|
|
AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 8 & 9 - S8 LIVE TOUR & S9 AUDITIONS
[Copy link]
|
|
|
ahad nih (err pagi monday kiter)...dorang nye first konsert ek.........sonok lak aku, tak sabar nak nengok part adam jer tapi kalo danny ader bukak2 baju, nak gak nengok |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
17# kulit
takleh ke nak favourite...ntah...i dah lama tak guna explorer...i prefer firefox. firefox nih senang, just tekan bookmark abeh citer |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
http://www.examiner.com/x-3383-P ... cks-off-in-Portland
Amy Carrier
Portland Rose Garden Examiner
American Idols Live! Tour Kicks off in Portland
July 2, 4:37 PM
126 comments
American Idol Top 10
The stage is being built, the musicians are rehearsing, the Adam Lambert fan mail is piling in, and the vibe at the arena is ever-changing since the arrival of the Idols!
The Idols are kicking off their American Idols Live! 2009 Tour at the Rose Garden. Portland fans will have the opportunity to watch their favorite Idols perform live in concert, as the top 10 contestants from American Idol season 8 hit the stage.
Highly publicized Adam Lambert will be headlining much of the Idol tour along with, Allison Iraheta, Anoop Desai, Danny Gokey, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds, Matt Giraud, Megan Joy, Michael Sarver and Scott MacIntyre as they embark on the North American tour, which launches in Portland, OR at the Rose Garden on July 5th, 2009.
From the covers of Entertainment Weekly to Rolling Stone, Lambert has captivated audiences of all ages since taking second place in the Idol final. Even Idol judge Simon Cowell commented on Lambert’s talent saying, “The whole idea is to find a worldwide star, and I think we found that with you.”
Fans have already begun to circle the arena in hopes of catching a glimpse of the "Idols." However never fear Idol fans, tickets are still available and can be purchased at the Rose Quarter Box Office (M-F 10a-5p), all participating Safeway/ Tickets West outlets, by calling 877.789.ROSE (7673), or at ComcastTIX.com. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
danny emsem kat gambar ngan kradison tuh kan.........dah cam kris versi besar tinggi sikit lak |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
takder lagi ke Kradam punyer show??? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[quote name='RoseRed' date='Jul 6th 2009, 2:42 PM' post='20493357']
Confession - I haven't read the thread - I just got home from the Portland show so I'm giving you my raw impressions.
I literally decided at 7pm tonight to go to the show. I left my house at 7:15, was parked and in the stadium by 7:40 and seated in time to see Lil, Anoop, and Matt. They were all awesome. Anoop could be a real hottie if he would grow his hair long. Matt really rocked out on the piano. Lil looked beautiful and sounded great.
At the box office I accidentally asked for Adam Lambert tickets and the girl in the booth cracked up laughing.
On the way in, I stopped for a glass of wine, and I asked the woman next to me who was singing - she said "that scott guy - the adam show doesn't start for another hour or so".
I was seated pretty close to the stage, but on the side, about 20 rows up.
Allison blew the roof off the place. She was so freaking awesome. I love her.
Gokey was ok for the first couple of songs - he did a good job with PYT, but then he got boring.
Then it was Adam. The stadium went insane. Insane!! He's so electrifying in person. WLL, followed by Starlight, which was incredibly beautiful - he stayed still for the performane, then Mad World, then Slow Ride, and finally he took off the jacket and it was just him and his biceps and his gyrating and Bowie, and I totally died and went to heaven. Gahhh
Kris was good, Heartless, and Hey Jude were very good, but goodness the energy drained out of there when Adam left the stage. He and Kris came up through the riser for Don't Stop Believin, and Adam had lots of shiny glittery stuff on his vest and boots and jeans, but the real show was over when his solo was done.
Great crowd, great show, Adam was clearly the star (sorry kris). The acoustics weren't that great, it was less about Adam the singer, than Adam the hot sexy performer.
[/quote] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here's a DETAILED description of the show by USA Today.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/
QUOTE
The lights go down, and Michael Sarver's up first
Tonight's event begins with a video from the Ford Fusion people -- by texting a message to a certain number, fans at the Rose Garden here in Portland can win passes to a backstage meet 'n' greet after the show. After that, we've got the best of the Ford music videos -- We Will Rock You, Energy, Mixed Up.
Then the lights go down and blue lights shoots back and forth across the five video screens, including the massive 42-foot backdrop behind centerstage. Low bass frequencies pulse through the hall. The light turns red, then begins to strobe. The seven-piece band, which includes two background singers, take their place, and the countdown begins (Adam gets the biggest applause as each contestant's face is shown). After the coundtown, the band kicks into the American Idol theme, and this ... is ... American Idols Live.
Michael Sarver's up first, at Number 10. The guitarist throws off a big riff, and Michael launches into Gavin DeGraw's I Just Want a Girl. He's wearing a white jacket, with black shirt and pants, and he looks like he knows what he's doing on this song a lot more than he did the night he sang it on the show. As he struts to the edge of the stage, several women -- it's mostly women and teen/pre-teen girls in this crowd, only a few boys and men along as dates -- rise to their feet.
"What's up, Portlaaaaand?" Michael yells to the rafters. "Welcome to American Idols Live 2009. Are you pumped?" They are. "We're so excited to be here. We thank you for being here, and we hope you've loved everything that you've seen." Michael declares his love for his wife, Tiffany, as he intros his second song, Ne-Yo's Closer. With a little effort, and the assistance of a thunderous, steady bass-drum beat, Michael gets most of the audience clapping with him, but only a few people -- none of them in the floor seats -- stay on their feet. Both songs play to Michael's love of R&B, but the vocal limitations that knocked him out in the 10th spot are still in evidence.
Number Nine: Megan Joy
Megan Joy takes the stage in a short, tight hot pink dress, with stiletto heels to match. Pink's her color scheme -- it dominates the lighting and video images, as well.
Megan starts on stage left behind a mike stand -- remember the Corkery Corkscrew? -- but she removes the microphone after the first chorus of Corrine Bailey Rae's Put Your Records On and begins to walk the stage, though the heels and that tight dress limit her movement. She looks even better now than she did on the show, and this sort of retro-soul-pop suits the kind of artist she'd like to be (even though she doesn't quite have the chops that, say, Rae does). She's definitely a visually appealing act, though.
"Holy guacamole, everybody!" she says. "I'm so happy to be here!" She's glad Michael's in love, but she dedicates her next song, Amy Winehouse's Tears Dry on Their Own to everybody who's feeling "gypped in love." Vocally, she's better than Winehouse at her worst, but not as good as Winehouse at her best -- think of her as a wholesomely pink alternative to Winehouse's tatted-up, strung-out persona.
Number Eight: Scott MacIntyre
Scott MacIntyre rises from a lift in center stage. He's wearing a black jacket (leather? looks that way from here) and pants, sitting behind a grand piano. He sings Bend & Break by Keane -- the kind of song he says that indicates the direction his original music is taking. The video screens are lit up with geometric strips in warm colors -- reds, yellows, oranges. He's a little weak in his upper register -- he always has been -- but he's a convincing piano-popster. This kind of upbeat, rhythmic music is right up his alley.
He gets up from the piano (though he keeps a hand running gently along the top of the instruments) and makes a joke about "the high-five heard around the world." "That's happened to me my whole life," he says. "People wave to me from across the room -- I don't see them." He sits back down and starts into Vanessa Carlton's A Thousand Miles, its ringing piano intro accompanied by Koyaanisqatsi-like video of traffic images. The crowd's singing a long a little bit, just barely loud enough to hear with the music. The piano parts get great response -- and he gets much bigger applause at the end than either of the two previous acts.
Number Seven: Lil Rounds
Lil comes on stage looking great -- her hair's straight, and she's wearing solid black with lots of sparkles on it. The first song's a Mary J. Blige medley -- Be Without You going into Just Fine. She sings, "Puts your hands up," and everybody responds, though almost everybody's still sitting down.
Second song is Alicia Keys' No One. She's still a long ways from being an artist of Keys' (or Blige's) caliber, but she's doing well, getting the audience to sing along on the "oh-oh-oh-oh-ohs."
Lil's the first of the Idols to get more than two songs. She gives a shout-out to the tour's choreographer, JaQuel Knight, who co-choreographed Beyoncé's Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It). And that's the song she's got in mind, suddenly she's doing some simplified J-stepping across the stage. The front row gets on its feet -- for the first time since the show started. Lil looks like she's having the time of her life -- if she'd been able to pull off this kind of performance during the season, she'd have lasted another week or two. Way to go, JaQuel.
It's great to see Lil out of the judges' critical glare. She looks so much more comfortable and confident -- and, ironically, more like the kind of artist Simon Cowell & Company originally envisioned her becoming. She just might end up being the biggest surprise of the 10.
Number Six: Anoop Desai
Anoop Desai takes the stage to video images of blue skies and fluffy clouds -- he's going to play up his balladeer side. Like Scott, he comes up on the lift, sitting on a stool, wearing a dark vest, untucked button-down shirt with rolled-up sleeves and light pants, singing the Elvis Presley/Willie Nelson hit You Were Always on My Mind. He's clearly spent some more time thinking about the arrangement -- the instrumental side stays pretty simple, but he takes more, and smarter, liberties with the melody, and the crowd responds to them appreciatively.
Anoop pulls his glasses from his vest pocket, so he can "get a better look" at the crowd, and thanks the audience for making the first night of the tour such a great one. He goes for a more contemporary sound with his second ballad, Ne-Yo's Mad, as giant droplets of water splash on the video screens behind him.
His show closer is exactly what you'd expect -- Bobby Brown's My Prerogative, his fallback song on Idol. Lil has apparently primed the crowd -- they're more willing to get up for Anoop, though the involvement remains limited to the first few row and scattered young women throughout the hall. After he's done, the hall if filled with cheers of "Anooooop!" So far, the crowd has responded a little bit better for each successive performer -- clearly, the voting, to this point at least, was no fluke.
Number Five: Matt Giraud
Remember what I said about the crowd reacting more strongly to each successive Idol? Double that for Matt Giraud, who has the crowd immediately on its feet from the first lines of Hard to Handle, a hit for both Otis Redding and the Black Crowes. And they ought to be responding: With its flashing lights that make me think of Elvis Presley's '68 comeback special for no reason that I can put my finger on, and Matt's hard-soul shouting, it's easily the best performance of the night so far. And when the piano comes out of the stage and Matt attacks it like a madman, that's just a bonus. It's the kind of moment you always knew he had in him but he never had a chance to show on Idol (this show, by the way, seems to be full of those kind of moments -- it's one of the best things about it so far).
As he introduces Georgia on My Mind, he talks about how, not so long ago, he was singing just that kind of song in hotel lounges. And his performance has just a little too much of the hotel lounge left in it. The crowd loves it, but they're responding more to the song (and memories of Ray Charles' rendition of it) than they are to Matt's performance. They cheer for the song but not for the liberties Matt takes with with the melody (as opposed to how they responded to Anoop's version of Always on My Mind). It's not bad, but it's a big come-down from the previous song (and Matt notes it -- "Y'all are a little too quiet out there," he says, pointedly).
Matt may know that soulful stuff like Hard to Handle works well for him, but he just can't give up the moody piano-rock numbers. His third choice is The Fray's You Found Me, and he's just about lost all of the momentum he had when he took the stage. Choices like this were his fatal flaw on the show, and they're his downfall now, too. He leaves the stage to polite applause -- nothing approaching the level of what greeted him.
It's worth noting here that Matt's the first act of the night to dip heavily into the really old material (okay, Anoop did Always on My Mind, but that was just one song). I'm guessing that this concert tour has its Idols leaning more heavily toward contemporary material (at least to this point in the night) than they hae in previous years. That's a good thing, I think. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The first group numbers
We've almost reach the halfway point, and it's time for the first group production. Megan Joy takes the stage with Can't Take My Eyes Off of You, then Lil sings the second verse, also solo, with a completely different feel. Then Megan and Lil sings one of the choruses together.
Piano men Scott and Matt rise from the center of the stage, to Billy Joel's Tell Her About It. Matt takes the first verse, Scott the second. It's the kind of duelling-piano performance that just had no place in American Idol's television template (but apparently took place often in the bottom floor of the Idol mansion).
Now Michael's back, wearing a classy black suit and singing Elvis Presley's Suspicious Minds. After a quick run through that song, Anoop emerges from the back of the stage, singing the first few notes of the Four Seasons' 1967 hit Beggin' (recently revived by Norwegian duo Madcon). The Idol men are taking the Four Seasons route, though, lined up across the front of the stage in their suits -- Matt, then Scott, then Michael, then Anoop, as black-and-white patterns flash on the video screen behind them. It's a beautifully retro performance -- modernized quickly when Lil ememrges with the Madcon rap and is joined by Anoop. Megan's back, sounding more like Amy Winehouse than she did when she was singing her Winehouse song.
Beggin' is a brillant closer for the first half, a peformance that blends the old-school pop that's so much a part of the Idol repertoire with the new-school approach of the current hit version. Whoever came up with that number deserves some serious congratulations.
Number Four: Allison Iraheta
Allison Iraheta takes the stage with Pink's So What to start the second half. Her hair just about matches the Spin-Art colors on the video screen behind her -- it's not just red, it's pink and blue and green, too.
She's claiming the rocker-chick look from the start, with her black outfit and white guitar, her hair blowing from fans on the stage floor. And this time, the entire floor of the venue is on its feet -- and she's not going to let them sit down during her second number, the Janis Joplin/Garnet Mimms classic Cry Baby.
Cry Baby, like Me and Bobby McGee, is an incredibly difficult for female singers to make work, because it's so closely associated with Joplin. No matter how hard she's singing, Allison just doesn't project the Joplin vibe, and that's to her benefit. Instead, she manages to combine a youthful exuberance (there's definitely something reminiscent of Miley Cyrus going on) with convincing rock chops and great vocals. She's sounds hard but not ragged, tough but not overworn. It's a great performance.
But, unlike Matt, who let loose of the crowd, Allison's not going to let go of them. She sets up Danny, Adam and Kris (once again, Adam gets the biggest response), then goes into the Heart song you knew had to happen. It's Barracuda.
I have to admit that I haven't always seen what others saw in Allison. I wondered if the rocker-girl thing was a little too narrow. But she's totally working the stage, and she has sounded fantastic on every song. If you liked her on the show, you're going to love her live. And if she gets the right material, she will be a star.
Number Three: Danny Gokey
Danny Gokey's intro sets him up as some sort of Love Man, and he starts with one of his strongest songs from the season, Michael Jackson's P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing). He engages the crowd -- which never set down after Allison was done -- in a call-and-response, and they're right with him.
The second song, Santana's Maria Maria, shows a side of Danny I had hoped he'd show during the season. Danny's wife, Sophia, loved Latin music, and I always suspected he had some of that rhythm in him. I don't know why it never came out during the season -- maybe the themes just didn't fall right for him -- but it's nice to see it come out here. And -- surprise, surprise -- he whips off his jacket and proceeds to show that he's been working on his dancing. He's no Ricky Martin, but he doesn't look hapless like he occasionally did on the show. And the audience eats it up. Always good to reward someone who's clearly put in some effort.
Third song is one he did on the show -- Rascal Flatt's What Hurts the Most. It gives some of the audience a break -- they're sitting down, but they've been up for five songs now, and this is a ballad -- but they're still audibly engaged, singing along and cheering loudly at the end of the choruses.
Danny's the first singer to say much more than a variant on "How's it goin', Portland!" "Setting up his last song, he talks about losing his wife -- one year ago in four days -- and says "Don't be defined by any tragedy, don't be defined by any mistake. ... It comes down to a choice. ... If you ain't gonna be defined by anything in your past, why don't you make some noise?" Maybe he's equal parts Love Man and Preacher Man, but, by now, the crowd is back on its feet for a second Rascal Flatts song, My Wish. (Think he's got Nashville on his mind? Yeah, me, too.)
To this point, I would have said that the voters' decisions and the show's audience responded almost exactly in direct proporation to each other. You could make an argument that Allison should've taken the third spot instead of Danny, but it'd be a close argument -- and there'd be a lot of people here (all of them waving their arms, their cell phones and their glo-sticks at the moment) who might disagree with you. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number Two: Adam Lambert
Adam Lambert finished second? You couldn't tell it from this crowd, which greets the explosive sounds and strobing lights with shrieks. Adam kicks off his set with Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love, and the stage fills with smoke. He's wearing a blue-and-black metallic-looking studded jacket that comes down to his knees, along with a sleeveless black T-shirt and black pants. The crowd may have been dancing for Allison and Danny -- for Adam, they're screaming. Suddenly we've gone from the world of AC pop into a real rock show.
Second song is Muse's Starlight, and the six disco balls hanging above the stage turns the Rose Garden into a planetarium. It's Adam's typically impressive song choice -- for the arrangement, imagine Erasure's Andy Bell fronting the Sisters of Mercy -- and he sings it flawlessly, beautifully, slipping in and out of falsetto. (I wonder if this begins to approach what his album will sound like -- you wouldn't hear me complaining if it did.) Matt's version of Hard to Handle was pretty cool, but this is the first of the new numbers I'd lay down cash money to hear again.
Low-level fog creeps in, as Adam takes a seat on a stool to sing the Tears for Fears/Gary Jules song Mad World. The crowd is still on its feet, and they've brought out their cameras -- you could practically read in here, the flashes are so steady. Some people are singing along; most of them just look entranced.
The guitarist cranks out the opening chords to Slow Ride start, and the audience knows what's coming -- or, rather, who. Allison Iraheta walks on stage, and the place goes ballistic.
Now, he's doing the David Bowie medley he promised, which starts with Life on Mars (and the big red planet is behind him on the video screen). As he slides into Fame, the crowd shrieks again, but it's not for the song: Adam has shed his jacket, revealing the sleeveless T underneath. He's obviously been working with JaQuel Knight on choreography, too; he's moving lithely across the stage in a way Idol viewers never saw. The third number, Let's Dance, assumes a pulsing, throbbing club rhythm under his command, barely resembling the pseudo-horn-band arrangement of Bowie's original.
He finishes, then descends on the center-stage lift.
Your American Idol: Kris Allen
Kris Allen gets a big build-up on the video screens. The stage hands need the time, because they're setting up a smaller, more intimate environment for him on the stage. A kabuki-drop curtain goes down behind him, and one of the lighting rigs descends from the rafters, while Kris comes up on the lift with his acoustic guitar. It takes a moment for everything to settle into place, but the girls in the audience don't mind: They fill the pause with their screams of delight.
When Kris finally sings, it's his version of Kanye West's Heartless. The crowd is into it, though nothing like they were with Adam. Kris' career, it seems, will live and die on his songs and their arrangements. Adam, on the other hand, will be able to rely just as much on the reputation of his live performances.
Next up, it's No Boundaries, but it's not getting anywhere near the level of reaction that Heartless did. In fact, people are starting to sit down. It's just inexcusable that the Idol winner has to include a song that elicits that kind of reaction. It's a set killer. I'd heard the studio version of No Boundaries just enough since the Idol season ended that I'd almost decided it was benign, but Kris has to be royally ticked that he's been shackled to this ball and chain.
Third song is also from the show: Bill Withers' Ain't No Sunshine, followed by Matchbox 20's Bright Lights. Kris is holding his own, considering how much of a bring-down No Boundaries was, but he's going to need some big hits of his own if he ever hopes to fill halls this size again. Musically, his brand of pop seems like it might be better suited to smaller halls, like theaters in the 2,500 to 5,000-seat range. During Bright Lights, he leaves the piano and grabs an electric guitar. The audience is thankful and begins to stand again -- but maybe just because he's farther back on the stage and it's harder to see him. Regardless, the energy level in the hall starts to rise again.
"Has everybody got their lighters out?" he asks. Well, a few of them do. Most of them have cellphones. Or glo-sticks. They wave them happily anyway for the Beatles' Hey Jude. Kris gets two sets of "na-na-na-nas" on his own, then he gets the audience to sing along -- they're all with him. Several of the Idols return stage to finish, and that brings the remaining few sitters in the crowd. It's a big love fest -- and, more than 40 years after its release, the simple chorus of Hey Jude remains undeniable.
As are the opening piano chords of Journey's Don't Stop Believing, and Matt and Scott are playing them as they rise out of the stage again behind their pianos. It's the cheesiest moment of the night, but it's effective, and the song's strange song structure is oddly suited for an Idol group sing, since the chorus doesn't come in until the very end of the song, giving Adam and Kris, who left the stage after Hey Jude, a perfect spot to return to maximum screamage. The Idols spread out around the edge of the stage for a chorus of Steam's Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye, and they're back into the Journey chorus. Adam gives the band a shout-out. Bubbles descend from the ceiling. The Idols pump their fists with a final "Don't stop!" Cue the theme. That's a wrap. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Post time 3-7-2009 06:35 PM
........bebudak ler katakan, baru 18......cam adam nih kool jer cos dah matured pon
Author
