Our look back at 2009 has reached a big anniversary! On May 20, 2009, Kris Allen won American Idol Season 8. If you've been reading the Season 8 lookback posts (linked at the bottom of this post if you would like to), you might agree with me that this wasn't as much of an upset as Idol and the media like to portray it as being. While Adam Lambert certainly was a talented and extremely memorable contestant, Kris put together a solid and consistent run of great song choices and exceptional performances, coupled with an ability to straddle genres.
Future posts about 2009 and Kris will cover the post-Idol frenzy of media, the Season 8 Idol tour, and the making and release of KATA, but in this post, we'll fondly recall the last two Idol episodes of 2009. Onward for lots of videos, photos, mp3s and memories!
Performance Episode
We start with a flashback to audition tapings, and Kris and Adam repeat lines that Idol producers gave them. Kris' lines are "I'm the voice in the crowd that needs to be heard" and "I'm ready." Both guys say "I am the next American Idol." This is interspersed with dizzying flashbacks of the judges praising their performances.
They are in the Nokia Theatre before an audience of 7,000 to wage the battles of "the acoustic rocker vs. the glam rocker," "Conway v. California," and "the guy next door vs. the guyliner." Oh Idol with your narratives. Adam and Kris come out to applause that season 2.2's idols can only dream of getting. It turns out Kris won the coin toss to determine who goes first, and chose to go second. Each guy will do three songs, one reprise performance of their choosing, one chosen by Idol honcho Simon Fuller, and the dreaded winner's single, "this year co-written by our own Kara DioGuardi."
Adam goes first, and we learned he was a screaming, noisy, hyperactive baby. But he's no dummy because he reprises Mad World. It's impeccable but not as magical as the first time; however, it's more grandly staged. He gets an A for Adam from Randy. Kara praises Adam's performance and how he made the other contestants raise their game. Paula is proud of him standing there and tells him to bask in it. Simon thinks it was a touch over-theatrical and reminded him of Phantom of the Opera. Randy starts yelling, no, Twilight! Adam was psyched to use the dry ice.
Kris' package is up next, and to get him to sing for his family, his parents would bribe him with a quarter. He made his mom coupons to hear him sing as a gift. LOL. Kris has chosen to reprise Ain't No Sunshine:
Like Adam, he's gone a bit bigger with the staging. (I think both of them were wise to do that.) Kris' reprisal is delivered with a little more passion and urgency than the original (which was superb) and it's one of his best performances of the season. Randy can tell what kind of artist he will be and agreed with me - it's one of his best performances. Kara praises his intimate bond with the audience. Paula says he personalizes each song and that's the true marking of an artist. Simon reminds us all that it's a competition and he wasn't sure America was correct on Kris, but he takes it all back after that performance. Asked who won round one, Simon says Kris!
Round two consists of the guys performing the Simon Fuller picks. Anyone who has watched Idol knows this is where the producers can set one up for success or failure. Adam has been set up for success and that's just what he has with a stirring and emotional cover of A Change is Going to Come by Sam Cooke. Randy is blown away with Adam's singing his face off. Kara thought it was his best performance of the competition. Paula thinks it's the best she's heard Adam sing, ever, ever, ever! Whatever happens, she's in awe and knows he'll be iconic. Simon says Adam is 100 percent back in the game.
Simon Fuller chose Marvin Gaye's What's Going On for Kris. It's a good pick but not an amazing one like the song chosen for Adam. Kris' cover is solid, but it's not a game changer.
Randy loves that it's a competition. He thinks the song was a little bit light. He's not wrong, but that's not Kris' fault. Kara likes that Simon Fuller picked a socially conscious song for Kris, because he's the kind of artist who can sell that kind of song and inspire people. Paula says he tore that song up and made Marvin Gaye proud. Simon felt it was like three friends strumming along to Marvin Gaye and it was too laidback. Simon awards round two one million percent to Adam.
Aw, Ryan gathers the top 13 minus the two finalists!
Round three? Both guys must sing a little ditty called No Boundaries, co-written by Kara who clearly didn't have Adam or Kris' natural keys in mind. Adam takes the first crack at it. It's a bit pitchy and definitely not a song he'd ever pick himself, with its cheesy lyrics, which he kind of spurts out without interpreting them too much. Randy says he can sing anything, but that was not one of his favorite performances. Kara speaks on behalf of her co-writers and they're moved Adam sang their song. Adam thanks her for the beautiful tune. Paula chooses to focus on his overall competition and she's forever his girl. Simon thinks the lyrics were dumb, but focuses on Adam being one of the best and most original competitors. He genuinely believes they found a worldwide star in him. Asked if he got the job done, Adam believes he did and takes the opportunity to remind us all of the best performance he had on this night in round two with A Change is Going to Come.
Oh boy, it's Kris' turn! He muffs the hurricane lyric at one point and is straining to fit the song's key, but overall it's a little bit better than Adam's version. Still, it's a dumb song and it's too bad it wasn't written with either one of them in mind. (Many S8 fans believe it was written for Danny Gokey.)
Randy tells Kris to be proud and that the key was a bit high but the song fit his voice better. Kara doesn't want him to be judged on that song, but on his artistry and growth and she hopes people vote on the season. Paula tells him he did amazing to end up where he is and wishes him well. Simon thought Ain't No Sunshine was his best performance but that Kris has grown leaps and bounds from the audition, his parents are proud, and he is thoroughly deserving. Kris says that Adam and he weren't competing but were just aiming to give a good show, and hopes they did that.
Ryan reads off the numbers, and Carrie Underwood comes out to sing the elimination song of the season, her cover of the Motley Crue hit Home Sweet Home with highlights of season 8 playing behind her.
Watch the full top 2 performance episode here.
Before we get to the results, let's take a look at behind the scenes:
And check out some red carpet interviews and photos:
Interviews with Randy, Simon (who wouldn't be surprised if Kris won), David Cook (Season 7 winner), Paula, and ha ha grilling of Kara about No Boundaries.
Future Kris BFF Melinda Doolittle (Season 6) knew...
Results Episode - We have a winner... Kris Allen!
The Season 8 finale opens with the usual overly dramatic recap of the performance episodes, focusing this time on all positive comments. Ryan intones, "These two lives have been changed forever but only one can win the title." The credits roll and then we see a few celebrities in the audience: Kimberley Locke (Season 2) and actress Angie Harmon. Ryan reports that just under 100 million votes came in. The season total was a record-setting 624 million votes.
As a person who has watched American Idol religiously over its 17 seasons, I love a lot of things about Idol finales. They are always fun packages of the season. I'm not going to go into non-Kris details of this one, since this is a Kris blog, but I'll link them in this recap. Up first is a salute to the quirks of each judge.
Next it's time to bring Kris and Adam out! They look fantastic in their white outfits.
They enjoy a standing ovation. Asked if it was an emotional night for him, Kris replies yes. Asked how he's doing, Adam says nervous and excited. We then cut to the hometown watch parties. Mikayla Gordon from Season 4 is reporting from Conway, while Carly Smithson from Season 8 reports from San Diego. The white outfits are their costumes for the first finale group number: the top 13 singing So What by P!nk.
Next up - a touching rendition by David Cook of his song Permanent, dedicated to his late brother. The performance was put up on iTunes to raise funds to find a brain cancer cure. David thought both Adam and Kris were great performers and guys.
The next package is an "Golden Idol awards" segment for "Outstanding Male" Nick Mitchell, er Norman Gentle. HARD PASS.
Lil Rounds comes on next, singing an R&B song called Cue the Rain with Queen Latifah. Alexis Grace and Anoop Desai follow, joined by Jason Mraz to sing I'm Yours. Anoop should've sung this one of the weeks instead of a snoozy ballad. He sounds great. They are joined by the other finalists minus Kris and Adam.
It's time for a Kris Allen package! They finally show us a bit more of the audition from Churchill Downs, where he was one of 10,000 auditioners. We remember how Smokey and Jamie Foxx loved Kris and see judges' praises. Kris talks about his dreaming of playing big venues. (OK that makes me sad.) He's going to run with the opportunities given to him. Well here comes one right now...
The birth of Kreith!
OK full disclosure! I am a huge, huge Keith Urban fan and was such back then too. So when they paired Kris and Keith for the Idol finale duet on Kiss a Girl, I was in fangirl heaven and it still is to this day my all time favorite American Idol thing ever. Yes, even over Kris winning. The heart eyes Kris gives Keith! The way Keith is all interactive and supportive of Kris!
This turned out to be a great pairing, and Keith would pair up with Kris again for several concerts in 2010. Make sure you scroll down to the mp3 part of the post because I do have an mp3 link for you.
The audience, including Justin Guarini, knows what's good. How to follow that epic? Idol goes with the ladies singing in flat voices with the Black Eyed Peas and the "Best Attitude" "Golden Idol Award" being given to Bikini Girl, followed by a duet with Kara in a bikini.
Allison Iraheta is next, joined by Cyndi Lauper for a duet of True Colors. I always feel guilty that I don't really like this song. This acoustic production of it is interesting though, with Cyndi playing an autoharp.
Ryan checks in with Mama and Papa Allen. Mama forgot it was a competition and was enjoying the show. Papa was happy to be there appreciating both guys. He thanks America for voting. Ryan then checks in with Adam's parents. They are proud and excited and nervous.
Danny Gokey is up next, singing Hello with current 2.2 Judge Lionel Richie.
After a break, it is time for the journey of Adam Lambert. He joins Kiss for a medley of their hits. I kind of wish he was fronting Kiss these days, just because I prefer Kiss to Queen as classic rock songs go, for me, for you. He does a nice job on Beth and then Kiss joins him on Detroit Rock City and Rock n Roll All Nite. I make a mental note to go find my childhood Kiss albums.
A group number featuring Matt Giraud is next as he sings a snippet of Black Magic Woman and is joined by Carlos Santana and the rest of the Idols for Smooth. Do not ever tell me Kris can't dance. He totally can salsa. We see Heather Locklear and daughter Ava Sambora enjoying the music.
It's time for the final Ford music video of season 8 and it's one of the best Ford music videos ever: Kris and Adam covering I Will Remember You by Ryan Cabrera. I will always think American Idol missed the boat by not releasing this as a single or pairing the guys to sing it on tour. I've got an mp3 of this for you too.
Kris and Adam felt the music videos were great training. This is the "making of the top two video" video but it's really more a summary of the season's video-making.
After the video ends, David Cook gives them their new Ford Fusion Hybrids! Kris needed a new car "so bad."
The next music guest is comedian Steve Martin who does a cool Americana-type song with Megan Joy and Michael Sarver. Steve hopes he wins American Idol season 8.
Oh wow, I forgot this next music segment! The guys (including Kris and Adam) sing Do Ya Think I'm Sexy in order to introduce a performance by Rod Stewart.
One more annoying Golden Idol give out. This one is for outstanding female. Of course it goes to Tatiana Del Toro and she thoroughly enjoys her moment. Ruben Studdard is like WTF.
Well after that musical low, it's time for Kris and Adam to duet with Queen on We Are the Champions. This is the performance that got Adam the job of fronting Queen in recent years.
This is it! Time to announce the results!
Ryan asks Simon to address both finalists. He thought they were both brilliant and incredibly nice, and the future is all theirs. Our "adjudicator from Telescope" Mr. Edward Boddington announces that the results are certified and it's a new world record with almost 100 million votes cast. Edward blocks Kris and so Adam pulls Kris into view.
And the winner is... KRIS!
Conway goes nuts! I remember going nuts! Ryan and Kris graciously acknowledge Adam. Kris gets a dorky trophy, thanks the fans and sings us out with No Boundaries rearranged for his key. Supposedly Adam joked at this exact moment that ha ha you have to sing it! For those reading this who have no idea, Adam went on to have great success as a solo artist and frontman for Queen.
The winning moment!
Watch the full top 2 results episode here.
mp3s
- Ain't No Sunshine (Top 2 performance)
- What's Going On (Top 2 performance)
- What's Going on (Idol single)
- No Boundaries (Top 2 performance)
- No Boundaries (Idol single - #11 on Billboard, peaked on June 6, 2009)
- I Will Remember You (Kris and Adam Ford Music Video)
- Kiss a Girl (Kris and Keith performance)
- We Are the Champions (Kris and Adam performance)
Past Kris Allen on Idol recaps:
Audition in Louisville
Hollywood Week, rounds one and two
Making the top 36
Group 2, aka the Best Idol Group ever and the one where we get to see him sing Everything
Top 13 week (Michael Jackson songs)
Top 11 week (Opry songs)
Top 10 week (Motown songs)
Top 9 week (iTunes downloads)
Top 8 week (Year contestants were born)
Top 7 week 1 (Movie week)
Top 7 week 2 (Disco week)
Top 5 week (Rat Pack)
Top 4 week (Rock week)
Top 3 week (Hometown visits)
Thanks for helping me reminisce one of the best things that happened to Idol! Kris will always be my fave Idol winner ever.
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