American Idol 2010:Season 9 Grand Finale - Who Won Idol and Recap of Show

Recap of tonight's 5/26/2010American Idol show, featuring a two-hour special with guests: Christina Aguielera, Bret Michaels, Orianthi, Kris Allen, the Bee Gees, Alanis Morrisette, Hall & Oats, Chicago, Janet Jackson, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson and tons more. What a show on American Idol tonight.

Ryan Seacrest said, "During the auditions, Chicago turned out the best with twelve thousand contestants. This season included auditions in 7 cities and 100,000 contestants, 14 weeks of live performances and nearly 500 million votes. What started in Chicago ends tonight.

What have the voters decided as the winner of Idol- Crystal Bowersox or Lee DeWyze?

Ryan introduced the judges, Randy Jackson, Ellen DeGeneres, Kara DioGuardi, and his last night on American Idol, Simon Cowell. Randy got on his feet for Simon but Ryan said hang on man, "It's going to be a long night."

Ryan said to Lee, "What's the vibe?"

Lee said, "I'm happy to be here tonight, I'm happy to be up here with her, pointing towards Crystal.

Crystal said, "My head is in the clouds, it's been an incredible and an amazing journey. Thanks to all that I love and who love me."

Both Idols home towns had coliseums filled with fans

Crystal's fans came live from Huntington Center, Toledo, OH; Lee's fans were in Mt. Prospect Illinois at the Village Green.

Next up we saw the Idols dressed in "school garb" doing School's Out

Orianthi was on the stage playing guitar, doing "School's Out", and then legendary 62 year-old Alice Cooper came out on the Idol stage with a bunch of background singers that had eye make-up on that was reminiscent of Alice's act. He must have had a hard time hearing as he was off key seemingly, from the rest of the singers but he still has hair!

Changing their lives forever, Crystal or Lee?

Next up, Kris Allen, sang, "The truth" from his new album and he did ok with it. It is Simon's last night on American Idol, so they are paying tribute to the guy who has made so many lives come true.

Ryan introduced the next clip saying, "We need to look back at some of the moments, the "Low Lights," or Simon's greatest moments." They showed several instances of Simon critiquing the contestants with his blunt ways.

Aaron Kelley and Siobhan Magnus began a duet performing the Bee Gee's, "How deep is your love"; they were joined by Andy and Barry Gibb. I'm still amazed at Siobhan's powerful vocals. She was in her element and vocal range singing on the stage with the Gibbs. Aaron faded in the background but Siobhan ate up the stage. We saw David Hassehloff from Baywatch was in the crowd.

Michael Lynch sang, "Taking it to the Streets" by the Doobie Brothers, and then Michael McDonald joined him on the stage. They performed it together, alternating verses.

Spoof on Simon says

Ryan then announced a special song that was performed by comic Dane Cook. It was a spoof comprised of some of Simon's famous insults and started out with, "You sounded like a cat thrown off a sky scraper, on your way down, I'm sorry, but if you win this contest, we will have failed. Simon said the things, Simon said that. Simon says no so often that the only time he says yes, is when you ask him if he just said no. You should sue your teacher. You came across like a background singer for a back ground singer. Simon says you must be deaf; the things that Simon says. It's all about you. (I predict this song is going to go Viral). See what else Simon says

Christina Aguielera

Lacey came out singing, Christina Aguilera's, "I am beautiful," then was joined by Didi Benami. Katie Stevens and then Siobhan, then Crystal, as they joined each other on the stage behind the judges.

They started singing "Fighter" and then it was announced, Christina Aguilera was there.

The lights went off, and the room glowed blue. A violinist played and suddenly Christina was on the stage, standing in a black jumper suit, and betted avis bleach blond hair, singing "You couldn't keep your hands to yourself." This girl has one of the most powerful vocals and she gives it her all when she is on stage.

The boys started with Lee on the stage singing "I can't go for that" by Daryl Hall and John Oates, and then rest of the idols joined him. Casey started the next one, "Man-Eater" (ever the cougar troll) and then Lee announced Daryl Hall and John Oates. They did, "You make my dream come true",

What a dream come true! Crystal sang, "Ironic" by Alanis Morrisette. I think Crystal sang it better than Alanis, with all due respect. Then Alanis was on the stage joining Crystal doing a duet singing, "You Ought to Know". Fantabulous they were on par or very close vocally, and Crystal just seemed to be glorified to be able to sing with someone like Alanis on the Idol Finale.

Carrie Underwood has achieved a lot in the last 5 years since she became known on the Idol stage

Five years ago tonight, Carrie Underwood won on the Idol stage. Ryan said, "Tonight Carrie is going to perform "Undo It". Carrie is also a fantastic singer, and the American Idol was treated to a stupendous show this evening.

After she was done, we learned from Ryan that Kara DioGuardi covered the song with Carrie.

We see Lee and Crystal in the back seat of a car, and they are told they are on their way to a photo shoot. Way back when they designed their Ford Fiesta's, apparently they made their own car designs because Ford presented them with their 2011 Ford Fiesta's. They were happy and Crystal said" This is fun I'm having a great time."

Bret Michaels and Casey James

Casey James started on his acoustic singing Poison's "Every Rose Has its Thorn", and then the camera showed that Casey had his electric guitar on his back. He flipped it around, and did a lead for Bret Michaels who made an appearance even after his recent hospitalizations. Casey is phenomenal on that guitar. I was hoping to get to hear a shot of Orianthi and Casey- the two of them would be amazing. It is great to see Bret Michael's after his health issues, but I fear he is still pushing it and he works as hard as Ryan Seacrest!

Check out Myspacce.com/americanidol for tour information and upcoming tryouts this summer.

Lee DeWyze did a melody of hits from his hometown's namesake, Chicago. And then they joined him on stage doing, "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", "If you leave me now" "Twenty-five or 624.

Is Simon Cowell a Flirt?

The camera showed a shot of Simon in his room, and we hear him say, "I've fallen totally in love with you" and then we see him talking to himself in the mirror. Kara said, "He usually likes girls that are somewhat enhanced. Maybe his first love will always be Paula, but the 2010 season show opened with Ellen on his lap. Paula said, "He was a flirt but his hands usually ended up on his own chest."

The next bit was General Larry Platt performing the infamous and appropriate for our times, Pants on the Ground. The dancers just made the song, and the General sang it and danced with the boys, with everything he had. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people singing that song. You tube had about 6M hits on it when I looked last.

Don't forget the Idol Tour - Paula Abdul was in the house

Paula was shown in a clip and said of Simon, "We met on the first day of work. We were thrown in front of the cameras and Simon was loud and proud of telling people like it was." There were several clips of the judges telling each other to shut up.

The voice of Paula continued, "The best moments were when we were laughing hysterically." A clip was shown of a previous season where Simon was laughing so hard, he couldn't speak. That must have been a first. He finally recovered enough to say, "You're making me laugh Paula."

She concluded, "For all the ups and downs of our relationship, he taught me to be strong, to Sir with Love!

And then Paula was on stage. She pointed to Simon and said, "I'll get to you in a minute. Thank you everyone. Thank you so much." The crowd was welcoming.

"It is fantastic being here tonight. I miss everyone. Randy you look charming. Ellen I love you, want to dance. Kara you look beautiful, to which she responded, "You look amazing." Paula wanted to know "Where is Ryan?" He was off to the side of the stage and she told him, "You are so cute and I want my lip gloss back. And Simon? Well... That's all I got" as she joked about walking off stage.

She went into a comedic monologue, "The only reason why they wanted me back was so I could tell you why I left it. There's a baby back there, with Simon's haircut and Simon, it's your turn to feed him!"

She looked at him, "My darling Simon I have worked with a lot of people over the years, hot cheer leaders, young stars, song writers, dancers, but none of them hold a candle to you.

She chided him about their "relationship", I know you like to think of it as a teacher student thing, but no, it has brought immeasurable joy and I love all the laughter we have had. American Idol won't be the same without you, but as only I can only tell you, it will go on." That got a laugh from the crowd.

When asked why he was leaving, Simon said, "You gotta know when to leave the party. I can walk away with happy memories. I've had the best 10 years of my life, so thank you and I'm going to miss you."

As a tribute to Simon, many of the past stars of the Idol previous seasons sang a melody of an Idol song that might have been called "See what we've become" but I'm not really sure. It featured a number of familiar faces including Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks, Kris Allen, Clay Aiken, Taylor Hicks and many more.

Paula dragged Simon to the edge of the stage and he went up, reluctantly. He said,"I didn't think I was going to be this emotional but I genuinely am. It is great to have this little one back (pointing to Paula) and as the show goes on, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart; the fun, your sense of humor - seeing these contestants. That has made the show.

When people ask me," who is going to be the next judge, "I say, the truth is - you guys are the judge of this show. You have done a tremendous job. I would also like to thank the production team, the people that put all this together. It's been a blast. Thank you."

Up on stage, Janet Jackson performed, "Nothing (Trust in Me)". "Nasty boy". Adam Lambert was the first to use the strobes on the Idol stage and Janet brought the stage to light too; nicely done.

We saw a flash back to the auditions on 8/31/2009 in Chicago with Shania Twain. Lee said," I'm 23 and this is what I'm supposed to be doing." Crystal said, "I'm Crystal Bowersox and I'm really happy to be here."

Crystal and Lee started singing Joe Cocker's, "Get By with a Little Help from my friends" and then Crystal introduced Joe, and she sang back-ups with Lee.

The look on Crystal's face was priceless. You can see on her face that this is the best night of her life and way beyond her wildest imagination. Give it Up, she yelled when they were done - Joe Cocker!

I have got to say this idol show has been packed with some serious stars. What a night to make connections for the Idols. I bet there is going to be one hell of an after-party tonight.

Mother from Toledo and Paint Salesman from Chicago - The official envelope

Talk about emotion.

Ryan started, "The nationwide vote, I can now tell you, and the winner of American Idol 2010 is...

Lee DeWyze.

Ryan held him up for a minute as he staggered on stage. Lee was choking back the tears. What an emotional night. Crystal was gracious and smiling, and Lee was hugged by all the Idols. Crystal is the runner up.

Ryan said, "Lee come up here". Lee said, "Oh my God." The camera flashed and Crystal was crying. Less said,"I don't know? This is just amazing. Thank you so much for everything. Thank you judges. Everybody I can't believe this. Crystal I love you. I'm just happy man; I've never been happier in my life."

Ryan asked him, "Can you describe the feeling you had when I said your name." Lee said, "No, and I appreciate everything" They were already over time by five minutes. Ryan said, "Here it is, and the music began for Lee to do his winning song "Beautiful Day".

It was not his best performance but you could hear the emotion in his voice. It's a beautiful day was the right song for him tonight and the massive amounts of confetti made the stage appear like it was the Presidential Election."

Lee was the winner, but again, it was close - a 2% difference in the votes.

There is a song I thought about that goes like this, "Keep On Singing Don't Stop Singing" by Helen Reddy that kind of reminds me of Crystal. I can't wait to see them all in concert, and it turned out to be a very good year in American Idol world, after all.

Congratulations Lee - You deserve it! It was a 10 out of 10.

Source:

Fox Television, American Idol 5/26/2010