What's It Like To Be On American Idol Part 3

Last week I was in LA with my buddy Cliff to see Chris get kicked off American Idol. Funny how God works. We were going to go out a week earlier but it didn't work out. So I got to see the whole journey... from Chris's first audition to his final appearance on the show.

Now that they're in the finals, the American Idol producers have completely changed the studio (CBS Studios in Hollywood right by The Grove shopping area.) The last time I was at the show, during the top 24, there were only about 100 people in the audience. Now there were between 500-700.

More people means more excitement, and boy, it sure was exciting. The band has grown to include a mini-orchestra complete with a few strings. I love strings. Or should I say, professional, studio string players playing in perfect tune.

And the lighting... they can do so much with the stage simply by using different lighting effects. Pay attention to this the next time you watch the show - the entire set changes mood according to the song and performer. It's a good lesson for any contemporary church - lighting is an overlooked element in today's worship.

About Chris's performance: while not his best, it certainly wasn't as bad as what the judges [and that dork Gwen] said. Now Chris is pegged as the guy who can't follow the beat. If you listen back to his performance [search for it on YouTube.com] you probably wouldn't notice anything if they hadn't harped on it.

If you watch Chris's earlier auditions, the judges just love him. They even hinted around in the early stages that he would win the whole thing. What happened?

I think they lost interest in Chris because he made a dumb remark about a website that is the arch enemy of Idol. This website, along with Howard Stern, encourages people to vote for the worst contestant. Don't bite the hand that feeds you.

The Idol producers didn't have to edit Gwen's clip to include her dissing Chris's timing. The judges didn't have to harp on his timing. Compare their comments to Chris verses their comments to the lackluster Haley and Sanjaya. Something ain't right there.

The next day Chris had a tip that he'd be kicked off so we knew it was coming. There's some website that gives weekly spoilers and it's usually right [it's probably run by an Idol insider.]

Gwen's performance on the results show was something. Indeed, isn't it something how some people get as far as they do. And that Akon guy... what a talent. Jumping around and everything.

After the results show, all the Idols, along with their friends & family, meet in a restaurant to have a little dinner party for the person who's kicked off.

When it's all said and done, I'm really happy for Chris and proud of him. By making the top 10 out of thousands, he'll be on tour with the other Idols all summer [and make a nice income on top of it!] He'll probably get a record deal and fulfill his dream of doing music for a living. It's the Great American Dream, isn't it!