Ontario : 17:7:09

Admin Posts : 4524 Join date : 2009-06-28

Part 1

Part 2

REVIEW

Quote :: American Idols Live was a really fun show. Sure, I'm slightly deaf because of all the screams for Adam and I forgot earplugs. And yeah, all of the songs are covers. But really, how can you not have fun when there are dueling pianos and Anoop covering Bobby Brown. What about Adam Lambert's spiky jacket and seductive dance moves at a family concert? How can you not have a good time?

It's just like the television show. Even those of us who don't want to get sucked into the hoopla do and end up getting invested in the performers and scream at Simon Cowell when he says unwarranted insults from the living room.

Friday night's tour at Citizens Business Bank Arena reminded me why "American Idol" is still so popular--this is the show's strongest crop of singers and entertainers yet. And we all want to be an "American Idol." It's the American Dream of success, plus the fame and celeb status that has added to that ideal in the 21st century.

But perhaps more important than all of that, Scott MacIntyre didn't lie to me. The group songs actually weren't cheesy. I went in thinking the worst. I mean, we've all seen the uncomfortable group numbers on the show and in the weird Ford commercials.

Everyone sounded good. Sure, some were better than others. Michael Sarver and Megan Joy didn't really do anything for me, but Matt Giraud and Scott MacIntyre were fantastic. Both played the piano and looked just showed off their vocals in a way that if they had done it on the show, particularly in Scott's case, would have taken them further.

The show was broken into halves. Sarver, who placed tenth in the competition, opened the show and we counted down to Giraud at number five before going into the group number. Anoop's high point was not butchering Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative."

Lil Rounds gets lots of points for working the stage and looking comfortable during her cover of Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)."

Allison Iraheta gave me goosebumps when she went into Janis Joplin's "Cry Baby" as her second song and looked like she could front an arena rock band and pack the place on her own with Heart's "Barracuda."

You can tell Danny Gokey really loves this. He has fun with "P.Y.T." and and does the big ballad, "What Hurts the Most" without overdoing it.

It's no surprise that Adam Lambert brought the theatrics to the table, but he wailed out a great version of "Whole Lotta Love" but then gave the weakest vocal performance of the night with a cover of Muse's "Starlight." He recovered with "Mad World" and some fog machines. I also loved how he kind of thumbed his nose at what "Idol" is supposed to be about and did some seductive dance moves and ended with a David Bowie medley.

Kris Allen, the winner of the show, lived up to his title, with a stripped down version of Kanye West's "Heartless" and an amped up version of the Killers' "All These Things That I've Done." He looked like he was having the most fun when he was playing the electric guitar and rocking out.

He ended his set with a nice rendition of "Hey Jude." It was no McCartney at Coachella, but hey, what is?

But then we get a group number with Journey's "Don't Stop Believin.'"

Overall, a very entertaining night. Thumbs up from me.

Also, it's the last year I'm eligible for "American Idol." I think this might have pushed me to audition.