Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Let’s see. One was frequently featured on Idol broadcasts prior to the semifinals. One got virtually no air time.

One was hailed a frontrunner in the competition the moment he finished his semifinal performance. The other was forced to perform in the semifinal minus his favorite sidekick, an acoustic guitar.

But guess who’s going to the American Idol finale?

That’s right, Kris Allen. Not Danny Gokey. In spite of the fact that Kara and Paula have gone gaga over Gokey all season. In spite of the fact that Idol producers seemed to be shoving Danny and his admittedly touching backstory at us all season.

Surprisingly, voters got it right when they cast their ballots Tuesday night. Fact is, Kris did better than Danny Tuesday night. Fact is, he’s shown more versatility musically this season. Besides, he has such a cute smile … or so I’m told.

And don’t count him out next week. Remember what Idol host Ryan Seacrest said at the beginning of Wednesday’s results show: Less than 1 million votes separated the top two vote-getters.

And now Danny Gokey is gone. I’m inclined to think more of those Danny Gokey fans will be for Kris than for Adam Lambert based on their musical styles.

In my mind, Adam’s still the clear Idol. I’ve been doing live song-by-song grades during the show all season.

On seven of 10 performance shows, I’ve rated Adam’s performance the best of the night.

As for Kris Allen: He turned in the best performance Tuesday with that spendid acoustic version of “Heartless.” But that’s the only time I had him on top, and I ranked him second only twice.

Keep checking back between now and the finale for a look back at the highlights and lowlights of season eight.

But, first, we’ll have Thursday’s exit interview with Danny Gokey.