Candice Glover brought a set of powerhouse vocals to “American Idol” that hadn’t been seen on the show since Jennifer Hudson took the show by storm in 2004 so it was no wonder the producers brought J. Hud back to perform an outstanding duet with Candice.
That’s right everyone. Candice Glover managed to snag the “American Idol” crown making her the first female winner of the show since Jordin Sparks took the title in 2007.
It was certainly no easy road for Glover, however, as this was her third time trying out for America’s most popular singing competition.
“I always knew for some reason that it would happen if I kept going,” she said backstage on Thursday after she won.
She had previously tried out for season nine and season eleven with no luck, but she never forgot how those years impacted her. As she was announced America’s new singing sensation she screaming “three years” and struggled her way to perform her coronation song while simultaneously trying to fight back tears.
Later the soulful songstress admitted she didn’t even remember Ryan saying her name but she did remember the confetti cannons spraying colorful pieces of paper in her mouth while she was singing.
The only thing more special about her night than winning was getting the chance to take the stage with Jennifer Hudson herself.
“I look up to her and, honestly, she is so successful after this show, and I really admire her,” Glover said of the former “American Idol” contestant. “I finally got a chance to not only meet her but sing with her.”
Together, Jennifer and Candice belted their way through a spectacular performance of Natalie Cole’s “Inseparable.”
In addition to the powerful duet, the finale episode will jam packed with special moments including the simple fact that two curvy women were standing at the top of the “American Idol” food chain.
Several other potential American Idols were criticized for their size by America and the judges themselves in previous seasons – including J. Hud.
Well this season both ladies proved that being “marketable” doesn’t mean you have to be a size two. While neither of the women were in no means over weight or fat, they managed to trample all over the super skinny pop star image that usually reigns supreme in the industry.
Other super stars took the stage as well throughout the two house season finale although we aren’t convinced they were all great choices.
It was a pleasure to see Emeli Sande, Jessie J, Aretha Franklin, “American Idol” judge Keith Urban, and former “American Idol” judge Jennifer Lopez take the stage but then the producers had to ruin it all with another gimmick filled performance by Psy.
By the way, if we are not going to let go of Rick Ross’s date rape lyrics and Lil Wayne’s awful Emmett Till metaphor I’m not understanding why the world was able to forgive Psy for saying he wanted to “Kill those Yankees [Americans] who have been torturing Iraqi captives, Kill those Yankees who ordered them to torture/ Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law, and fathers/ Kil them slowly and painfully.”
Anyway, “American Idol” judge Mariah Carey also took to the stage and realized that if Beyonce can’t get away with lip syncing neither can she.
As soon as Carey opened her mouth Twitter was flooded with the hashtag #lipsync as users flooded the site with criticisms about her poor performance.
While her dress was stunning and her giant wind machine made her look fabulous, she certainly didn’t spend enough time rehearsing the ending of each line. There were several times throughout the performance that Carey already closed her mouth but her voice miraculously still carried out the note.
But at the end of the night there was one thing that was missing from the show that made it uncomfortably obvious just how bad “American Idol” must be doing in the ratings – the total number of voter announcement.
It is “American Idol” tradition to announce how many votes were cast for the finale winner, but this year they decided to skip out on that little detail amidst reports that the show is quickly tanking.
While their judge’s panel was filled with drama this season, everyone seemed to retreat to “The Voice” to get a glimpse of a happier set of judge’s who playfully made fun of each other and just had a good time doing what they loved to do. Even when rumors sparked that there was some tension between Usher and Adam Levine, you never once saw the drama spark in front of cameras and both men still exchanged compliments throughout the show.
At the end of the day, after the reality show “Duck Dynasty” was able to ruin the show’s consistent number one in the ratings record it seemed like this would (or should) be the last season of the singing competition legacy.
Mariah Carey medley
Candice Glover and Jennifer Hudson ‘Inseparable’
Amber Holcomb and Emeli Sande ‘Next to Me’
