Farewell Danny Gokey You Almost Made It

The pre-ordained finale between Danny and Adam didn't come to realized. The elimination of Danny Gokey somehow doesn't surprises me. He has been playing it a little safe throughout the competition without taking risks (except maybe the risk he took during rock week and you know how that risk ended). Kris Allen delivered solid performances and showed that even his voice is not big but his talent in artistry and being a risk taker can pull off great and memorable performances and eventually rewarded him the spot in a final two with Adam.

So many factors contributed to the failure of Danny. The backlash for him being pimped too much from the producers, his forgettable performances, the KRADAM phenomenon which exploded in the interweb, the horrific scream on rock week and of course the showstopper performance of the song "Heartless" by Kris Allen in the final 3 show. They are all coming together that resulted to the demise of Danny Gokey's dream.

In this case, Adam Lambert won in my AI Showdown blog. The two last posts that I am going to published here will be Adam's final 3 performances in the "finale" and the announcement of the new American Idol. Good luck Adam... and by the way, I like Kris Allen too.

American Idol Season 8: Danny vs Adam Round 13

American Idol season 8 is almost wrapping up and it is now down to the final 3 contestants who are Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey, and the dark horse Kris Allen. An exciting part of being in the top three is that contestants have the privilege to return to their hometown and become heroes. Kris revisited Arkansas, Danny was back in Milwaukee and Adam was embraced by his long lost childhood community in San Diego. Spoilers are also part of their dramatic trip when the judges’ song choices were given to them to be revealed during their victorious homecoming celebration.

Now... what is the song choice for Danny? Paula chooses “Dance Little Sister” by Terence Trent D'Arby. Honestly, I don’t know what the heck is that song is until Danny sang it. The performance is not surprising. It just falls right inside that comfortable tiny box where Danny’s previous performances e.g. P.Y.T., Get Ready and September are placed. That also includes the clumsy dance steps which I also am getting used to see from him at this point in time.

Last week, for Adam’s rock performance, we witnessed how Led Zeppelin gave Adam his song clearance which is a rare feat for a contestant. This week, another popular rock group did the same. Simon said he personally asked Bono, the band leader of the famous rock group U2, permission for Adam to sing the song “One” which Bono willingly agreed. Adam clearly had earned respect from many successful artists in the music industry one proof of it is the way Simon invested his energy and made an effort just for Adam... wow. I notice when Adam performed that song he doesn’t go over the top or do theatrical gimmicks that we usually see from him (and also enjoyed from him). However, we know he is the best singer in the competition and hopefully it motivates Glambert nation to riled up again and vote for him.

American Idol Season 8: Danny vs Adam Round 12

The situation now in the top 3 is kind of interesting and unpredictable. Kradam (Kris and Adam) fan base had grown into a critical mass that it became dangerous for both Adam and Danny. The Kradams are desperate for a Kris and Adam final two and these people will vote like crazy just to get rid of Danny out in the competition. Danny’s smooth cruising from constant over pimping is heading for a big bump of backlash this week. Other major factors for his precarious situation are his previous weak performances and last week’s now world famous horror screech from his “Dream On” performance dubbed as one of the worst performance in American Idol history.

The contestant’s song choice is kind of tricky. This part of the competition supposedly gave the opportunity for the contestants to show people who they are as an artist. Many contestants from previous seasons failed to play well in this category which resulted into their elimination. However, I believe Danny succeeded in this round based on his song choice. He chooses “You Are So Beautiful” by Joe Cocker which is good because it showed Danny as a soul, gospel and RnB type of an artist. He delivered the song very well too and I thought it was better than any of his performances from previous weeks.

Meanwhile, rock route is where Adam is heading as an artist based on his song choice. He chosed the song “Cryin” by the famous Steve Tyler from the rock band Aerosmith. In his performance, something went terribly wrong with Adam’s earpiece because when he was singing the song he removed it from his ear. Also, the backup singer’s screeching overpowered Adam’s vocals and it ruined Adam’s performance, hmm... maybe a little bit. All the judges assumed Adam will sail through the top 3 round and I understand that because Adam as simply the best vocalist in the competition so it’s very easy for us to think that way. But Simon clearly stated that the only way for Adam to go to the final 2 is for his fans to pick up the phone and vote for him.

American Idol Season 8: Danny vs Adam Round 11

Last week’s elimination when Adam landed in bottom two gave a major scare to Glambert Nation. Vote splitting and voter’s complacency were blamed. However, this week the Glamberts were riled up and voted like crazy. Adam’s bottom two landing officially made Danny the only front runner in the competition... interesting.

This week’s mentor Slash the lead guitarist from the famous rock band Guns n Roses was helping Danny pull off the challenging song Dream On from Aerosmith. The song is kinda like hard to pull off especially to a crooner like Danny because it got a sinister high note wail in the end that he had to belt. Slash warned him it could go either way to awesome or to a massive trainwreck. Unfortunately for him, it went from awful pitchy moments from beginning to major last note scream wreckage. Simon said the scream was like he’s watching a horror movie and he was absolutely right that it made me laugh so hard. I also noticed Danny was copying Adam’s signature moves like the eyefuck and it didn’t worked for him. Danny should stick to his own style and stop being an Adam wannabee.

Led Zeppelin mysteriously gave clearance to a rock song Whole Lotta Love for Adam to sing in the show. Adam seemed to have the trust and respect by the rocker community. Who wouldn’t? He got the pipes to pull it off. During the show, Adam in his full rock make-up and outfit didn’t fail to impress. His all out solid vocals and his entrancing acapella rendition nailed every inch of the song it was whole lotta perfect. Kara called him the “ROCK GOD”.

American Idol Season 8: Danny vs Adam Round 10

American Idol has been evolving rapidly in this 8th season. Usually, viewers were treated two songs from the contestants when it is down to 5 (or in this case 4) however adding additional judge (Kara) made the critiques took longer time and it made 8 performances difficult to squeeze within one hour. Interesting... what they did was to tweak the format again and came up with “duets”. So, 4 performances plus 2 duets which was first time in American Idol hopefully will solve the time constraint dilemma. I don’t know if it is acceptable for the viewers or it is beneficial for the contestants though.

Singing Styx's Renegade, the first pair was cool Kris and his partner Danny who was wearing his trademark glasses which was odd in rock week by the way. Vocally, both of them were pitchy in their solos but together they harmonized very well. But Danny had a disgusting propensity to pullout from the pair and sang by himself in full volume doing runs and riff in the end of the song. That left poor Kris just watching him and acting a little bit surprised or pissed I guess. Judge Simon comments about Danny being the better singer doesn’t make Kris felt better also.

Meanwhile, if there is a term for a perfect marriage in duets, Adam and Allison would be the right pair suited for that. Both have rockers written all over them from their hair (Allison said that Adam hooked her up with his hairstylist and that explained why they looked so well blended), their mannerism and swagger, their outfits (Adam’s tight pants anyone?), and of course their solid rock vocals. Their rendition of Slow Ride was done in team effort and was one of my favorite performances ever in American Idol and the hug was so cute. Adam said Allison is like his little sister, sweet.

American Idol Season 8: Danny vs Adam Round 9

Season 8 could be anybody's ball game and heading to a down the wire finish. As mostly expected,The only black contestant Lil Rounds and the RnB Indian crooner Anoop Desai were booted out from the show during last week's elimination. Only five more contestants left who are going to sing in Rat Pack themed episode. Aside from Adam and Danny, 16 year old rocker girl Allison, cutie-pie and a sneaky dark horse Kris and the 2-time bootproof contestant Matt are still gunning to reach the finish line in this highly rated singing competition. Adam the elephant in the house had all the indicators pointing him as front runner. However, Danny could still managed to stay right on track to hit a bullseye and the other 3 remaining contestants surely got something else in their arsenal to provide us a shocker elimination.

Just as I was thinking Danny was fizzling down in the competition, he dropped a huge bomb in the stage strutting "Come Rain or Come Shine". I have to admit that, it was really a stellar performance as Paula Abdul described it. Danny just bounced back in the competition showing Adam a run for the money. It was the first time in the competition for me to see Danny showed something different in his singing style and that was satisfyingly unexpected.

Now, after that big Danny performance, it left me wondering what Adam got to do to counter that. Appearing from above the stairs for a dramatic entrance, Adam started singing "Feeling Good" in a sinister-esque voice while descending down slowly like the Don from the Godfather movie. Then he mercilessly unleashed his perfectly mouth-openning vocals leaving audience captivated. I got to say, the continuous high note in the end was the ultimate showstopper. That was the performance of nuclear bomb level in the whole night's show.

American Idol Season 8: Danny vs Adam Round 8

Last week was kinda historic moment in American Idol. Matt Giraud who was voted off in the competition was the first contestant saved by the judges. The one time save for the entire season was finally used which means two contestants will be going home this week and no one can save them anymore. During that episode, I was really moved on the drama that happened that it brought me in the brink of tears . It was just so nice seeing all of the contestants wanting to save Matt. They really are like a family.

I really got to start feeling doubtful about Danny’s fate in this competition right at this moment. His performance on September wasn’t even that good compared to the rest of the competitors. Online polls were showing his popularity was fading like a smoke in the sea of air. Matt, Allison and dangerous darkhorse right now Kris is inching their way to sneak in on Danny. So step it up Danny. Danny looked hideous with that beard by the way.

The man to beat in this competition is no other than the great Adam Lambert. This guy had showed us varieties of performances of different levels of entertainment and all of them are now sort of an instant classic. People are even arguing which performance from Adam is the best. The thing is, Adam is way above the competition. He is the mighty contestant, the chosen one, the one who is destined to take it all. Tonight, with his flawless rendition of the heartbreaking “disco music turned ballad” If I Can’t Have You that brought Paula Abdul shivering in tears, feels like there is no stopping on Lambert's destined idol glory.