American Idol: Season 15 - Final 2 Perform (SERIES FINALE RECAP)

Hello my friends one last time!  It's partly bittersweet, it's partly a relief but inevitably it is finally here.  This is my final recap for American Idol's initial broadcast run.  Of course, I have to word it like this because there is all of this talk about how one day (probably sooner than later) it may return in a new form.  So, I can't necessarily rule out any future musings from yours truly if I make the unwise decision to fall into the inescapable trap again!  Yes, I joke around.  I may act like I hated every minute but anyone that's still sticking with this recap to the bitter end knows that I loved mostly every minute of it.  For all of the awful performances, cheesy moments, judging table round robins, this was one crazy 15 year experience.  And there is no denying it, stars DID emerge from this show.  They may have found the best ones early on, but we've been treated to some great performances over the years.

The actual final performances of our final 2 tonight is almost an afterthought to what this season really represented.  It was a celebration of achievement of American Idol's entire run.  If anyone watched the recap special Tuesday night it was a nice retrospective on the accomplishments of the series.  From the uncertainty of everything in season 1 to the fully established mega-phenomenonthe show became.   They bookended the retrospective with Kelly Clarkson's audition and with her final live performance earlier this season.  And that pretty much says it all.  This show really was what it was because they found a SUPERSTAR in that 1st season.  Every season after that had contestants who aspired to come on the show and become the next Kelly.  And sure, they found some that may have had equal or more success, but it was Kelly that started it all.  Even Carrie Underwood admitted in the retrospective that Kelly inspired her to audition.  But, no one needs me to keep hammering home who my favorite (Who are we kidding? the BEST) idol is!?  I've brought it up every season multiple times!  Kelly will be on Thursday night's series finale but in a pre-taped performance due to her being extremely near giving birth to her 2nd child.

Okay, I'm rambling.  It's been awhile since I did that right?  We do have a job to do tonight and that is to pick one final winner of American Idol.  I've gotten 8 of 14 picks correct.  The whole male guitar trend really threw me off in the 2nd half of the series.  Could it possibly happen again in this final season?  Only one way to find out.  It's time to dive into our real-time recap ONE LAST TIME!  

Performance Recap

Round 1 - Winner Songs

1. Trent Harmon - "Falling" - Not a bad jam for Trent.  I don't know how well it would do on the radio, but Keith certainly knew all of the words!  Trent has come a long way in this abbreviated competition though and this performance was pretty good.  "Pretty" good.  
2. Dalton Rapattoni - "Strike a Match" - Okay, the vocal doesn't compare to the others.  We've beaten that to death.  But, if you want to talk about Idol winning songs that could actually get airplay, then Dalton's song and Dalton himself is probably Radio ready.  He could actually have a decent career after this show even if he doesn't win.  
3. La'Porsha Renae - "Battles" - Hey look it's Diana Ross!  Combine the voice with a radio friendly tune and you get some serious potential!  That was a solid entry of a mostly successful playlist La'Porsha has been putting together all season.  

Eliminated from Top 3 (And my pick): Dalton Rapattoni - It seemed like a foregone conclusion, but you just never can tell how America would vote!  Farewell Dalton and best of luck in your career!  

La'Porsha vs. Trent!  Power Vocal vs. Power Vocal. 

Round 2 - Simon Fuller's choice

1. Trent Harmon - "If You Don't Know Me By Now" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - Didn't he sing this earlier this season?  If not, he sang something similar.  Still, it was another powerful performance.  I feel like he's fighting an uphill battle in this competition, but he's putting his heart and soul into those performances out there.  
2. La'Porsha Renae - "A House is Not a Home" by Dionne Warwick - This song is a classic Idol song that everyone in creation sang every year.  Of course Simon Fuller would pick it!  Solid performance from La'Porsha.  I'd probably rank them pretty evenly that round.   It sounded like the judges were giving to edge to Miss Renae after her beautiful awareness of melody.  Close call though. 

Round 3 - Contestant's picks

1. Trent - "Chandelier" by Sia - Beautiful, just like the last time.  Maybe even better.  I think I legitimately can say this year that whoever wins this year is a deserving winner.  The final 2 are the legitimate 2 contestants that should've been the final 2.  They should just take Nick's crown from last year and give Trent and La'Porsha the wins!  I do have to ask though.  Why did Trent PICK to go first if he won the coin toss?  We all know what La'Porsha is going to sing and she's going to bring the house down.  
2. La'Porsha - "Diamonds" by Rhianna - She brought the house down with this when Kelly Clarkson was in the house.  Of course, she was going to do it!  And of course, it was amazing.  Like ridiculously amazing.  I just don't know how you top that.  Drop the mic girl.  Drop. The. Mic. 

The Final Pick

One last time, we need to walk down memory lane of my annual picks.

Record:

• Season 1: Kelly Clarkson (winner) vs. Justin Guarini (got it right)
• Season 2: Ruban Studdard (winner) vs. Clay Aiken (got it wrong)
• Season 3: Fantasia Barrino (winner) vs. Diana DeGarmo (got it right)
• Season 4: Carrie Underwood (winner) vs. Bo Bice (got it right)
• Season 5: Taylor Hicks (winner) vs. Katharine McPhee (got it right)
• Season 6: Jordin Sparks (winner) vs. Blake Lewis (got it right)
• Season 7: David Cook (winner) vs. David "the artichoke" Archuleta (got it right)
• Season 8: Kris Allen (winner) vs. Adam Lambert (got it wrong)
• Season 9: Lee DeWyze (winner) vs. Crystal Bowersox (got it wrong)
• Season 10: Scotty McCreery (winner) vs. Lauren Alaina (got it wrong)
• Season 11: Phillip Phillips (winner) vs. Jessica Sanchez (got it right)
• Season 12: Candice Glover (winner) vs. Kree Harrison (got it right)
• Season 13: Caleb Johnson (winner) vs. Jena Irene (got it wrong)
• Season 14: Nick Fradiani (winner) vs. Clark Beckham (got it wrong)

Even if I get this wrong I still barely finish with a winning record!  I mentioned it above.  I love both of these contestants.  This is who most of us thought should be the final 2 and they both made it without any crazy voting scandals.  There are no losers here.  So the biggest question is can I finally pick the right one?  Can I figure out what America is thinking?  I haven't been bragging, but my record this season has been pretty solid on bottom 3 picks and elimination picks.   I don't believe La'Porsha or Trent landed in the bottom this whole season.  I've always had a soft spot for the females winning in this show especially after the male dominated 2nd half.  So, I don't think it's a surprise what direction I'm going here. 

MY PICK - WINNER OF AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 15: La'Porsha Renae 
(UPDATE AFTER FINALE - WRONG ONE FINAL TIME!!   Congrats Trent Harmon!  More thoughts on finale in comments.)

There we have it.  I mean Kelly already declared the winner weeks ago.  We just had to see La'Porsha earn it week after week since.  Kelly also was tweeting tonight and said she has never voted for a contestant on Idol before but she is voting for La'Porsha tonight.  We start with a girl we end with a girl.  I like it.  But again, if Trent wins that's awesome.  They're both great singers and I'm just glad no hacks like Nick Fradiani or Lee Dewyze are taking home the win this year.  Then again, there really wasn't anyone like that in this year's competition.  But with that, I guess it's time to wrap things up for a final time.  

I wanted to write one last message of thanks. Thank you to anyone who stuck with me until the end here.  This blog was always my pet project that loomed in the shadows of that bigger blog I had back during the LOST days.  But, while LOST was keeping me up at night pondering the mysteries of the universe I was having a blast speaking my mind on everything from awful auditions/performances to the very best moments Idol ever had to offer.  It was a tough road, some might argue it was meaningless in the end.  But, for someone who loves music and likes to arrange words in a manner that sometimes entertains (usually myself more than anyone else I'm sure!) this was the perfect outlet for me.  So thank you to everyone who found it entertaining enough to check in!  Thanks to my wife who put up with my need to write these blogs even years after I probably should've stopped.  Those kids of ours didn't make it easy in these waning years.  But, I had a mission to see this thing through to the end.  And see it through I did! 

I know what you're thinking.  WAIT MIKE!  There's one more episode! Yes there is and I'm sure I'll have something to say about it.  But, as we did for the past few seasons let's just use the comments section here to discuss it.  I will post my thoughts in the comments at some point after all is said and done.  

So, we've reached the end.  Maybe Idol will return.  Maybe I'll watch.  Maybe I'll write.  But it's a lot of maybes.  For now, we have reached a definitive end and I am saying my goodbyes.  If you still want to see me ramble on about TV you can always check out www.tvaddictsblog.com where there's always SOMETHING to discuss even if it's not in my elaborate forms of yesteryear.  But for Idol, I hope you've enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you when I see you!