Arts and Entertainment Editor
On
Thursday, 10.5 million watched Asheville native Caleb Johnson take the crown as
the Season 13 winner of American Idol. The
23 year old rocker stunned the crowd with his voice and song choices throughout
the season, his most memorable including his original song “As Long As You Love
Me” and his performance of Aerosmith’s “Dream On”. The other finalist, 17 year old Jena Irene, also
had plenty of memorable performances including Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help
Falling in Love” and Radiohead’s “Creep”.
Johnson’s win marks the third win for North Carolina on American
Idol.
Past
North Carolina winners are Fantasia (Season 3) and Scotty McCreery (Season
10). Other N.C. top 12 finalists include
singer turned politician Clay Aiken, country star Kellie Pickler, and rocker Chris
Daughtry.
Performances from the
American Idol finale included Demi Lovato singing her hit “Heart Attack” with the
top 12 girls, KISS, John Legend performing with top 12 finalist Malaya Watson,
Aloe Blacc, and Jason Mraz performing with top 12 finalist Alex Preston. Ryan Seacrest also performed, surprising the
audience by singing alongside Richard Marx to Marx’s song “Right Here Waiting.” This year is the first time the number of
votes were not announced. The slipping
ratings of American Idol and other singing shows continue to be problematic and
may result in changes for next season.
