like the original, nothing that special to me.
Adam Lambert-One-Cool, what an arrangement, what a range, what control, what a voice!!!!!!!!! So original! I'm speechless!
Danny Gokey-You Are So Beautiful-Not my favorite song, but he sang it with great artistry. Such a nice voice, and soulful as always.
Kris Allen-Heartless-That was a great performance, with so much originality, great feel on the guitar and his voice soared. It was so intimate with him just playing guitar and singing by himself. Impressive! This is going to be a close competition!
Adam Lambert-Cryin'-Wow, I never understood those words before! He puts so much passion and presence behind his performances, besides an amazing voice and unique interpretation. My mother just commented, "he's like Tina Turner, in his star quaility and confident delivery." Incredible charisma. Give the man the trophy already!!!!!
Who should go home tomorrow? Kris? I still like Danny and Adam best, but Adam is my favorite!

Result Night from 5/5/09

Wow, Kris is safe, and Allison is going home. That's different from what I thought should happen. I'm glad Allison is going home so she can rest her voice. I'm relieved that Danny and Adam are safe. Whew!
So next week, Kris has gotta go.
Adam and Danny are still my favorites, Adam being #1. After seeing the movie "The Soloist" tonight, I realized Danny kind of looks a little like Robert Downey Jr. Anyone else notice that?

Tonight's show was curious; there were a bunch of really weird performances.The show should just be 5 minutes long on result night, but instead, they use it to promote every possible act around. The group song felt weak to me. I wasn't that thrilled with Paula Abdul, Daughtry, or No Doubt, but hey, I guess they had to fill up the hour with something. Okay, next week 2 songs, judges' choice and personal favorite. Sounds like fun. Can't wait to see what Adam picks!
Did America get it right?

Rock Night with Slash as Mentor 5/5/09

This was an interesting night. Slash didn't impress me with his coaching one bit. What can you say to someone like Adam, "hey you are better than anyone I know, so do your thing". Adam was scintillating. Everyone else was okay in comparison. The duet with Adam and Allison was fun to watch; they were obviously having a great time. I think Kris and Danny were out of their element. Time for Kris to go. What do you think?

Adam Lambert-Whole Lot of Love-Wow, Amazing! He's better than Robert Plant himself! Jeez! Just give the guy the award and let's end idol now! Rock, theater, he can do it all. Ridiculous! What presence, what a voice!
Allison Iraheta-Cry Baby-It was a little too much like the original, and also, the lyrics are too old for her. Her heart didn't seem into it, even though she did put a lot of energy into her performance. But Joplin is the obvious choice for her to sing. Every week, her voice gets raspier and raspier. Hope she gets voted off this week so she can rest it.
Duet with Danny Gokey & Kris Allen-Renegade-Weird, neither of them are rockers. Nice harmonies. The song didn't suit them.
Kris Allen-Come Together-He did a good job, even though this isn't his style.
Danny Gokey-Dream On-Oooh, bad choice, only Adam could carry off this song except for Aerosmith themselves.
Duet with Allison and Adam-Slow Ride-Great duet, great pairing! Fun to watch, you could tell Allison was having the time of her life!