S15.E24: Winner Chosen

[PhD-Purgatory15]

designing1, thank you for the link to the Josh Gracin article.

 

Plenty of idols came back and only Kelly, Carrie and maybe Fantasia got to do original post-show music. So his reason for declining such an opportunity to be visible on a massive stage (for probably the first time since his suicide attempt) certainly is interesting.

 

Agree with LennieBriscoe, who beat me to a similar point.

Edited April 8, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[WhosThatGirl]

I watched two episodes of this season. Kelly's live episode and this one. Three, if we count the American Dream special, but I thought the girl was gonna win. She sounded better to me. What do I know? I didn't watch. Anyways..

 

It was so fun to see all these faces of past contestants. I had forgotten half of these people. Kelly's medley of hits was amazing, though. I'm sorry but in my book, no one can touch her. She is the greatest. 

[TeeMo]

Tonight's show was all the cheesy goodness I always loved about this show. I was hoping for a group number all in white (my favorite Idol cheesy moment) and they delivered!

Constantine was freaking everywhere.

Did they have to let Kara DioGuardi sing? I spent all of tat song trying to identify Tamyra Gray under that wretched wig. When her name finally popped up on the screen, I audibly gasped. Who let her leave the hair and makeup room like that?

I threw my hands in the air in excitement when Trent was announced as winner, probably the first time I have done that in at least five or six seasons. Congrats to him.

[LennieBriscoe]

I think Idol should have given this season a tour. People would come out for one last time at the rodeo.

[waving feather]

Just rewatched Trent's coronation performance. Is it just me or he sounds better tonight (with tears and all) singing that song than last night? Probably because the stress is off and he wasn't so uptight about it. That coronation performance was why I like Trent. He's unique and wears his heart on his sleeves and sings his butt off.

[Stratego]

I don't recall any statement from Ryan concerning how close the voting was or how many votes were cast.  That makes me think the outcome wasn't close at all.

[Syndicate]

Josh Gracin just personified "cutting off his nose to spite his face." It's such a good career move NOT to appear in front of millions.

Pfft! Good for him for not returning to this drivel.

[TVFan17]

Best:  Kelly's medley!

Worst:  Carrie's solo...yikes!

 

The show really did the finale right by showcasing the past contestants.  Even Pants on the Ground was included.  Thought it was funny that the WGWG segment was an acknowledgement of WGWG.  Lots of good performances. 

 

While both finalists were deserving, I personally liked Trent a bit more so I'm fine with winner. 

 

Biggest winner of the night though?  Constantine with all that unexpected time on camera.  How many people was he filling in for? 

 

Who's taking bets on how long before the show returns? 

 

At first I was confused by all of the Constantine on my screen every minute, but then I just smiled and enjoyed it.  I remember liking him during his season -- partly because I thought he was talented, and partly because he was hammy, pouty and odd.  All of that goodness was on display tonight, so I was fine with it.

 

My guess is that Idol is going to go away for 2-3 years and then come back with some sort of new format.  Even though Ryan was the one who teased that they were saying goodbye "for now" at the end, I actually wonder if he would be the one hosting the show again when it comes back.  Something tells me that he might appear for the first episode or two and then pass the torch on to someone else. 

 

I think the main problem with Idol is that it is only as good as the talent from season to season, and as good as the judges.  The basic, fundamental format and concept is fine -- and, in my opinion, 100 times more watchable and enjoyable than a show like America's Got Talent.  A few things could be tweaked here and there, but overall the format is a good one, and the show can be great if it's a year with a lot of strong singers. 

 

Another issue is that people who have been watching for a while end up getting bored and they move on, or they keep watching while resenting the show the entire time.  Plus, the over-saturation of talent shows killed the novelty and hold that Idol once had on ratings. 

 

So, sure, the show can come back in a couple of years and people will tune in at first just to see what has changed and what is the same, but I think it is going to run into the same issues again if it stays on the air.  It may not even make it past Season 1 because The Voice will be continuing on in Idol's absence and people may not need anymore talent shows at that point.

Edited April 8, 2016 by Sherry67

[mojoween]

This will probably only be amusing to me but I was just looking at my Facebook memories and exactly five years ago on this date Pia was voted off. Poor Pia. I wasn't entirely complimentary to her but I mentioned that her boobs looked fantastic so there is that.

[ProudMary]

I was delighted to see my favorite season, season 5 so well represented in tonight's finale. I counted 7 of the top 8 from S5 in performances: Taylor, Katherine, Elliott, Chris Daughtry, Kellie P, Ace and Bucky C. Only Paris Bennett from the top 8 didn't perform. Was any other season represented by as many contestants? I don't think so. Testimony to how good that season was.

I loved Melinda and Candace performing together. Both were great. I wish they would have brought back Lakisha Jones from Melinda'a season too. Loved her.

All in all, it was a great trip down AI memory lane.

Edited because auto correct does strange things!

Edited April 8, 2016 by ProudMary

[Syndicate]

Idol made me tear up several times tonight. Say what you will, but this show has given us some truly brilliant singers over the years, and I enjoyed every minute of the finale tonight with the exception of JLo's performance, which went on for far too long.

I loved that Kelly ended her performance with A Moment Like This. She's been my American Idol since the very first time she belted out "Respect" in the top 24.

As for LaPorsha losing, I can only say that there were at least 8 or more female idols who sang tonight who blow her out of the water: Carly Smithson, JHud, Fantasia, Latoya, Melinda, Kat McPhee, Pia, Jessica, etc. LaPorsha is damn good but I just never thought she was special enough. Trent is also damn good and he's unique, so I get why he won.

Finally, it took me a second to realize that they put all five WGWG winners together for the Bowie tribute, and then I laughed because I think that was the producers' wink to us that they know what we've been bitching about for a long time now. Still, David Cook is the original and still the very best WGWG winner.

The WGWG nose-thumbing crap was proof that the producers did everything their way all along. Voting my ass! I never fell for that gimmick.

[designing1]

 

I spent all of tat song trying to identify Tamyra Gray under that wretched wig. When her name finally popped up on the screen, I audibly gasped. Who let her leave the hair and makeup room like that?

 

Better question: Why didn't someone at Wigs 'r' Us do an "oh honey, no!" when she was buying the darn thing. That was awful. Awful.

 

Harry crooning made me think of my dear, departed Dad, Sinatra fan extraordinaire, who when Harry first came on the scene years ago was appalled at this guy trying to sound like Sinatra. Dad was well acquainted with Sinatra and you, Harry, are no Sinatra.

 

Diana DeGarmo always looked incredibly mature -- and not in a good way -- for her age. I didn't recognize her with her 1940s musical comedy hair till they put her name on the screen.

 

I didn't recognize Bo Bice either, but my, he's looking fine. As someone already posted, he looks like a hot teacher.

 

Nice to see Clark Beckham is just as wooden onstage as he was last season. Lee Jean, on the other hand, was having the time of his life out there.

 

I was really impressed with the show. They did a great job of putting together a pretty darn seamless show with a huge cast.

 

 

Pfft! Good for him for not returning to this drivel.

 

Without "this drivel" chances are he -- like most on that stage -- would have had no success whatsoever. It's a tough, tough, business.

[Kira53]

Same here! I'm so glad it's not coming back! I got slightly sucked back in midways this season because friends were saying to me how fantastic a singer named LaPorsha was. Sadly, it was the ending that I expected. Good riddance to rigged garbage!

Same thing happened to me. I don't see much press buzz for Trent. Same all same old.

I think most people will fast forward a segment featuring Trent if they hadn't been watching AI. I'll be fast forwarding anyway. RIP Idol. This result put the last nail in the decrepit coffin. I missed the last four or five seasons because of this predictable result. I hope LP New record company gets her some decent songwriters. The final songs were crap.

Edited April 8, 2016 by Kira53

[Sparkling Beth]

 

Well, not winning the show hasn't really helped anyone since McPhee and Daughtry in S5.

Really?  I think Adam Lambert's doing okay. #understatement

 

I thought that was an immensely entertaining finale.  I'm really happy that they didn't bring in celebrity singers but just let the Idols themselves carry the show--they were more than up to the task.  The level of talent that has come from Idol is really quite stunning when you see it all condensed into two hours like that. 

 

I was watching with my two brothers and my former sister-in-law, and we all let out a scream when they captioned Bo Bice because none of us recognized him with the short hair.  I loved seeing Bucky, Taylor, Elliott Yamin, Melinda Doolittle...so many memories!  I even enjoyed the WGWG's number, although it hardly captured the spirit of Bowie.

 

They could have left out J.Lo's number as far as I'm concerned.  All flash, no substance.  And it seemed to last forever.  But that's a small complaint.  I was immersed in the joy and excitement that is the legacy of Idol and I'm going to miss it.

 

Eat your heart out, The Voice.  No way is the talent on Idol secondary to any other talent show.

 

Oh--and congratulations, Trent!  I would have been okay with either Trent or La'Porsha winning, but I was rooting for Trent.

[jwsel]

designing1, thank you for the link to the Josh Gracin article.

 

Plenty of idols came back and only Kelly, Carrie and maybe Fantasia got to do original post-show music. So his reason for declining such an opportunity to be visible on a massive stage (for probably the first time since his suicide attempt) certainly is interesting.

 

Agree with LennieBriscoe, who beat me to a similar point.

 

Kimberley Locke did one of her post-show songs.

[SteveAC10]

 

Biggest winner of the night though?  Constantine with all that unexpected time on camera.  How many people was he filling in for?

That's probably because Constantine, rather surprisingly what with a Tony nod and all, ended up being a pretty successful musical theater performer (insert Simon sneering here). They're usually quick studies and adept at stepping in at the last minute.

[backformore]

More random thoughts -  (I watched it delayed, because of some hockey game that took precedence here)

Katherine McPhee and Casey won the award for duo most in need of a brush and comb. They looked like they came in from the rain and hadn't had a chance to groom.

 

Carly Smithson?  I barely remember her, but she sounded great. 

 

CLAY!    CLAY is singing on my TV!  I am in tears -  I missed you Clay!  HIs voice is incredible.  Nobody can hold a candle to Clay.  I am so glad they gave him a solo, and not just a part in the ensemble.  

I don't care who won.  I'm going to rewind and see CLAY again. 

[Stratego]

This will probably only be amusing to me but I was just looking at my Facebook memories and exactly five years ago on this date Pia was voted off. Poor Pia. I wasn't entirely complimentary to her but I mentioned that her boobs looked fantastic so there is that.

Actually all of her looked fantastic.

[Ketzel]

My guess is that Idol is going to go away for 2-3 years and then come back with some sort of new format.  Even though Ryan was the one who teased that they were saying goodbye "for now" at the end, I actually wonder if he would be the one hosting the show again when it comes back.  Something tells me that he might appear for the first episode or two and then pass the torch on to someone else.

No need to guess - Simon Fuller has been all over the Hollywood press in the last week, promising the return of a new re-vamped American Idol with "interactive" elements, whatever that means. Sample quote:

As the show gets ready to air its final episodes, creator Simon Fuller tells The Hollywood Reporter he's already plotting ways for the show to make a triumphant return somewhere down the line. "The next generation of Idol — and Idol will certainly be coming back for sure — will have a youthful glow, and it will be pioneering again, just as it was when we first began," Fuller vows.

 

 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Sparkling Beth, I knew I'd probably leave someone important out lol. I know Lauren Alaina, Danny Gokey, and Casey James (all competed after S5) have also had modest success in country music over the last few years as well.

 

Still I think the only reason that non-winners have a better hit rates than winners after Jordan Sparks and David Cook (arbitrary I know) is that there are simply more of them. I don't think LP as a 2nd place finisher is any more of a potential success story than LP would be as the hypothetical winner except for the fact that she is free from Borchetta/BMLG now. That fact has to have an undetermined positive value moving forward knowing full well that Borchetta wanted absolutely nothing to do with producing a contractually obligated album for her and with her.

 

Thanks for that correction, jwsel. I wasn't a K. Locke fan during her season, and was unaware she had some success with that song post-AI.

Edited April 8, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[thejuicer]

I didn't watch this season. In fact the last season I watched was probably David Cook.

I loved the finale. Clay Aiken! Jessica Sanchez! Bo Bice! Elliot Yamin! Melinda Doolittle! Taylor Hicks! It just shows how much talent the show has introduced to the public. I will miss this show.

[Syndicate]

Better question: Why didn't someone at Wigs 'r' Us do an "oh honey, no!" when she was buying the darn thing. That was awful. Awful.

 

Harry crooning made me think of my dear, departed Dad, Sinatra fan extraordinaire, who when Harry first came on the scene years ago was appalled at this guy trying to sound like Sinatra. Dad was well acquainted with Sinatra and you, Harry, are no Sinatra.

 

Diana DeGarmo always looked incredibly mature -- and not in a good way -- for her age. I didn't recognize her with her 1940s musical comedy hair till they put her name on the screen.

 

I didn't recognize Bo Bice either, but my, he's looking fine. As someone already posted, he looks like a hot teacher.

 

Nice to see Clark Beckham is just as wooden onstage as he was last season. Lee Jean, on the other hand, was having the time of his life out there.

 

I was really impressed with the show. They did a great job of putting together a pretty darn seamless show with a huge cast.

 

 

Without "this drivel" chances are he -- like most on that stage -- would have had no success whatsoever. It's a tough, tough, business.

When does the Idol butt-kissing end? He's appeared on the show more than once since his time on Idol. I'm sure he's grateful but that didn't mean that he or any of the other formers had to show up to everything Idol-related. This was the show's last rodeo and he wasn't interested, plain and simple. I ain't mad at 'em.

Edited April 8, 2016 by Syndicate

[TVFan17]

No need to guess - Simon Fuller has been all over the Hollywood press in the last week, promising the return of a new re-vamped American Idol with "interactive" elements, whatever that means. Sample quote:

 

I was guessing on the time frame more than anything, I think.  I thought that coming back in one year sounded too soon, so 2-3 sounds more likely. 

 

I knew last year that something was brewing about bringing the show back when I did a survey about it that specifically asked how I would feel if the show went away and came back a few years later.

 

Today, though, there have been both online articles and reports on the local news indicating or not-so-subtly-hinting that the show would be back, so I wondered if it would be addressed on the show tonight (which, of course, it was in the last few seconds).  It was even hinted at in the documentary a couple of nights ago.  I just don't think that it will ultimately last too long if it comes back.  I don't know that there will be a need for it. 

Edited April 8, 2016 by Sherry67

[backformore]

The end of J'Lo's song was ridiculous. bend over, shake your ass, flip your hair up and down, shake your ass -  UGH.   Sing!  or Dance!  but showing off your ass is NOT performing.

[Jordan27]

The guy who auditioned with "Pants on the Ground"...it sold some downloads and went viral back in 2010.

Interesting that Carrie, the other winner the show trots out as living up to the superstar hype, was relagated to a cover instead of a greatest hits medley of her own catalog. I mean, they brought out every other country person who competed ever (or so it seemed) to do other people's songs...

Relegated??!  Carrie got to sing her own song all by herself in the pimp spot.  I thought it was perfect.

[TheGreenKnight]

Thanks for that correction, jwsel. I wasn't a K. Locke fan during her season, and was unaware she had some success with that song post-AI.

I was in middle school when my mother bought her album for me. Talk about a completely unexpected performance. It brought back a lot of memories.

[howmanywords]

The anti-Trent comments are flooding the Trent thread on the Idol page on Facebook. There are a lot of angry people. That's such a shame, as I am pretty sure La'Porsha would not want her fans being so mean to him, nor would he have wanted his fans to be mean to her if she had won. They seemed to genuinely like and support each other. Trent talked about how he worked so hard, largely because she pushed him to. She helped him.

Probably the same LaP fans who refused to believe she would lose and were bordering on smug about it. I think the anger is to be expected. They shouldnt be taking their anger on Trent though who did nothing but go out there and work hard.

Idol may have wanted her but Scott wanted Trent imo. He's been talking him up to the country press for weeks.

[backformore]

Did Fantasia have a lisp? There was something off with her pronunciations..

 

Yep -   it's not a LISP, exactly, but yeah, I couldn't understand a lot of her song because of her pronunciation.  She substitutes "sh"  for "s".

  I recall on TWOP, talking about her famous performance of  "Shhhhummertime" that the judges raved about. 

[Dejana]

Relegated??!  Carrie got to sing her own song all by herself in the pimp spot.  I thought it was perfect.

 

The comment was posted before her second performance.

[missyb]

American Idol tribute to David Bowie much better than Lady Gaga's . They made it about the music.

[TheGreenKnight]

They shouldnt be taking their anger on Trent though who did nothing but go out there and work hard.

I'm trying to imagine how hard a white guy would have had to work to win American Idol...

[Jordan27]

The anti-Trent comments are flooding the Trent thread on the Idol page on Facebook.  There are a lot of angry people.  That's such a shame, as I am pretty sure La'Porsha would not want her fans being so mean to him, nor would he have wanted his fans to be mean to her if she had won.  They seemed to genuinely like and support each other.  Trent talked about how he worked so hard, largely because she pushed him to.  She helped him.

 

He is a talented, nice, determined young man.  She is a talented, nice, strong young lady.  It just came down to votes and who got more of them -- and that is based on personal preference of the voters. 

Actually, it's not.  It's based on number of votes which is very different.  Multiple voting is what skewed so many results and turned so many off.  And one of them was me.  Too many people who could barely sing and too many bad finales with the wrong person making it.  Blake over Melinda??!  Yeah, I was out after that.

The comment was posted before her second performance.

I caught it after I read some more. 

[TVFan17]

Actually, it's not.  It's based on number of votes which is very different.  Multiple voting is what skewed so many results and turned so many off.  And one of them was me.  Too many people who could barely sing and too many bad finales with the wrong person making it.  Blake over Melinda??!  Yeah, I was out after that.

 

But the number of votes are made by people who are personally invested in who wins -- which is why I said it comes down to votes and personal preference.  They're not wasting their time voting multiple times for someone they don't want to win.

 

Everyone thinks the wrong person won if it's not the person they preferred -- I know, because I have felt that way myself.  My favorite didn't win, so America got it wrong and all of that.  In reality, they just took the time to vote for the person they really wanted because it was more important to them for that person to win than it was to me to spend forever voting for the person I wanted to win.

 

These days, however, it takes all of 10 seconds to vote 10 times for a winner online -- hardly any time at all -- so there was no excuse for La'Porsha fans to not vote in some way if they wanted her to win.  The votes leaned in Trent's favor because enough people wanted him to win badly enough that they voted.

 

That said, I always thought it would be a good idea to just allow one vote per household.

Edited April 8, 2016 by Sherry67

[JMarie99]

Call me an Idol nerd, but I actually got chills when Ryan said "For now" at the end of the show. I had read the article that was posted in another thread and thought, well, that's probably just PR, but somehow when Ryan spoke those words, I actually had hope. I literally shrieked to my son (who has been watching Idol with me since Season 2) "oh my God it really is coming back!" I was almost in tears. Even though this show is a shadow of its former self, I'm just going to miss it so damn much. I even tried to watch The Voice several times this season, thinking it might help me get over my Idol withdrawal, but try as I might, I just don't like anything about that show. The format, the turning chairs, the judges/coaches, the battles - I can't stand it.

Of course seeing all the past Idol contestants made it that much worse. So many memories - I really enjoyed seeing my favorites again and I even enjoyed seeing the ones I didn't like. Glad they labeled them though, because I never would have recognized Bo Bice, or that Skylar girl with the weight she has gained (not to be catty!).

As far as Trent winning, I agree he has an amazing voice, but I just don't care for the tone of it. It's like cilantro - some people can't get enough of it and some people literally spit it out. Some of his notes sound so harsh to me. La'Porsha was really starting to grow on me and I actually voted for her using several methods and I really wanted her to win, but I can't say Trent didn't deserve it.

Man, J-Lo really does like to show off her ass, doesn't she? The song wasn't bad but I thought she would never stop shaking that thang.

[Jordan27]

The end of J'Lo's song was ridiculous. bend over, shake your ass, flip your hair up and down, shake your ass -  UGH.   Sing!  or Dance!  but showing off your ass is NOT performing.

Yep, the one real low light of the night.  I can't believe Idol let her do that.  It didn't belong in this show.

 

How inappropriate.

I'm trying to imagine how hard a white guy would have had to work to win American Idol...

In the first six seasons, only one did.

[Jordan27]

But the number of votes are made by people who are personally invested in who wins -- which is why I said it comes down to votes and personal preference.  They're not wasting their time voting multiple times for someone they don't want to win.

 

Everyone thinks the wrong person won if it's not the person they preferred -- I know, because I have felt that way myself.  My favorite didn't win, so America got it wrong and all of that.  In reality, they just took the time to vote for the person they really wanted because it was more important to them for that person to win than it was to me to spend forever voting for the person I wanted to win.

 

These days, however, it takes all of 10 seconds to vote 10 times for a winner online -- hardly any time at all -- so there was no excuse for La'Porsha fans to not vote in some way if they wanted her to win.  The votes leaned in Trent's favor because enough people wanted him to win badly enough that they voted.

 

That said, I always thought it would be a good idea to just allow one vote per household.

I think four would have been fine.  That's how some shows did it.  Four people live in the average household of America.  If you had a favorite, vote four times and no one has an advantage over you. 

 

But, some schools set up phone banks to just multiple vote for the singers.  Not cool.  Can you imagine voting for President like that?

 

Idol would never correct it because they wanted to promote the tens of millions of votes and they valued that over a more fair voting system.

 

I checked out after Melinda lost.  No reason to get invested in a singer only to be screwed by a faulty voting system.

[Rick Kitchen]

Dammit, I got spoiled on Facebook.  Oh, well, no biggie.

 

Seacrest's jacket looks too small.

 

Dunkelman.  LOL.

 

Not interested in seeing Kara Dioguardi sing.

 

Do not like Colton's look.

 

Tamyra looked like Paula Abdul.

 

Still love Alison.

 

Damn, Toscano was way shouty.

 

I still love Bo Bice, but he looks like Ricky Martin now.

 

James Durbin!  One of my favorites.  I thought he was Dalton at first.

 

Loved the rock medley.

 

Skylar Laine had a horrible voice.

 

I wonder why McPhee's hair is blond.

 

Who was that singing with the harp?

 

Clay was great. And there were some lovely performances.

 

JLo kept wearing fewer and fewer clothes. And thanks for the butt shot.

 

Wow, Fantasia looked great. I wouldn't have recognized JHud.

 

Elliott!

 

Candice and Melinda.  Lovely to see them again.

 

P2 made it on the stage.  I guess sometimes bygones can be bygones.

 

No Mariah Carey?  No Adam Lambert?  No Kris Allen? No Mama Seacrest?

 

I wish they could have had Carrie and Kelly sing a duet.

 

I do have to say that this show was excellent.  I was amazed at how much work it must have taken not only to rehearse all of these people, but to organize getting everybody on and off the stage without running into each other. The director needs an award.

 

Congratulations to Trent.  I would have been happy with either choice. Harry looked surprised.

 

The top 10 from this season didn't perform.  Is that a first? All the other performers from this season seemed to like Trent, from the way they were acting.

 

I wanted to hear Ryan say "Seacrest out."

[Primetimer]

Don't worry, you won't have to sit through, or even read about, all the montages to find out.

Read the story

[Rick Kitchen]

Added: No Casey Abrams or Haley Reinhart?

[JMarie99]

But they did change the voting, Jordan27. Now it's "10 votes per method per contestant." I gave LP 10 votes through the Idol app, 10 phone votes and 10 text votes. I've heard people refer to multiple accounts but that would take a bit of effort. But there are no more phones banks where they could gather people to vote over and over again like in the old days.

[niklj]

That was an excellent finale, all things considered. Loved the idols they highlighted, thought everything was quite respectful (except for missing out on thanking Ricky Minor and honoring Michael Johns as some have said here). It was a really great tribute to such an impactful phenomenon. It really was one of the best family shows in recent memory and shows why as popular as some shows like 'The Voice' may get, they'll never be Idol.

 

I just feel bad for this season's contestants, who were slighted out of so many things. Not only do they not get a summer tour, didn't get to record many iTunes songs, had no Ford commercials, and had a shortened season overall, they didn't even get to take part in the finale very much aside from maybe being a background singer in some of the larger songs. The top 5 didn't even get to sing with their celebrity idols. So in that respect, I feel bad, but I guess they're part of something historic.

 

Thank you, Idol as we know it, for being the show America needed at the time and for being a comfortable constant for 15 years. Even through your highs and lows, your good singers and your overrated ones, you were the show we could depend on for entertainment.

[Dejana]

No Mariah Carey?  No Adam Lambert?  No Kris Allen? No Mama Seacrest?

 

 

My guess for how it played out with Mariah is that show probably reached out to her about attending the finale, but more likely taping something, she had a hearty laugh, then went back to telling her assistant that the wedding needs more pink butterflies and baby lambs. Her season as a judge was not one for the highlight reels, so TPTB didn't pursue it too aggressively, bringing her back. But she was the only permanent judge who didn't make some sort of appearance tonight.

 

I believe Adam is working on that FOX musical up in Canada (??).

 

Kris was part of the WGWG David Bowie tribute.

Edited April 8, 2016 by Dejana

[VCRTracking]

Kelly Clarkson tweeted an adorable vine of her baby girl River saying "bye bye" to American Idol:

 

Kelly Clarkson ‏@kelly_clarkson 3h3 hours ago

Congrats @TrentWHarmon :) @laporsharenae can't wait 4 ur album too! River wanted 2 say bye #AmericanIdol #IdolFinale

 

[Kenz]

There's no doubt that Carrie Underwood has a great voice, but I get tired of the nonstop blasting she does like she performed on the last song. Can't there ever be a little nuance? Also, she must always display her admittedly great legs, even in a long dress.( Yes, I'm jealous.) She got the pimp spot  and got to promote her tour, so she and her manager know what they're doing.

 

Was her song about holy water? I know it was religious, but I didn't quite get the message. Was she rained on, then saw the light?

Edited April 8, 2016 by Kenz

[WhosThatGirl]

I'm sure if Kelly wasn't otherwise busy you know having a baby :) , she probably would have gotten last spot on the show. Which would have been, for me anyway, more awesome. Carrie is great and all but.. you know, KC idol forever.

 

I did feel a little sad that I won't see this show being promoted anymore. Despite not watching in quite a few years, it was a constant thing I saw in previews every January and I think it's going to be strange not seeing it anywhere next January, but it was a thing. Also, hilariously, this episode was airing on my birthday and I already felt old enough before thinking about how old I was when this show started- in middle school!- and now I'm a full fledged adult and it brought back a lot of memories, so yeah, was having a crazy time dealing with all of this. 

Edited April 8, 2016 by WhosThatGirl

[TVFan17]

There's no doubt that Carrie Underwood has a great voice, but I get tired of the nonstop blasting she does like she performed on the last song. Can't there ever be a little nuance? Also, she must always display her admittedly great legs, even in a long dress.( Yes, I'm jealous.) She got the pimp spot  and got to promote her tour, so she and her manager know what they're doing.

 

Carrie is one of the Idol winners who is undeniably popular, attractive and talented -- and yet, I feel nothing when I hear her sing.   She was not my personal choice to win in 2005 -- I was rooting for the now unrecognizable Bo Bice to win -- but seeing how popular she is today it seems that the voters that year really knew who and what they wanted in an Idol.  It's not as if she won and then disappeared forever.  People seem to like her.

[Neet]

That was a pretty decent finale, all things considered. The whole season felt rushed, but tonight especially, the feeling of ending 6-7 weeks early was palpable. Even right now, it feels like they will be back next week with a regular performance show. (I wish...kinda?)

I'm sure Brian Dunkleman is legitimately pissed every time he thinks of walking away from his job. I know that segment was scripted, but I doubt everything he said wasn't partially real.

It was great to see so many of the old contestants, and there's a noticeable difference in ability from people kicked off by the top 10 compared to Dalton, Lee Jean, etc.. A lot of the guys from a decade ago looked nearly the same, and it's odd how they're so instantly recognizable despite not thinking about them for years.
BTW, is it really such a popular opinion that Pia Toscano should have made it farther and/or won season 10? I always thought she was a dull pageant bot, and looking at her Twitter, a huge narcissist. Enhanced further by touring with J Lo, probably.

The judges' performances were all pretty underwhelming. Jennifer's was a nice spectacle (in more ways than one) though singing was definitely last on her list. Keith did an okay job, but Harry was downright boring. That guy really loves New Orleans, doesn't he. Kara's song was pretty empty, and it makes sense that she writes songs for others more than performing them herself. She looks and sounds like a dominatrix.

Simon, Paula, and Randy reuniting was pretty awkward and contrived. Those two are Simon's "best friends"? Paula is terrible at anything comedic.

I guess it was a nice touch for all of the performances to come from former contestants in honor of the last season, but between the lack of star power and early finale, the show felt really cheap. (ETA: I'm glad they did use the old contestants, that's how the show should have been done. I'm just saying there was far less of a big time feeling than previous finales.)

Trent wins! I was getting the feeling La'Porsha might end up winning, but thank goodness she didn't. (and they both got signed, anyway) He gave a very genuine speech, and saying LP pushed him to get better was a nice touch. His single is starting to grow on me a bit, too. The whole results and aftermath was extremely rushed, unfortunately.

Damn, I already want to tune in next week for more, but there's nothing. As much as I want to see Idol come back ASAP, they should really let it breathe for around 5 years and come out with a fresher format. Hopefully that's done in a way that makes the franchise feel as big as it is, as TV shows/music/entertainment that gets put online these days feels really centralized, if anyone knows what I mean. Having access to a show on YouTube/Netflix or music on Spotify makes the whole industry feel small, at least in my opinion. Going from the huge platform of primetime television (while still at its height in the 2000s, anyways) to "watch the new season of #idol on Periscope!" or some other social media, smartphone-equipped equivalent would piss me off.

At least AGT starts in about two months, which is better than nothing. Because it's in Summer, I don't think that show is dying any time soon.

Edited April 8, 2016 by Neet

[Sentient Meat]

People love to bitch about how cheesy and lame this show is but I enjoyed that finale more than some of the Grammys.

 

Watching all those talented singers made me wish for an all stars season.

 

Carly Smithson was indeed a great singer but it was her personality and face pulling that got her out, not her voice.

 

I'm glad Trent won.

 

Thanks for the music and the memories show... This is my last post on the American Idol board... for now.

[yourpointis]

She was a very old looking 16 year old. And Not in a good way, IMHO.

 

If anyone had the stage mom from hell like she did, they would look as haggard as she did then. 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

When the show got it right, it really, really got it right.  I am glad to have had it in my life.

 

I think the moment of the night was Jessica Sanchez closing out the montage which had Ruben, Clay and others.  Lots of great memories and the arrangement, the wardrobe, and Sanchez' voice, were gorgeous.

 

The rockers demonstrated that they were damn good singers.  I especially love Bo's David Clayton Thomas (Blood, Sweat and Tears -whom Bo now fronts) huskiness.  I'll never get over seeing his short-cropped hair, though.  :)

 

HCJ with his protege was another nice moment.  I've always most liked the show when it touched authenticity and was somewhat genuine.  This was one of those all too-rare times.  

 

Then came JLo, who well demonstrated why there needed to be an age limit.  Crass.  Crude. Comical.  

 

It was a genius move to hide the weak-voiced WGWGs in the Bowie tribute.  That's just the thing...the real music peeps at 19E DO understand music.  They just keep chasing the fire truck disguised as "relevant."  

 

Love that Ryan was gobsmacked to see Simon.  Simon was every bit as classy and cool as he was in his original farewell on the AI stage.    

 

So much fun to see Ryan actually bust a move with William Hung!

 

Also, so much for the Year of the Girls.  Congrats to Trent.  That's his name, right?  Trent?