The Night of the Underdog...

So, last night was the glittering finale of this season of American Idol. After much hype, shocks and surprises, America can finally turn off its televisions knowing that the underdog is alive and kicking! There certainly is hope (thanks Mr. Obama ;) and there's change too... Kris Allen won the final round in a much-hyped, long-drawn battle. And this one must definitely go down as a big upset for the night (the other being that King James and the Cavaliers lost in a nail-biter with Orlando Magic in the first game of the NBA playoffs... but that's a post for some other time!) 

Allen has been described quite popularly as "the boy-next-door" with his "cute-as-a-button-wife." A native from Arkansas, he wasn't even expected to make the final two. But he did and then went on to be the 2009 Idol last night. America loves histronics and drama and contestants who will cry, gush and have a literal theatrical meltdown on stage. But to his credit, Allen didn't do any of that. Thank God! 

He seemed genuinely surprised but pretty confident and that was cool. I don't care much for over-the-top expressions of victory that include crying, hugging random people, shout-outs to everyone who ever came in contact with the winner... you get the idea. So his comparatively reticient acceptance was a much-needed breath of fresh air.  

The other cool thing about last night's show was that it brought out some really neat performers on stage, some of whom who haven't been seen in a while. Older and with a few more pounds around their middles, they still were pretty amazing. It made me reminisce about old classics from Lionel Ritchie (Hellooooooo!) and Santana and a whole bunch of others. 

To their credit, the contestants who did perform alongside these big names held their own. There was Adam Lambert singing alongside Kiss with their supersized platforms and insane "personas" (calling them costumes seemed a tad harsh!) and Allen singing with Keith Urban and sounding better than the original recording artist! Both finalists collaborated with Queen performing the ultimate sporting anthem - We are the Champions. Cindy Lauper made a return to sing Time after Time with Allison Iraheta, one of the most impressive female voices I've heard in a long time on Idol. Also, I have to mention Danny Gokey, who I think will go far. Originally considered to be the one who would battle it out with Lambert, he was eliminated and Allen found himself in the finals. Still, he made not have made it into the finals but he has a great voice that will make it across airwaves soon, I'm sure. 

All in all, it was a pretty nice way to spend an evening with some good music, despite the Oscar-Golden Globe-inspired somewhat annoying theme. And while Kris Allen is the final winner, I see a bunch of albums being released in the not-so-distant future and once again, all eyes will be on these musicians to see who hits bullseye with record sales and related stats.