Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol’s Season 17 cast of Bobby Bones, Ryan Seacrest, Luke Bryan, winner Laine Hardy, Walker Burroughs, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Uche, Dimitrius Graham, Wade Cota, Laci Kaye Booth, Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, Madison VanDenburg and Alyssa Raghu. (ABC Photo)

American Idol did it.

I must admit, I was skeptical.

But producers managed to combine their performance finale and their grand finale into an entertaining three-hour show that still felt like a celebration of Season 17.

They kept the recaps of the triumphant trips home by the Top 3. They’re always heart-warming to watch.

They kept the celebration at the end of the show, giving Laine Hardy time to sing a song and Laine Hardy fans a couple of minutes to savor his victory.

And just when I was about to lose hope that it would happen, they brought Laine and runner-up Alejandro Aranda out for a final round of performances.

Which meant the Season 17 finalists got to perform in three competitive rounds, just like they always did when the performance finale was held one night and the grand finale the next.

And if a couple of the guest performances felt a bit flat, they were counter balanced by some fabulous duets.

Excellent job, American Idol. I can’t wait for Season 18.

Some other observations …

* Madison VanDenburg went home in third place. But through two rounds, I thought her very emotional performance of Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway” was the performance of the night.

* One of the highlights of the second half of Sunday’s show was the performance of Bohemian Rhapsody by Adam Lambert and Dimitrius Graham. Why, oh why didn’t someone cover that on Queen night instead of having some young kid bang it out on a piano?

* Another of the night’s vocal highlights came when Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon paired up with Katy Perry for a performance of “Unconditionally.” There’s no question in my mind that Jeremiah and Dimitrius were the top two male singers of Season 17.

* Wardrobe tip for Katy Perry. Like she’s going to listen, LOL. But if you have to hold the front of your dress in place through half the show, it’s probably the wrong wardrobe choice.

* That was a high energy opening performance by Lionel Richie, but it’s a damn good thing I wasn’t grading his vocal.

* Considering the suits Laine Hardy wore to perform in on Idol, he certainly dressed down for his visit to the Louisiana governor’s mansion.

* I still think Idol should have made time for Maddie Poppe to perform her new single. Especially considering a couple of the performances Idol found time for. Yep, I looking at you Katy Perry and Daddy Yankee. But at least Ryan Seacrest interviewed her and gave her a chance to plug her new album.

* One reasons that would have been so helpful for Maddie is what happened for Carrie Underwood and Adam Lambert after they performed their new singles on Sunday’s show. Carrie’s “Southbound” wasn’t on the iTunes Top 200 when the show started and was number 51 on the site’s country chart. By midnight, “Southbound” was sitting at 52 on the Top 200 and 16 on the country chart. Adam’s “New Eyes” jumped from 176 to 97 on the Top 200 and from 43 to 24 on the iTunes pop chart.

* Can someone in Nashville please take Laci Kaye Booth under their wing and turn her into a star? I’ve been listening to her EP quite a bit over the past month and would like more Laci Kaye music, please!

* Kudos to Idol for also making sure nearly every guest star was accompanied on stage by a member of the Season 17 cast. That’s how you make the finale seem more like a celebration and less like a showcase for already established stars. By my count, every member of the Top 10 took the stage at least three times. Very well done!