Idol Worship - The Final Performance

When the night started, there were two Idols left standing. All that stood between one of them and their dream of being crowned Season 9 American Idol were three songs and your votes.

Here's how it all went down:

• Lee DeWyze was the first of the two finalists to perform. For his first song he went with
  "The Boxer", a song he originally sang during "Inspiration" week. Lee gave a solid performance, but it was clear his nerves were starting to show after having been held in check the past couple of weeks. The judges were all over the place with their critiques--Randy, Kara, and Simon wanted more while Ellen said she "couldn't have been prouder if I gave birth to you".
• While Lee internalized the judges comments and got ready for his second song, Crystal took the stage and sang "Me and Bobby McGee". As you no doubt recall, Crystal sang this classic Janis Joplin song back on Billboard #1 week. She hit it out of the park the first time and did the same this time. I found it a little "screamy" toward the end (a shout out to Siobhan perhaps), but the judges fell all over themselves complimenting her and giving her an overwhelming lead by taking Round 1.

Round 2 songs were selected by Idol producer, Simon Fuller.

• For Lee, Simon selected REM's "Everybody Hurts". It was a really good song selection and one that seemed perfectly suited for Lee's "radio ready" voice. To help give the song a fuller sound and elevate the performance a bit, Lee was joined on stage by a gospel choir. His performance was definitely an improvement over his first one, but you could tell the nerves were still present.
• Crystal's second song was "Black Velvet"--the moody torch song made famous by Canada's own Alana Myles. Crystal came dressed to kill in a black dress and strappy heels, but she struggled to make her way around the stage and at one time looked as those she was going to take a header into the crowd. But wobbly steps aside, Cyrstal, again, delivered a performance strong enough to add another round in her favor.

For their third and final song, Lee and Crystal selected songs that, if they win, will be their debut singles.

• Lee went with the U2 anthem, "Beautiful Day" and delivered a much stronger performance--it was not Bono, but it was still good and likely worthy of recording whether he wins or not.
• Crystal chose a lesser known song to close the show. In my opinion, Cyrstal had the performance of the night with "Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)"--a spiritial song filled with raw emotion and soul.

So with the final six performances over, Simon's last critique ever, and your votes being tabulated, the only thing we can do now is wait for the results show--an over-bloated two-plus hour affair scheduled to begin tomorrow night at 8:00PM Eastern and Pacific, 7:00PM Central. Tune in then to find out if your favorite will win the crown.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don't have to.

Charlie