TV Recap: American Idol - Dark Horse Victorious

We all know the American Idol finale is really just one long concert with the results coming in the final few minutes of the two hour show. Usually the filler annoys me but the producers taking some time out after Ryan announced that almost 100 million votes came in for the final two, to poke fun of the judges for their quirkiness was a great addition to the event’s opening this year. I also have to give it up to Seacrest for his little add-ins, like the random “Boom Boom Pow,” or the remark he made about his hair being real.

Is it me or have those Ford commercials completely demolished the appeal of seeing Idol contestants sing as a group? Seriously, the second they took the stage for the first time tonight I expected to see the latest Ford Fusion hybrid rolled out on stage. To the contestants’ credit, they all looked good in white and I forgot how much I missed that adorable Alexis. As for some of the others, the performance served as a reminder of why they were eliminated in the first place. Jasmine’s blessedly brief solo: yikes.

David Cook performed next. One of the things I love about past Idol’s returning to the stage is seeing how a year or longer has changed their performance abilities. Cook sounded great and he seemed perfectly at ease on the stage. It’s clear he’s been improving even more since his win last season. After celebrating Cook’s musical talents, Idol went on to take yet another opportunity to make fun of the people who auditioned and sucked enough to make the loser-reel, “The Golden Idols.” At first I was a little peeved that Nick “Norman” Mitchell was included in the bunch until he turned out to be the winner of the award and we were treated to an encore performance. The crowd when nuts as he tore off his outer-clothing to reveal that shiny, sparkly shirt of his and dragged himself across the stage diva’ing “I’m not Livin’ Without You.” Norman Gentle ’09 Peace out!

Lil Rounds rocked it out with Queen Latifah and then Anoop and Alexis sang “I’m Yours” with Jason Mraz. The two former contestants harmonized with Mraz perfectly, making for a really enjoyable performance. They were later joined by the other Idols who finished the song with them. Kris Allen sang “Kiss A Girl” with Keith Urban, followed by the girls singing “Big Girls Don’t Cry” with Fergie. That was an intro to a Black Eyed Peas performance, which resulted in a cut to the Idol logo during the line “I’m on that next s—t now.” I guess the Peas didn’t feel like editing their lyrics for the kiddies. The line does rhyme with the chorus, after all.

Bikini Girl received a Golden Idol for… wearing a bikini and her subpar singing abilities. Based on her appearance, I was wondering if she’d been “upgraded” since her audition and then Ryan commented on “What’s new,” saying he thinks he knows. I don’t think it was her spray-tan he was referring to. Bikini girl took the stage to sing “Vision of Love” and was joined by arch-nemesis Kara, who promptly outsang her. Say what you will about Kara as an unnecessary judge but she can sing. Kara threw in an added surprise when she tore her dress open to reveal a teeny bikini. Hilarious. Poor bikini girl’s moment was stolen.

Allison took the stage to sing a chills-inducing duet with the legendary Cyndi Lauper. The two sounded amazing together. Seriously, allow me to just gush for a second. I adore Lauper and her voice meshed beautifully with Allison’s. Danny Gokey performed a duet with Lionel Richie and again, I was impressed with how well their voices go together. It really goes to show what kind of talent there was this season when you see these contestants team up with seasoned entertainers and hold their own.

For Adam’s performance, he rocked out on stage with Kiss and given his vocal abilities, he had no trouble keeping up with the band as they rocked and rolled all night (and partied every day). After the break, Carlos Santana showed off his amazing guitar abilities. Matt Giraud joined him and sang a few bars from “Black Magic Woman.” Afterward the rest of the finalists joined them and dove into “Smooth.”

The final Ford commercial thankfully featured mostly Adam and Kris singing and boy did Adam seem passionate about Ford. Afterward we got to see David Cook present them with their very own Ford Fusion hybrids. Megan Joy and Michael Sarver sang a ditty while Steve Martin played the banjo. Yeah, you really never know what you’re going to get on Idol finale night. The whole thing was surprisingly charming and a little bit amusing all at once. And as it turned out, Steve Martin wrote the song and it’ll be featured on his new album.

Rod Stewart sang next and then the final Golden Idol was awarded. To no one’s surprise, Tatiana Del Toro won the last Golden Idol, then forcefully took the stage to belt out as much of “Saving All My Love” while the security guards attempted to pull her off stage. The whole thing was obviously an act but it was still amusing.

Adam and Kris belted out “We Are The Champions” and were joined by Queen. Awesome. Anyone think Adam should take over as the front man for Queen? He definitely has the voice for it and that great Mercury-flare.

And now for the results. Both Adam and Kris might be “the champions” but we all know there can only be one winner this season. Simon said he doesn’t normally mean this but that both contestants are brilliant. With almost 100 million votes cast, the winner of this season of American Idol is Kris Allen! The dark horse rode in and stole the victory when most viewers surely thought Adam had the competition in the bag. A humbled Adam had no idea what to say other than to thank the voters.

To Lambert fans, it’s not as though we won’t be hearing from him in the near future. The finale closed with Allen singing the cheesy “No Boundaries.” And thus concludes another great season of Idol.