This Wednesday, Caleb Johnson made American Idol history,
becoming the first true hard-rocker to win the show. Fellow rock 'n'
roll showboaters Constantine Maroulis, Adam Lambert, and James Durbin
may have come close in their respective seasons, but it was Caleb, who
covered artists like Rush and Whitesnake in Season 13, who rocked all the way to the winner's circle.
Caleb had an ideal Idol story arc. Like last year's winner, Candice Glover, he had to try out for the show three times to get this far: He first auditioned in Season 10, when he made it to Hollywood Week and even performed in the group round with the above-mentioned James Durbin. He gave it another go in Season 11, but was cut in the Vegas top 40 round after messing up his lyrics.
But this year, Caleb didn't mess up. His was arguably the
most consistent entertainer of Season 13, and he never once landed in
the bottom two or three. And his performances of Led Zeppelin's "Dazed and Confused," the Black Crowes' "Sting Me," Whitesnake's "Still of the Night," and Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" were some of the most phenomenal of the entire season.
However, Caleb's Season 13 run
was not without its problems. He caught flak when the called his Twitter
followers the "R-word" in a controversial interview, although he later apologized. He emerged from that scandal relatively unscathed, but then in the top three week, he struggled to perform with bronchitis and a vocal cord hemorrhage, delivering his only imperfect vocals of the season. But he survived that setback as well.
On Wednesday's big finale,
shortly before his win, Caleb fantastically performed with KISS (who'd
previously dueted with Adam Lambert on Season 8's finale), actually completely
upstaging Paul Stanley. Other duet highlights included Jena rocking
with Paramore amid a sea of neon balloons; a glasses- and braces-free
Malaya Watson totally coming out of her cocoon to sing "All of Me"
alongside John Legend's piano; Alex Preston crooning with his idol,
Jason Mraz; Jennifer Nettles and Jessica Meuse doing Miley Cyrus's
"Wrecking Ball" while Season 10's Haley Reinhart and Casey Abrams rocked
out in the audience; and Season 11 champ Phillip Phillips completely
schooling Sam Woolf on "Raging Fire."
But the most entertaining duet of all? Ryan Seacrest warbling
"Right Here Waiting" with surprise guest Richard Marx. Yes, that
happened.Caleb will soon join his top 12 castmates on this summer's Idols Live tour. And then, it will be time for him to release his own album. Will he be able to replicate the success of recent winners Scotty McCreery and Phillip Phillips (or all-time greats Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood) — or will he stall on the charts like last year's sadly under-promoted Candice Glover, who didn't even perform on this year's finale?
Well, that will be interesting. Caleb's throwback classic-rock sound obviously appeals to Idol's graying voter base, but it isn't exactly in line with what's on the radio right now. Judge Harry Connick Jr. even once had the audacity to suggest that Caleb would, or should, release a covers album after the show, as opposed to a collection of actually relevant originals. (Caleb balked at that idea.)
However, Caleb's performances of Kings of Leon and Rival Sons songs this season indicated that he can apply his retro style to modern rock, and his coronation song, "As Long As You Love Me" (penned by Justin Hawkins of the Darkness, and once almost recorded by Kelly Clarkson), certainly is catchy. And it definitely rocks.
Caleb just might be what American Idol needs to keep the franchise (and rock 'n' roll) alive, so watch this space.
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