American Idol's Entertaining Finale

Just a few observations regarding the American Idol finale.

First, what a lot of people who dismiss Idol perhaps don't realize is that the show is actually quite entertaining. It is, perhaps, the best produced musically oriented show on network television. The finale boasted some top talent, both old and new with the likes of Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight (sans Pips,) Tony Bennett, Bette Midler, Aerosmith's Joe Perry on his guitar and others, some performing with the contestants, excepting Bennett who performed solo. Keep in mind that this was a live telecast (the seven-second delay notwithstanding.) It has long been my opinion that few people in the business know how to do live telecasts of entertainment fare. They usually seem slow, unsure, and clumsy in their execution. Just think of any awards show you may have seen in the past 20 years or so. Not so with American Idol, except perhaps when they gave out some "special" awards which provided some laughs, but was for the most part awkward at best.

While watching one of the production numbers, it occurred to me that everyone seemed on the edge of delirium, all sporting effusive, broad grins, perhaps owing to the fact that virtually everyone on camera either had and/or will be making a great deal of money. I suppose that is cause for a smile or two.

But I will hand it to the producers. Idol was, in its infancy, virtually the antithesis of Wednesday evening's program. The first year or two it was painfully obvious that the show was being produced on a shoestring budget. The show's great success since has opened the network's checkbooks and production values have soared.

A few notes about some of the special performances by the guest artists noted above:

Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight were grand. They don't seem to have lost a beat, even if Ms. Knight has added a pound or two. Their voices were familiar and strong.

Tony Bennett was in unusually good voice. Ya gotta hand it to the guy. He's eighty years old! Nevertheless, in recent years, I have found some of his performances to be lacking in the vocal department as one might expect. Last nite, however, he nailed his performance, and he certainly does not look anything like 80 years old.

Joe Perry was very deft with his pickin' and not grinnin'.

Bette Midler. Bless her heart. Bette has always sung painfully flat. It is less irritating when she is doing some of her upbeat, campy stuff which represents her true calling, and I generally love. Unfortunately, she sang the god-awful "Wind Beneath My Wings", a dreadful song under any circumstances, but her voice constantly coming up under and not quite reaching note after note was harrowing to listen to. The only other performance I heard on Idol this year that was worse - and it was far worse - was Diana Ross's. She should give it up. She is so fucking impressed with herself that it makes just watching her a chore, let alone hearing her reveal just how much of her voice is history. I know I'm being uncharitable, but, man, listening to her now is not for sissies.

As to the actual purpose of the show - the contest results: Jordin Sparks is very good, indeed and deserving of the title. It is difficult to realize that she has spent only 17 tender years drawing breath on this planet. She has great range, control, and depth. She can sing big, only occasionally going shrill - which should pass assuming some vocal maturation and proper training and maintenance of her instrument - and she can pull it in and be intimate. She is a very attractive young lady who should become a star, and will likely make a great deal of money for herself, and probably even more for others.

I don't know what to say about Blake Lewis. He obviously has an interesting facility in doing vocal percussion, and his voice is decent. I don't know that he has real star quality, but I suppose that will work its way out in the coming months and years for good or ill.

My true favorite in the competition was Melinda Doolittle. She is downright great! She can absolutely nail a song, very much in the Gladys Knight tradition. I truly hope that she gets the right handling and goes on to be successful. She is cute, almost demure, and yet, when belting out a big song, she can rock the house.

LaKisha Jones also should have a bright future. She, too, can belt out a song with the best of them.

There are a handful of others who could make some noise in the business. Names that come to mind include Stephanie Edwards, Gina Glocksen, Chris Sligh, and unfortunately, Sanjaya. He is very weak vocally, but obviously appeals to thirteen-year-old girls. There is something about Sanjaya that I think might be cause for the pre-pubescent girls to be ultimately disappointed. Overall, the guys in the competition were much weaker than most of the girls this time around.

Haley Scarnato may also make a bit of a splash, but not so much for her singing. She's got a good face and a fairly great body. They might earn her a dollar or two. We'll see.

In a final note, it appears that the ratings for the finale were down considerably from last year. Critics reporting in USA Today gave the show a "1" on a 1 to 4 rating scale - 4 being the highest or best. That is unfortunate in that the talent level of virtually all the dozen or so finalists was, overall, much better this year than any of the previous competitions. There were a considerable number of really good performances throughout the competition with far fewer of the painful renditions that often prevailed in the past even in the late rounds.