Erin – I completely agree with you how refreshing Kris’ response is in light of the fact that he probably knew. Kris and Adam have such an inspiring friendship.

“I was like, ‘Oh, (bleep), they put me with the cute guy,”’ Lambert says. “Distracting! He’s the one guy that I found attractive in the whole group on the show: nice, nonchalant, pretty and totally my type — except that he has a wife. I mean, he’s open-minded and liberal, but he’s definitely 100 percent straight.”

I wanted to share it with you because I thought it was amusing!

Both Adam and Constantine have changed the American Idol image and there’s not a darn thing Simon can do about it!

Constantine proved that an Idol landing a job on Broadway can be respected by the industry and acknowledged for their work. Yes, he is the first contestant to to be nominated for a Tony, but I don’t think he will be the last!

Adam proved that someone with a theatrical background can be a contender to win AI. Yay!

I imagine there will be more of this type of contestant for Season 9.

The doors are wide open now. Sounding too much like Broadway can be a COOL thing!

Hugs,
Kariann

Thank you, Erin. Jimmy Gnecco must be a very special singer to receive your great praise! I hope to connect to your link when I am at my daughter’s house.

Mindy, you have summarized Kris’ talent and challenges quite fairly. I do wish both Kris and Adam much success in their careers!

(Back to the Tony Awards.)

I will forever remember Simon’s disrespect for Broadway. Those first 6-7 years he was always a put down to sound Broadway. The first real sword in the back was given to Clay Aiken. Imagine that, the runner-up in Season 8 is a Broadway honey.

Being an American Idol offers up so many opportunites, and I say bravo to Constantine. He is doing what he loves and Broadway has acknowldeged that he is very, very good. He may not win tonight, but he has proven Simon Cowell’s opinion on stage performers is a bunch of baloney.

My hat goes off to Constantine, Clay, Anthony, Diana, Fantasia, and all the terrific Idols who have expanded the American Idol experience!!

You have given me some good reasons for the defensiveness of Kris fans and it’s too bad that they have to feel it necessary to stand up for him by dissing Adam. It’s all kind of absurd. These two guys are so different that it’s impossible to compare them. But on Idol we must choose a favorite from among this talented group. I am kind of concerned that the introduction of instruments has changed the contest. How do you compare those who sing with those who sing AND play instruments? I fear that it’s becoming less of a pure singing competition. There are a lot of levels on which comparisons are unfair. We could discuss this ad infinitum.

I definitely agree that both Brooke White and Jason Castro were done in by nerves last season. They were both talented enough to be serious contenders. It was unnerving watching Brooke forget the lyrics and have to start over in front of a nationwide audience. I remember wondering if she would manage to get through the performance and keep it together. That girl was having a breakdown in front a millions of viewers. Jason also disintegrated when he forgot the lyrics to Mr. Tambourine Man. There were many who felt he tanked it because he wanted off the show. I find that hard to believe. But it was painful to watch the toll this competition exacted on two talented young people.

I do agree that Kris would not have won in previous seasons when there were no instruments. That is one of Kris’s true strengths. Without instruments, I don’t see him winning on just voice alone. I was thinking about him and feel that he can improve his voice with better technique. He has the sound, now he just needs to refine it somewhat. My feeling is that if you don’t have the range and power, then you have to do what you do to perfection. James Taylor is a great example of that. This man has a pitch perfect, lilting, distinctive sound all his own. You will never confuse him with anyone else.

There are challenges for Kris when it comes to the issue of commercial success. With artists like John Mayer, Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz already solidly established, Kris needs to carve out a place for himself. He has to find a way to set himself apart and bring a fresh, new interpretation to this type of music. I also think he needs to change up the tempo of his forthcoming album. I think of how James Taylor was so good at doing just that. He could the slow, simple, heartfelt ballad and stripped down, laid bare vocals to perfection, but he could also get funky and have some fun. That would be a great formula for Kris.

I hear you, Erin! Loud and clear. You have made the case for Kris and I commend you. With me it’s not a true comparison, it’s a matter of appreciating both of these young men for their distinctive gifts.

I don’t think Kris would have won in previous seasons, mainly because they couldn’t play instruments and nobody re-arranged songs before Blake Lewis did it — and those two things are a big part of his appeal. Though I do think Kris’s run on Idol is indicative of what Brooke White and Jason Castro *could* have done last year if they’d both held it together mentally as the competition progressed.

I am wondering if Kris would have been the winner in the other seasons of competition, or even runner-up?

I think that the edginess and defensiveness of Kris fans comes from the constant comparisons to Adam and that ridiculous range of his. We full well know that Kris can’t hope to vocally compete with Adam on that front, and Kris knows it as well and has said as much. Sometimes I just feel like I can’t ever get a, “Fair enough; I hear you,” response no matter how well I phrase my opinion. It’s always, “Okay, you like Kris. But ADAM!!!”

And I think the defensiveness comes from a justifiable place, because honestly, comparing the two contestants is an exercise in futility. It’d be like a, “James Taylor vs. Mariah Carey: Who is Better?” debate. I mean, what’s the point? What they both have to offer is so different that it becomes ridiculous to judge the two of them by the same rubric. They get defensive because nearly every statment of, “Kris is awesome because of X, Y, and Z” gets rebutted with, “…yeah, he’s nice. But Adam has that crazy range and Kris doesn’t. Adam is better.” ARRRGGGG. (I am WAY oversimplifying, of course, just trying to summarize the gist of the arguments I’ve heard with two sentences. I’m not implying that you made that argument, because you didn’t.)

And Adam certainly doesn’t need to apologize for that fabulous instrument of his. It’s an incredible gift to have that kind of range and a testament to how hard he’s worked to have that kind of technique when he sings.

My favorite singer in the world is actually fairly similar to Adam; he’s got a three-octave range and has a VERY dramatic style to his vocals, jumping register changes, using a lot of falsetto, and has one of those pitch-perfect primal screams that gives me goosebumps — the only really substantial difference I can think of is that he’s a baritone who tops out at a G5(!) in full voice, to Adam’s tenor (or is that countertenor? I haven’t figured that one out yet). Adam should have been my hands-down favorite with no competition, but Kris very slowly won me over through the course of the season.

I think that the Kris fans so often jump on the, “He doesn’t have the sing the Throat Olympics” thing to pre-empt the, “But that’s what Adam does, and it’s awesome!” thing. Yes he does, and yes, it is awesome, but that’s not the point Kris fans are trying to make.

They get defensive because Kris’s appeal is so far removed from that style that it’s frustrating to have it constantly brought up as a Reason Why Kris Didn’t Deserve to Win. He did deserve to win — for a host of reasons unrelated to Why Adam Lambert Is Totally Awesome, just as Adam deserved to win for reasons completely unrelated to Why Kris Allen Is Awesome. I think America got it right, but I also think they would have gotten it right if Adam had won. Or if Allison had won, for that matter.

I heard on TV today that there is a voting controversy brewing over Susan Boyle’s loss also! Something about someone changing her phone #’s. I saw it on Showbiz Tonight (or Extra or one those shows)I caught the end of it and am not exactly sure what happened. An honest system surely can’t be that hard to come up with!

I just wanted to say that I think you are underrating the vocal ability and purity of James Taylor, Willie Nelson, and Alison Kraus. I understand what you’re talking about with regard to all of the other singers, but I really don’t think these three belong in the same group.

Sorry, it’s taken me a day or two to get back here and there are so many posts! You deserve an honest answer to your question and my answer is No. This is not meant to denigrate Kris in any way. It is my personal opinion. It’s not based on popularity, ratings, judge’s opinions, media critics, the blogosphere or anything else. I believe Adam deserved to win based on his truly exceptional vocals and stellar performances.

As far as the criteria for Idol, well, there are a number of factors that come into play. Many of them have already been discussed here. Popularity plays a huge part, also where a contestant comes from geographically. It’s no coincidence that most of the winner of Idol have come from the south. I think having the right image, being mainstream, likeable, All American good looks, the whole package, all come into play here.

I am not so sure that those who vote the most are the ones more likely to go out and buy their winner’s album. I just am not convinced of that. I do think that the voting system on Idol is deeply flawed. There should be a major rehaul, but I don’t see the producers doing it. I think the problem of unlimited votes per phone line does leave the voting process wide open to abuse. I don’t think there is anything wrong with giving a limited number of votes per phone line, like Dancing With the Stars. If I had my way, I would abolish the text voting completely. That definitely gives an advantage to a certain segment of the audience and is also fair game for abuse. But I am not really optimistic that the producers will change it going forward. As long as the show is so popular, I think they will assume that the viewers are going to just go with it.

Erin –

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. You have certainly given me food for thought. I agree that being commercially successful can be tricky. I don’t even pretend to know who will be most likely to achieve commercial success in today’s pop music market. My tastes would not be considered mainstream by today’s standards at all. I do agree that the expectations for Adam will be incredibly high, but he somehow managed to continually raise the bar every week during the Idol competition. I don’t think we have even heard everything in his vocal arsenal. I think he may well have some surprised in his debut album. One reason I don’t worry too much with Adam is that he seems to be knowledgeable, realistic and savvy about what he needs to know to achieve commercial success. We will just have to wait and see if he can get it done. I hope so. The world should hear more of his incandescent voice.

I sense just a hint of edginess and defensiveness from those who support Kris. The term “throat Olympics”, has been used as a kind of criticism of Adam’s voice. However, Adam has shown that he is more than capable of performing stripped down, almost acappella vocals. He did so on “Tracks of My Tears” and “Mad World”. You can’t get more restrained than that. I also believe that you use what God gave you. The idea that Adam somehow has to apologize for his two and a half octave range and powerful vocal ability, seems to be kind of absurd. If he can do power singing and hold a high note for 14 seconds, I say why not? He was blessed with a God given gift, but has worked extremely hard to hone it to perfection. I see nothing wrong with so-called “throat Olympics”, if we must use that phrase.

What I like about Adam is his versatility as a singer. He can do so much with his voice. He can do the laid back, simple head voice, power through his strong lower register, start off soft and build to a crescendo and then pull it back to soft, rock out with the best of them (KISS, anyone?) and even sing r&b soul. He wants to try to include a lot of different genres of music in his first album. As MCL said, he is trying to be a Cabaret artist in the truest sense of that word. It’s risky, but I honestly hope he succeeds.

IT IS TAYLOR HICKS!!

Dede, your last statement, “I guess that’s why it’s so easy for some to go “overboard” with the love/hate,…the producers really know how to set us up, Lol!!!” is somehow located in my mess of a post. I totally understand as this is how I feel.

You know I always wonder why they treat Taylor they way they do. It’s not like he is sitting home on his couch watching the world go by. He’s really busy! I just love that it doesn’t seem to bother him at all, he just goes on with life and seems very happy! I would love to see him in “Grease”. Simon thinks if you aren’t charting in the top ten each week, your a failure in some way. That is so far from the truth though…Jennifer Hudson! I too feel bad for the ones that seem to never be good enough in Idols eyes.