Copious Notes

Danny Gokey visited Faith Builders International in Milwaukee May 8. Photo by Carrie Antlfinger | AP.

This year’s American Idol finals ­offered the nation 13 singers from across the country with ­different strengths, looks, backgrounds and styles. But six of them had ­something in common, aside from wanting to be the next American Idol: They all had experience as church worship leaders.

That included two of the final three competitors in the eighth season of Idol, which wraps up Wednesday with a two-hour season finale.

Danny Gokey, 28, was praise and worship leader at two Faith Builders International locations in Wisconsin.

Kris Allen performs Kanye West's "Heartless" on "American Idol" May 12. Photo by Frank Micelotta | PictureGroup for FOX.

And Kris Allen, 23, has worked with praise and worship teams at two New Life churches in Arkansas.

Gokey was booted Wednesday night, so Allen is the one who is going on to compete in next week’s final against Adam Lambert, long considered the front runner in this year’s race. And that was fine by several Christian music observers.

“I see the worship leader in Danny, but Kris has more of the ability to be artistic,” said Joanne Brokaw, a Christian music writer who brought the preponderance of worship ­leaders in this year’s Idol field to light with a Feb. 27 post on her Beliefnet.com blog that asked, “Is this the season of the worship leader?”

Other artists in this year’s final group who have Christian music backgrounds were dueling pianist Matt Giraud, blind musician Scott MacIntyre, oil rigger Michael Sarver and Memphis mother Lil Rounds.

“The thing that really struck me was not just that they were Christians, but they were church worship leaders,” said Brokaw, who has since ­predicted Allen will win the finale, already ­being ­characterized by some as David vs. Goliath. “These are people who have actively been ­working within their churches as musicians.”

And that work can give a singer a leg up on the ­competition. Read the rest of this entry »

Tonight, we got the spectacle of American Idol’s judges acting like they might just use their save on Michael Sarver.

Seriously. I don’t even think Sarver expected they would do that. He seems like a nice guy with a sweet voice and solid stage presence. But by beating out Alexis Grace he already made it farther than he should have expected to. He will be fine. I even suspect he may be courted by the Christian market, as he has the right profile for CCM and he is a church worship leader.

Adam Lambert in one of his many great "American Idol" performances. Photo by Michael Becker | FOX.

But the judges cannot use their one-and-only save this early on for one big reason: One week, Idol Nation may collectively go off the reservation and put Adam Lambert at the bottom, and if that moment happens, the judges have to have the ace in the hole.

Don’t think it’ll happen? Two words: Chris Daughtry. Remember, season five? He seemed like a lock and finished fourth.

Now, as an alert reader notes, the judges don’t have the save after the Top 5, which is a good point. But the judges need to hold on to this new privilege to save a serious candidate for the top prize, a contestant whose fan base maybe needed a wake-up call, and not blow it on someone who never had a realistic chance anyway.

Lambert cannot be Daughtryed.

I have not been glued to Idol for eight consecutive seasons. But in what I have watched, Lambert is the most talented singer to grace that stage. First, his vocals are unreal. He can easily be a throwback to those virtuosic screamers of late ’60s/early 70s rock — think Robert Plant or Ian Gillan. Pop music hasn’t heard a voice like this in a while.

But more important, Lambert knows how to use it, and he can truly make songs his own. Just consider the psycho journey into the desert of his Ring of Fire last week, followed by a rethinking of Tracks of My Tears that floored Smokey Robinson this week.

Now, in one way, you can use that old logic that contestants are better off as runners up, thereby gaining the exposure but guiding their own careers. And you could see how that might benefit Lambert, like it has Daughtry.

But do you think Simon Cowell and Co. like seeing No. 4 rolling up the hits while the winner that year, Taylor Hicks, gets dropped by his record label? This is supposed to be about finding the next star, not the next supporting player in Broadway revivals.

So the judges need to use this little bit of actual power they have been given judiciously, to avoid a really big mistake. And leaving Lambert out of the Final 5 would be huge.

• Make sure to catch the thoughts of LexGo Idol blogger Phil Stacey.
• I also recommend my friend, my groomsman, Rodney Ho at the AJC.

Third Day are David Carr, Tai Anderson, Mac Powell and Mark Lee.

For its fourth editon, Quest Community Church’s Questapalooza has booked one of the monsters of Christian rock, Third Day.

The Georgia-based band will play the event Sept. 6 on the field adjacent to Quest’s complex behind Meijer on Reynolds Road. Ticket information has not been announced yet.

Third Day’s last major Central Kentucky appearance was at the Ichthus Festival in June 2007. Since then, the band has added another hit album, Revelation, to its catalog and parted ways with guitarist Brad Avery. The group now performs as a quartet: frontman Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee, bassist Tai Anderson and drummer David Carr.

Questapalooza has not announced other acts for the event, which has featured lineups of three bands, all playing full sets, as well as games, carnival rides, outdoor baptisms and a message from Pastor Pete Hise.

Paula Stefanovich

In related news: The Ichthus lineup, which we previewed Tuesday, will include Hise the evening of June 13 and Southland Christian Church pastor John Weece that afternoon in a sort of Lexington megachurch doubleheader.

And in a little extra Dove Awards news: Lexington’s own Paula Stefanovich is up for Southern Gospel Recorded song for writing Yaweh, a hit for The Hoppers.

Idol chatter: This is really interesting. Beliefnet’s Joanne Brokaw points out three of the six current American Idol finalists are church worship leaders: Danny Gokey, Michael Sarver and Kris Allen.

As Danny Gokey and Tatiana Del Toro stood together on the American Idol stage tonight, only one able to move on in the competition, I knew the winner was going to be Danny.

Danny Gokey. Photo by Frank Micelotta | Fox.

OK, I wouldn’t have written that if I had been wrong and Tatiana had been reduced to tears of joy — you knew the waterworks were coming either way.

But here’s why I knew Danny would be moving on: Yes, he has a really good, tres Idol voice, and that is important. But at this stage, as national voting begins, is that enough? Um, no. Danny seared himself into our collective consciousness during the Kansas City auditions when we heard the heartbreaking story of his wife’s death, including those hopeless moments when doctors told him there was nothing they could do for her. As he sang Hero Tuesday night, you couldn’t forget that, and obviously a lot of Americans want to see his story continue.

The thing that made me sure Danny was going to win was the other dude picked by voters in this round: Michael Sarver. His story isn’t as dramatic, and frankly, his performance of Gavin DeGraw’s I Don’t Wanna Be was simply good. But how many working stiffs can relate to his story of  the dad trying to win one for his wife and two kids? Plus, he has been the consummate nice guy. Good will is a good thing to generate at this point in the contest, and it put him in the final 12.

Alexis Grace. Photo by Chris Cuffaro | Fox.

The Louisville auditions put the first contestant in the final dozen with Alexis Grace, whose performance of Aretha’s Never Loved a Man made you momentarily forget she’s the young mom who’s been raising her little girl alone while her husband’s been in military school. It was a somewhat humble reminder that while stories are good, to still be in competition in May, you’ll have to bring a voice, which Alexis surely has. (We humbly remind you your first chance to see Alexis was in our Louisville audition video.) Now I’m off to my guitar, because that Memphis singer made me want to play some blues.

Make sure to read Phil Stacy’s Idol blog.