Reviews, Television
May 17, 2013

AMERICAN IDOL FINALE, THREE TIMES A CHARM FOR CANDACE GLOVER

Three times was a charm for Candace Glover. After being sent home in both Season 9 and Season 11, Candace tried one more time and last night was named the Season 12 American Idol champion. In a season dominated by the girls, Candace Glover was clearly the best of the bunch and deserved to win. Week after week Candace was the best singer and was in my “Top 3” each week.

Candace had one bad night the entire season. Fortunately for her, on that night with just 4 contestants remaining,American Idol declared a “Do Over” and no contestants were sent home. Responding to the challenge Candace went on to dominate the remaining three shows and was the easy victor. In any other year both Kree Harrison and Angie Miller would have been worthy champions, but in every other year there wasn’t a singer like Candace Glover. Her victory was the first by a female since Jordin Sparks won in Season 6.

Season 12 had its highs and lows but overall I enjoyed the season. This was the strongest group of female singers ever and Candace Glover, Angie Miller, Kree Harrison and Amber Holcomb all have a legitimate chance for commercial and professional success.

On the flip side, the guys were absolutely horrible. The judges did a terrible job picking the five male finalists and instead of having 5 guys and five girls in the “Top 10”, American Idol should think about changing the rules and just pick the best 10 singers. It is obvious that American Idol will change drastically in the future. Poor ratings and increased competition will force major changes to the show. It is important to note, the one thing American Idol has done that none of the other music shows has been able to duplicate is the ability to produce stars. American Idol has given us Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, David Cook, Adam Lambert, Daughtry, Jennifer Hudson and Phil Phillips and countless hit records. While entertaining, competing music shows like The Voice or the American version of the X-Factor have been unable to duplicate that feat and have yet to produce a star or a single hit record. It will be interesting to see the changes. I can’t wait to see what Season 13 brings us!!!

American Idol Odds and Ends

• While both Candace and Kree gave good performances in the final performance show, I thought Candace’s outstanding performance of “I Who Have Nothing”, officially ended the contest and clinched her spot as the next American Idolchampion.

• Candace Glover and Jennifer Hudson sang a terrific version of the Natalie Cole hit “Inseparable.” It is rumored that Natalie Cole wasn’t too happy that the American Idol producers chose Jennifer Hudson for the duet instead of her.

• For me the Angie Miller and Adam Lambert’s performance of David Guetta’s “Titanium”, was the performance highlight of the finale.

• Jessie J. and Angie performed Jessie’s hit single “‘Domino.” Angie is a huge fan of Jessie’s and performed a number of her songs during the season which made the pairing a perfect one.

• Jenifer Lopez and Pitbull wowed the crowd with an energetic performance of their new single “Live It Up.” Watching Jennifer Lopez dance it is hard to believe that she is 43 years old.

• Keith Urban premiered his new single, “Little Bit of Everything.”

• I thought Candace Glover’s performance of the Cure’s “Love Song”, was the best performance of the season.

• It will be interesting to see who and how many judges American Idol has when Season 13 starts in January 2014. Randy Jackson and Mariah Carey definitely won’t be back and while Keith Urban has said he wants to come back, Nicki Minaj has been non-committal. Adam Lambert, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr, have all been rumored as potential replacements.

• Ratings for the American Idol Finale on Thursday night plunged to a record low for the 12-year-old show. It is estimated that approximately 14.3 million viewers watched the finale. That is a 33 percent drop from the year before, when 21.5 million viewers saw Phil Phillips claim the Idol crown. It sounds like American Idol is headed for a complete makeover.