If you are an Idol fanatic, you know that watching the show just isn't enough. You need more. You need YouTube clips of Clay Aiken singing in school and homemade t-shirts declaring you allegiance to Glambert Nation. And you know that when the American Idols Live tour hits a town near you, you will sell your soul for tickets.
Because the Idols Live is insanity. It just is. We sat behind a crazed fan who brought printouts of photos blended with a scrapbooking program to create glorious Adam Lambert collages involving the words "ring of fire." She was hoping to run into the Glamorous One, and we sat in the seats where that could of happened!
Beside the seats we were in, there was a curtained doorway with a metal gate. Before the show even started Matt Giraraud (the faux-Timberlake guy) popped through the curtain wearing a fake mustache and eyebrows. The one girl in the group in front of us managed to get a picture with him and promptly broke into weeping and shaky texting. Major fan craziness!
Throughout the show, Alison Iraheta popped her adorable little face through. I waved like a four-year-old meeting Mickey Mouse. Micheal Sarver also kept peeking through, who has lost some weight and gotten even roughneckedly hotter. And Crazy Glambert Grandma claims to have caught a glimpse of my sworn enemy/doppelganger The Gokey through the edge of the curtain. Basically the best seats in the house.
We were also somewhat close to the stage, where the real reason we came was happening. The show counted down the contestants in order of vote-offs, so we started at number ten, Micheal. Like I said, looking very hot. He sang two songs, Gavin DeGraw's "In Love With A Girl" which was hot and NE-YO's "Closer" which was decent. He also frequently commanded he crowd to make some noise, which got a little annoying.
Megan Joy followed, her hot pink dress and heels made her look like Tattoo Barbie. She also performed two numbers, "Put Your Records On" which was really good and Amy Winehouse's "Tears Dry On Their Own" which had the f-word redacted. Both suited her unusual way of vocalizing, and I was pleased to see her for once.
After Megan sauntered offstage, Scott McIntyre rose from the floor at the piano to perform. It was a dramatic way to enter, and his version of "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton was stellar.
Lil Rounds had one of the hottest video openers, her picture was reflected in her sunglasses. She did a Mary J medley that was smoking, her shoes were on fire. She followed that with "No One" by Alicia Keys and did a very good job also. Closing with Beyonce's "Single Ladies" she told the crowd she worked with the original choreographer for the performance, which led to a major letdown. It was really basic movements, I wouldn't even call it dancing. But her vocals were amazing and that's what counts!
Anoop then rose from the floor to perform his heartrending version of "You Were Always On My Mind" followed by another ballad before closing with a crowd-pleasing "My Perogative." He is a showman, working a stand-still behind the mic for "On My Mind" and really rocking the stage the rest of the set.
Matt Giraurd, pegged all season as a smooth r&b man and blasted by the judges every time he strayed from that sound, opened with The Black Crowes "Hard To Handle" and rocked the fuck out of it. He slipped behind the piano after that for "Georgia On My Mind" and The Fray's "You Found Me" - another song disliked by the judges but loved by fans like me. I think it was a bit of an F-You to Randy and Kara, and I heartily approve.
All the Idols that had already performed returned to the stage in a variety of combinations (including Scott and Matt on dueling pianos!) which was capped with all six doing The Four Seasons' "Beggin'" which was soulful and beautiful.
After an intermission, Alison took the stage. She opened with Pink's "So What" which fit perfectly into her wheelhouse. She followed it with Janis Joplin's "Cry Baby" and Heart's "Barracuda." She picked songs that worked well with her rough yet soaring voice.
Then came Gokey. I promised not to be rude when he came out, and since he came out with the only one of his performances I didn't hate I didn't. He opened with "P.Y.T." from Micheal Jackson night and did it well. Then he destroyed Santana's "Maria, Maria" with a awful, horrible attempt at Latin dancing. At some point, he straddled his mic stand like a male stripper and ripped off his jacket. Yeah, "role model." He followed that with a pair of trite Rascall Flatts jams, with a moment for him to spout off about going through hard times and being yourself and blah-blah-blah. So over him...
BECAUSE IT WAS TIME FOR GLAMBERT!!!!!! Adam roared like a mighty train of rock as he pummeled the stage during "Whole Lotta Love." He wanted to give us every inch of his love and just bent us over and did just that. He followed that with Muse's "Starlight" which he sang in a higher register than I've heard him do before. He also reprised "Mad World" and brought Alison onstage for their Foghat duet. I though that was the end, but no. He launched into a David Bowie medley, starting with "Life On Mars" and "Fame" before tearing the shit out of "Let's Dance." During the course of the medley he lost his jacket and picked up some hip gyrations that just screamed electric sex. It was epic!
I was concerned that Kris Allen, this year's winner, would be a letdown after all that showboating. But he opened with his revelatory "Heartless" from top three week. He added more instruments from the live TV version, but not the sleepy lounge sounds of the iTunes studio version. Rock guitars swelled on the chorus, as well a violins. It was massive and perfect for an arena tour. He actually skipped his coronation single to do The Killer's "All These Things That I've Done" which rocked really hard. I didn't expect that from him. When I saw the piano rise behind him, I knew it was time to weep. Kris pulled no punches on his stellar take on "Ain't No Sunshine" and it felt so much more powerful live and in full. After that, he slipped a little with Matchbox 20's "Bright Lights" and the overplayed Beatles classic "Hey Jude."
The rest of the Idols joined him at the end of "Hey Jude" and then rocked out on "Don't Stop Believin'" It was the perfect song to end the night, and after three hours I was never gonna stop.
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