Two finalists, four judges, six performances—all leading up to one big, bright, shining moment tomorrow.
With an endless archive to choose from and millions of viewers hanging on their every lyric, Adam Lambert and Kris Allen—seemingly polar opposites in style yet good buds behind the scenes—took to the American Idol stage Tuesday for part one of season eight's two-night finale extravaganza.
Last week, Kris got himself back in the game (and managed to wriggle past Danny Gokey) with his killer acoustic take on Kanye West's "Heartless," and Adam...Well, he kept on keepin' on.
The task tonight for each guy was to tackle three songs apiece—a redo of one of their favorites from this year, one selected by Idol creator and 19 Entertainment founder Simon Fuller, and the requisite end-of-season power ballad penned specifically for Idol (this year cowritten by Kara DioGuardi, Mitch Allan and Cathy Dennis).
Luminaries such as Anthony Hopkins and Katie Holmes and daughter Suri were in the audience to watch Adam and Kris—who won the coin toss and opted to sing second—do their thing.
So here's how they did:
Round One
Adam: Such a smart choice for Adam to redo "Mad World" from birthday-year week. Then and again, it showcased the very best of his sultry voice and lofty range—his final high note was nonpareil. In lieu of doing an arena roof-raiser, he added his usual rock glam with his entrance—dramatically emerging from the shadows—and the black duster he wore (to protect him from the fake fog, we imagine). "You rocked it again tonight," Kara said. Paula Abdul began by telling him he looked "unbelievably handsome" (usually a death knell, but of course she liked it), and Randy gave it "an A-plus for Adam!" But Simon thought something had been lost between "Mad World" then and now.
Kris: Back behind the piano, Kris revamped "Ain't No Sunshine" from Top Downloads week—and the dark-horse finalist positively manhandled the simply arranged, bluesy tune. "That was one of your best performances ever on this stage!" raved Randy. "You have a way of creating an intimate bond with everybody in the audience…You make us feel like you're singing directly to us," complimented Kara, who always seems to be looking for that emotional connection with the artists. "I'm going to call that [round] for Kris," concluded Simon.
Round Two
Adam: There's a reason why we often refer to Fuller as "Idol mastermind." Adam's rendition of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come," handpicked by the executive producer for his front-running golden boy, was yet another great showcase for the 27-year-old's incomparable pipes. While last week he took a few too many liberties with "One," Adam wailed and writhed to perfection tonight. The feeling that a change really is gonna come for the lad—in the form of a record deal, at least—was palpable.
Kris: Hmmm…Fuller picked soulful R&B for Kris, too—Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On"—and immediately a deep chasm opened up where once had been a neck-and-neck competition. It's not that Kris wasn't kinda awesome—it's just that the treatment that worked so well with "Heartless" didn't really work for Gaye's call-to-action classic, voted the fourth-greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone in 2004. At least not when compared with what Adam did with the 12th-greatest song of all time. Paula thought he tore it up, but Simon found it "too laid back for a night like this...A million percent Adam, round two."
Round Three
Adam: Considering Adam probably can't even sing in the shower without adding something superspecial, it was no surprise that he took the Kara-copenned "No Boundaries," this year's winner's single, to unusually relevant heights. In Adam's capable larynx, the feel-good tune was part Bon Jovi, part pro-sports anthem and maybe only 50 percent good ol' Idol cheese.
Kris: The limitations of "No Boundaries" were apparent, however, when Kris was at the mic. His folk rock-inclined voice strained on this reach-for-the-rafters tune, and the cracks in the tune were more apparent the second time around. "You should be very proud of what you've done in this competition," Randy said. Three similar sentiments followed, just in case Kris was starting to think he could possibly win this thing. (Well, it's not as if they were going to criticize the song.)
But hey, it's still anybody's game. Carrie Underwood capped off the night by singing this season's elimination anthem, "Home Sweet Home," and then the phone lines were opened up for your voting pleasure.
David Cook, who won this thing last year, will perform tomorrow during the two-hour finale.
(Originally published May 19, 2009, at 6:15 p.m. PT)