American Idols Live

In today’s increasingly fragmented media environment, no other TV show holds anywhere near the reach of “American Idol,” the FOX juggernaut that in its eighth season remained the talk of teenagers, their grandparents and most everyone in between. The season’s top 10 finalists, who appear tonight at the Bradley Center as part of the show’s annual victory-lap tour, were among the show’s most colorful: the loopy soul-revival singer, Megan Joy; the spunky, every-girl rocker, Allison Iraheta; the boldly theatrical, unabashedly gay glam rocker, Adam Lambert; and how could we forget Milwaukee’s very own Danny Gokey, a sort of contemporary Christian music answer to Michael McDonald? The third-place finalist, Gokey divided audiences who claimed, unfairly and often maliciously, that he was exploiting the death of his wife for sympathy votes, but he remains a local favorite who will no doubt headline Summerfest stages for years to come.