Here we go!
Coming into the vote last night (so, I suppose, in the previous week's vote), the finalists were separated by less than two percent.
The top 12, in prep school uniforms, perform "School's Out"... and are joined by Alice Cooper.
Kris Allen performs "The Truth."
Simon Cowell montage.
Siobhan and Aaron perform "How Deep Is Your Love"... and there's the Brothers Gibb joining them.
Michael performs "Takin' It To The Streets," joined by Michael McDonald.
Dane Cook performs "Simon Says," a song/monologue featuring "Simon's greatest insults." ("Simon, you have the honesty of Abe Lincoln, and the charm of the guy who shot him.") He's joined onstage by Renaldo Lapuz, Ian Bernardo, and (I assume) a bunch of other notorious losers.
The female finalists perform "Beautiful," which means Xtina must be in the wings. They move on to "Fighter," and... yup, here she is, joining them for the last chorus and then performing "You Lost Me."
...say this for the producers. "Idol Gives Back" sucked, but the finale remains a must-see two-hour variety show.
Ricky Gervais offers a farewell message for Simon.
The male finalists perform "I Can't Go for That" and "Maneater." (Hall & Oates? Really? Really.) Hall & Oates perform "You Make My Dreams Come True."
Crystal performs the first verse and chorus of "Ironic," then introduces Alanis for a duet on "You Oughta Know." ("Would she go down with you to the theatre?" HA!)
Carrie Underwood performs "Undo It" (which is pretty good, and which she cowrote with Kara.)
Kris presents a "big surprise" for Lee and Crystal. They each get a Ford Fiesta with the designs they made at the start of the season. Their failed attempts to look surprised (and general lack of enthusiasm) suggests that yes, they've seen this show before.
Ford video: "My Wish," using clips from the previous videos.
Casey performs "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," joined by Bret Michaels.
Some of the auditions will be on MySpace next season.
Lee performs a medley with Chicago. (The band, that is. Not the entire city.) "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" "If You Leave Me Now," and "25 or 6 to 4."
And another Simon montage.
And here we go. General Larry Platt and an entire dance troupe with "Pants on the Ground." Though this version doesn't actually seem to have a verse, just repeating a line of the-- Oh. My. God. He's joined by William Hung. (And the backup dancers have their pants on the ground, which is what this song is supposed to be against. Oops.)
Ooh. Here comes Paula! We start with Paula reminiscing. ("After eight years of sitting between two men who had bigger boobs than me, I had enough.") And here she is live, to a standing ovation. To Ryan: "You're so cute, and I want my lip gloss back." To Simon: "There's a baby backstage with Simon's haircut, and, sweetheart, it's your turn to feed him."
The show's ground to a halt for her speech, and I am totally fine with that. She's really left a void in the show, and she never got a proper sendoff.
Another Simon montage, with "My Way" in the background.
Parade of Idols! Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Burrino, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks, Taylor Hicks, and Kris Allen perform "Together We Are One," joined by-- wow. Too many other past finalists to name, or even count. (What happened to David Cook?)
Paula escorts Simon to the stage. He makes a short speech of his own, thanking everyone from the contestants to the production crew to the viewers at home. "When everyone asks... who's gonna be the next judge. The truth is, you guys have been the judge of this show, and you've done an incredible job over the years."
The finalists sing the first verse of "Again" and are joined by Janet Jackson, who segues into "Nothing." And then shifts to a laser light show and a whole lot of backup dancers performing "Nasty."
Oh, right, this is a results show. Crystal and Lee montage!
The final two sing "With A Little Help From My Friends," and are joined by Joe Cocker. (If you haven't seen this subtitled version of the Woodstock performance, you need to. Trust me.)
Pool-wise, everything is hinging on the final results this year. The top three are Suzanne, Shmuel, Shlomo if Lee wins; Pam, Mo, Lisa if Crystal does. (And that only because Mo Pie decided to forgo a purely strategic approach at the last minute.)
And here's some guy with an envelope containing the certified results. Dim the lights!
After the nationwide vote... the winner... of American Idol 2010... is... Lee!
The big screen in the center helpfully flashes "LEE WINS!" in large friendly letters.
Lee appears to be stunned. And after saying that he's so, so happy, it's on to his performance of "Beautiful Day" amid a shower of sparks, and lasers, and streamers, and confetti. (They wisely decided to skip the superfluous trophy this year.)
And this year's pool winner is Suzanne! Though she won't know it for two hours, due to the time zone thing. Congrats!
Final pool standings:
Suzanne: 25
Shmuel: 22.5
Shlomo: 20.25
Brieanne: 19.25
Mo Pie: 19.25
Pam: 18.75
Jesse: 18.25
TeKay: 18.25
Lisa: 16.25
(Honestly, Brieanne would likely be in second place if not for the flooding.)
Posted by Shmuel at May 26, 2010 10:09 PM