Vault: American Idol Finale Recap

Summary

The Bert Show – Vault: American Idol Finale Recap (August 11, 2026)

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Episode Overview

Live from Los Angeles, the Bert Show crew (Bert, Birch, Frankie, Jem, and Wendy) recap the chaotic and memorable finale of American Idol. Sharing insights from their behind-the-scenes perspective, they unpack the night’s off-kilter start, unexpected on-stage antics, curious security lapses, and give listeners a taste of both the glamour and the madness of live television events.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. A Rocky Start: Atmosphere and Audience Confusion

• Opening Vibes: The team notes that the first 45 minutes of the finale "just seemed a little off," which set a confused tone for the evening.
• Audience Miscommunication:
  • Normally the hype man, Corey, gets the audience ready before the cameras roll, but “last night it was not perfectly timed.” (Jem, 02:06)
  • Bert shares: “The audience wasn't even prepared because normally they tell you to sit down and then as soon as Ryan says this is American Idol, you all get up and you cheer. And Corey didn't have time to make that announcement.” (Bert, 02:31)
• Technical Mishaps: A joke about countdowns going awry, with a fake-out that threw talent and audience alike.

2. On-Stage “Weirdness”: Harry Potter Meets Alice Cooper

• Odd Costume Choices: The group is amused and confused by the chorus of contestants dressed in "Harry Potter costumes for Alice Cooper."
  • “Got weird when they're all wearing Harry Potter costumes for Alice Cooper.” (Frankie, 02:48)
  • Reactions range from “a little strange” (Birch, 02:59) to “that was cute” (Wendy, 02:55).
• Alice Cooper’s Entrance: The visual spectacle of Alice Cooper in full glam makeup, spanning decades of rock fashion.

3. The Dane Cook & Ian Bernardo Incident

• Unplanned On-Stage Chaos:
  • Dane Cook performs a "Simon Cowell song," and a planned parade of "quote unquote rejects" joins him, but it quickly devolves as Ian Bernardo (season six) hijacks the moment.
  • “Ian Bernardo guy steals the microphone, and then some of the other rejects start wrestling trying to get the microphone from him. And Dane Cook is in the back just kind of looking around.” (Birch, 03:44)
  • “He looked stunned. Yeah, like, like what is going on?” (Wendy, 04:01)
  • "He was escorted out by security because he was kept going on and on saying, 'Simon, I'm gonna be the one that replaces you. I replace you, Simon Cowell.'" (Wendy, 04:21)
• Production Scramble: The broadcast cut to commercial early due to the disruption.
  • "And then the mic, the hype guy, Corey came on the mic and goes, 'well that went well.'" (Jem, 04:16)

4. Security Oddities: Laxness and Overzealousness

• Lack of Control: The cast is surprised by how easy it is to roam the set and how slow security reacts to actual problems.
  • “You can walk anywhere you want on this set and security guards are around, but they don't stop you.” (Birch, 05:25)
• Out-of-Place Strictness:
  • After the show, strict enforcement suddenly appears when Bert tries to take a photo near a "Lee wins" sign, but the reasoning is questionable.
  • “You're not supposed to have your phone in the Nokia Theater.” (Birch, 05:56)
  • Possible explanation: the sign might spoil the result for the West Coast before the broadcast airs. (Jem, 06:08)

5. Behind-the-Scenes Fun & Friendship

• Photo Op Antics: Despite the controlled chaos, the crew finds moments for candid fun: arranging group photos and poking fun at each other's misadventures with security.
• Banter and Callbacks: Frequent inside jokes and playful reminiscence about previous American Idol experiences—showing the camaraderie of the team.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Atmosphere:
  • “Things started rough on Idol. Like it was just a little off for like the first 45 minutes.” – Birch (01:17)
• On the Hype Man Mishap:
  • “Corey almost went over when the show started. It was just starting.” – Jem (02:06)
• On the Stage Chaos:
  • “He was escorted out by security because he was kept going on and on saying, 'Simon, I'm gonna be the one that replaces you. I replace you, Simon Cowell.'” – Wendy (04:21)
• On Security:
  • “You can walk anywhere you want on this set and security guards are around, but they don't stop you.” – Birch (05:25)
  • “The only thing I could think of is that behind us when we were taking the picture, the sign said Lee wins still. And I wonder if they were afraid that we would ruin it for the west coast.” – Jem (06:08)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:17] – Opening reactions: “Things started rough on Idol.”
• [02:31] – VIP on Corey's mistiming and audience confusion.
• [02:48 - 03:12] – Harry Potter costumes, Alice Cooper, and odd staging.
• [03:12 - 04:29] – Dane Cook’s performance, Ian Bernardo’s interruption, and forced security intervention.
• [05:19 - 05:54] – Discussion about lax and misplaced security protocols.
• [06:08] – Speculation about preventing finale spoilers for the West Coast.

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In the Show’s Signature Style

The episode blends sarcastic humor, firsthand observations, and lively storytelling. The crew’s playful banter (“Harry Potter and Alice Cooper,” “that went well”) provides levity amidst the chaos—giving listeners a sense of what it’s really like attending a live American Idol finale from a media insider’s perspective.

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Transcript

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[Bert]

the

[Birch]

Birch Show Q100 the Bert Show Live from Los Angeles for the finale of American Idol. Things started rough on Idol. Like it was just a little off for like the first 45 minutes.

[Frankie]

Yes.

[Birch]

See, things just seemed a little off,

[Wendy]

you know, I wonder if they did on television or if it was just where we could see it from in person.

[Birch]

Where did it start? What did it start with? That weird Dane Cookish thing? Or was it.

[Frankie]

I think, I think started before that.

[Jem]

I think Corey, our hype dude.

[Bert]

Corey, it's the very beginning.

[Jem]

You know how we told you last night or last yesterday. What day is it? We told you yesterday about how the night before last. You know, Corey is the name of the hype guy. You know, the Ryan Seacrest Jr.

[Birch]

This is the guy you don't see when commercials are playing for you guys. There's a guy that's hyping everybody up, getting everybody all excited. His name's Corey.

[Jem]

Corey, yeah. And Bert was talking about how how perfectly timed everything is. Well, last night it was not perfectly timed. Corey almost went over when the show started. It was just starting.

[Frankie]

That wasn't him. That was the girl she was jacking with. She was screwing with everybody.

[Jem]

She said it just seemed like he wasn't quite on it.

[Frankie]

She said, 5, 4, 3, 2. And he ran off the stage. And then she was quiet for a minute. She goes kidding everybody. One minute to go.

[Birch]

I don't think that's where it got all screwed.

[Bert]

The audience wasn't even prepared because normally they tell you to sit down and then as soon as Ryan says this is American Idol, you all get up and you cheer. And Corey didn't have time to make that announcement. So everyone, even around us was still standing. And we're all supposed to be sitting in the beginning. And I think we're between audience and stage.

[Frankie]

Got weird when they're all wearing Harry Potter costumes for Alice Cooper.

[Birch]

Alice Cooper thing. That's where it started. Weird. Yeah.

[Wendy]

You thought that was weird. That was cute.

[Frankie]

Harry Potter and Alice Cooper.

[Birch]

It was a little strange. Thank you.

[Wendy]

Schools out.

[Frankie]

It's Harry Potter.

[Jem]

There's a little Hogwarts.

[Frankie]

Yeah.

[Bert]

And he came out in full 80s makeup. So he was 70s.

[Jem]

Oh, sorry. I mean they went into the 70s.

[Birch]

But the Dane Cook thing, I don't know that you guys could feel on TV what we saw there or not because we haven't seen it on tv. But you know, Dane Cook is singing his Simon Cowell song and then all the quote unquote rejects from seasons past come on out and this guy, Ian Bernardo. Yeah, you'll remember him from season six.

[Wendy]

Season six. And the only reason he's important I know that is cuz we saw him on the red carpet.

[Birch]

This kid comes out, this kid walks

[Wendy]

the red carpet as if he's like a big time celebrity.

[Birch]

So obnoxious.

[Frankie]

Well, he was. Remember when he was on with us? He was totally obnoxious.

[Birch]

Dane Cook is singing his song and this wasn't scheduled and I don't know if you picked that up on TV or not, but this Ian Bernardo guy steals the microphone and. And then some of the other rejects start wrestling trying to get the microphone from him. And Dane Cook is in the back just kind of looking around. I think he's trying to pull it off.

[Wendy]

But he looked stunned. Yeah, like, like what is going on? And then as soon as it. Because they had to go to commercial early so they had to cut out and go to commercial. And then the mic, the hype guy, Corey came on the mic and goes, well that went well.

[Jem]

And they couldn't. And they couldn't get the mic out of Ian's hand, the mic off. And guards literally had to get him off the stage.

[Wendy]

He was escorted out by security because he was kept going on and on saying, Simon, I'm gonna be the one that replaces you. I replace you, Simon Cowell.

[Frankie]

But even after we don't know where it cut off on tv.

[Wendy]

That's true.

[Frankie]

But even like the lights were. Cause what happens is after they do the tv, after they've clearly gone to commercial, then there's a set of lights that go down and then there's a set of work lights that go up. And so that's what. Well into that point. So I know it wasn't on tv. He was still standing at the edge of the stage. And I can't believe they let him stand there that long.

[Jem]

That's what we were saying. Yeah, the security had to come get him during that commercial break.

[Birch]

Sort of. Based on what we have all seen with security over the last couple of days. Like you would think that security would be tighter in la. Like they're used to kicking people off stage. They're used to like people that are trying to get on the red carpet that aren't supposed to be there. They should kick those people out in your guys case, you know, trying to sneak down into the limo area. Like security should be on that stuff in la.

[Frankie]

Remember last year I took a picture of you and Melissa in the judge's chairs 15 minutes after the show ended.

[Birch]

Sincerely, you can walk anywhere you want on this set and security guards are around, but they don't stop you.

[Frankie]

Except here's the best part. Except at the very end of the night, we're all walking out of the Nokia Theater.

[Jem]

Oh my God. Yes.

[Frankie]

And there's a. And I see a cool photo opportunity. So I tell Frankie, Wendy, Jem, Melissa, Burt, I go, you guys, Bert, give me your camera phone. You all line up right here, I'm gonna take a picture. And the security guard starts hassling Bert that he can't take a picture there

[Birch]

because you're not supposed to have your

[Jem]

phone and even media's not supposed to have their friends. The show's over.

[Birch]

You're not supposed to have your phone in the Nokia Theater.

[Frankie]

But I can understand that. What I can understand is the show's over. It's been over for 15 minutes. There's nobody even in the theater.

[Jem]

The only thing, the only thing I could think of is that behind us when we were taking the picture, the sign said Lee wins still. And I wonder if they were afraid that we would ruin it for the west coast. Like Twitter, Facebook and everybody.

[Frankie]

Internet ruined it for the West Coast. BlackBerry didn't ruin it for.

[Birch]

The security guard was smart there though, because, you know, after we took the. As we were taking the picture, she walked briskly away. So if any other security people saw it, she could be held accountable. That's right. She was smart about that.

[Frankie]

I told him not to.

[Bert]

Bye.

[Wendy]

Bye.

[Birch]

Yeah. I don't even know what they're doing.

[Frankie]

Hey.

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