And the Winner Is...

Welcome back to Get Real! It's a week of finales and tonight is no exception. First up, the final performances of American Idol.Has anyone else noticed that when Ryan Seacrest opens the show he says “This is American Idol” the same way every single week?! No variety, never! It’s always “This is American Idol”. Always! Ugh, he’s so annoying! Good thing we have the judges to take our minds away from him.

PS. Is anyone else excited for the special premiere of Glee?! I so am!

And the battle begins between the so-called “Rock God” Adam Lambert and the guy-next-door Kris Allen. The two are so opposite in their sounds it’s hard to predict who America will vote for. On the one hand, there’s Adam Lambert who is definitely a rock diva and could sell out concerts. And then you have Kris who is the new pop-folk artist who can do wonders with his acoustic guitar.

Ever wonder what Adam was like as a child? Well, Fox decided to tell you. How nice. Apparently he was a screamer and was a noisy kid. His first performance? Perhaps his least noisy performance to date: “Mad World”. Complete with a fog machine and long black trench, Adam made his way to center stage in a very “On My Own” from Les Misèrables kind of way. But beyond that, why are the top two singing songs we’ve already heard?! I already heard you sing this before, why do I want to hear it again? But since I am almost always wrong with Adam, the judges were ga-ga for his song choice. However, thankfully, Simon is on my side about the theatricalness of it.

Did anyone catch a glimpse of Paula? Well, how could you miss her oompa-loompa tan! But she was surprisingly less made up and she looked quite beautiful and normal tonight. Now she just needs to lose the tan and we will finally have a normal Paula back!

So, Kris’s childhood? He hated to sing for his family and made them pay him to perform for them. Now, he gives it out for free for America. Kris decided to go with “Ain’t No Sunshine” for his own choice. The song surprisingly fits his voice well and him sitting behind a piano gives a good preview of what his concerts will be like. I mean, if John Mayer can sell out crowds, then Kris definitely can cause he’s just as talented and cuter, in my opinion. I am surprised though that he didn’t choose “Falling Slowly” since that was one of his best performances of the season and the judges felt that was a turning point for him. And isn’t his wife just the cutest?!

Surprise #1 of the night – Simon declares Kris the winner of Round 1. And this leads to why I think Adam shouldn’t win. Kris could easily win and be successful as a solo artist. Adam, however, cannot achieve this, in my opinion. Adam needs to benefit from American Idol the same way that Chris Daughtry did – take it for what it is, be eliminated, then form a band and become popular (to some people!). Adam is clearly meant to be the front-man of a rock band. He has the voice and the image for it. And I can’t see anyone making a solo rock album and it being popular. But if he had a band with him then I think he would do much better. I feel that Adam is also someone who will be better to watch live than to listen to on the radio in your car. Who’s single would I want to buy? Kris’s single and Adam’s band’s single. Who would I want to listen to on my iPod? Kris and not Adam’s screeching. And I am by no means averse to rock music so this is not a rock-hater making these comments. But, as mentioned before, since I am almost always wrong about Adam, he will probably win and be super successful on his own. Ugh.

Creator Simon Fuller chose “Change Is Gonna Come” for Adam to sing as his second performance. We got back the good old wailing Adam. His range and performance ability is impeccable and impressive. I just wish I was listening to Matt Giraud’s falsetto instead of Adam’s. It was a good performance but I don’t think it was his best. Ugh, and Kara and Paula said it was his best! Seriously?! Can I be that wrong?! I fully admit that there was nothing wrong vocally with his performance and he performed it well, too, but his best?!

Kris came out with his guitar and sang “What’s Going On” and channeled his inner Jason Mraz. The touch of the band around him with other guitars and bongos was a nice touch. He sang the song very well, though I don’t think it was his best performance. It was a little “college guy with a guitar in a coffee house” and I think Simon and Randy agreed. This makes me a little sad as I now really want Kris to win.

Round 2 clearly went to Adam and now it’s tied up. So, whomever does better in Round 3 will come away as the victor. And what is in store for Round 3? Both Adam and Kris are set to sing the same song which will be packaged and produced as the first single for the winner. And newest judge Kara Dio Guardi co-wrote the song. Hmm, I wonder if that means there is any sort of favoritism towards either on the contests in terms of the arrangement.

The song is called “No Boundaries” and Adam was up first to debut it. From his look, I could tell that he would add some sort of rock edge to it. And, what is this? I feel like this is the first time Adam has been nervous! He seems a little unsure of his performance. Probably because this song really means more than any other one because this song will be his song and his single so if he bombs then there goes his single! Or he will just have a really crappy first single. The song is actually very fitting for the finale, albeit a little cliché in some of the lyrics. Randy was not a huge fan and neither Kara, Paula, nor Simon actually commented on his performance but just said that he was great and that he will do great things. Basically, they just wanted to leave him on a good note.

I looked forward to hearing Kris sing the same song to determine which of the two I felt did better. Ok, this may be a little unfair because I feel like the arrangement of the song is better suited to Kris’s voice and style of music so he was given a little bit of an edge on this. I do wish that he could have used his guitar or piano because it could have been very powerful. Randy thought that Kris’s voice was better suited to the song and Kara shamefully admitted that the song was too high for him. I feel bad that this was his last performance because the key was not the best for him.

Overall, I don’t know if I can say who will win based on their performances tonight. Neither Adam nor Kris blew me away with the last performance but I think that whichever one wins should tweak the arrangement a bit to better suit their own styles and voices.

Predictions: I think Adam will win even though I want Kris to win.

Now, onto the Dancing With The Stars finale and the announcement of the winner of the coveted mirror ball trophy!

Madam of the House of Ga Ga, miss Lady Ga Ga herself sang her hit single poker face. I love this girl. She is crazy and insane and has some super euphemistic lyrics to her songs but she knows how to perform! And she sounds the same live as she does on the radio which always gets kudos from me.

Filling up the majority of the two hours (really, ABC?!) was the “best” performance from all of the eliminated celebrities. First was Belinda Carlisle with the Samba, followed by Denise Richards doing the Quick Step, and then Holly Madison doing the Samba.

WAIT, halt! Did Tom just say that Samantha Harris is going to be Roxy Hart in Chicago on Broadway?! So, all I need to do to get on Broadway is to be a really bad backstage correspondent on DWTS!? Where do I sign-up??

Aww, the Woz returned to dance the Quick Step. This was no waste of time cause he’s just too cute! Then came the newly bald David Alan Grier with the Viennese Waltz. And then, Steve-O with the Fox Trot. I was surprised to see how well he handled this whole experience and that he seems to have matured some from his Jackass days.

Then they revealed the newest pro for next season. Blah, blah, on with the show!

Lawrence Taylor took to the dance floor next with the jive. The after dance interview was incredibly awkward and I’m glad I didn’t hear everything that was said. Country cutie Chuck Wicks then flared and wriggled the Samba with girlfriend and partner Julianne Hough.

Season 7 first-eliminated celebrity Jeffrey Ross came out to roast the top three dancers, judges, and hosts. I do love roasts and this was funny but also awkward and I wasn’t always sure when to laugh. It was cute though to see how protective the pros were over their celebrities when they got roasted.

Then fan-fave Lil’ Kim performed her exciting and riveting Jailhouse Rock dance. It’s sad to think that if she hadn’t been eliminated when she was, she could actually be in the finals. Ty and Chelsie reprised their Lindy Hop which was the first time that Ty really proved himself to be a ‘dancer.’

Shawn was first to dance the “final dance” and graced us again with their Cha Cha. Last time Shawn received a 28/30 and she is hoping to get another perfect 30. Her personality was definitely showing through more here than the first time and she seems more comfortable with the dance and with Mark than ever before. Fingers crossed for her finals score! And it is…PERFECT 30!! Hooray!

Melissa came out for her slinky Samba again. It’s cute to see how excited she is to be in the finals and how shocked she is to see how America has rallied her after her disastrous end on The Bachelor. And I love, love, LOVE that her parents have been in the audience every week to watch her even though they wouldn’t appear on The Bachelor. And it’s wonderful to see Tony so excited as well because he has not had the best luck with partners since Stacey in Season 2. Naturally, she once again received a perfect 30!

Last, but not least, was Gilles and his first perfect scoring dance, the Argentine Tango. It was definitely just as sexy and passionate as ever. He was smart to choose once his Latin dances as this is where he excels in the ballroom. The judges all praised him and basically named him the winner right there. Gilles was becoming so emotional and it was clear that he was invested in this competition not just for the “fame” and the trophy. He seemed to have a personal investment in it. Along with Shawn and Melissa, Gilles got a perfect 30!

Lady Ga Ga was back on stage to perform her newest single “Lovegame.” I remember first seeing her perform at Miss Universe last year and thinking that she would never make it or be popular in America. And I must say that I am glad that I was wrong because she is such a character and performer.

And landing in Third Place is…Melissa & Tony. I didn’t think Melissa would win but I’m glad she made it as far as she did. So, as expected, the race was down the Shawn and Gilles.

And the winner is…SHAWN & MARK!!! Yay! And just less than %1 between Shawn and Gilles, wow! I almost feel a little bad that Gilles didn’t win because you know he wanted it so bad but I loved Shawn & Mark so I’m so happy they won! Eek :)

Wow, what a night. Up next on Get Real, a new episode of Make Me A Supermodel and the final results of American Idol! Stay tuned :)