TV

13 Reasons Why- Reaction and Discussion

Posted on by nwadeblogs_

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I first heard rumblings about 13 Reasons Why on Twitter. Selena Gomez produced it, and every one of the leads are all insanely good-looking 20-somethings….it’s the kind of thing you can’t avoid. When I found out the subject of the show, and that it had stemmed from a book, I knew I wanted to watch for myself so I avoided all spoilers for weeks.

13 Reasons Why is not your ordinary Netflix phenomenon: it’s a game-changer. I got home from college a little over a week ago and immediately began a free trial. I finished the series as of last night, and damn….what a ride.

“Hey. It’s me. Hannah. Hannah Baker.”

Hannah Baker is a fictitious character. They all are. But, she’s a very real representation of a kid walking the halls of your local middle school and high school. She was the new girl who really didn’t care about what the “popular” crowd was doing, she just wanted to fit in. She fell for the “bad boys” and paid the price. She found her own small but close-knit group of friends and was content with having just them, until they decided to break away from her. She fell in love with the boy that didn’t know what love was, but tried to push her feelings down and play it cool. She was so relatable.

While the show is dramatized for suspense, there is no doubt that Hannah’s tragic ending and what led to it is very real. She was systematically beat down mentally and physically over time to the point where she felt she could no longer continue and felt she had no one left to confide in. That everyone had turned away from her. That no one cared. In her case, Clay, Tony and Alex cared. The rest I’m not so sure. They spent the entire season trying to stop Clay, whether by threats or by faking sympathy, from exposing them to the world because it would ruin all their efforts to try and keep their secrets hidden or perhaps just try and forget everything that had happened…..they did not seem to care that their actions led to the death of this girl.

A video from a cell phone of a girl hanging herself from a tree in her backyard went viral a while back. The story of a nine year old boy committing suicide was recently made public. Stories of LGBT+ teens being pushed to the edge are all too familiar. Why is this happening? Why are these kids told to “toughen up” or “get over it” when they show signs of having been bullied or depression? Some kids truly don’t realize how cruel they can be and family members often don’t find out that their kid is going through stuff until it’s too late. That is an issue that schools need to get better at addressing, especially in this day and age.

Today is the age of social media. You see kids under 10 years old with Instagram and Snapchat, among others; platforms that cause so much more harm then good for kids twice their age. They’re presented with an outlet to say anything they want about anyone, usually behind their backs, then words get twisted around and that’s how drama starts. They start to question who their real friends are and it’s nothing but a “He-said, she-said” situation. Soon enough, school isn’t the safe place it should be. It’s toxic. Like Hannah, you think everyone is glaring at you when in reality, it’s likely that no one is; “Do they all know what happened?? It’s not my fault!”. Sure, it all goes away eventually, but the damage is done.

Teachers can’t always stay on top of it, but most kids have phones on them at all times. And it’s usually on their lap. Once they leave the classroom for lunch or recess or whatever it is, that’s where the whispers happen. For kids who do speak up to parents or teachers, most of the time it’s futile. “My kid would NEVER do that!”, most parents say. “How dare you accuse my kid of such a thing!” It’s crazy how little they know. They don’t want to believe that their child is anything but an angel, but if they checked their phone they might see a different side to them. Once it gets out that someone went forward, “I can’t believe you told! Why are you such a snitch?” or “Oh c’mon, we’re just messing around!” It’s not funny. And it’s getting worse. I’m lucky I got through high school before Snapchat or Instagram was really huge. But even then you had to worry about Twitter and Facebook and later on, Vine. School teachers and counselors ensure a privacy policy most of the time, but why?? I understand that you want students to confide in you, but is it really wise to keep things that could escalate from the parents, who would then be able to get the right medical help?

13 Reasons Why is not perfect. But the message is clear, and it has started a conversation. A conversation that parents need to have with their kids, and a conversation that CANNOT be swept under the rug in schools. Some of it is gruesome, but to try and ban students from watching it or alerting their parents because of the more intense material and subject matter is just wrong. Warn them about what their watching and make it clear that it’s not a true story, but make them aware that it could very well happen to someone they know. Hell, it could be happening at that very moment. Tell them to be a friend to the girl sitting by herself at lunch. Go hang out with the boy who sits on the bench alone in gym class. Notice a friend making drastic changes to their look? You don’t see them at rehearsal or practice or after-school clubs anymore? Go say hello to them.

I’ve seen mixed reactions….some feel triggered, others praise these young actors and actresses for taking a step forward. I applaud them, because they did their job. Dramatic? Yes. Overreaching? A bit. Relevant? Absolutely. Thank you cast and crew of 13 Reasons….you have made a difference.

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2017 Grammy Nominations: Thoughts on Rock, R&B, Rap, Country and Mu

Posted on by nwadeblogs_

Part 2..

Best Alternative Rock Album

  • 22, A Million- Bon Iver
  • Blackstar- David Bowie
  • The Hope Six Demolition Project- PJ Harvey
  • Post Pop Depression- Iggy Pop
  • A Moon Shaped Pool- Radiohead

I listened to a bit of Post Pop Depression, and as my first real exposure to Iggy Pop besides that one time I saw him on American Idol, I kind of liked it. He’s not as much of a novelty act as I thought. However, “22, A Million” and “A Moon Shaped Pool” are albums I have listened to multiple times since their release and I think they’re both fantastic. Radiohead is as alluring as ever here, producing a stunning record that I was pissed did not reach #1. Bon Iver delivered in a huge way as well, producing what was probably the best received album of the year critically.

As good as these albums are, they’re up next to Blackstar and that is not a good thing. When an artist can frame their own death as poignantly as Bowie did and wrap it up like a package before handing it over to us to let us digest it, you can’t not celebrate it. I’d love to see Radio head win but this is industry people voting so expect a Bowie win.

Prediction: Blackstar- David Bowie

Simplified thoughts on R&B (at least the stuff I’m familiar with, which is not a lot)

Best R&B performance is an interesting category. I saw Ro James perform “Permission” live in early November, and it’s a great song, but you can’t put it in the same category as Cranes in the Sky or Needed Me. The latter is an absolute banger of a track from “Anti” and the former is the standout track from what was by far the most surprising album of the year for me, in Solange’s “A Seat At The Table”. I would love to see Solange get the win, but I think Rihanna is just too respected of an artist to lose in this particular category. I think she takes it.

Prediction for Best R&B Performance: Needed Me- Rihanna

The only song I know from the Best R&B song category is Kiss It Better. I like that song, but it’s not even in my top 5 favorites on Anti and I genuinely don’t know what’s so special about it. It’s become a song I keep on and dance to in the shower but skip anywhere else.

The Best Urban Contemporary Album category is going to be an interesting one. Anderson .Paak’s “Malibu” was a really fantastic album, but it has no chance against Lemonade AND Anti. It’ll be interesting to see how that one plays out….the two queens of the music industry competing without Adele lurking for once. The category is Urban Contemporary, so for that reason I’m going to say that Rihanna takes this one. Anti is still, in my opinion, Rihanna’s best album and I’d love for it to get some recognition as a whole.

Prediction for Best Urban Contemporary Album: ANTI- Rihanna

Rap

Best Rap Performance

  • No Problem- Chance The Rapper ft. Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz
  • Panda- Desiigner
  • Pop Style- Drake ft. The Throne
  • All The Way Up- Fat Joe and Remy Ma ft. French Montana and Infared
  • That Part- ScHoolboy Q ft. Kanye West

I’m going to take Panda out of this right away. I know the song did really well commercially but the fact that this mediocre Future wannabe got nominated for a Grammy blows my mind. Next

I’m taking Pop Style out of this as well. Drake released both Pop Style and One Dance at the same time before Views came out and I was really excited to hear The Throne on there but Jay-Z literally has two lines on it. I’m all for putting a name on something to get it to sell more but two lines?? Really?? You could have had an uncredited vocal and people would have known exactly who it was.

No Problem is by far the best song here and should easily take the win. It’s got this incredible energy about it that the rest of these songs lack….like all of Coloring Book, it’s a rap song with that jam-band feel to it and I can’t get enough of it. Also, again, the Grammys are industry voted awards and Chance is REALLY popular among everyone right now so expect him to walk away with a few.

Prediction: No Problem

Best Rap/Sung Performance

  • Freedom- Beyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar
  • Hotline Bling- Drake
  • Broccoli- D.R.A.M ft. Lil Yachty
  • Ultralight Beam- Kanye West ft. Chance, Kelly Price, Kirk Franklin and The Dream
  • Famous- Kanye West ft. Rihanna

Hotline Bling came out wayyyyy before the cutoff date for last years Grammy, but I guess they wanted to wait until his album was out so he could rack up a huge number of nominations. For that reason, I’m taking it out of consideration. Broccoli is shit, so I’m taking that out as well.

It would be interesting to see Famous win, just because of all the controversy surrounding it this year. I don’t think it should though, because Freedom and Ultralight Beam are significantly better. Freedom, one of the most electric songs of Beyoncé’s career, is the standout from Lemonade assisted of course by Kendrick Lamar, who never fails to perform at the highest level. Ultralight Beam is the standout from Life of Pablo (along with No More Parties in LA) and is my pick to win

Prediction: Ultralight Beam (it’s totally not gonna win but let me dream)

Best Rap Song:

  • “All The Way Up”
  • “Famous”
  • “Ultralight Beam”
  • “No Problem”
  • “Hotline Bling”

As much as I hate to admit it, part of me feels like “Hotline Bling” is going to win this. There would not point in putting a song that’s been out for over a year and a half into these categories if it’s not going to win at least one of them. If the song was any good I really would not care but it’s really just shit, so I’m just gonna have to let it roll of my shoulders. They could, of course, give it to Chance again as well, which would make me very happy, but who knows really. Kanye isn’t going to the ceremony this year so “Famous” has even less of a chance then it did before.

Prediction: “Hotline Bling”

Best Rap Album

  • “Coloring Book” – Chance
  • “and the Anonymous Nobody” – De La Soul
  • “Major Key” – DJ Khaled
  • “Views” – Drake
  • “Blank Face LP” – Schoolboy Q
  • “The Life of Pablo” – Kanye

This is a really strong category, except for the fact that Travis Scott’s “Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight” isn’t included. That was one of my favorite records of the year and I would have gladly traded that for De La Soul’s record, mostly because I didn’t listen to it so I have no clue what it sounds like therefore don’t have an opinion.

“Views” to me is just one song repeated over and over 18 times and I’m still so underwhelmed whenever I go back to it. I know it’s Drake and he can put out whatever the f*ck he wants and everyone will find a way to relate to it for 5 minutes, but I do not think it’s deserving. “Major Key” is good, but Khaled loaded it up with features like he usually does and didn’t even produce some of the tracks himself on there, so I’m taking that out of contention. I enjoyed “Blank Face LP” but not as much as I did “Life of Pablo, but even that didn’t live up to my expectations growing up in the era of 808’s and Heartbreak and MBDTF….those albums are just stellar.

I really think that the Grammys making the change to the rules so that artists like Chance could is good enough reason as to why “Coloring Book” should win, not to mention the fact that the replay factor is still high after almost a year. That being said though, I would not be surprised if they gave it to Drake. One of the most highly anticipated and biggest albums of the year commercially, “Views”, like “25”, blows it competition away sales wise. Again, does that play a huge factor? I think it should. There’s a lot to be said these days when an album actually sells. So yeah, it hurts me to take the award away from Chance, but….

Prediction: “Views” – Drake

Country

Best Country Solo Performance

  • “Love Can Go To Hell” – Brandy Clark
  • “Vice” Miranda Lambert
  • “My Church” – Maren Morris
  • “Church Bells” – Carrie Underwood
  • “Blue Ain’t Your Color” – Keith Urban

This is an interesting category, but I’d say it’s really between Maren and Miranda, although “Love Can Go To Hell” is great as well. “Church Bells” is Carrie barely on autopilot, and I prefer other songs off of Ripcord for Keith. Maren is so young and so talented and she has truly established herself as one of country’s brightest stars over the last year, but “Vice” is Miranda at her best in my opinion. “The Weight of These Wings” is her best album by far, and “Vice” as a lead single was such a pleasant surprise after the mess that was “Something Bad”. So I’ll give this one to Miranda, and Maren can take the next one.

Prediction: “Vice” – Miranda Lambert

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

  • “Different For Girls” – Dierks Bentley ft. Elle King
  • “21 Summer” – Brothers Osborne
  • “Setting The World On Fire” – Kenny Chesney ft. Pink
  • “Jolene” Pentatonix ft. Dolly Parton
  • “Think of You” – Chris Young ft. Cassadee Pope

“Think of You” blows the rest of these songs out of the water. Both Chris Young and Cassadee Pope are fantastic talents, and their voices mesh so well together. “Different For Girls” and “21 Summer” don’t do much for me, and as much as I love Pentatonix their cover of “Jolene” with Dolly was nothing too special. I liked “Setting The World On Fire” much more then I thought I would, but I’d really love to see the award go to Chris and Cassadee

Prediction: “Think of You” – Chris Young and Cassadee Pope

Best Country Song

  • “Blue Ain’t Your Color” – Keith Urban
  • “Die A Happy Man” – Thomas Rhett
  • “Humble and Kind” – Tim McGraw
  • “My Church” – Maren Morris
  • “Vice” – Miranda Lambert

“Die A Happy Man” and “Humble and Kind” are very average. Good, but average. The lack of Chris Stapleton is really showing with those. “Blue Ain’t Your Color” is just another single, and if Miranda wins in the other category, this could definitely be Maren’s for the taking. I mean, it’s gonna win SOMETHING, so it might as well be this.

Prediction: “My Church” – Maren Morris

Best Country Album

  • “Big Day In A Small Town”- Brandy Clark
  • “Full Circle”- Loretta Lynn
  • “Hero”- Maren Morris
  • “A Sailors Guide to Earth”- Sturgill Simpson
  • “Ripcord”- Keith Urban

For some, seeing Loretta Lynn in this category might be a surprise even with her legendary status. “Full Circle” was a great record, highlighted by a beautiful cover of Willie Nelson’s “Always On My Mind”. “Ripcord” is an excellent rebound for Keith after “Fuse” which was, with the exception of Cop Car, absolutely terrible. I don’t see either of those winning, but they’re good additions to the category.

I’d say it’s really between Sturgill and Maren. Sturgill probably isn’t going to win Album of the Year with the stiff competition its up against, and because it’s a really frigin great album, I’d love to see it win here and propel Sturgill to the mainstream. Maren could easily win this too, but it’s really 50/50.

Prediction: “A Sailors Guide to Earth” – Sturgill Simpson

Musical Theatre

Best Musical Theatre Album

  • Bright Star
  • The Color Purple
  • Fiddler On The Roof
  • Kinky Boots
  • Waitress

Congratulations!! The year of Hamilton is over!! Someone else finally gets a chance!! Haha, no honestly, I love Hamilton, but it’s a buzzkill when it comes to awards cause YOU KNOW it was winning everything.

So I wasn’t aware that West End cast recordings were eligible for Grammys. Am I just a dumbass? Like I honestly didn’t know that. I haven’t heard that or the Fiddler album but I’ve heard very good things from those who have seen the show and listened to the album.

I was really bummed I didn’t get to see “Bright Star” when it was on Broadway….I read on it in a playbill and fell in love with it when I checked it out. I think it’s a bit too indie-ish to score the win here, but still, I highly recommend. So it’s down to Waitress and Color Purple, which is very hard for me as it’s my favorite new musical (besides Hamilton) and my favorite revival of the year. I think that because Sara Bareillis is attached to it, Waitress will walk away with it, but you can’t take anything away from Cynthia Erivo and the Color Purple crew….just incredible.

Prediction: Waitress

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For 15 Years Of Memories, Thank You American Idol

Posted on by nwadeblogs_

American Idol was on for 15 years. I’m only 19 so there aren’t many things I can say I’ve been doing for that long, but watching American Idol is one of them. I clearly remember watching the first finale when Kelly won and then going on to watch the show religiously for the next 14 years. It had it’s heyday of course, but I watched with pride even after Simon left when so many people turned it off and switched over to “The Voice” or “X Factor” (how’d that work out for you?). It’s funny to think that a television show could have such an impact on someone’s life, but this show has. For that, I am forever grateful.

———————-

If you had asked me to sing something for you when I was between 6-10 years old, I guarantee the only thing that would come out of me was a Kelly Clarkson song. My voice hadn’t dropped yet so I could sing it in her range (or something close to it, hopefully), and quite honestly, Thankful and Breakaway were two of the first albums I ever owned, and I listened to them repeatedly. Breakaway especially though. I mean c’mon, its GOOD MUSIC. Listen to it now, I dare you. It’s a badass album. So yeah, I was closed-minded. Whatever. I was a kid. It worked out I guess, since I auditioned for and won the Jones Beach edition of the “Kelly-oke” competition that she did on her “Addicted Tour” back in 2006 (so did Demi Lovato apparently….cool little tidbit). My prize was free tickets to what would be my first concert ever, and backstage passes to go meet my idol after the show. I don’t remember what I said or if I said much at all, but I do remember her being such a sweetheart, and so alert when I broke out singing “A Moment Like This” for her. People say that Carrie is THE American Idol, but they’re wrong. Kelly is the reason why the show went on to be as big as it is. Such a special human being.

There’s a term in the pro-wrestling business where you describe a new, typically young wrestler as “green”, which is basically someone with not a lot of experience. You could use that term to describe so many of the kids that came through Idol over the years, which is why I loved it so much. People would come in that audition room with no background in the industry, but were there because they LOVE music and because they thought that had a shot at making sure that music was a part of their life forever. Take Trent Harmon for example. One year ago that kid was working his butt off at his family restaurant and farm, apparently playing music for his cows. Fast forward to this past Thursday and he was named the last winner of American Idol EVER. His life will never be the same. I really think it’s absolutely amazing. You don’t find people like that on “The Voice”. Right now one of the original members of Destiny’s Child (or Girls Tyme back then) is on there, and even though she’s obviously super talented, there’s just something incredible about watching someone go from inexperienced hopeful to a bonafide superstar.

The best part was that you got to watch it happen over a 4-5 month period, so again not to crap on “The Voice” or anything but you actually got time to feel connected to these people and to watch them grow both in personality and natural stage ability. The best thing was when you’d feel genuine emotion when one of your favorites would get eliminated, just because you feel like you went along on the journey with them and helped them get to that position. People like Colton Dixon, Latoya London, Anthony Federov, Kristy Lee Cook,  Chris Richardson and Pia Toscano, just to name a few. I wasn’t worried about any of them post-Idol though, and most if not all of them have been absolutely fine. Of course you have people like Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry and a handful of others who got eliminated earlier then expected but still went on to AMAZING heights. Those are the best ones of course. Those make you feel good.

Of course you only had people like Sanjaya and Lazarro Arbos who’d get a little too far and you’d think “Wait but they suck though why are they still there” but then you’d have to remind yourself that it is a television show and that you watched (and probably laughed at) so many people just like them in the audition episodes. It’s YOUR fault that William Hung got to “perform” on the finale the other night while people like Jena Irene, Devin Velez, Haley Reinhart and many others who deserved to did not. Not to say that some of the auditions weren’t fun to watch because they totally were. I still watch whatever Toni Braxton’s cousins name was, that Mary chick who was gonna quit beauty school if she made it….all the memorable ones.

Then you have those who inspire you musically and then those who just inspire you. Musically, I need to give shout-outs to Joshua Ledet, Angie Miller, Scott McIntyre, Elise Testone, Fantasia, Kris Allen, Jessica Sanchez, Kree Harrison, Philip Phillips, Tamyra Gray, and probably more that I’m forgetting right now. Those are the ones who never had to TRY and connect, they just did. They made me feel what they were feeling, and then some, through the TV, and what a beautiful thing that was. It always made me fall in love with music even more then I already was, and everyone that I mentioned had performance moments that I look back on now whenever I need a reminder.

As far as those who just inspire you go, two come to mind right away: David Archuleta and James Durbin. I could go on forever about both of them, but I’ll try to keep it short. You talk about connecting, here you have two guys who had their own issues, but never asked for pity or special treatment because of them. Instead, they translated whatever feelings and emotions they were going through into their music in such a beautiful and memorable way. Not to mention they are EASILY two of the most talented people to EVER come off the show. I know some people weren’t too high on James, but everyone and their mother absolutely loved David. He was only 16 at the time and you’d never expect a voice as powerful and soulful as it is to come out of him, especially with his demeanor which has always been so humble and youthful. I’ve seen him live in concert 4 times and I’m still so AWED by him…he’s just incredible. I got to meet him once too and he was seriously the nicest person ever even though I was standing there bawling in front of him. As for James, I was absolutely crushed when he was eliminated and I almost stopped watching the show because of it just because he was so invested in what he was doing on-stage and he always seemed to shine so bright up there. Not to mention he brought something totally new to the table, in terms of music and a type of energy we’d never seen before. I still support him and his music today and I think I always will. I’m just really thankful for both of them because they taught me that as long as you believe in yourself and in God, you can overcome anything and make any dream you have come true if you work hard and never lose faith in yourself. I can’t think of anything more that anyone could ever need.

Obviously the music was important….I mean that’s what the show is about. Idol introduced me to so many artists, songs and styles of music I would have never found on my own, especially when I was younger. Also, it was just so fun to see people change up songs to go with what they can do too. Melinda Doolittle’s “Have A Nice Day”, Scotty McCreery’s “You Got A Friend”, Kris Allen’s “Heartless” and so many more. Idol was known for that. Those moments were magic.

When I finally got old enough to audition I didn’t waste any time. I went at 16. I’d been saying for years that it was my dream to audition and be on it and whatever, but even though I never made it past that first cattle call day, I still feel so good about myself for just going and DOING it. I got to go  and surround myself with so many incredible musicians from so many different backgrounds and lifestyles and it was just such an uplifting and inspiring atmosphere. I did it at Gillette Stadium in Boston and at Nassau Coliseum in New York and I will never forget those days for the rest of my life. I think about them all the time and I just can never stop smiling.

So yeah, this is where it gets sappy. American Idol took a 5 year old kid from suburbia Long Island and gave him a dream, a dream that he will probably hold onto for the rest of his life. That kid probably didn’t even know what a dream was yet, but at that moment he knew that all he wanted to do for the rest of his life was to sing. To perform. To inspire other people to follow their dreams like he saw Kelly Clarkson and countless other people do over the years. I am that kid, and even though I’ve grown up, I still got that wash of inspiration every time a winner was announced. Every time someone would get up there and have an “Idol Moment” that would make the audience stand up and cheer for what felt like hours. I never lost that. 15 years of it and I never once felt any of it any less then I did when I was 5. It could have gone on for 15 more years and I would have felt the same way. I’m sure it’ll be back, and I’ll probably watch it, but the original incarnation of the show was and is so special to me. It gave me so much inspiration and so much purpose and nothing I can say will ever do it its full justice, but thank you American Idol. Thank you.

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So many people worked to make this show the machine it has been for 15 years, and even though I probably won’t get all of them, I need to send out to some individual-ish thank you’s to the ones that stand out.

  • To the “original” 4: Simon, Paula, Randy and Ryan. For the first 7 seasons (well really from 2 to 7) it was the four of you as the backbone of this show. You all offered something so unique to it, and the chemistry you had made it so much fun to watch. You were the definition of the “dream team”, and I wish could have sang for all of you. God bless.
  • To Simon Fuller, Nigel Lythgoe and the rest of the big executives: Thank you for coming up with this concept and bringing it into our homes for 15 years. Sometimes it got a little “producer-decision heavy” and it felt like more of what you guys wanted then what America wanted, but I like to think you always had the shows best interests at heart.
  • To Michael Orland, Ricky Minor and The Band and all the long-term vocal coaches: all of you were the reason why so many of those magical moments happened on stage. You are all so beyond talented and are the catalyst for what every musician should aspire to be.
  • To the producers and the crew: It’s always the people behind the scenes who work the hardest. I’ve gone to auditions so I was able to see what you all do, and you deserve so much credit. Without you, there is no show.
  • To the bloggers: To the ones who were always fair and accurate, I thank you. Special shout-out to Michael Slezak and Melinda Doolittle over at TVLine.com. Thank you for expressing everything the fans have ever felt about the show in a comedic yet analytical way, whether it was in “Idoloonies”, “Idology” or “Reality Check”. I always tell you how much I look forward to it and love it, and I truly mean it. I will always be a fan and will always be proud to be a part of the Idoloonie nation. Thanks guys.
  • To ALL the contestants: Thank you for sharing your talent and your lives with us for so long. It takes a lot to get up there and do what you did under the microscope that you did it, so thank you for doing it with such grace. It was always so inspiring to see.

 

Favorite Performances

10. Falling Slowly- Lee Dewyze and Crystal Bowersox

9. Somewhere Over The Rainbow- Katharine McPhee

8. Bennie and the Jets- Haley Reinhart (exit performance)

7. Mad World- Adam Lambert

6. Bridge Over Troubled Water- Clay Aiken

5. Volcano- Philip Phillips

4. When A Man Loves A Women- Joshua Ledet

3. Summertime- Fantasia Barrino

2. Angels- David Archuleta

1. A Moment Like This- Kelly Clarkson

 

AMERICAN IDOL: Logo 2009. CR: FOX

AMERICAN IDOL: Logo 2009. CR: FOX