FOR weeks, “American Idol” fans have been pre dicting a finale between soulful Danny Gokey and the fiercely theatrical Adam Lambert.
‘IDOL’ FIX: Will Susan Boyle Perform?
But now there is strong evidence that another singer, Kris Allen, may take Gokey’s place in the big “Idol” showdown next month.
Last week, a glitch in the Apple software allowed fans a glimpse at which contestants are selling the most “Idol” downloads — studio versions of the contestants’ live performances — on iTunes each week.
iTunes sales figures have long been kept secret at the insistence of “Idol” producers, who were concerned that sales figures might give away the relative rankings in the popular votes — which are also kept secret, only the name of the contestant who gets the least votes every week and is sent home is revealed. Before the computer error could be patched up, fans got a rare glimpse at which contestants are at the top of the “Idol” heap.
Not suprisingly, the leader — by far — is front-runner Adam Lambert, who holds six of the top 10 spots in the Idol chart this season. The haunting “Mad World”– the song that got Simon Cowell on his feet for a rare standing ovation — is the No. 1-selling song so far this year, the iTunes site showed.
But right behind Lambert is Allen, who has three performance downloads on the secret chart. Gokey has just one, his version of “Endless Love” at No. 9. Allen’s slow version of “Falling Slowly” from movie night is No. 3. His bluesy update on the classic “Ain’t No Sunshine” is No. 8 and his tender “To Make You Feel My Love” took the No. 10 spot.
Allen has been steadily gaining ground in the “Idol” game ever since Week 3 of the finals, when Simon declared, “I am genuinely beginning to think you have a shot of doing well in this competition.”
M.J. Santilli writes about “Idol” for mjsbigblog.com