Seacrest is extra orange and shiny.  Randy is dressed in geek chic.  The contestants are all wearing cult-like head-to-toe white.  Creepy?  Yes.  Awesome and exciting?  Also yes!

The clips of the judges from all season were hilarious.  I’d never noticed how Randy says “for me, for you” so much.  Hilarious.

David Cook sounded good — what a sad song!  He’s such a great performer.  We made a good choice last year, didn’t we America? 

What an AMAZING, star-studded finale!  Incredible! The Queen performance was insanely cool!

Congrats to our winner: Kris Allen!!!

*** My prediction: Both of these guys will have songs we’ll play on Star in the next 6 months.

I hope people don’t give Kris a hard time about his awkward acceptance/non-acceptance of the win.  My guess it that he really thought there was NO way he would win.  He seemed completely shocked.

Fun season!  See you in January (well, hopefully before then)! 

-Maggie

Ahhhhh!  I’m so excited about the show tonight!

Although I prefer Kris, I’ll be happy with however the season ends — both guys are great!  Plus, let’s be honest, it doesn’t really matter if you WIN Idol.  Right, Daughtry?

Adam:

Mad World — This was the FIRST time Adam gave me chills.  It’s an amazing song and I loved the theatrics with the smoke machines, long black coat, etc.  Tonight… I might officially be a FAN-bert (I’m not making that up, this is what Adam’s fans call themselves).

Change is Gonna Come — Soulful!  A little too much of the Adam-scream, but whatever.

Winner song — I’ve never liked the winner songs on Idol.  They’re always so message-heavy and lame.  Okay, I maybe liked Taylor Hicks — Do I Make You Proud (or whatever) — forgive me.  Anyhow, I thought it was a generic, boring song and that’s not Adam’s fault.

Kris:

Ain’t No Sunshine — Another one of my favorite songs!  Beautiful!

What’s Goin’ On? — Great job!

Winner song — Ummm… how did I miss that creepy sort-of mustache he’s grown this week?  Ewwww.  Again, the song was lame.

Wow, even Suri Cruise was in the audience?!?!

For the win… ADAM

Tomorrow will be fun!  See you then! 

-Maggie

Come on severe weather… don’t knock out the power/cable during Idol!

I’m nervous tonight because I have NO IDEA who’s going home.  Okay, my hunch is that Danny will leave, but I don’t feel confident about it.  Plus, I’ll be sorry to see any of them go.

The comedy intro bit was hilarious!  I didn’t realize that the actors were all from Night at the Museum — I thought they were just actors who happened to be Idol fans!  Ha!

I know I’m a dork, but I LOVE the Ford commercials this year.  And, what a nice surprise — Ford brought back the Fiesta!  Hilarious!  In college, we called those “roller skate cars.”

Danny’s friend Jamar is back!  I’d almost forgotten about him.  Was it a LITTLE weird when Danny said that he and Jamar “just held eachother” when they reunited?  I’m just saying, maybe a little unusual for two dudes, but whatever.  ***Side-note, I actually saw someone I know when they showed the footage outside the Milwaukee radio station!  How cool!!!***  The Milwaukee footage was amazing… I’ll admit that I was holding back tears.  Loved it!

Okay, Idol… stop making me cry!  Kris went back to Arkansas and they even (briefly) showed his wife.  You remember, the cute wife Simon told him to stop showing on TV because it’s a turnoff to teenage girl voters! 

Poor Adam didn’t have a very long trip on the private jet — just a hop over to San Diego!  Adam really strikes the balance of being nice, mellow and accessible, but hanging onto a very professional star-power quality.  My favorite moment was when Adam applied eyeliner for one of the local newscasters.

All three of the finalists seem sooo nice!  In prior seasons, I’ve usually gotten a diva-vibe from someone, but not here.  They’re all very cute.

Going home: Danny

… but I do love this final 2!

See you next week!!!

-Maggie

300th episode!  I won’t do the math on how many hours of my life have been spent on watching American Idol.  Too scary.

Danny Gokey —

Song #1 (Paula’s pick) — Terence Trent D’Arby – Dance Little Sister.  I was really excited when I heard the artist choice because I thought the song would be Wishing Well (the ONLY Terence Trent D’Arby song I know), so I was a little bummed.  Danny did well, but I didn’t think it was amazing.  Oh well.

Song #2 (Danny’s pick) — Joe Cocker – You Are So Beautiful.  This is not one of my favorite songs and I thought it was a little boring, but solid.  I just noticed how skinny Danny has gotten this season and now I’m worried about him… I hope he’s happy and eating enough!

Kris Allen —

Song #1 (Randy and Kara’s pick) — Timbaland and One Republic – Apologize.  Cool song choice!  Loved it!  He’s so cute, talented and sincere.  For the record, I completely disagree with Kara — Kris isn’t “hiding” behind his piano!   (Was his mom’s bra hanging out?  Embarrassing!)

Song #2 (Kris’ pick) — Kanye West – Heartless.  This is a brave choice because the song is very stripped down.  It was fantastic!  I officially want Kris to win… I’d be SHOCKED if he did, but I hope it happens!

Adam Lambert —

Song #1 (Simon’s pick) — U2 – One.  Wow!  I literally got chills when I heard that this was the pick — awesome!  Well, it was certainly different from the U2 version, obviously.  It was fun to look at his stone-washed button-down half-open… maybe he’ll bring stone-wash back???  Cross your fingers!  I thought it was cute when Adam recommended that we “rewind” his performance to listen back to the lyrics.  I think it’s safe to say that most of us have notice those lyrics before. 

Song #2 (Adam’s pick) — Aerosmith – Cryin’ – I’m a big Aerosmith fan and I do like this song, but I still though it was funny when Seacrest called it a “classic.”  It would probably be unfair to classify Adam’s version as over-the-top because Steven Tyler is totally dramatic, but still…

Quote of the night: “Adam, you have no idea how miserable my life is right now.” — Paula.  It was an awkward moment until she revealed that she was talking about admitting that Simon made a strong song choice, not about any of the millions of other things she COULD have meant…

Who’s going home?  Danny

See you tomorrow night! 

-Maggie

As always, I talked with a LOT of people about Idol today and I noticed something unusual… everyone seemed confident that they know who’s leaving tonight, but the results were very split.  Usually, there’s a general agreement about who’s leaving.  Tonight is a little trickier.  (It should be noted that the poll on our Facebook page overwhelmingly said that Kris will leave.)

Yeah!  Slash performing!  Sweet!  I suppose the hair/hat/sunglasses combo hides a lot, but Slash has looked exactly the same for 20 years.  Were those leather pants, or liquid leggings? 

Alert the media: I have something nice to say about Paula Abdul.  My expectations of Paula’s performance were low.  Of course she’d lip-sync.  I also expected that she’d seem disoriented/drunk/stumbly.  However, her body was super-hot and her dancing was as good as ever.  One complaint: Where was DJ Skat Kat?

No Doubt was fun.  I enjoyed hearing one of their original hits, since it’s a reunion for them.  Wardrobe was crazy-looking for the entire band.  Especially weird: the tight, striped leggings/tutu combo on a dude.  Trying too hard?  Maybe.

Chris Daughtry — proving that it apparently doesn’t matter AT ALL if you win the competition.

Who’s going home?  Allison

Next week will be fun — I love when they go to the hometowns!

See you then! 

-Maggie

I’ve been excited ALL WEEK about Rock Night with Slash!

It sounds like they had a scary night on-set at AI, with two stage accidents, glass breaking and the audience evacuation.  There was no official dress rehearsal before the show.  Drama!  Let’s go!

Adam Lambert:

Led Zeppelin — Whole Lotta Love:  He’s extra tan/orange this week!  Adam is MADE for this song.  This is kind of random, but Adam’s rock-style this week actually looks like he could be one of the made-up characters on Guitar Hero.  Hilarious.  He was awesome — I’m admitting it.

Allison Iraheta:

Janice Joplin — Cry Baby:  Looking better with the hair-extensions and less-slutty clothes.  It would have been fun to see/hear her sing Heart (perfect!), but I loved the song she chose and she showed off that POWER voice of hers.  Cool.

Danny and Kris duet: Wow… Styx… Renegade.  I can’t stomach that song.  It’s an interesting concept to have duets, but I wasn’t wild about that one.

Kris Allen:

The Beatles — Come Together:  It’s official — Kris is super-hot!  How did I not notice this earlier in the season!?!?!  He’s always looked cute, but he gets somehow hotter each week.  Loved the song choice.  His voice isn’t as strong as the others, so he can’t easily compete against the other voices in “Rock Week.”

Danny Gokey:

Aerosmith — Dream On:  Uh oh… one of my favorite songs and one of my favorite contestants!  Danny’s outfit tonight reminded me of the guy version of “sexy librarian” — he was more of the “hot banker after-hours” or something.  Weird.  Let’s talk about the song… not good.  The shriek at the end didn’t work.  I wonder how Adam would have done it…   I’m bummed.

Allison and Adam duet: Fohat — Slow Ride    Now I really feel like I’m playing Guitar Hero (this is one of the songs on the game).  It was fun to hear those powerful voices together — nice job!

Who’s going home:

Kris (It’s a tough call this week!)

Tomorrow will be fun — Daughtry and No Doubt to perform!  See you then!

-Maggie 

What!?!?!  They’re letting Taylor Hicks back on AI tonight?  I thought they hated him!  Seriously, I think Simon has been pretty open about not liking him, but I thought that Hicks wasn’t on great terms with the whole AI gang.

Humbling moment for Adam when they asked him (basically) to pick whether he was with the stronger or weaker performers.  He chose the better ones — Danny and Allison… and he was wrong.  SHOCKER to have Adam in the bottom 3.  Wow!

About the Jamie Foxx performance… not a big fan.  I once heard that voice effect called getting “Rihannafied.”  Jamie Foxx got Rihannafied tonight.  Not good.

Headed home this week:  Matt Giraud

Close call for Adam!  Wow!  I didn’t expect that!

Only a few weeks left!  See you next week! 

-Maggie

Rat Pack Night — This could be interesting…

Kris Allen — The Way You Look Tonight — Jamie Foxx says that Kris “isn’t doing the throat olympics,” which sounds gross, but I guess it’s a compliment.  I was a little bored by Kris’ performance, but it’s entirely possible that I’ll be bored for the entire hour of Rat Pack Night…

Allison Iraheta — Someone to Watch Over Me — I thought Jamie Foxx was very cute with Allison.  I like that he wanted her to act her age.  Too bad he wasn’t picking her outfit (she was POURING out of that top)!  She did a great job singing — beautiful!

Matt Giraud — My Funny Valentine — Is Matt really still here?  Just kidding — I know that a lot of people (obviously) LOVE him, but he hasn’t “wowed” me ever.  As Simon would say, “I’m not being mean, but” he seems like a nice, normal guy… I just found it boring.

Danny Gokey — Come Rain or Come Shine — Looking sharp/hot tonight!  I agree with Randy — I think that tonight’s theme really suits Danny.  Great job!

Adam Lambert — Feeling Good — Once again, Adam totally changed a song and made it “his” — completely creative and in a different league from the other performers.  I recognize this.  I don’t enjoy having the standards screamed at me, but I understand how much better (technically) Adam is than everyone else.

Going home: Matt Giraud

See you tomorrow! 

-Maggie

This may be the first time I’ve ever said this, but that was a GREAT group performance tonight!  I was really impressed!  Everyone can dance!

How CUTE was David Archuleta!?!?!  He’s a baby!  He’s even smaller than Seacrest! 

Going home:

Lil Rounds — I’ve said this all along… I really like Lil Rounds and I’ve been confused by how critical the judges were of her and how much negative/mean buzz I’ve heard about her.  She always struck me as mature, beautiful and extremely talented.  I know that’s not at ALL what I keep hearing people say about her.  Oh well.  I’m a fan!

Anoop Desai — Was it the new facial hair?  Was America not ready for Anoop’s eyebrows?  Who knows.  I liked Anoop because he seemed like such a normal, nerdy college dude who was able to transform himself on-stage.  However, (like Lil) he sometimes bordered on boring.  He did a great job this season, but it was time for him to head home.

I’m sad to see both of them go home, but not surprised. 

Good night!  See you next week! 

-Maggie

Disco Night!  Now… these are the songs from the era when I was born!

Also, double-elimination week!  This is too exciting!

BTW, Ryan Seacrest just Twittered that he had an artichoke for dinner.  Yum!

Lil Rounds — I’ve noticed that Lil seems to be the “contestant to hate” at this point in the competition and I’m not sure why.  I think she’s talented and beautiful… maybe a little boring, but I don’t relate to the STRONG negative feelings I keep hearing/reading.  Anyway, I thought she sounded good tonight — not stunning, not terrible.

Kris Allen — Kris is adorable… did he really not know what “She Works Hard for the Money” was about?  He HAD to, right???  I liked his sloppy-guy style tonight.  It was a shout-out to Simon-style with the undershirt and jeans look.  He looked hot and sounded good!  Loved the guitar and the percussion.  Very cool.

Danny Gokey — Sooooo excited that Danny is singing September — one of my favorites!!!  I think he did a great job!  Good to see him wearing his quirky glasses again.  Personally, I like my Danny more clean-shaven, but whatever.

Allison Ireheta — This might make me sound old, but I was distracted by Allison’s bad, age-inappropriate, prostitute-looking outfit.  Not cute.  Regardless, she killed, as usual.

Adam Lambert — Looking smooth in his suit tonight!  I think he sounded about the same as usual… that’s all I’ll say about Adam tonight. 

Matt Giraud — Stayin’ Alive.  I thought it was good, but not great.

Anoop Desai — Ewwww… oh no!  Please shave, Anoop!  Please!  Okay, so none of us love Anoop because of a hot-factor or because he’s a sharp-dresser… but that fuzzy facial hair was too much.  He sounded okay.. or as Paula said, “you hit your magical zone.”

Bottom 3 (I assume it’s still bottom 3?):

Anoop, Lil, Matt

Going home:

Anoop and Lil (TOUGH CALL)

We’ll see… later!

-Maggie