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.

American Idol Season 8: Danny vs Adam Round 7

I did not like the format they used in judging the contestant’s performances this week. It is actually the direct result from last week’s show which was unfortunately running too long leaving DVR viewers unable to see the unbelievably awesome rendition of the song Mad World by no other than the great Adam Lambert. So AI decided pair judging instead in order to squeeze in an hour show. I thought it is kind of unfair to some contestants because not all of them will fall under the harsh tongue of Simon Cowell, bad idea.

The way I see it, as the competition is coasting its way to the finale, Danny is rapidly falling behind Adam and the gap is by a country mile. Danny’s singing of Lionel Ritchie’s ballad Endless Love was an authentic snoozefest. There is nothing wrong with his voice really in fact his precision in hitting notes was almost flawless, the tone of his vocals was powerful and beautiful however, this particular performance really falls flat in the chart of entertainment value. By the way, for the first time, Danny showed up on stage without wearing glasses. He got some cool facial hair on his face, very manly, and it looks like he is losing weight…. hmmm.

Since this week is Movie Theme on American Idol, funny how the guest mentor movie director Quintin Tarantino had enthusiastically been giving performance tips to our contestants except to Adam Lambert. Quintin just said to him he just wanted to know what Adam’s version of Born to Be Wild from the movie Easy Rider would be like. When Adam showed him some bits of his performance, Quintin liked the taste of its electronica-rock flavor but he wants to taste all of it during the show. Sporting a new shorter emo-glamrock haircut, Adam didn’t disappoints as he rocked the house with his head banging and high note wailing performance amidst the stage’s seizure-inducing light effects. I got to mention my extreme excitement to the back-up singers’ head banging, it’s a piece of entertainment artistry. Way to go Adam.

American Idol Season 8: Danny vs Adam Round 6

Worst singer of season eight Megan Joy was dramatically eliminated last week. Just before singing for her life to Bob Marley’s hit Turn the Lights Down Low, Megan was told by Simon that they are not even considering her for the one time save. The reason was that the judges were piqued after she smugly said to Simon that she didn’t care about his comments because her fans are feeling her dreadful singing.

Now let’s go back to the main topic, leaders Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey once again avoided the bottom 3 last week. Dial Idol website also ranked both of them strongly in their polls. However, as one by one weak contestant is eliminated, Adam and Danny are faced with stronger rivals. They should be impressive all the time because others will take the opportunity to overtake once they fall short.

Giving himself more momentum in his favor, Danny Gokey jazzed up a 1980 hit song Stand by Me. He remained strong in the competition by allowing himself to showcase some creativity to this cover. After some weeks of boring same old performances, Danny was awesome tonight.

Adam Lambert ultimately pawned every single contestant in the competition tonight. With his rendition of a 1982 hit song Mad World from Tears for Fears, he sang it in a way that the song sounded so breathtakingly eerie and yet disturbingly calming at the same time, it’s astonishingly out of this world. Judge Simon had to give him the standing ovation for a very amazing performance. That gesture of appreciation from Simon was never been seen before in a long time.

American Idol Season 8: Danny vs Adam Round 5

As the number of contestants dwindled to 9, favorites Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey must not let their game loose or they will face elimination before the final two. Right now, the stakes are getting higher. Allison and Kris are threatening them as these two contenders broke out awesome performances lately in the competition. They are possibly an intimidation to spoil the inevitable Adam vs. Danny final two.

Choosing songs from i-tunes top downloads, Danny Gokey continuously appear as one of the front runners when he soulfully belted one of Rascall Flatt’s poignant melody What Hurts the Most. The song is probably one of the most powerful ballads ever recorded recently. But then again his prevailing vocals wowed the admiring audience in the studio. He showed his sensitivity and becomes teary eyed while singing his heart out. Judge Kara said she got goosebumps when listening to him.

Ditching his just found mellow, soft and sweet side, Adam Lambert returned to his usual over the top, high note screeching performance tonight. Singing and dancing freely to a 70’s night club hit Play That Funky Music from Wild Cherrys, he made everyone in the studio rocking however there was no standing ovation for him this time. Funny, he is still sporting a slick back hairstyle tonight. Probably, he reads blogs and forums in the internet because right there he can read people talking about how they liked the slick back hair from previous week. He strikingly resembles Elvis with that hairstyle though and that’s a good thing.

American Idol Season 8: Danny vs Adam Round 4

Last week was a little bit shaky for Adam Lambert. Apparently his vision of Ring of Fire was too provocative for the casual voting viewers. Some are even accusing him of butchering a Johnny Cash classic. The Interweb initially exploded immediately after his performance with bloggers and forumers saying it was horrible and over the top. But after the initial uproar had subsided and some more repeated viewing, together many people thought it wasn't really bad after all.

Danny Gokey easily breezed through Grand Ole Opry week and was ranked number 1 in Dial Idol Website. In spite of those advantages, there weren’t really new to see on his performance that week. This Motown week, he also wasn’t able to pull away from the pack because he just rehashed a PYT type of performance. Singing an energetic song Get Ready from Temptation, he finally failed to impress the judges who were saying it was forgettable. If Danny continuously shifts from ballads to up-tempo week after week then he will become a boring performer.

Now if Adam Lambert was spitefully criticized for his brave attempt to go over the top, he must have realized by now the boundaries of the outer limit. What he smartly did to counter the backlash was to throw away the emo-glamrock image (temporarily) then re-invent himself into some kind of an Elvis Presley reincarnation. Right there, he delivered a soft, mellow and sweet rendition of The Miracle’s hit song The Tracks of My Tears. Everyone was blown away with his toned down and unplugged style delivery. Smokey Robinson, who is the song’s composer and the guest mentor of the evening, was the first one to give Adam a standing ovation and he also gave him thumbs up for a brilliant performance.

American Idol Season 8: Danny vs Adam Round 3

Based on the result show last week, it looks like Danny and Adam had successfully established quite a solid fan base. All they have to do is to be consistent in their performances and to impress the judges in order to gain their praise and their positive opinion. In this early, voters easily sway votes every now and then.This week, American Idol presented The Grand Ole Opry featuring country music which Simon Cowell hates. This theme could be a disadvantage to Adam Lambert and to the other contestants who are not into this type of music.

Going back to his sensitive side is Danny Gokey’s version of Carrie Underwood’s ballad Jesus Takes the Wheel. The performance was kind of a step backward from his previous performances. Maybe because this is already his third time on the stage so doing inspirational ballad again had lost some of the freshness and also his take on the song Hero was exceptionally better. But then again, he is the judge’s favorite so he is mildly praised.

Adam Lambert is the brave glamrocker of the bunch, the one who is not typical for American Idol audience. For example, he wears guyliner, sporting a slick emo hairstyle and he dressed up like some cool vampire or otherwordly character in a horror movie. He must have thought that he (so do I and the rest of us) could not imagine himself yodeled some country music, it is ridiculous. However, he did manage to do something tonight that is more suited for his rock edgy image and he completely avoided embarrassing himself. By simply refusing to go country, he performed a re-imagination of the Johnny Cash classic Ring of Fire giving it an middle eastern spin and turned it into some kind of a spellbinding, otherworldly erotic song. He made everyone in the studio confused but somehow happy (Kara). But it brought Simon to utter words like absolute indulging rubbish.

American Idol Season 8: Danny vs Adam Round 2

The competition in American Idol is starting to take off where 13 contestants instead of the usual 12 have succeeded passing through the group rounds and are going to battle it out for the title. The contestant’s performances from group rounds have introduced them to the voting public and this is the part of the season when they must find their niche and keep a solid fan base. First theme of the season is Michael Jackson Week. The pop legend got great catalog of song choices though most of his songs are untouchables or difficult to nail, it would possibly make many of them deliberately fail in this round.

Season eight’s early favorite Danny Gokey got a good start dancing and wailing one of the early Michael Jackson hits PYT (Pretty Young Thing). He must be really intimidated by Adam’s insane vocal ability since he himself did his own “screeching high notes” type of performance on that song. It wasn’t bad though, the judges collectively praised him after but he failed miserably in dancing. He doesn’t have the swagger like Adam.

Adam Lambert continued blowing his rivals out of the water after his faultless rendition of Michael Jackson’s hit Black or White. This guy looks formidable. Once again, he unleashed his singing arsenal using his vocal pyrotechnics, hypnotic dance moves and flawless stage presence. All the judges thought it was enormously awesome that it made him teary eyed and become emotional. Even Paula shamelessly predicted that he will be going to the finals with Danny Gokey. The only thing that might harmed his chance of winning though is that his style is too theatrical and over the top. Those things might not be the cup of tea for some people or are not ready for it, we shall see.

American Idol Season 8: Danny vs Adam Round 1

Starting up the eighth season are the initial three shows that introduced to us the top 36 contestants and their performance. It showed a lot of promising new talents. In this early, I already picked two of the favorites who I think could be the next idol. They are Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey. They are the two most interesting (Adam) and hyped (Danny) contestants in this season.

What could be a more moving story in American Idol than a young soulful singer auditioning for the show to fulfill his promise to his wife who died of heart disease in barely three months prior? That premise which is capable of becoming an Oscar nominated movie is a true story of Danny Gokey, 28 years old. It is very endearing that it triggered nationwide support for this Church Musical director. In keeping with the theme of his back story during group one show, Danny heartily sang Mariah Carey’s inspirational song Hero and then easily breezing through the top 12. That’s the power of pimping guys.

Adam Lambert is probably the best vocalist ever to surface on American Idol stage. The outer space notes his hitting while singing Satisfaction from the Rolling Stones during group two episode I think was never been seen before in the show. American Idol had just found a very rare breed of talent. Adam started his singing career while he was ten. He was into theater at a young age and then in his early 20’s he hustled for theater gigs in Hollywood, California. He was a cast member of the musical Wicked. This 27 year old hottie wears guyliner, punk clothes and sports emo hairstyle and that makes him a very interesting person, so interesting that he single handedly polarized people though.