My Take on American Idol Season 8

We have a top 8 in American Idol, and it is a fairly strong group this year with some definite standouts. In my mind, there are three really great contestants, all of whom I am rooting for this year. The first of these three is Kris Allen. He has really grown on me throughout the competition. When he made it into the top 13 I was a little skeptical and not sold at all on his vocals. Ever since, though, he has improved from week to week and established himself as a strong competitor. He has a clean voice and some talent at not only guitar, but piano as well. His standout performance for me was last weeks "Ain't No Sunshine". It was a brilliant arrangement and he made the most of it. He did not do so well this week, which I'm really hoping doesn't get him kicked off, because he really does have potential as a recording artist.

The next contestant I love is Allison Iraheta. She is brilliant and I absolutely love her voice. It has a very distinctive tone and she always sings brilliantly from week to week. She is also spunky and has a great carefree attitude that is refreshing in this competition. She is a rock singer who is really making her mark in the competition. I am sad that she has been in the bottom 3 a couple of times because she is really a lot better of a vocalist than most of the competitors in the competition. I really hope she continues to shine and can at least make it to the top 5.

But...the best contestant by far this year is Adam Lambert. There is just something special about him. He is a born performer that is extremely entertaining each time he is on that stage. He seems to go back and forth between crazy, rocking performances and soft, more restrained ballads. I love both sides. Some people criticize his vocals for being screechy, but I like those moments because they show how versatile his voice is. His best performance to date for me was last nights "Mad World". It was stunningly beautiful. A magical idol moment that does not happen often where a contestant truly defines him or herself as an artist. Simon even gave it a standing ovation, which in my memory has never happened. It may be my favorite idol performance ever, and Adam may be my favorite idol contestant ever (with strong competition from David Cook). The main reason I keep tuning in from week to week is to see what Adam does next.

The other contestants range from good to terrible. I really liked Danny Gokey at the beginning, but I find myself getting tired of him (similar to how I felt about David Archuleta last year). I found his voice unique and interesting at first, but after several performances, the novelty has worn off. I'm still waiting for a real breakout performance from him, and I don't feel like it has happened yet. I can't really get into Matt Giraud, even though he gets a lot of praise from the judges. He reminds me of Chris Richardson, who I also didn't care for. He just inserts way to many runs for my taste, which messes with the melody of the song. I really like his piano playing abilities and there are moments where I like his voice, but then he tries to hard to do all of these runs, and it just ruins it for me.

I liked Anoop at first, but he is proving to not be very consistent. It seems that he only does well when he tackles a ballad. Whenever he attempts a more upbeat song it falls flat and he isn't able to show off his personality. I don't think he can win this show just singing ballads, or become a successful recording artist only singing ballads. He needs to figure out how to make a more upbeat song work, or he won't be around much longer. I have never understood the appeal with Scott MacIntyre. I think he is a great person and I love his personality. He is perhaps the funniest of the idol contestants this year. But, his voice is just not on the same level as any of the others. His performances are very cheesy and there is nothing that stands out. Also, I think sometimes he tries to hard to hit a lot of big notes and they just end up falling flat. I hope that he is out of the competition soon.

And finally, there is Lil. Lil is the contestant who I have liked the least in the whole top 13. What is even more frustrating is she seems to be a favorite of the judges. To my ears, she has not given a good performance yet. She does not know how to make the right song choices, and seems to only be able to do copycat, kareoke performances. I also feel that she has a little bit of an attitude problem and I cringe everytime she starts to speak. She does have a voice, but she shouts the big notes and is flat for the other notes. I don't think there is much she can do that will make me change my opinion of her. If I were making the decisions, she would be the next to go followed closely by Scott. Then, we would have a real contest.

So, that is how I feel about the contestants this year. Tonight I have a big fear that Kris will be leaving, even though there are many other singers that I feel are worse than him. I think the bottom three will consist of Kris, Anoop and Scott. This will lead to Kris being the one with the lowest votes with his only hope as a judges save. I really hope I'm wrong. If it were my choice, the bottom three would be Lil, Scott and either Anoop or Matt with Lil going home, but I know that won't happen. Oh well. At least I know Adam is safe, and that has to mean something, right? I really hope Adam can win this whole thing, if not, America will have made a horrible error. Please, be smart, America!