todd55devoe's blog: "american idol"

It's come down to this: Jordin vs. Blake. Beauty and the Beatboxer, or some such.

The winning Idol's song, This Is My Now, was written by a Seattle duo, a pastor and a contemporary Christian artist. Both contestants will perform it tonight and chances are I'll go to hell for what I'm gonna say about it.

A commercial break before we even get started? Talk about padding.

Aw, Blake's such a gentleman, winning the coin toss but asking Jordin if she wants to go first. She wisely declines. He goes first. (Better to go last and make the final impression).

Anyhow, Blake reprises Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Band Name. There is no excuse to repeat songs from just a couple weeks ago. The whole sense of discovery is shot. This is a bad thing Idol does on finale shows. And given that the judges seem clueless about contemporary music, they think this beatboxing nonsense is "original" and "different." Sorry, nothing unique about it. Paula has such a crush on Blake it's embarrassing. Simon's easily entertained if he thinks Blake is such a great performer. He needs to get out to more concerts.

Good for Jordin, singing a song we haven't heard yet this season, Christina Aguilera's Fighter. Wish she had torn it up tho. Jordin's age and inexperience is really starting to show. Screechy at times, tuneless. Very disappointed, especially since this is one of the few Christina songs I can tolerate. This would have been so much better had Melinda done it. Simon's right, the vocals were "shrieky." Meantime, Paula and Randy are the most ineffectual, useless judges. When asked who won round one neither could say. It's not rocket science. It's an opinion. Easy to do. Blake won round one, much as it pains me to say only because viewers are going to respond to his shtick moreso than a so-so Disney performance from Jordin.

Do you think Paula really tripped over her dog or do you think she had a quick plastic surgery nip and tuck? Hmmm....

Blake on Maroon 5, again, but She Will Be Loved, a different song. M5's Adam Levine is hardly a great vocalist but his falsetto is much less labored and more natural than Blake's. I can see Blake going for the young girl's vote with a song like this -- tactically, a smart move -- but all it really does is point out his vocal limitations. The judges (Randy and Paula) are so easy to please. All of America was searched for the top talent and this is the best we could come up with? Simon's the only one judging tonight.

Jordin reprising A Broken Wing. Again, we've already heard this and already have made up our minds about it. Rumor had it she was going to sing Martina's current single Anyway and that would have been much better and fresher. We already know Jordin can outsing Blake. Technically, fine. But I didn't get goosebumps this time. The first time I did. "Most talented 17 year old singer I've ever seen," Randy said, saying this was better than the original. "Now that was good," Simon said.

Round two to Jordin tho. I think that much is clear.

Now we get the Christian-pop song. God's on Jordin's side for sure...

This year Idol can't even find a good songwriter. This is My Now, the winning song, is no better than the other schmaltzy ballads Idol winners have been cursed with each year. Every one has the same trite "I can't believe this is happening to me" sentiment. Atrocious. I even felt bad for Blake having to force his reedy, thin voice over these lyrics. This is my hell. If Paula thinks Blake was "in great voice" I think she fell on her head. "Always thought there was talent in Seattle and I was right," Simon smugly and foolishly said by way of praising little Blake. Simon just revealed how little he knows about music: How about Nirvana, Heart, Pearl Jam, Jimi Hendrix, to name a few respected acts to come out of Seattle. What an idiot.

A commercial break before Jordin performs the same song, so we can let our stomachs settle.

But here goes Jordin, anyway, and she should have looked more confident. She had to know she could outsing Blake on this drippy ballad. And of course, she did. Crying at the end, perhaps in penance for having to sing such a s--tty song on national TV. When she wins Idol, as I still think she will, will we have to hear this song again tomorrow night amid the falling confetti?

Paula's favorite word this season: "Frikkin"

Randy picks Jordin to win because "this is a singing competition" and Simon said she "wiped the floor with Blake on that song" after saying he previously didn't think she belonged in the finals. Mixed message.

What an uninspiring end to a mostly crappy season. Finally, Chris Daughtry, one of the most successful contestants, returns over the closing credits to sing his hit single Home to close the show (and add a couple more hundred thousand sales to its parent CD).

{Photo credits: Official Idol shots Frank Micelotta/FOX; screen grabs rickey.org}