The top 10 returned to the ‘Idol’ stage last night, alongside some music superstars, to serenade viewers while they waited two hours for the results on season 12’s ‘American Idol’ finale.
The Performances
The top ten reunited on the Idol stage to kick off the two-hour finale with a performance of The Wanted’s “Glad You Came.” It was good to see the whole gang back together again, and they looked like they were having a great time. Dressed all in white, the top 10 were surrounded by a bevy of backup dancers dressed all in black. The backup dancers were not even doing any kind of choreographed dancing. They were apparently just there to be a huge unnecessary distraction.
Fifth-place finisher Janelle Arthur joined The Band Perry onstage to perform their newest single “Done.” It’s a lot more country rock than The Band Perry’s previous singles, but it’s very catchy and made for a great performance. Janelle seemed right at home on stage with the country stars, even joining Kimberly Perry to head-bang to a fiddle solo. Now that’s rock ‘n roll…err…country.
The top 5 guys took the stage to perform a medley of Frankie Valli’s greatest hits, joined by, you guessed it, Frankie Valli, whose voice is at this point just bordering on chipmunk. But it was still a great performance, with so many great songs. They ended with “Grease is the Word,” which had everybody grooving in the audience.
Mariah’s medley was obviously pre-taped, but it was fine because it made every 90’s girl’s heart swell to three times its size. “Vision of Love,” “Make It Happen,” “My All,” “Hero,” “We Belong Together,” and “#Beautiful”: what more could you ask for – other than her entire first Christmas album? Standing on a platform in the middle of the audience in a giant feather-y mermaid gown, she went from one song to the next without so much as a breath in between. Fellow judge Randy even helped out on bass.
Amber Holcomb, who took fourth place this season, performed Emeli Sande’s “Next To Me” alongside Emeli herself. They both sounded great, and you wouldn’t know who was the reality show contestant and who was the professional. It was great to see Amber really enjoying herself, since by the time she was eliminated, the stress of the competition had obviously gotten to be too much for her. But tonight she was all smiles, just enjoying this great opportunity.
If there was ever a performer so flamboyant that he was basically destined to perform on the American Idol finale, it would be Psy. No, unfortunately there was no Ryan Seacrest doing “Gangnam Style;” Psy performed his newest hit, “Gentlemen.” There was choreographed dancing, lasers, bright costumes, and what looked like an 80’s video game playing on the big screens. Unfortunately, none of the top 10 joined Psy onstage for this performance. Apparently one week wasn’t enough time for them to learn Korean.
Mariah wasn’t the only judge to perform this evening, as Keith Urban took the stage to perform his new single “Little Bit Of Everything.” Keith seems to have as much fun in his own performances as he does watching everybody else’s. Always smiling and swaying and singing along from his judge’s seat, he brought that same smile onstage with him.
It just wouldn’t be an Idol finale without a diva-off. Last year, it was Jessica Sanchez and Jennifer Holiday; this year it was Candice Glover and Jennifer Hudson. They sang Natalie Cole’s “Inseparable,” and the sheer amount of diva seemed almost painful for the judges, who were waving their arms around as though trying to ward off all the diva power that was threatening to overtake them. It must be awfully rewarding for Jennifer Hudson to return to the show that awarded her seventh place, having since won both an Oscar and a Grammy.
It was a big night for third place finisher Angie Miller, with several special guest performances. First, season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert joined Angie at the piano to sing a ballad-y version of David Guetta’s “Titanium.” Angie seemed surprisingly breathless during the performance at times during the song, although I guess she was saving up for what came next.
After the performance, Adam introduced “Angie’s personal Idol,” Jessie J. And in case anyone had forgotten Jessie J had shaved her head, there she was, overlooking the judges, with a romper just asking for a wardrobe malfunction, giant hoop earrings, and almost no hair. And as if it couldn’t get any better for Angie, after they rocked that performance, Jessi J offered to have Angie join her in concert in the U.K. to perform her own single, “You Set Me Free.”
In a performance by a newly-formed American Idol jam band, Keith, Kree, and Randy, together with Blink-182’s Travis Barker on drums, performed Keith’s hit “Where the Blacktop Ends.” I think both judges really enjoyed getting to perform with this girl they had been watching and supporting all season. Keith even changed up the words to the song to say, “the weekend belongs to Kree.”
The legendary Aretha Franklin joined the top 5 girls via satellite from New York to sing a medley of some of her hits because she doesn’t like to fly. It was understandably awkward, with the girls singing backup with Aretha via satellite. Even more awkward was Aretha’s ramble-y, possibly spoiler speech, telling Candice she’s a winner with a promising career, before adding Kree on as an afterthought. Whoops.
American Idol Finale ~ Aretha Franklin by HumanSlinky
Another familiar face to the Idol family, former judge Jennifer Lopez took to the stage to perform her latest hit, “Live It Up.” It’s another catchy, dance-able J.Lo tune, and dance she did. Accompanied by Pitbull, some acrobatic backup dancers, and some killer gladiator sandals, J.Lo tore up the floor and once again proved that the wind machine is her best friend.
The Fun Stuff
They did touch on some of the controversy that surrounded this season, but not the controversy you might expect. Apparently the top 5 girls spent the whole season sabotaging the guys, talking them into wearing ugly jackets (Curtis), convincing them to tell jokes onstage (Paul), drugging their coffee (Devin), rewriting their lyrics (Lazaro), and stealing their lunch money (Burnell).
As it turns out, the mastermind behind this whole plan was season 6 winner Jordin Sparks because she’s lonely without another female winner in the last five years. When the guys confronted her, she claimed it was easy because none of them played guitar (WGWG reference, anyone?). Idol didn’t miss a chance to take a shot at their competitor The Voice, suggesting, “Idol leftovers have been doing really well on The Voice!” Well, it’s true!
The top 10 contestants had a lot to say about the judges in another silly video confessional package. Making fun of Mariah’s overuse of “Darling,” Keith’s over-enthusiastic reactions during their performances, Randy’s insistence that everyone is “in it to win it,” and Nicki’s over-everything. All the contestants sported a selection of colorful Nicki wigs, and the video ended with Devin Velez wearing leopard-print leggings with a giant padded butt.
As expected, Idol did pay tribute to departing original judge Randy Jackson, and did so in typical Idol fashion: with a lot of dawg/dog puns. Randy seemed quite pleased with the tribute, and rather choked up, saying “Love all you fans, love everybody that worked on this show, love all these amazing contestants […] hopefully I touched their lives a little bit, they certainly touched mine. Thank you!”
The Results
In their final minutes as American Idol competitors, Kree and Candice got all dressed up to sing a duet of the Burt Bacharach hits “One Less Bell To Answer” and “A House Is Not A Home,” previously performed by Candice and Amber during a Burt Bacharach medley by the Top 6. The girls sounded lovely, but it was an odd choice for their final duet, considering it had already seen performed previously this season by Candice and not Kree.
After their duet, Ryan got right to it, and the girls leaned into each other as he dramatically stretched out the results. Before he announced her name, Candice looked to be mouthing “Kree, Kree.” As Candice’s name was read, everyone went crazy, including Candice’s huge family in the audience, and her good friend and fellow contestant Burnell Taylor running over to hug her. All the contestants seemed thrilled for Candice’s victory.
Candice has cried each time one of her friends was sent home this season, so it’s no surprise she wept her way through her entire victory performance of “I Am Beautiful.” Covered in the confetti and streamers falling from the ceiling, and wiping the tears from her eyes, Candice tried to collect herself to deliver her song, and she didn’t do too bad a job of it, before Burnell came over to hug her once again.
So that’s it, America. Another Idol season behind us. Season 13 starts in January, with a whole new set of judges, and a whole new set of talent. Auditions start in July! Maybe the next American Idol could be you?
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