Stage belongs to Adam Lambert but...

Last February 23, I wrote of my bets to the Top 13 of the American Idol Season 8 here in this column. Two of them had already bowed out--Alexis Grace from Memphis, Tennessee and Anoop Desai from Chapel Hills, North Carolina. But I didn't go wrong with the other two--Daniel Jay “Danny” Gokey of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Adam Lambert of Los Angeles, California. Danny and Adam made it to the Final Four.

Yet, despite reaping praises from the three judges with Kara DioGuardi for a fourth judge, Adam settled with Kris Allen and Matt Giraud at Bottom Three recently. Around 30 million Americans, that's if my math skills still work, are indeed rooting for praise-and-worship music director Danny over Adam despite the latter's stage confidence, prowess, and showmanship; qualities that earned him a standing ovation from hard-to-please Simon Cowell and DioGuardi tagging him lately as the Michael Phelps of AI's eighth season.

It would be very nice to watch a praise-and-worship musician rise to being the new American Idol, a league of his own. Despite a few albums that raked in profits for contemporary Gospel artists like Don Moen, Steve Kuban, Ron Kenolly, among many others, it still is hard for this genre to dominate the mainstream. I remember Gary Valenciano's “Warrior is a Child” was only considered into the playlist of popular FM radio programs here when Rico Yan passed away (bless his soul!)--when, matter of fact, the album “Revive” was released a year prior to Rico's demise.

But the stage so loves Adam Lambert. This isn't so surprising because Adam shares an intimacy with the stage; in fact, he is a "child of the theater." Part of his memorable stints as an actor and singer was a stage production of The Ten Commandments at the Kodak Theatre with Val Kilmer. So that when Simon said he is looking for somebody original, somebody who knows himself and his music, somebody who understands what it's like to be both an artist and a celebrity--I find Adam most fit for star material.

Danny, sad to say, lacks stage power. No doubt, he can sing. He upholds a spiritual ministry through his musicality but his performances are devoid of that slick and luster that Adam has.

However, he can be the last man standing too because America seems to be in love with his direction more than how he has fared in the competition. As there are come-from-behind moves, we certified AI fans should stay tune for more of those exciting twists in the remaining weeks of this quest for stardom.