American Idol Final Performances

It was obvious from the beginning that this night on “American Idol” would not be like any other night on the show. The finals had moved to the Nokia Theatre and while fans are used to seeing the show’s host Ryan SeacrestRyan Seacrest wearing a suit; only the occasional suit during a performance has been seen. On the finals show all that changed as Randy Jackson wore a suit and tie while Simon abandoned his normal t-shirt for a button down shirt and a jacket. Another addition for the finals was that each singer was given three phone numbers and fans had four hours, instead of the usual two, to vote for their favourite singer.

For the last performance show each singer performed three songs - one that was their personal favourite from the season, one that was chosen by “American Idol” creator Simon Fuller, and the new “American Idol” single that was co-written by this season’s new judge Kara DioGuardi.

First up was the rocker of the season Adam Lambert. Never the one to miss making an entrance the theatrical singer rose out of a fog and shadows wearing a long black coat as he sang his song from the week he was born “Mad World”. While Simon called the performance a bit too theatrical Randy gave Adam an A+ for the performance. Kara said that she was glad Adam chose that song and Paula called Adam astonishingly handome.

For his second song Simon Fuller chose the Sam Cooke song “Change is Gonna Come”. Adam said that he embraced the chance to sing the song since there had been no opportunity to do so during the season. This time around Adam chose to wear a grey suit for his performance that Randy called unbelievable. Kara and Paula pronounced it the Best performance ever by Adam.

True to Adam’s style the “American Idol” singe was performed in rock fashion but while Randy said that Adam could sing the phone book that performance was not among Randy’s favourites; but Kara said that she was moved by the performance and proud that Adam had sung it. Over the years fans have seen Paula at a loss for words on numerous occasions, this time around she said that no adjective could describe what Adam has brought to this season of “American Idol”. Simon chose not to comment on the song itself but only on Adam saying that Adam was one of the best singers all season long adding that Adam was what “American Idol” was all about. Host Ryan Seacrest called Adam Lambert a “class act”.

For his favourite performance Kris Allen chose the Bill Withers song “Ain’t No Sunshine” and played the piano as he sang. While Randy and Kara agreed that the performance showed fans what kind of artist Kris was Simon felt the song was a little too laid back for a show like the finals.

For Kris Simon Fuller chose the Marvin Gaye song “What’s Going On?” which Kris performed playing the guitar. Paula thought that Kris performed a song that would have made Marvin Gaye proud Randy felt the song was a little light and Simon compared the performance to three friends sitting around a bedroom strumming a guitar to a Marvin Gaye song.

On the “American Idol” single Kris performed a more laid back version compared to Adam but the judges felt the song was in too high a key for Kris but Simon said that Kris proved that he belonged on the stage for the finals.

Over the course of the season “American Idol” has come under considerable fire for shows running long and ruining some fans recordings; as a result, Ryan Seacrest issued a warning to fans that the grand finale on Wednesday is filled with events and that the show WILL run long and for anyone who is planning to record the show to plan accordingly. Joining the Idols on the stage for the grand finale are Lionel Richie, Carlos SantanaCarlos Santana, Cyndi LauperCyndi Lauper, Black Eyed Peas, Queen LatifahQueen Latifah, Keith UrbanKeith Urban, Jason Mraz, and last season’s winner David CookDavid Cook will return to the Idol stage.

All season long as an Idol hopeful was sent home after receiving the lowest votes season 4 winner Carrie UnderwoodCarrie Underwood’s voice would serenade them with “Home Sweet Home”. This week as the show was going off the air Underwood took the stage to perform the song live.s