Lambert brings joy to 'Idol' audience

What a difference a year makes.

Last year, when the tour featuring the top 10 finalists of the 2008 season of the FOX TV juggernaut "American Idol" came to Utah, the tour date sold out so quickly that a second date was added to meet the demand. It was David Archuleta's homecoming, and Utahns treated him like a conquering hero.

This year, the E Center did not sell out, even though Sandy's Megan Joy finished in the top 10. And instead of Archuleta demonstrating why he should have bested the surprise winner David Cook last year, Joy was disappointing during her short two-song set Tuesday. The applause was warm, but it didn't overwhelm.

With Joy quickly forgotten, the show turned out to be a battle between

second-place finisher Adam Lambert and winner Kris Allen, and Lambert demonstrated, for the second year in a row, that the second-place finisher should have won more of America's votes.

The concert's narrative device is a count down of the finishers, with the 10th-place finisher opening the show, and the winner closing out the show, with two group numbers bookending the final four singers. With five musicians, two back-up singers and superior production values of strobes and high-def screens, the concert looked as expensive as any you would see this year. Every singer performed better in concert than they did in the TV show, undoubtedly because of extra practice and no stern judges chomping at the bit to criticize.

With

that being said, part of the attraction of the TV show is to root for your favorite competitor, not to mention the thrill of seeing a contestant you don't like suffer a train wreck. And, even though most wouldn't admit it, it is fun to see the judges, especially Simon Cowell, eviscerate a contestant's performance. Because these elements aren't present in the concert experience, some of the excitement is missing, making the concert seem just like glorified karaoke.

Joy sang Corinne Bailey Rae's "Let Your Hair Down" and Amy Winehouse's "Tears Dry on Their Own" in a hot pink dress with a hemline way above the knee. While she performed a passable version of Rae's laid-back gem, it was her rendition of Winehouse's barnstormer where Joy belted rather than sang, perhaps because of nerves. She did show much more confidence, and looked more comfortable, than she ever showed on the TV screen.

Two early performers who showed surprising skills were Lil Rounds and Matt Giraud, who both revved up the crowd. Rounds was soulful and sultry on Alicia Keys' "No One" and Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," while Giraud showed his fun, rollicking side with Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle" and his passionate, edgy side with an intense cover of The Fray's "I Found You." Later, Danny Gokey brought the crowd to its feet with a rousing "P.Y.T," the only reference to Michael Jackson all night.

But it was Lambert who the crowd came for, evidenced by the loudest squeals and shrieks of the nearly three-hour night, (Apparently, some women and girls didn't read, or didn't care about, the cover story in Rolling Stone where Lambert revealed that he was gay.) It was actually refreshing to see such crowd support for a gay man in Utah.

Just as on the TV show, Lambert's theatrical performances , full of strutting and hip-wiggling overshadowed Allen's laid-back vibe. With as much make-up as the women and clad in dark leather from head to foot, Lambert combined both a lusty flair for the dramatic with a multi-octave voice that Allen couldn't match. You didn't want Lambert's set to end.

And despite the widespread acknowledgment of Allen's "cuteness" and easygoing charm on songs such as "Heartless," it was the crowd's appreciation for Lambert's talent on songs such as "Whole Lotta Love," "Mad World," and a David Bowie medley that easily made him the winner of the night.