The Lantern Blog

Well, whoever coined the phrase “Anything is possible” was absolutely right (thanks Kevin Garnett).

Despite being a heavy underdog in the American Idol Finale on Wednesday night, Kris Allen ended up stealing the show from favorite Adam Lambert.  Lambert handled his loss with class, and was respectful of Allen’s victory after the champion was crowned.

Allen, who many have compared to current Top-40 sensation Jason Mraz, is a talented musician who put a different spin on every single song he sang.  Many of his performances featured the acoustic guitar—and along with Scott MacIntyre, Kris was one of the most active dual vocals-instrumentation artists in this year’s competition.

Adam Lambert had an awesome run on the show—establishing himself as the favorite as early as the Top 8 competition, where he performed the song “Mad World.”  There were some studies on search trends, and Lambert came out on top of all of his competitors in most weeks.

Do you believe that Kris Allen is worthy of being named the American Idol?

American Idol has finally cut down to their final two contestants, and they are Adam Lambert and…Kris Allen?

Yes, America, Kris Allen will compete in the American Idol Finale against a heavy favorite.  When reflecting upon this season, however, it does not seem that ridiculous.

This season’s show was almost predictable.  Think about it—week to week, it was almost crystal clear on who was going to get the boot.  Adam established himself as an early favorite, and was able to garner a gigantic fanbase that should heavily support him—good performance in the finale or not—all the way to the American Idol championship.

Many people thought that Danny Gokey and Allison Iraheta were going to be in the finale with Lambert, but both of them fell short.  What was left?  Kris Allen—a John Mayer like singer who has played the darkhorse role.

What kind of chance does Allen have to win it all?

In my opinion, slim to none.  Unfortunately for him, Lambert is one of the toughest competitors on the past few seasons of American Idol.  Even with a stellar performance, it may not be enough.

Do you think Kris Allen has a chance to win American Idol this season?

The Chicago-Sun Times is reporting that Miley Cyrus has made her stance on virginity public for everyone to hear.

In an interview with a London newspaper, Cyrus stated that she intends to remain a virgin until marriage.  After declaring her intentions, Cyrus also stated that she grew up in a Christian family.

The Sun-Times report also states that Cyrus said she is highly dependent on her parents and religious faith to “keep her grounded.”  She also acknowledged that she recognizes that some child stars go “off the rails”, and she mentions Jodie Foster as a positive influence in her life.

While it is not a bad thing that she has made her decision on virginity public, the blogosphere has really taken her words to light.

In a way, Cyrus has established a public standard that will be with her until marriage and throughout the rest of her life.  If a report comes out that she does not live up to her promise, how will it affect her view from her younger fans and from the public in general?

Matt Giraud, one of the top five competitors on the American Idol television show, admitted in an interview with MTV that he never really wanted to be the American Idol.

Instead, he said that his goal was just to play music on the stage.  Piano and jazz were two of Girauds’ specialties, and he did a fine job with every one of his performances.

In the interview, Giraud also said he was pleased with the way he went out.  While Simon Cowell was highly complimentary of his performance, other judges on the panel did not enjoy his performance very much, which surprised him.

Can anyone really blame Matt Giraud?  Time and time again, we have found that just because one doesn’t win American Idol does not mean that all hope is lost.  Giraud has the moxie and the stage presence to be successful in the music industry.

Giraud was also the “save” of the season.  Since the judges elected to go with a top 13 to begin the season, they allocated one week to save a contestant they felt should have had another chance to prove America wrong with their vote.

Do you think Matt should have been kicked off American Idol?

Scott MacIntyre, an inspirational American Idol vocalist, was eliminated from the show on April 8, 2009.

MacIntyre, who has been near blind since birth, was a great story.  His disability never seemed to impair him on American Idol, and the whole cast did a great job at accounting for it.

MacIntyre was a gifted pianist, and he often used the piano in his performances once he qualified for the top 12.  Early in the competition, he looked like he could be a serious multi-talented threat to win the competition, but after several weeks of mediocrity, it soon became apparent that he would not have what it takes to win the American Idol competition.

His song choice and performance in this week’s show was highly criticized.  This week, Scott had elected to conduct his performance with a guitar, but it added very little to the overall performance.  His vocals were also incredibly spotty.

The only other contestant who was widely discussed to leave the show was Lil’ Rounds.  After a karaoke-like performance on last nights show, people certainly expected more out of her.  Like Scott, Lil’ Rounds has not progressed as much as the other vocalists, just a few weeks after she was considered to be the one to beat in this competition.

After last night’s Academy of Country Music Awards, the internet has been actively searching for Carrie Underwood’s apparent love connection, Mike Fisher.

Fisher, 28, is a current center for the National Hockey League’s Ottawa Senators.  Fisher had attended one of Underwood’s concerts in Canada, and met her backstage after a show.  According to some online sources, the couple has been dating for months, and they have even spent time with each other’s families.

A source also reports that Underwood has spent time with Mike Fisher’s teammates—she had attended a New Year’s Eve bash at a home of another Ottawa Senators player, center Jason Spezza.

Carrie Underwood won the Entertainer of the Year Award, widely recognized as one of the most prestigious and well-known awards from the Academy of Country Music.  In her acceptance speech, she referenced Fisher, and that spurred on a lot of national interest.

Jasmine Murray and Jorge Nunez, two wild card contestants from the top 36 competition, were eliminated on Wednesday night on the hit show American Idol.

Murray, who was coming off a lackluster performance, choked up a bit when she was on stage.  She broke out into tears as she watched the first American Idol look back video.

Jorge Nunez, one of the more interesting characters on the show, was also eliminated.  Originally from Puerto Rico, Nunez spoke spanish and had a difficult time transitioning to the English language before the top 36 round.  He made a poor song choice this week, and the judges criticized him harshly for it.  They also explained that it was not sung very well, either.

Nunez was one of two males who were rumored to be off the show.  Anoop Desai, a student from the University of North Carolina: Chapel Hill, was among the bottom four as well.

During the show, Kelly Clarkson and Kanye West both performed.  Kelly Clarkson performed her current top single, “My Life Would Suck Without You.”  Kanye West also performed one of his charttoppers, “Heartless.”

American Idol will bring 11 contestants into next week’s show.  Read up on the rule change—announced at the beginning of the show—here.

Terrell Owens, the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, has agreed to a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills.  Owen’s deal is worth $6.5 million, with a $4 million signing bonus.  The deal also offers guaranteed money to the wideout.

One of the things that Owens wanted in his new team was a solid quarterback to pass him the ball.  His signing with Buffalo comes as a surprise, because Buffalo quarterback Trent Edwards is not necessarily an established passer in the National Football League.  He is young and has potential, but he is still in a developmental stage.

That said, Buffalo does not have a very strong receiving core, and Terrell Owens becomes the team’s top wide receiving threat.  He will play directly across from wide receiver Lee Evans, who was drafted out of Wisconsin.

It should be very interesting to see how Owens performs in his season with Buffalo.

According to several sources, music star Rihanna may have been pregnant before the Chris Brown incident took place.

Credit: 20 minutos (Wikimedia Commons)

Rihanna reportedly knew that she was potentially pregnant, but kept it completely secret from Brown, possibly knowing that his reaction would not be positive.

According to Star Magazine, Rihanna withheld this information before the assault took place.  Just a few days before the assault, Rihanna made an appointment and visited an ob-gyn.

In your opinion, what are the implications if Rihanna was actually pregnant when the assault took place?  This is a fairly shocking development and twist—if in fact Rihanna is pregnant with Chris Brown’s child, what kind of effect would it have on either of their careers?

Chris Brown’s court date is scheduled for the beginning of March.  According to the New York Daily News, Brown has enrolled in an anger-management class.

According to Access Hollywood, the popular singer Chris Brown turned himself in to LAPD authorities late on Sunday night.  He had been under close scrutiny and investigation from the authorities for an alleged domestic violence felony battery.

Credit: Brandon Evans (Wikimedia Commons)

It is believed that Brown may have assaulted Rihanna, his girlfriend.  They both did not show to the Grammy Awards show tonight.  According to an interview completed by Access, Rihanna is OK.   

Chris Brown was nominated for two awards—Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals (”No Air”, with Jordin Sparks), and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance (”Take You Down”).

Rihanna was nominated for three awards, and was also slated to perform on the show.  Among the awards she was nominated for were Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals (”If I Never See Your Face Again”, with Maroon 5), Best Dance Recording (”Disturbia”), and Best Long Form Music Video (Good Girl Gone Bad Live).

Pop on the Pop thinks that this relationship is finally over, and even calls Chris “goofy looking.”

Black Political Thought thinks that Chris Brown will join a “long list of women beaters who end up as social pariahs.“