There is nothing quite like an American Idol finale! The performance show has an edge to it unlike any other, and the two-hour results show is always packed with surprises, nostalgia, and serious drama. If this is your first outing, you are in for a real treat.
There hasn’t been much information leaked about either of this year’s shows, but I have been scouring the various message boards and blogs and have learned a few things that may interest you. According to several sources, Blake won the coin toss, but deferred to Jordin, who not surprisingly, chose to sing second.
Blake and Jordin will be singing three songs each, one of which will be the winner of the Idol songwriter contest. Again, nothing has leaked about the specifics, but it appears they will both sing the same song. This is always a dicey situation, especially when the two finalists have such different styles. The song usually favors one contestant over the other, and after having listened to as many of the songs as I could stomach, I think Jordin will have an advantage. Most of the submitted songs are ballads, leaning towards rainbows, puppies, and kittens, and while Jordin should do well, Blake may be in serious trouble! He is inventive, though, and most likely will try to put his own spin on it. We’ll just have to see how this works out. It might actually be amusing!
Taylor has confirmed that he’ll be performing at the finale, and according to her MySpace update, Carrie Underwood will be there as well. Chris Daughtry will sing “Home” at some point during Tuesday’s performance show. I’ve read speculation that Kelly will also be there, which would not surprise me considering her CD, My December will be dropping in June (and you can pre-order it right here). An appearance on Idol can’t hurt.
MTV is reporting that Doug E. Fresh is a Blake fan and is interested in being on the show. Other than that, no other information has leaked so far, but there are rumors floating around about potential appearances by Jennifer Hudson and Beyonce. Perez Hilton is floating a story about a possible appearance from Britney Spears, and there’s also been some buzz about Paul McCartney making a surprise appearance. Hey, it’s the Idol finale, one of the highest-rated shows of the year. Who wouldn’t want to be on it?
At any rate, we’ll have to wait to see who really does show up. In the meantime, let’s take a look at how previous seasons’ final weeks have gone down:
Season Five: Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee made it to the fifth season’s top two, each offering something totally different and appealing to two distinct fan bases. Katharine went first with a reprisal of “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.” Simon thought the occasion was bigger than her song was, and it was more like a warm-up. Taylor, who broke out a purple velvet jacket for the event, followed with “Livin’ for the City.” Both Simon and our recapper Betsy Wasser hated the jacket, but agreed the performance was a good way for Taylor to start out the evening. Round one went to Taylor.
In the second round, Katharine sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Simon called it her best performance of the competition, and Betsy thought it was “flawless and stunning.” Taylor came back with “Levon,” a song he’d done early in the competition. Simon didn’t think it was as good as the first round. Round two went to Katharine.
For the third and final round, each contestant sang a different original song written especially for the finale. These oft-maligned songs, which have been dubbed the Idol “coronation” songs, can make or break a contestant, and season five was a good example of that. Katharine’s “My Destiny” was a sloppy, soggy mess. The song was totally wrong for her vocal range, and despite a valiant effort, she was unable to pull it off. This may have been the worst of these coronation songs to date – so bad that she didn’t even have to sing it on tour. That’s never happened before!
On the other hand, Taylor took “Do I Make You Proud” and made it his own. In Kat’s defense, the song was nowhere near as sappy as “My Destiny.” In fact, Taylor has since confirmed that he refused to sing the first song that they gave him (could it have been “My Destiny”) and chose “Do I Make You Proud,” which was the song Elliott would have sung had he made the top two. And in the end, Taylor did indeed make his fans proud with his emotional performance of this song. Round three to Taylor.
The season five finale show was a combination of American Idol, the Grammys, and ripe cheese! Rather than keeping the focus on the Idols, the producers chose to infuse the show with guest performers in an attempt to draw in even more viewers.
Carrie Underwood opened the show singing “I Made it Through the Rain.” Taylor joined her and then Kat came out. Gradually, the other Idols hit the stage all dressed in white. It was a great way to open the show, and despite all the requisite filler and somewhat contrived segments, the show was very entertaining.
For me, the highlight of the season five finale will always be the guys’ medley. Chris, Ace, Bucky, Elliott, and Kevin started out with “Takin’ Care of Business,” and then Taylor emerged from the back of the stage, playing his harp for the first time on the Idol stage. The group broke into “Tobacco Road,” and Taylor was on fire. Next was “Don’t Stop,” and everyone was up and dancing. It was just plain fun.
Other highlights included an appearance by Clay Aiken, who totally floored poor Michael Sandecki (the “winner” of the Golden Idol award for best impersonation), and a neat medley of Burt Bacharach songs featuring the top 12. Prince also made an appearance that night, along with Al Jarreau, Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blige, Meatloaf, and Dionne Warwick.
After one hour and 54 minutes, it was time to name the winner. Taylor and Katharine sang “I Had the Time of My Life,” and then it was decision time. After 63.4 million votes, Taylor was declared the winner of American Idol 5. He whooped, collapsed to his knees, and then once again sang “Do I Make You Proud.” Fireworks exploded and confetti fell, and that was the end of season five.
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