Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Don’t know about you, but I thought the Idol finale was a bit of a letdown.

I mean, three performances, and not once did we get to see Adam Lambert in rock star mode. Two new performances from Kris Allen, and not once did he come close to his Week 10 performance of “Heartless.”

The finalists sparkled when they sang a song of their choice from earlier this season. But Idol creator Simon Fuller’s song choices for Adam and Kris failed to show either at his best.

As for the Kara DioGuardi co-written “No Boundaries,” it produced one of the worst vocals of the season from both contestants. Which leaves one to wonder who she was writing this Idol single for. Danny Gokey? Matt Giraud, perhaps?

Regardless, I asked regular watchers of Idol at The York Dispatch to pick a winner of season eight.

Here are the judgments …

Andrew Shaw: Rare is the American Idol finale that allows me to openly root for both contestants (sorry, Archuleta, Jordin, Bo and Taylor… the truth hurts). But I’ll be rooting for both Adam and Kris tonight.

So who do I think should win? “Should” is a tricky word. Adam has been a firecracker from the start, one of the few Idol contestants ever who really did deserve heaps of praise each week (sorry, Jordin, the truth hurts), so he could win and in all facets deserves to win.

But Kris is really what the show is about — the undiscovered jewel. Adam already had his foot in the showbiz door and, really, didn’t need much more than a Top 10 finish to solidify his chance at signing a record deal. Kris needs a top finish, and he made it to the final two without much help from the producers — or Simon for that matter. So, Kris Allen, you get my vote. Just don’t be offended if I clap for your opponent, too.

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Maryellen Harbold: We don’t have Danny to vote for, which left me the choice of Kris and Adam. Kris had my vote until last night.

Let’s face it, Adam has it all — the vocals and he also knows how to entertain. My vote is for Adam Lambert.

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Larry Hicks: Kris Allen was terrific, especially on the one song he picked for himself – “Ain’t No Sunshine.” He sang that one first and more than held his own against Adam Lambert. It was to his advantage, too, that he played both the piano and guitar in two of his three performances, showing versatility that Lambert doesn’t have.

But in the end, as good as Allen was, Lambert was better. If “American Idol” is a singing contest, as it is labeled, then Lambert clearly — from day one — has been the best singer, with the best range. He might be the only Idol performer in the eight years of the show so talented and so experienced that he’s capable of turning in a good performance of any song in any category of music.

He’s just that good. Is he theatrical? Absolutely. But that has served him well. His comfort zone, his stage presence, is amazing. The only thing that bugs me a bit about Lambert winning is that he’s been touted by the judges as being the obvious winner/finalist for 12 weeks or more. That, I think, gave him an unfair advantage with voters that he didn’t really need. He’s talented enough to win this on his own, and I wish judges and show producers had given him a chance to do that without any help from above.

Nevertheless, Adam Lambert is my pick. He wasn’t my favorite in the final 12, but he is the most talented singer. No doubt about that. It shouldn’t even be close.

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Mark Franklin: A long time ago, I compared season eight of Idol to season three. That’s the year Fantasia was so obviously the most talented singer that it would have been a shame if anyone else had walked away with the Idol crown.

If anything, the gap between Adam and his closest competitor (Allison Iraheta in my book) was even more pronounced. The guy didn’t just sing loops around the other finalists, he entertained the audience, week after week. No doubt, if the outcome is based on talent, Adam Lambert wins the Idol crown.

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So there you have it, three votes for Adam Lambert, one vote for Kris Allen.

The big question, where will all those votes previously cast for Danny Gokey fall.