TV - American Idol - Adam Lambert Cover Art

Here's Adam Lambert's cover art for his upcoming album:

Some people are saying that this super glam-y Glambert cover art will alienate his older home-Mom fans from Idol, but I don't really think so. For one, I think people knew that this boy was a David Bowie inspired superstar when they voted for him on Idol. For another - who really cares about album art? When you buy an album on iTunes it's not the same as buying the CD and constantly fiddling with the CD case. But this was definitely worth showing because it makes me so happy! Can you stop giggling? I can't. Read more!

TV - American Idol 5/20

Kris for the win!  

Like we've already written here, this is not a complete shock to most.  Kris was sure to have picked up some Danny votes (even though many voted for Kris to be in the finale as a Gokey Block), and Adam can be a bit off-putting to some (*cough* who are idiots *cough*).  But let's not loose perspective: there were almost 100 millions votes cast and dial idol claimed it was the first time they had no reasonable guess who was going to win.  If you won essentially 49% of 100 million votes, you shouldn't feel like a loser!   

And gosh darnnit if those two cute kids didn't make it seem like they were just there to have fun, anyway.  Kris's mom put it best when she almost forgot why they were there the show was such a blast.  

My favorite moment?  The Kara Surprise! Once I accepted the dismal fact that Idol was going to waste time giving a bonus 15 seconds of fame to the corny/tacky Norman, Tatiana, and Bikini Girl, I was at least happy that they were going to let Bikini crash and burn on stage for all the mock.  Did you HEAR her first couple of notes?  Oooo trainwreck.  I would have been happy enough listening to her suffer, but then Kara came out goofily diva-ing out.  Is she the best singer and performer in the world?  No! But she's a heck of a lot better than most of the Top 13. And moreover, she has a sense of HUMOR! She flashed her slammin' body in front of all of America (let alone thousands of LIVE viewers) to see for the sake of fun and charity.  Way to go!   

The night featured chart-topping performers covering the entire spectrum of music genres and history.  Some guest singers were more welcome than others.  I love her majesty, Queen Latifah but am lost on the appeal of Lil Rounds.  Rod Stewart is a great crooner, but is kind of scary to look at and certainly in the wrong venue (do tweens even know who this guy is?).  Steve Martin is fantastic, but Corkrey sort of slaughtered that sweet diddy. 

On the other hand, I'd never turn down an opportunity to see masked striped weirdos frisk will.i.am!  And I thought the Cyndi Lauper/ Alison version of "Time after Time" was pretty incredible (the dulcimer never gets enough respect!).  

I'm not a Keith Urban fan, but Kris seemed to handle that number quite pleasantly. 

But c'mon... KISS?!?!?!  How frakkin' fantastic!  Not to mention Adam's wardrobe straight from the closet of Lady Ga Ga or some sort of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles villain.  And then to have that number followed not to shortly by the Queen performance.  Please tell me there were some backstage wheelings and dealings (especially after the Adam loss) where Brian May at least proposed the idea of hiring Glambert.  

When the results were announced, I was happy for Kris!  I think he is going to be a great artist.  I also have to admit I was happy he gave Adam the praise he deserved.  And in further snarkiness, I am happy for Adam that he doesn't have to deal with being an "Idol."  If he wants to wear the highest of club-boi platform boots with the shiniest of guyliners, he can do so without any producers giving him notes.  All the press without the constraints!   

Lastly, for anyone buying into the culture war, please take a cue from these guys.  Kris is a person of faith who does not see his love of God interfering with developing a close friendship with a (possibly) gay man.   Kris oozes love and peace, and I hope his music brings enlightenment to those who have hate in their hearts.  

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TV - American Idol 5/5/2009

So, American Idol tonight went almost exactly how I thought it would. Slash was a great mentor, and it was awesome that he made them do their performances full volume while he was playing. Adam and Allison were great, Kris was bad and Danny was god-awful.

Adam's performance was exactly what the judge's said it was. Perfect. Allison was also great, despite what the judges said. Yet another week where Simon basically says that he liked the performance but still managed to spend about five minutes criticizing her. I'm glad she talked back to him, even though I usually don't like it - and in fact, I initially FF'ed past it - because if anyone has ever deserved to talk back to the judges, it's her.

Then, there was the duet. Kris and Danny looked like they were having about as much fun performing as I was having watching - which isn't much at all. Danny also looked like he was medicated and about to fall asleep or something. Followed by Kris doing a weak version of a fantastic song. Kind of a bummer, but not a surprise, really. The judges said it, again. It's not his genre, and he knew it.

And then there was Danny. Danny, Danny, Danny. When they announced what song he was singing, I flipped out. I mean, first of all, I reacted because I knew Danny would butcher a song that I love. But more importantly, ever since Adam showed up on this show, I kept thinking, "Dream On. This kid would SLAY Dream On." And then Danny "Hokey" Gokey sings it instead? It was like some kind of nightmare. It was bad all around. I don't give him any of the props Randy did for trying something daring or whatever. He was punching WAY above his weight with that. It's not daring or brave, it's just plain stupid. Then there was Kara. Oh Kara. She said that he should have sung "early" Aerosmith, like "Crazy" or "Cryin." Those songs were released in the mid-90's. "Dream On" is from '76. What universe is she living in that she thinks Crazy and Cryin are "early" Aerosmith?

Thankfully, the duet between Adam and Allison made the night. I mean, Adam and Allison were great individually, but by the end of the show, Gokey had made me so angry that I had kind of forgotten how awesome they were. And then their duet was so great. Unlike Kris and Danny, it was so clear that they were having a blast up there, and ADORED each other, and that made it so much fun to watch. I'm glad Simon made that final comment about Allison, even though a lot of DVRs probably cut that off. I only got it because I also DVR the following show, "Fringe."

One final pet peeve. The editors did Danny a huge favor by playing the dress rehearsal version of his high note when the phone numbers were flashing by. That shouldn't be allowed. I know they probably do it that way for logistical reasons, but it is totally unfair. He bombed that note in the performance and they played a much better (but still awful) version when the numbers flashed. I hope the 50 year old Michael McDonald fans who have been voting for him stop after tonight. Read more!