As we face the end of season eight, I find myself looking back. I knew from the first semi-final round that Kris Allen would be my favorite contestant and week after week he has performed brilliantly. Conventional wisdom suggests that Adam will carry the finale easily, however there are hints that this contest may be a little closer than many suspect. Ryan reported that only 1 million votes separated Adam and Kris in the penultimate episode and now during the finale the preponderance of Danny’s supporters are likely to switch to Kris. Unless Adam pulls out another “Mad World” level performance, I expect the odds to tighten up again before the finale.
But winning the competition is just part of the story. Ruben Studdard beat out Clay Aiken in season 2 and yet Clay has outsold him 2 to 1… Chris Daughtry came in fourth in his season and is the 4th most successful Idol ever… Some Idols just don’t make albums that anyone is interested in buying (*cough* Taylor Hicks *cough*). So, even assuming Adam wins, will the audience for his album be as big as Kris’s easy adult alternative sound? Or Allison’s “rocker chick”? Or Danny’s (um what’s his sound again?)? The unintentional release of the iTunes popularity bars for the contestants might suggest that Adam will win this competition hands down, but it’s hard to know exactly how appealing his actual album will be to fans and non-Idol consumers.
No matter who wins on Wednesday night, I’m looking forward to a great night of singing on Tuesday by two of the best singers in the competition (sorry you couldn’t join in Allison). Hopefully, there will be some fun guest stars (is Jason Mraz free??) and some chuckles at the expense of some truly awful performers (Tatiana/Norman Gentle duet?). But at the end of the day, its clear that both Adam and Kris have successful albums in their future and I know I’ll be buying Kris’ the day it comes out!
