America has spoken!
After months of competition — and a jam-packed finale — Kris Allen and Adam Lambert performed on the Idol stage at the Nokia Theatre Wednesday night in a musical spectacular before learning the results of a little less than 100 million votes.
Keep reading to find out the winner of American Idol.
The wait is almost over! Kris Allen and Adam Lambert have come a long way on their journey to the American Idol finale, including performing three songs each on Tuesday’s show.
“I think I did my best probably on ‘Ain’t No Sunshine,’” Allen told reporters backstage at the Nokia Theatre after the broadcast. “I kind of get that song and I’d already rehearsed it plenty and it was ready. So I think I did my best on that one.”
Lambert also picked his reinterpretation of a season highlight as his best moment of the night. “The ‘Mad World’ song was a really cool opportunity to reinvent it because I changed the staging and the wardrobe, even though at heart it was still the same song,” he said.
So, who had the best night?
“[It's a] great competition,” Paula Abdul told reporters. “It’s an interesting one … They’re both separate, unique, distinct talents. They both had defining moments tonight. It’s all up to America.”
But before Ryan Seacrest crowns a winner, Idol producers are putting on a big show that includes performances by Lionel Richie, Carlos Santana, Cindi Lauper, Queen Latifah, Black Eyed Peas, Keith Urban, the reigning American Idol David Cook and more.
Tell us: Who do you think is going to win? What do you think of the big finale show? Discuss!
Check out all our Idol coverage at PEOPLE.com/idol!
Michael Becker/FOX/AP
The Real Housewives of New Jersey
As the second installment of The Real Housewives of New Jersey got underway last night, sweet but doormat-ish Jacqueline took center stage. We learned about her struggles—from fertility issues to impasses with her rebellious teenage daughter Ashley. But as always, the show really got cooking when capturing candid moments of b-tchery and downright bizarre behavior committed by the occasionally oblivious Housewives.
45-year-old divorcee Danielle returned in that can’t-look-away-from-a-cosmetically-enhanced-train-wreck kind of way, ready to do battle with icy blonde nemesis Dina. At Jacqueline’s over-the-top carnival-themed birthday party for her six-year-old son CJ, Danielle looked for trouble in ways both mildly inappropriate (inserting herself into an argument between Jacqueline and the disrespectful Ashley) and blatantly outlandish (asking to borrow Dina’s “boobies” as a gesture of good will). After staring at her frenemy’s torso for an uncomfortably long time, Dina remarked of Danielle: “The girl is freakin’ obsessed with me. I don’t know if she wants to be me, or skin me and wear me like last year’s Versace.”
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Will Simon Cowell and the odds-makers be proved right — will the next Idol be Adam Lambert, the dazzling glam-rock prince? Or does Kris Allen, the guy with the acoustic guitar, square jaw and plaid shirts, have a chance of upsetting the race? Can Smallville beat Vegas?
Tuesday night’s performance finale seemed to clinch Adam’s victory, but Kris could win, for at least four reasons.
1. The Johnny Depp Analogy: Look, Johnny Depp is a huge, glamorous, risk-taking star, but off camera doesn’t he look like someone you could scare with a sock puppet? Something like this comes into play with Kris. Simon has faulted him for not having star swagger, something Adam exudes with every flash of his smile and swivel of his hips. But what may seem like modesty on a live stage can project to the viewing audience as a different kind of charisma — cool, even. Just because Adam rules the stage doesn’t mean he rules the camera.
2. The Kara Principle: It drives me crazy when Kara talks about artistic growth and development, as if she were a tenured lecturer at the pop academy — but why deny that Kris has improved, quite a lot, and that this is key to the competition? His folk-pop approach is not only melodic but surprisingly versatile, as when he won over the judges with his acoustic version of Kayne West’s “Heartless.” Adam is absolutely the better performer, but the whole competition seems too consistently easy for him. It’s like Apollo coming down to Athens and competing in a few Olympic events without breaking a sweat. It’s not that Adam is smug or proud — he’s entirely likable — but there doesn’t seem to be any need for him to have bothered even auditioning. He’s right where he started: perfect. Kris has discovered himself. That’s important. Read the rest of this entry »
Whether she’s sugar-coating her critiques of contestants, smacking Simon Cowell for saying something inappropriate off mic, or performing her very own song on the Idol stage, Paula Abdul has proven to be the judge who’s most fun to watch over the course of any American Idol season.
So, we thought it fitting to condense Tuesday’s hour of performances (by Adam Lambert and Kris Allen) and feedback (from the judges) into the night, according to Paula (with a little Randy Jackson thrown in).
Enjoy!
It was a blow to the “glass half full” crowd when ABC canceled funny and sweet Pushing Daisies, but FOX has optimists’ hearts everywhere filled to the brim after Tuesday’s preview of the funny and sweet Glee, a fall show whose pilot aired after American Idol’s final performance show of the season.
Among the delights:
The Kids Are Alright: Let’s face it — Gossip Girl and 90210 does not the average high school experience make. But though the students at William McKinley fall into their archetypal roles — Rachel Berry, the overachieving but under-popular talent, and Finn Hudson, the jock exterior with a nerdy interior — their back stories prove relatable and relatively realistic.
Music Matters: As scenes unfold, songs like the “Soul Bossa Nova” waft underneath, sung by the glee club and acting as a chorus for the action above.
Pop Culture Unleashed: Dated be darned — the music of Journey and references to Grey’s Anatomy and Pottery Barn abound. Could it be savvy product placement? Sure, for cynics. But mostly, it’s smart and, in Terri Schuester’s case, crafty. Read the rest of this entry »
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Proud Parents: While gold confetti fell from above the ballroom floor, Shirley Ballas and Teri Johnson looked on, their eyes brimming with tears as their babies — Mark Ballas and Shawn Johnson — were crowned season 8 champs. “Oh my gosh! I’m so thrilled and surprised,” Johnson’s mom told PEOPLE, adding, “She does well under pressure.” Though this was the second DWTS trophy for Ballas, his mom Shirley, a ballroom pro herself, was also in shock. “I thought Gilles (Marini) and Cheryl (Burke) had it in the bag,” she said. “The difference I saw in Shawn was a shy 17-year-old girl who turned into a woman. She gained momentum, she knew it was close and she knew what she had to do. She peaked at the right moment, didn’t she?”
The Agony of Defeat: Mere steps away from the mini huddle gathered around Johnson and Ballas was runner-up Gilles Marini consoling his son, Georges. The 10-year-old, who watched his father perform on Monday and Tuesday, sobbed as Marini held him in his arms and told him over and over “it’s alright, it’s alright.” Marini said his son’s disappointment was “pretty intense. He’s taking it badly. He’s a 10-year-old, and he wanted to put the trophy on the shelf in (his sister) Juliana’s room.” Despite not winning, Marini says the evening’s outcome was “a win-win situation.” The show introduced him to the American public, and even better, “I got to meet Cheryl,” Marini said. “If not for her, I would have been gone the first week.”
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Adam Lambert is known for his dramatic interpretations and theatrical performances on American Idol, and he was in true form Tuesday for the final night of performances, when he took on Kris Allen in the season 8 showdown.
For his first song, a reinterpretation of one of his highlights, Gary Jules’s “Mad World,” Lambert appeared out of smoke and blue light at the top of a staircase in silhouette. As he descended into the spotlight, singing with control and skill, he emerged in a full-length trench coat.
The coat became a sticking point for Simon, who thought the performance was “a little bit over theatrical” and said, “maybe it was the coat” that reminded him of Phantom of the Opera.
Randy, who “loved the long coat,” offered his own, more contemporary take on the trench: “Twilight,” he said, “It was Twilight!”
At that point, Adam showed off the coat, which was made by L.A.-based menswear designer Michel Berandi.
FOX
Kelly Clarkson had “A Moment Like This,” and David Cook had “The Time of My Life.” Now, the new American Idol will have “No Boundaries.”
On Tuesday night’s finale showdown, both Adam Lambert and Kris Allen put their own spin on season 8’s coronation song, which was co-penned by Idol judge (and established songwriter) Kara DioGuardi. Simon Cowell, for one, hardly seemed to be a fan of the soaring, sentimental ballad. “I’m not going to judge that song,” he said dismissively after Lambert’s rendition. “I’m going to judge you.”
But during a post-show press conference, Paula Abdul offered her support to Idol’s other female judge. “I’m proud of Kara,” she told reporters. “I’m very proud of her.” Of Cowell’s apparent distaste for the tune, she quipped, “Simon is there to always ruin a moment, or he wouldn’t be Simon.”
Lambert also piped up with praise for DioGuardi’s return to her day job. “It’s a great song,” he said. “It actually has a really great message.” Even so, he admitted, “There was a lot of lyric and it was a big song and we didn’t have a lot of time to work on it so it was kind of a rush job.” Read the rest of this entry »
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The big face-off between Adam Lambert and Kris Allen on Tuesday was so intense, you almost wished Norman Gentle could be dragged back for some comic relief. And he wasn’t even funny — that’s how intense the hour was!
By the end, the judges made it pretty clear that they want an Idol named Adam.
The show broke down into three rounds, three songs: a favorite from the season chosen by the singer; one picked by the show’s creator, Simon Fuller; and a new song, “No Boundaries,” co-written by Kara.
Round One: Adam reprised his stellar cover of “Mad World,” this time in a long coat that made him look as if he were starring in a musical version of Twilight (Or was it Phantom of the Opera?). It was a more romantic take this time, without the special chill of his original. Randy loved it: “An A-plus!” he said. The only judge with reservations was Simon, who found it “a little bit over theatrical.”
Kris’s choice was “Ain’t No Sunshine,” which he performed (at the piano) with charm and sweetness. “If he doesn’t move you,” Kara proclaimed to the world, “there’s something wrong you!” Paula said something lovely about how “you awaken the spirit in all of us.” Simon told Kris the performance had erased all his previous reservations.
Simon called the round for Kris. Read the rest of this entry »