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« American Idol
May 23, 2007: To Know Her Is to Love Her
Everyone was in the house for the grand finale of American Idol, as Jordin and Blake opened the show with a long-awaited Beatles tune. "I Saw Her Standing There" was a premonition of things to come.
We drifted quickly into a performance by the touring Gwen Stefani singing her song “4 in the Morning.” She looked and sounded fantastic.
Red-carpet tidbits — there were lots of Idols both past and present. However, the real stars were ushered past me on the red-carpet press line at the speed of light, as though I had a form of jumping leprosy. I spoke to:
The crying girl.
Blake’s dad, Dallas.
Writers of the song “This Is My Now” (as opposed to my later on).
Sabrina Sloan — simply lovely.
Constantine Maroulis — all business, currently starring in The Bold and the Beautiful.
Kelly Clarkson rocked the heck out of “Never Again” will I put up with Clive Davis yelling at me; I’m a star, damn it! I can’t imagine why Clive doesn’t like her new album; it’s gritty and sexy and it rocks. I like it. A shot of Clive found him looking quite unhappy.
Ryan handed out three Golden Idols, those pesky little awards that they give out every year to the worst of the worst, and they were dreadful reminders of the oddity aspect of this show. Take a trip down memory lane…
Best Presentation nominees were X-centric, Isadora Furman and Margaret Fowler. Simon Lythgoe escorted Margaret to the stage, where she proceeded to kiss the heck out of Ryan. I couldn’t help thinking he probably wanted to wash his mouth out with a quart of Listerine.
And the nominees for Most Original Vocal were Nicolas Zitzman, Sandy Chavez and winner Sholandric Stallworth. The Best Buddies category went to Jonathan and Kenneth (aka Bush Baby), who were working for Jimmy Kimmel Live on the red carpet, though Amanda and Antonella, and Simon and Ryan were also nominated.
The Smokey Robinson portion of the show started with our top-six male contestants singing “Ooh Baby Baby.” Again with all the white. The Smokinator himself sang “Being with You.” The medley finished with “Tears of a Clown.” Smokey said of Jordin, “She’s got a lot to give. I told her to remember that she’s very blessed, keep her feet on the ground and go get it.”
Doug E. Fresh and Blake beatboxed, and I thought, “Wow, that was fantastic!” This is what Doug E. Fresh had to say about it: “Blake is incredibly talented and a good guy." He met Blake when he came to the show with his good buddy, Akon. Blake invited Doug E. to beatbox with him that night, and they had a “nice vibe” which led to “the start of our relationship." He went on to talk about being the creator of beatbox. “Hip-hop has five elements — the DJ, the graffiti, the dance, the emcee and beatbox.” Mr. Fresh “created it, but [is] still a student.” When asked if they had rehearsed their flow before the show, Mr. Fresh replied, “All of it was freestyle on stage tonight.” The energy between him and Blake is “so natural." He likes what Blake’s about; Blake showed him how to use his Sidekick. He went on to congratulate AI on adding the hip-hop element this year to the show, saying it would have a powerful impact and it took Blake to intertwine hip-hop and singing.
The top-six ladies then sang “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” Gladys Knight was announced and someone from MTV shouted, “Ooh, it’s Melinda!" Gladys, looking fantastic in a glittery black top and white slacks sang “I Feel a Song in My Heart,” then stepped it up with “Midnight Train to Georgia.” The train conductor tooting-the-horn choreography cracked me up — I may have snorted, I was laughing so hard.
Mentor Tony Bennett was finally over the flu and came to serenade the audience with “For Once in My Life.” That little trick ending got me! Nicely done, daddy-o! Saw him later in the hallway, and I waved and said, “I’m a big fan!” He was very gracious and waved back. Highlight of my night.
Melinda Doolittle joined BeBe and CeCe Winans, with whom she had toured and recorded as a background singer in the old days, to sing “Hold Up the Light.” This is her kind of music: She sounded ridiculously amazing! CeCe said that when Melinda used to sing with them, “She was shy and nervous.” BeBe said, “She was happy as a background singer." They are “very proud of her." BeBe said he “will sing background for Melinda. It’s all about having a good time and enjoying one another. Know your self-worth.” Surely Melinda knows that by now.
Ryan, or actually Ford, gave Blake and Jordin new Mustangs, red and blue. Who gets which one?
Carrie Underwood sang “I'll Stand By You.” Kind of a downer for this pretty up-tempo finale… but it’s a beautiful song and that girl can sing.
Clive Davis from BMG (or the hugest music conglomerate in the world) came out to tell everyone how great Idol has been for the music industry. He said Chris Daughtry has broken through as the best-selling artist of the year. His album is still in the top 10 six months after getting there. He congratulated the judges and Jennifer Hudson, the songwriters who’ve written all the songs, and Fantasia. But he had yet to even mention the first Idol, Kelly Clarkson. He offered a certified award to Carrie Underwood (for six million units sold of her debut album).
All the way from Uganda, the African Children’s Choir performed on the show again. Since we missed them live, they held an impromptu concert for us in the pressroom. They were all smiles and happiness and light, and it was a joy to see and hear them. They picked Jordin to win and said their favorite judge was “Uncle Simon."
Sanjaya was allowed to perform and sang “You Really Got Me” with an aged Joe Perry from Aerosmith. Perry said, “Sanjaya is such a great guy and so easy-going.” He was asked if he thought the fans were getting it right: “I’ve been trying to figure out the fans for 20 years." He had been headed to Dubai to lay on the beach before the band's first show there, but thought this would be more fun.
Holy cow, Green Day! They did a fantastic version of John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero,” which was off the Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur album put out by Amnesty International to raise awareness for the situation in that country.
Taylor Hicks' first performance had him wearing a very cool jacket and looking good. He still reminds me of Michael McDonald from the Doobie Brothers. But I like his voice and style.
“You're All I Need to Get By” was what Jordin sang with Ruben Studdard, and I was easily reminded of why he was referred to as “The Velvet Teddy Bear” — what a smooth voice. It was a feel-good song and brought the fever back up.
Wearing a leather skirt and looking great, Bette Midler (a huge surprise and treat) sang “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Paula and Randy were dancing to Bette.
Kelly Clarkson began the Beatles medley, singing “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” with Joe Perry. If they ever get that Janis Joplin biopic out, this girl should star in it!!!
Taylor Hicks returned for a “Day in the Life” and Carrie Underwood followed with “She’s Leaving Home.” Ruben Studdard brought us “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and the kids sang “With a Little Help from My Friends.”
Enough already — the show’s been on for two hours and we’re still not done.
Ryan returned from break to tell us there were 74 million votes and Edward Boddington held the results. The judges tossed out their last-minute thoughts: Randy picked Jordin; Paula was “just proud of both of you. You’re both winners"; Simon prematurely (but correctly) congratulated Jordin.
The votes were in... and Jordin took it all! She looked like she was being crowned Miss America(n)– Idol!!! “Thank you, mom, dad. I love you!”
Jordin sang “This Is My Now” (again). Her voice was shaky and nervous. Don’t know how she’s keeping it together. Her dad was even teary-eyed. Group hug and we’re out.
Jordin sang "TIMN" but I say “This Is My Now” — the AI blog is over!!! Wow, I finally get my life back. Have a great summer, and thanks for reading!
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May 24, 2007 1:56 AM
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Thanks Paula! You did a good job blogging the show because you listened to the participants. I probably won't be back next year, but you never know...
I think it's great that you finally gave some good props to Blake when it came to the Doug E. Fresh duet. That was nice of you. Hope you had fun! And that we didn't upset your sister too much... caio for now!
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May 24, 2007 2:41 AM
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I kinda like the trip down Idol memory lane. Carrie was great, the grey haired dude sound could, and even my loveseat, I mean Ruben did a nice job. But Kelly ROCKED!! That girl is the real deal. So what if bag-o-bones Clive doesnt like her record? She's amazing and sounds a lot like Pat Benetar these days.
The rest of the show was good too. Tony Bennett was brilliant, Green Day was fantastic, and Bette was simply Divine.
Congrats to Jordin!
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May 24, 2007 2:41 AM
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on a night with "more than a few surprises", AI's winner was no shocker; I am very happy for Jordin. then most of the show was utter torture.
but to me the real story is that Gwen Stefani was TOTALLY lipsynching and there's no way her satellite performance was live. the editing was so bad, I'm sure they just cut footage of her from a previous performance with her "live" version of the song on a stage somewhere. awkward, bad and unneccessary. she was actually my favorite guest star this season, the most real and upfront with the singers but this made me lose some respect for her. what was the point if she's not setting an example as a performer?
Paula- thanks for a great blog, for putting up with our criticism & making the chat enjoyable. you're funny!
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May 24, 2007 4:50 AM
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I knew I should have taped longer than the scheduled allotment of time. So I didn't see the last 5-10 minutes or so. It wasn't too surprising that Jordin won. I thought she was the better singer of the two finalists.
I did enjoy the performances. It was nice seeing most of the past winners. I guess this was what they were talking about when they said they might be doing Beatles songs a few months ago. I liked Kelly's new song. She did sound angry on it. I have a feeling that Sir Mix-A-Lot really likes Kelly's look right now.
I also liked seeing Tony B come back to perform. He is just a pro up there. Blake and Doug E. Fresh were entertaining. Will it make me want to buy Blake's new album? No. Just not a fan of hip-hop or beat-boxing.
I thought Melinda sounded good singing with two singers she sang back up for. Still wish she was in the final 2. I will always wonder if she could have beaten Jordin. I thought Jordin was going to beat her in the finals a few weeks ago. But now I am not so sure. I believe Melinda would have showed that she was a better singer than Jordin. Oh well. I will buy her new album. Hopefully it is soul music as she has said in interviews.
Ruben still has those velvet pipes. I was very glad seeing him back on the AI stage. One of the weirdest combos was Sanjaya and Joe Perry. That was just plain strange and a little unsettling. And the girl was crying again.
I will definitely agree with you Wheezy about Gwen Stefani. I thought it was lipsynching as well. Very disappointing. Is she ever going to go back to No Doubt? I frankly like her songs better with them than solo. She was just here in concert. I think I read that she didn't do any No Doubt songs. That just isn't right IMO.
I also enjoyed the mature pros like Smokey and Bette. It was interesting seeing some of the people who came to the show. The camera actually showed Justin a few times. They've avoided him in the past. Glad they showed him. I was a little surprised to see Jennifer Hudson in the crowd after her back and forth with Simon. And David Hasselhoff was once again in the crowd. Not sure if they showed him crying in the end.
Still like Taylor. He is entertaining. I preferred him over Kat. Not sure how I feel about the Golden Idols. In one way you can think of it as kinda mean making fun of these people again. Another way you can say that these people were inviting ridicule with their actions. Simon did seem like he had a point with his description of that one contestant. I can definitely see the similarity.
Been an up and down year for the show. I will definitely watch it again next season. I truly hate the Applebee's pop up. It actually makes me not want to go to the restaurant because I am so annoyed by it.
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May 24, 2007 5:35 AM
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This show was way to long. It was about 10 minutes over. The Golden Idols awards are ridiculous. It needs to stop. I knew they were going to do this. They were just filling up the 2 hours with that non sense. If they cut out all that non-sense about the golden idol the show would of been 2 hours.
I loved the top 6 guys with Smokey. I forgot how good Brandon was. And I also liked the top 6 with Gladys Knight. We gotten to hear Stephanie she was also good. And Melinda looked good and sounded good as well.
I thought that Bette Midler sounded awuful. I am I the only one who thinks that, or is that just me?
The African boys choir were so cute.....I could look at their smiling faces all day. Uncle Simon...how cute.
Jordin looked absoutly beautiful when she was crowned the new AI winner. Towards the end of that lame song, I was tearing up along with her.
Paula you did a good job posting...see you in Jan'08.
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May 24, 2007 5:45 AM
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Oh yeah I wanted mention this....what on Gods green earth was Randy wearing? For the second night in a row he is wearing something hideous.
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May 24, 2007 5:56 AM
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Why does everyone always complain about their blogs taking up all their time? In this case, isn't it part of your job?
I agree Bette Midler seemed to be phoning it in. However, that song has become such a cliche that there's no way anyone can really make it a very enjoyable experience.
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May 24, 2007 6:39 AM
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I also thought that Bette Midler sounded awful. Very off key. And, did it semm like to any one else that this show was not about Blake and Jordin at all? I only began watching AI last seaon, but the finale was all about Taylor and Kat. This year it just seemed like Blake and Jordin were an afterthought. And, I did not mind Gwen Stefani, at least she was on tune.
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May 24, 2007 7:05 AM
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I'm ticked that AI ran 7 or 8 minutes over, I normally DVR an extra 2 minutes, but I changed it to 5. Had I not changed it to 5, it would have missed the announcement of the winner, but it did cut off the ending. I had to press record, but I still missed the reaction of her winning before the song. D'oh.
At least I was able to see it while it was recording.
I had predicted Jordin would win back around top 10 or 12, and she clearly sang the winning song better so her winning was no surprise. I think last year's finale was better, but I like that there were so many returning Idols. I didn't miss Fantasia as I never liked her or her voice. She can stay on broadway as far as I'm concerned. I'm surprised Green Day sang the song unedited and had it bleeped rather than even try to sing an edited version. Where their performance was compelling in its depth, the African Children's Choir's performance was compelling in its pure joy. I like the guess stars they had and they all sang very well..except Tony, he seemed a little off, but it was still nice to see him.
I can't believe Joe Perry was there, and with Sanjaya. I thought his introduction was borderline offensive to the memory of those he was "compared" with. I also think this performance of You Really Got Me was worse than his original performance of it. Oy. They couldn't have got Carlos Santana to accompany him with that Spanish language song that he actually sang well or something along those lines? I wish AI would drop the dumb Golden Idols thing, do we really need that filler? It probably wouldn't have run over the 2 hour mark. Or at least I'm sure they could have found someone else to perform another song or two. Anyway, I'm happy for Jordin, and I'm sure Blake will do just fine. I don't see myself running out and buying any of their music, but you never know. I'm just glad that this season is over, and I wish AI would go away for a year or so, it would make the whole thing seem more important. But, I look forward to her returning next year to sing on that finale. Congrats Jordin. ~ÐL
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May 24, 2007 7:25 AM
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I'm glad I caught up on Tivo before the two hours were up or I would have missed the ending. I really wish they would have cut one or two things so they ended on time. I enjoy the golden idols so my personal choice would have been Gwen Stephani. She already sang on the show this season so why bring her back?
I loved the African Childrens choir. Did anyone else catch this - after the song the camera panned to the audience and 2 men in suits. It then when back to a shot of one of the children. He had the smile on his face but the look in his eyes said confusion and fear like why is everyone standing and should we be running for our lives.
I was a little disappointed in Tony Bennett's performance because Ryan announced it was from his duets album so I total expected Jordan or one of the other contestants to join him on stage.
It was nice to see the former idols again and I think the show could have stuck with their performances, the ones from this season's idols and left the other stars out of it to get the show over in time. I thought Jordan and Blake could have been more a part of the show through interviews or flashbacks that could have been shorten for time if they could see the show was going overtime.
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May 24, 2007 7:47 AM
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This show was too damn long. Where do I begin? The award show was stupid. I love Kelly Clarkson, but didn't like her screaming her song last night. Those pants were too tight, "girlfriend back away from the fast food." Sanjaya is just so pretty to me. He's like Prince, you can't look at their eyes because they are so pretty. The ladies singing with Gladys Knight was awesome. I would have prefered seeing and hearing Lakisha and Gladys do a duet. That would be off the chain for me. The guys with Smokey was too pitchey. Would have rather have Lionel Richie instead. Bette M. was terrible. She just spoke the words instead of singing it. Ruben and Jordin was just great. I had to replay it to download it into my IPOD. I just love Ruben's voice. The African childrens' choir was just too cute. I've heard them before in concert and they are very energetic and just plan awesome. Carrier Underwood needs a new stylist. What the heck was that she had on? Two words...hot mess. I didn't understand what she was singing and really wanted her to sing "Before He Cheats" because I love that song. Blake and Douge E fresh was just meh. I don't like beatboxing. Jennifer Hudson looked bored in the audience as if to say "You guys need to hurry this up because I am doing laundry and need to catch the rinse cycle." Jordin looked amazing and I am so happy she won. Just don't like the song "This is my now." So happy "So You Think You Can Dance is coming on tonight.
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May 24, 2007 8:07 AM
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What an overall good show. Congrats to Jordin, she will go far! Blake did incredible entertaining with his Doug E Fresh duet. WOW! It was fun and the crowd loved it. He will go far too.
Loved Kelly Clarkson.
Loved Green Day.
Loved the Children's Choir.
Loved the six boys with Smokey.
Loved Simon...he's so cute.
Loved Carrie.
Had to TiVo through Bette...I think she was drunk or drugged up!
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May 24, 2007 8:15 AM
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thought it was a fun show...when jordin won, kept waiting for them to crown her...sanjaya gets way too much screen time and the little girl needs some serious therapy (or maybe it's her mom who needs it for letting this go on)...really enjoyed keely and carrie...my prediction all along is that melinda will be the next cece...my 9 year old says they sound just alike, which is a great compliment to melinda...great things will come from her
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May 24, 2007 8:32 AM
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I taped the show while watching "Lost", but switched channels at one point to see a few moments of the Beatles medley. Why couldn't AI just leave the Beatles songs ALONE? Now I'll have to go back and listen to the originals to get everyone else's voice out of my head.
I just can't stand hearing anyone else sing Beatles songs except the Beatles.
It's insulting.
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May 24, 2007 8:36 AM
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