All American Boy

Nice piece on USA Today about Kris Allen, American Idol, and how he stacks up compared to the previous front runners, Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert (very well, thank you). Shades of Chris Daughtry and Elliott Yamin from Season Five. Go here.

American Idle

Middle of the night and much is on my mind. I can't get Danny Gokey and his strong version of Michael Jackson's PYT (Pretty Young Thing) out of my head. Is this Season Eight's new American Idol? Could be- yet, I've been wrong before. In the past, I would have put money on Chris Daughtry or even dark horse favorite Elliott Yamin to take the crown in Season Five. Yet, this guys seems to have the goods.

What else at 4am? Why do I even really care about construction at California Adventure, the cartooning of Walt Disney World, the economic plans of President Obama, and I'm ashamed to say, the pending cheap remake of our tired kitchen with worn paint, chipped countertop and leaky faucet? Good questions.

Let me guess. Boredom, too much television and forgetting about what is really important. Faithfulness, kindness, mercy, and caring for the needs of others. How easily I forget the bigger things! Oh God, hear my prayer and keep me heart atuned to you. It is so easy to be led astray by things deemed important in our brains by what we see and take in versus the things we know if we stop and focus on what is important to you. Glad it's Sunday morning and a time for spending an hour or two focused on you. Thank you, Lord Jesus, Creator of the Universe, for putting up with me!

Idol Starts to Warm Up

Let's just say that Season Eight of American Idol looks, well, interesting. Early standouts include Danny Gokey and Alexis Grace, although I'm sure the next couple of weeks will bring some surprises. Of course, once the Top Twelve hits, things really get fun- lots of stretching due to the competitors being forced to sing genres they don't feel comfortable in or songs they don't really like. The stress alone will cause some to break or just show off their bad side. Of course, if you've hung out here long enough, you know I am a big fan of Elliott Yamin and Chris Daughtry from Season Five. Not only could these guys sing, they remained good guys with tender hearts; their pride and ego in check all the way through. One of the true measures of a man is humility and grace.

Idol Flashback

Gotta love Simon. He does tell it like it is, even though he is not always kind. After six and one half seasons of "American Idol", he clearly has the best ear for music and the most polished taste. This year's finalists are somewhat interesting. That said, due to lack of compelling contestants, I skipped 2007's American Idol altogether. The year before, 2006, was an entirely different story.

Chris Daughtry was compelling, Taylor Hicks nice, sometimes annoying but always quirky, and Mandisa big and beautiful. But a young man with a cropped haircut and warm heart captured alot of well-deserved attention: Elliott Yamin.

About this time two years ago, Yamin really began to stand out from the crowd. An amazing and confident version of "Moody's Mood for Love" was followed by a variety of interesting and varied performances, including a powerful version of Queen's "Somebody to Love". From 40s standards to Old School R&B, Elliott could sing it all. Even though he was not crowned as the year's Idol, it was his rich and soulful performance of "A House is Not a Home" during the finale that showed America this kid had "it"- charm, talent, and heart.

His debut album was a solid effort earning credibility beyond the Idol world. His Christmas album was honestly not my favorite piece of work, but I believe Elliott will wow me again. I believe it to my soul.