What does 122 million votes get you? The forth consecutive male American Idol in a row: Scotty McCreery.
The male domination on Idol continues with McCreery joining the likes of Lee DeWyze, Kris Allen and David Cook. But don’t shed any tears for runner-up Lauren Alaina … she’ll be just fine. The limelight has treated her well and, in fact, could potentially vault her into a career that could trump Scotty’s in the end. (It’s a known fact the last two runners-up on Idol have outsold their respective season winners.) Scotty’s country twang will certainly shine outside the confines of the Nokia Theater in Hollywood. Both contestants’ careers will. Their journeys are just beginning.
My final post last year went a little bit like this:
“… American Idol will go on. And we — the audience and fans — will be right there to see what happens next …”
And we were. And we did. And, just like last year, The Powers That Be saved some of the best (*hack*) moments (*cough, cough*) for the finale. Here are a few:
- James got his wish: A little more rock ‘n’ roll love. And with Judas Priest, no less. The guy had to have been in 7th heaven.
- Kirk Franklin, Gladys Knight and Jacob Lusk: Whoduh thunk it? I know it was a nod to the victims of weather-ravaged Missouri, et al, but did anyone get the irony it came on the heels of the hard rock performance? I had to chuckle.
- It’s Beyoncé joining the Top 13 girls. She / they did nothing for me. Matter’n fact, none of the girls turns at their tunes did anything for me.
- But, zoinks! Was Tony Bennett ever the spry, steppin’, twirlin’ 80+ year-old with bounce in his step! Terrific seeing him paired with Haley Reinhart. And, again, there was a bit of attitude at the end, the very thing that most likely contributed to Haley not being in the finals with Scotty.
- Lil’ Jon and TLC. *ugh* Nope and nope. Loved him contributing and saving the day on The Celebrity Apprentice. But nothing, not even he, could save TLC’s performance in my opinion.
- Scotty McCreery and Tim McGraw. Best part of there duet performance? It wasn’t up there on the stage. It came from a conversation I had with “someone” while we viewed the show. Someone: “I’d rather listen to that kid than George Straight any day.” My reply: “That would be terrific … if George Straight was up there on stage singing with Scotty …” *snort*
- But wait! It gets better! When our little buddy “Seacrust” announced Sheila E at the drums (something I’d not only noticed but mentioned at the very start of the The Vampire’s … er … I mean Marc Anthony’s latin-flavored performance), there was this exchange with “Someone”: “Oh! We saw Sheena E once! She was great!” My reply: “You mean Sheila E, right?” Someone: “Who?” Holy moly … my stomach was on its way to a painful following morning from laughter.
- Not having the benefit of any spoilers and getting a full-faced dose of Kiss, What’s New Pussycat?, et al from the Top 13 guys, I thought to myself: “How could Tom Jones NOT come out to cap the segment? Sure enough, there he was. The only thing missing? That stray, wadded up pair of panties tossed on stage at him.
- Lady Gaga and her “The Edge Of Glory” was edgy, but it wasn’t glorious. Just one of the many asides of the night that helped make this Idol finale an “R” rated evening.
- Half of U2 is just as satisfying as the entire gang. Loved Bono and The Edge performing Rise Above from the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark with star Reeve Carney:
And, in the end, we get a little Steven Tyler to (almost) top the evening. My wife will agree with me when I say I’m not certain he garnered any additional points by being so endearing during the season with this performance, but it was nice to see him do this thing during the finale:
… which led to the final guffaw-worthy moment of the evening for me with Someone: “I had no idea who Steven Tyler was. I mean … I know who Steven Tyler is, but I didn’t have a clue he was in Aerosmith …” I was too busy holding my stomach in fits of laughter to reply.
So long, American Idol. You did good without Simon Cowell. Overall it was a better show than in previous years.
Lastly, here was the best filler of the evening in my opinion:
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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I’m not sure I’ve even heard this Haley lady sing, but every time I see her name and the word attitude in the same sentence, I like her more and more :)
*POST AUTHOR*
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Why am I not surprised by this, Ivey … ???
Girl was so sultry that it was a turn-off if you can believe that, Ivey! ;) And the attitude Michael’s talking about? It’s called showboating. Quite an annoying quality in a singer.
Once again you have provided everything I needed to know about Idol… with humor and insight. Another season missed, and yet – somehow – still enjoyed…
Thanks! :)
I thought it was a disjointed finale–am I the only person who thinks the musical guests made no sense? But the results did not surprise me.
Still did not see any “tude” in Haley so, I don’t know what you are talking about. My whole family watched it and didn’t see any attitude on Haley’s part. I do agree with your best moment though.
Tony Bennett made Haley look almost as good as Casey did. This is not a girl who should be left alone on the stage. She NEEDS a man singing with her to do her best. [‘Nuff said.]
The men of the top 13 singing the medley happened while Hubby was in the room. About the second song he asked, “What do all these songs have in common?” I was about to say Tom Jones when he said, “Didn’t Englebert do those?” I said, “No, Tom Jones.” He said, “Same thing.” What a strange decade for music that was!
I loved the “Most Shocking” segment, but can’t believe you didn’t comment on Casey/Jack Black. Add hats and shades and you have the cast for a remake of The Blues Brothers!! lol
Nyela,
Haley does fine on her own. (’nuff said)