I didn't really have the time, nor the inclination, to do a recap of the 2 hour American Idol finale. My goal last night was to sit back and take in the performances and not worry about notes this time. It was either that or not watch until the very end to see the results (I was tempted, but really didn't want to miss a thing!)...I felt the need to chillax a bit, ya know? It's been a long, but good, AI season.

So, since I took the easy road last evening I thought I'd come back today and share some of the things I enjoyed the most about last night's finale...

1. The Cook/Archuleta Hero duet was almost magical for me. Wow, ya know, they sound really good together! I was surprised. I think if Archie had done songs like this all throughout the season he might have had an even better shot at winning.

2. Jason singing Hallelujah. Rumor has it he wanted to do a different song, but Nigel Lythgoe had other plans. I thought it was as good as the first time around, and he was the only one of the top twelve who got to do a solo performance. He's got a sweet soul inside him.

3. The David Cook Guitar Hero Commercial. I was getting up to take a bathroom break when I saw a half-nekkid Cookie out of the corner of my eye! "Oh my God! That's David Cook!" I exclaimed, stopping dead in my tracks. Unfortunately my husband was in the room when I did this. I must admit I was a little too ecstatic. Really, it was a cool commercial. I had just told my sister the other day that it would be awesome if they came out with a David Cook Guitar Hero version. This was the next best thing.

I happened to find a version of the commercial that is not ready for prime time. I don't know where it came from originally, but it is much less edited than the one that was shown:

4. David Cook and ZZ Top. This played right into my middle aged heart. I happen to like ZZ Top (even saw them in concert in the eighties), and I thought DC did very well on this song. He's quite the performer!

5. Brooke White and Graham Nash. A barefoot Brooke singing with Graham Nash! I thought it was adorably great:

 6. The apology of Simon Cowell to David Cook for throwing him under the bus on performance night (not sure that wasn't planned still, but whatever...), and DC's graciousness toward Archie when he won. The coronation song is all kinds of cheesy, but hey, that's the way AI rolls.

There were a lot of cool moments last night, but those were some of the highlights, at least in my eyes.

I'd like to thank my counterpart in this blog, AliasUndercover, for his great commentary throughout this season, and for his sensible take on how things went down week after week. This has been a lot of fun for me, AU. Thanks so much! And thanks to all of you who have been following along.

~ CJ

Live! From the Nokia Theater in L.A.!! Are we ready to rumble?!!

Yep.

We have 4 hours of voting tonight for two contestants who have never been in the bottom 3.

David A. won the toss and chose to sing second. Good strategy.

Up first...

Clive Davis' Choice:

DC - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (U2) - Ooh! I love this song by U2! David really did it justice...and gave me goosebumps! He's a star! Randy said it was a great way to start the night, nice song choice. Hot! Paula said he is in great voice tonight. Simon said it was phenomenal. - CJ

DA - Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (Elton John) - Okay, this is probably the kids best performance to date, albeit he's doing a song from way, way, way before he was born. Heck, it's practically as old as I am (and that's pretty old!). Randy says it is flawless, molten hot (can he think of any other adjectives than these same old, tired lines??). Paula says it was a beautiful, beautiful, stunning performance. Simon says it's the best he's done so far, round 1 goes to Archuleta. (Alright, I'll give him round 1, but I still loved Cook's performance). - CJ

Coronation Songs:

DC - Dream Big - He is rockin'! Especially for how cheesy these coronation songs usually are, that was good. Randy says he sang his face off, nice (Noooo! not the face!! Eek!). Paula said blah, blah, blah (didn't really catch that). Simon said it was lightweight, but he made the most of what he had, 6 1/2 out of 10. (WHAT??!) - CJ

DA - In This Moment - Boring song, boring performance...no surprises for me here. He was off key a few times. Randy said he was in the zone (again, typical Randyism). Paula said it was another heartfelt performance, pure magic. Simon said he chose the better song (??) and round 2 goes to Archuleta (WHAT #2 ???????). No mention by any of the three about the off notes. Whatever. - CJ

Contestant's Choice:

DC - The World I Know - Oh, yeah, I know this song! Awesome! Great falsetto at the end, good all around. Very heartfelt performance. Aww! He's cryin'!! Lots of emotion here. Loved it all. Randy said it was a very nice job. Paula gave him a standing ovation. Simon said it was a beautiful song, but the wrong song choice. He thought he should have reprised one of his past performances, like Billie Jean. DC explains that he sees this contest as a progression and didn't see the logic in doing something he's done already. I can see the sense in that. On a side note: DC is the first contestant in Idol history to ever sing three songs he'd never sung before in the final. BOOYAH! - CJ

DA - Imagine - Heard it. It wasn't as good as his first time doing it, and I really dislike this rendering of this song. John Lennon may very well be spinning like a rotisserie in his grave. And for gosh sakes, open your eyes kid!! Randy said he is the best singer of the season. Paula said it was stunning. Simon said knockout DA. I am stunned. I didn't think he was all that tonight, and I don't think DC was given his due. - CJ

CJ - I predict David Cook will win anyway.

I'm going to have a difficult time watching Wednesday night. Maybe I'll just catch the results at the end? *sigh* No, I'll probably suffer through the torture. It will be a star-studded event. Rumor has it that DC wll sing with Mariah Carey, and David Archuleta will sing with Neil Diamond. And much, much more...tomorrow!

It's my best bet that Syesha will be hitting the road tonight. We shall see...

In other news, my computer is toast. I am on a spare, but it limps along as well. AU...you may have to fill in the results!

I hope to be back up and running before the finale. ~ CJ

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Awesome homecoming tapes for all of them.

Syesha leaves tonight.

It will be a David vs. David finale.

DCFTW!!

AU~ The commies should free my internetz tonight or tomorrow, but I did get to see the results show.  As much as I hate the idea of wasting 1 complete hour of my life to hear 5 seconds of news, I really like the results shows and last night was no exception.  I don't know how they make it interesting (or at least watchable), but they do.  The homecoming tapes were great.  I liked WonderBread's best.  He seemed the most genuinely touched .

I thought they did a very good job of showing all 3 competitors fairly, even though it was written in stone how the results would turn out.  Syesha had many good moments (especially Change Is Gonna Come), but there was never any question.  We been saying a David cage fight for weeks and weeks.  I'm gonna miss her.

Goodbye prettiest one