American Idol Finale: And the Winner is Lee DeWyze!

The ninth season of American Idol ended with a two hour special last night. It was an amazing finale with past American Idols and favorites from the past, which included the ones that were the worst and most interesting. Who could forget the "pants on the ground" performer? He performed with William Hung to his famous song, complete with dancers who were wearing their "pants on the ground."

It was a nostalgic and entertaining. The top 12 idol contestants were matched with famous musicians from their genre. It was good to see the top 12 again singing along with the top two finalists, Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze. Big Mike, Casey James, along with Siobhan Magnus and the other girls from the ninth season of American

Idol performed with much pride and talent. It was good to see them all back.

Carrie Underwood gave a beautiful performance along with many other famous singers. She has been one of the most successful past American Idol winners. One of my favorites was also there, David Archuletta although he did not do an individual performance. He was another surprise runner-up to David Cook who won as the winner of American Idol two years ago. David Cook wasn't there which was a disappointment.

Chris Allen last season's winner was also in attendance. He upset Adam Lambert on the last night of American Idol. I would not have been disappointed with either of our top two contestants as this year's winners. I have been a fan of both of them from the beginning. Crystal has improved over the season, really coming into her own with confidence and poise over the last month. She knows who she and is a star already.

I loved Lee DeWyze from the beginning and have watched him blossom over the last month or so. He is amazing and has a very unique voice and style. After the final performance he didn't get rave critiques from the judges and it felt a little shakey on whether he could possibly win. Crystal on the other hand got top reviews from all of the judges.

Just like last season with Adam Lambert and Chris Allen it was kind of a shock to see Lee DeWyze win over Crystal Bowersox. The win was only about a 2% lead. They are both winners in my book.

I think that it is interesting that Adam Lambert was missing from the finale last night. I don't know if there was a specific reason or if he chose not to appear. He is a distinct performer but not my favorite.

Janet Jackson was the last famous performer and really stood out with her talent and charisma. I liked her dress better though with the skirt on, instead of with the pants, although she is still a great dancer. I was surprised by her hair too but it really looked good on her. She has quite the tush on her.

I was not impressed by Christina Aguilera's performance or costume. I thought that it was way too somber and morose. It was hard to tell what she was wearing. It looked like she was wearing a two-piece bathing suit bottom over skintight pants. Maybe it is my age, but I was not impressed. She reminds me too much of Lady Gag Gag, excuse me I think that is Lady Ga Ga, who also performed her Alejandro song earlier in this season of American Idol.

Paula Abdul also made an appearance on the finale of American Idol. She looked amazing and refreshed. She flirted and reminisced over her relationship with Simon Cowell on American Idol. She expressed her opinion on their relationship. It is a relationship of equals, he is not her superior. Ryan Seacrest also appeared moved by the last appearance of Simon Cowell. There were a lot of clips from past snarky comments by Simon of performers by past contestants, along with the infamous kiss between Cowell and Paula Abdul.

It was an amazing finale. I am going to be going into withdrawal until the new season begins. I know that Simon Cowell will be missed but he will not be gone or forgotten. Simon was visibly moved and emotional about his last time on the show. Many loved the fact that he was so outspoken. Many times he was over the top with his abusive comments. One of them that must have been particularly hurtful was about a young girl's performance. He said that she sounded like a cat that was thrown off of a roof and the sound that it would make before it hit the ground. American Idol will be able to survive just fine without him just like they did without Paula Abdul.

I am sure that the top 12 will continue on to have successful careers and I know that those involved with the coming tour will continue to have some of the best times in their lives Good luck to them all.

A small aside is that our satellite was out until about 5:00 when my son-in-law was able to get our new box hooked up. Thank you Jeremy you are my hero!