Idol Highlights

Um, yes. I went to the American Idol concert. With my mother-in-law and her friends. I know. And, yes, I loved every minute of it. Even more than last year's show. Yes, I went last year too.

The format of the show is pretty basic -- each of the Top Ten singing somewhere between 2-3 songs alone, and then there were a few duets and group numbers. The majority of the show is individual performances.

A few notable highlights:

1. Mandisa opening the show and sounding even better live than she did on the show. And looking great.

2. Lisa Tucker playing the keyboard and flawlessly singing two Elton John classics. She was suprisingly awesome given how she fell apart during the season.

3. Paris doing her Beyonce thing.

4. Bucky! Actually not sounding so bad. But unfortunately still doing that stupid microphone flip while singing.

5. Ditto on Ace not sounding so bad, and perhaps even good. Which leads to the next highlight . .

6. Ace, Bucky, Chris Daughtry, and Elliot singing Guns-N-Roses' Patience. Loved it.

7. Chris D. singing a few of the Top 40 songs on the radio and sounding almost perfect. Audience (i.e., middle-school age girls and me) going CRAZY when he comes on stage.

8. ELLIOT. I love him. He was perfect. And his mom walked right past our seats, which we noticed only because everyone around us was going beserk. I really think Elliot's album will be legitimate. OK, I admit I bought a $3 Elliott button, but it was just a joke I swear.

9. Katherine McPhee actually looking humbled by the crowd and getting emotional because it was her first concert on the tour. She only sang two songs -- doctor's orders! -- and I can attest to the fact that her vocal cords sounded weak and laryngitis-affected.

10. Taylor ending the show, running through the crowd, singing Bruce Springsteen.

It must feel pretty awesome for these guys to be on stage and then have saps like me to blog about it.