Frank Micelotta / FOX, Michael Becker/ FOXThey say it week after week on American Idol: Song choice is everything. Tonight, for finalist Adam Lambert, his song choices seemed to hold meaning for him.
"I think 'Mad World' is kind of symbolic," the San Diego hopeful told reporters backstage after tonight's performance show at the Nokia Theater in L.A. "It talks about people that don't feel they fit in. I think 'A Change is Gonna Come' is also symbolic in that it, you know, anybody that feels oppressed can relate to that as well. It's been a civil rights anthem for a long time."
"A Change is Gonna Come" was chosen by American Idol creator Simon Fuller and it was a choice that Adam says came as a surprise. "I wouldn't have picked that for myself right now," he said. "But when Simon gave it to me, I looked at the words and it really moved me and I feel like I connected to it."
For more from the backstage interviews and a look at how today's dress rehearsal went down, read on...
Adam and Kris also said that they enjoyed performing the newly penned "No Boundaries," which was co-written by judge Kara DioGuardi specifically for the dueling singers. "I think it's a great song," said Adam. "It actually has a really great message. There were a lot of lyrics and this was a big song. We didn't have a lot of time to work on it so it was rushed job. But it was a beautiful song."
For Kris, his favorite moment of tonight's performance show was getting to sing "Ain't No Sunshine." "I think I did my best probably on 'Ain't No Sunshine' because I knew that song and so I already rehearsed it and it was ready," the Arkansas-bred singer said
The one bummer of the evening? Neither Adam nor Kris felt today's minor earthquake. "I'm totally upset," joked Kris.
So, who do you think is going to win? When we asked the final two that same question, Adam pointed to Kris and said, "This guy."
And, now for a look at how today's dress rehearsal for the big night went down...
1:15 p.m.: The merchandise booth vendor outside the Nokia Theater tells us that Adam T-shirts are selling better than Kris tees by a "landslide." Wonder if that's a sign of things to come.
2:10 p.m.: Stage manager Debbie Williams welcomes the rehearsal audience and shows off her injured left leg that got scraped up on May 5 when she fell from the stairs during that day's rehearsal.
2:15 p.m.: "Where are the Adams fans?" Debbie asks the audience. "Where are the Kris fans?" Adam fans cheer louder. Waaay louder.
2:20 p.m.: Debbie informs the audience that Adam and Kris "are very nervous. So be enthusiastic. That really helps."
2:40 p.m.: Look-alikes for Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson take a seat at the judges' table to fill in for the real judges during rehearsal. The same fake judges often fill-in during the regular show tapings for the guest performances as well. See if you can spot the fakes next season when the camera pans out wide during the guest performances.
2:45 p.m.: A backstage birdie tells us that Paula is not too happy with how dark her spray-tan came out.
2:47 p.m.: Carrie Underwood, who closed tonight's show with Mötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home," takes the stage with a Burberry scarf wrapped around her shoulders. As she adjusts the microphone to fit her height, Carrie jokes to the rehearsal audience, "I'm short, but I'm not that short." She then shivers and says, "It's chilly. I feel like an old lady!"
3:05 p.m.: Host Ryan Seacrest takes the stage and greets everyone. An audience member says to her friend, "He's taller in person. Why does Joel McHale always make fun of him for being short?"
3:19 p.m.: About that coin toss that decides which contestant sings first, Ryan says, "I was so nervous about dropping the coin because one time I dropped it right through the stage." Ry-Ry, as stage manager Debbie calls him, then dishes about what the judges do on commercial breaks at the regular Tuesday and Wednesday night tapings: "We go outside at the parking lot at the other set and we start to gossip and then you hear 'Ryan, 10 seconds' and I run in literally out of breathe."
3:24 p.m.: After a flawless rehearsal of "Mad World," Adam gets "fake judged" by the "fake judges" and laughs at the weird process. Fake Randy says, "Yo, yo. You are a superstar." Fake Kara says, "It was dirty, creepy and I loved it."
3:25 p.m.: Ryan's the epitome of cool and admits, "I used to get really stressed."
3:26 p.m.: Kris performs a perfect take of his first song, "Ain't No Sunshine," and gets fake judged next. Fake Simon says, "Kris, a little pony became a dark horse. We have a competition tonight." The fake judges, by the way, sound exactly like their real counterparts but only look like the real judges from behind.
3:40 p.m.: Ryan jokes to Fake Simon, "If this were really Simon, his shirt would be unbuttoned down to his naval."
3:50 p.m.: As a young girl sitting next to us squeals for Adam, we couldn't help but ask her: "Would it matter to you if he doesn't like girls?" "No," she tells us. "I'd still love him."
3:55 p.m.: Ryan jokes to Fake Kara about her fiancé looking like him. Does that mean real Kara has a real fiancé? Hmmm.
4 p.m.: Dress rehearsal ends. Adam and Kris ran through their three songs with ease and it's time to let the real audience roll in. For a recap of the show, go here.