Kris Allen and Adam Lambert
Although I normally don't follow
American Idol, I've lately become intrigued by the eventual outcome of season 8. Based on what I'd been reading, it sounded like Adam Lambert had the A.I. crown sewn up tighter than those pants he likes to wear. For most of this season, pretty much everything I've heard in relation to the contestants has been about Adam. Hell, I didn't even know the name of the other finalist (Kris Allen) until I read the recent
Entertainment Weekly cover story about Adam.
Once I read the EW article, I began to think that maybe it isn't a guarantee that Adam will take the top prize. This is because the writer of the article posed the following question: can an openly gay contestant win
American Idol? The thought that a gay contestant couldn't win American Idol had never occurred to me, but the writer could be on to something. Having said that, both the writer and I realize that Adam hasn't officially come out (even though he has admitted that the photos of him kissing another man are real). Some may say, "duh, of course he's gay!" However, until he confirms that he is or isn't, all we can really do is speculate.
Of course, Adam's assumed sexuality shouldn't matter; but we know it does to some people. The thing is, will it matter to enough voters to cause Adam to lose? The question posed by the EW writer makes me now wonder about Clay Aiken's surprising (to me anyways) loss to Ruben Studdard during season 2. Don't get me wrong, I think Ruben was a deserving winner. However, all the buzz I was hearing led me to believe that Clay had the title in the bag. Since I don't remember, I'm depending on you longtime A.I. fans to answer a couple of questions for me. Were there rumors about Clay's sexuality when he was a contestant on A.I? If so, do you think the rumors kept him from winning?
Anyway, I'm looking forward to finding out how the season finale of A.I. plays out. For the record, I think Adam is going to win. Even though I feel that he fucked up Steppenwolf's biker anthem
Born To Be Wild, I'm going with the buzz factor that surrounds him. Plus, his slowed down rendition of Tears For Fears'
Mad World was superb. Even if Kris Allen does prevail, it may not have anything to do with viewers reluctant to vote for an assumed gay contestant. The EW writer also raised an interesting point when he said that voters generally prefer that A.I. contestants be humble (which could play in Kris' favor).
Do you think it's a lock that Adam Lambert will be crowned "American Idol"? If he loses, will it be due to his assumed sexuality or because of the "humble Kris" factor?
For awhile now, I have been meaning to bring back a feature that I used to do regularly on my blog... the retro commercial. Since I haven't done this feature since last fall, I thought I'd return with a vengeance and bring you not one commercial, but six!!
