And The Winner Is...

In the end, I think it was all about who you'd go out and buy a record from...not who you'd vote for in a a popularity contest. With just under a hundred million votes, it was a pretty good cross-section of people who decided Kris Allen should be the American Idol. He was definitely the under dog, but he was all season. If you go back and look week after week, he consistently delivered terrific music. He didn't come with all of the bells and whistles that Adam did, but in the end, he didn't have to.

Before the finale began last night, Little One declared"I'm just going to tell myself that Adam won so I won't be disappointed." I thought these were words of wisdom, so I did the same thing. I thought the show was actually one of the best finales they have had. The performances were really good for the most part. I thought Kris's duet with Keith Urban was terrific. I can see them working together. I thought Allison's duet with Cyndi Lauper was beautiful. Once again Allison delivered a flawless performance, causing some online voices this morning to suggest that she should have been in the finals. Adam's performance with Kiss was disappointing to me. The first Kiss song that he sang, Beth, is one of my all-time favorites. It is a simple, beautiful melody. I didn't think he did it justice. I thought they should have let Kris sit at the piano and just play and sing. That would have been perfect. Then Adam could have launched into what the Little One called his "scary songs" with Kiss. The other disappointment was Danny's "duet" with Lionel Richie. I mean, it was ok. But it didn't seem well-rehearsed, and Danny just seemed like a back-up singer. It certainly didn't make you think:"Gee, Danny should have been in the finals."

The rest of the show was pretty good too. Fergie and the Black-Eyed Peas did their thing...Jason Mraz was ok...though Little One said he didn't "sound like on the radio". Rod Stewart...who I have loved for years...was ok. I love Maggie May, but not like he sang it last night. He has kind of morphed into a Vegas act. He looks like he has had plastic surgery... and he sings the song like a Musac song in the elevator. This is the guy who sang "The First Cut is the Deepest" with just an accoustic guitar accompanying him...and it would make you cry. But now it's all a little too showy.

Surprisingly enough, the duet between lovely Megan and Michael Sarver, (written and accompanied by Steve Martin) was really nice. It made me think that these two might be able to carve out a music career. In fact, Michael sounded good in everything last night.


On a low note, they brought back "Bikini Girl", which prompted the Little One to say "What is wrong with her?" I kind of liked how Kara came out and sang circles around her...not because I love Kara, but because that girl was so rude to her during the season.

The final announcement by Ryan was such a surprise. I hated for Kris to say "Adam deserved this". He repeated it in an interview this morning, but thankfully added "as much as I did". For those of us who voted for him, we want him to know that we think He deserved it.

I saw Adam interviewed too this morning. Besides the fact that he seems like a very nice guy...he seemed genuinely happy for Kris. He hinted that Queen had offered him a place in their band. He's fine...he knows he's on his way. So another year of Idol complete. You wonder if they can ever top the talent of this year....so

Until tomorrow, when I'll download some songs by Kris....and look forward to the weekend....