Crystal Dominates, But Won't Win

Idolites -

Well, it came down to the big, 3 song night for Crystal and Lee and Crystal pulled out all the stops. Usually the finale ends up being somewhat of a letdown in terms of performances. The song choices are generally not good and the contestants tend to be a bit nervous.

That was still the case last night to a large degree, but Crystal was able to pull out one of the best performances of the season to cap the show and give her a glimmer of hope at taking down the Idol title.

Before I get to the performances, did anyone else notice that Seacrest kept holding his microphone with two hands all night? He looked like Aaron Kelly singing in the early weeks.

LEE #1 - "The Boxer" Let me say right off the bat that I hate the fact that every season finale, they have the contestants sing a song they have already done during the season. It's a no win situation. The reason we like a performance is because it takes us by surprise and has an element of emotion that cannot be recreated weeks later. Lee did an OK job with this song last night. As the judges said, however, he seemed a bit reserved and holding back. He did seem pretty nervous.

CRYSTAL #1 - "Me & Bobby McGee" Sigh. Again, it just seemed a bit forced. Crystal definitely did a better job with her encore performance than Lee. She showed the passion we haven't seen much of over the season. In short, you can tell that she really wants to win this thing.

LEE #2 - "Everybody Hurts" The producers song choice is always the best one. Lee did a nice job...much better than the first song...but still seems a bit 'deer in the headlights' to me. One thing is certain...Simon LOVES Lee. I think Simon wants Lee to win more than Lee does. He can't bring himself to say anything negative about him. In fact, I noticed last night that for the first time in Finale history, Simon didn't declare a 'Winner' after each round of songs. I think because he knew Lee was getting killed and didn't want to bring him down or cost him votes.

CRYSTAL #2 - "Black Velvet" So, the song itself seemed like a good choice for Crystal. However, they stick her with a heavy metal version of the song. Then, they have her dress up in a too-tight, black satin dress with (way too) high heels. She looked terrified as she waddled down the huge staircase, looking down at each step. The producers did her no favors on this one. The judges were excited, but to me it didn't capture Crystal as an artist at all. Thus, I really didn't enjoy it at all. Simon was also correct in saying the song itself has been way overused on the show.

LEE #3 - "Beautiful Day" Alrighty then! The producers finally figured out (it only took 8 seasons) that the Idol's first single always sucks. They've tried songwriting contests and even threw Kara under the bus last year, but the song never works. Someone got smart and decided to let the contestants do a cover of an already successful song that actually fits their vocal style. The only problem with this song is that it didn't fit Lee's vocal style at all. It felt like he was overreaching on many of the notes and never really got comfortable. Simon, however, bailed him out again, telling him what a great guy he is.

CRYSTAL #3 - "Up To The Mountain" Fantastic song choice! Interesting that this song is also on Susan Boyle's debut album, but when you find something good, I guess you roll with it. For me, that performance was total Crystal. It was her style of song, she was dressed like she would dress and she was able to just sit, play and sing, which is what she does best. One of the top performances I've seen in the finale show.

After Crystal finished her dominating performances last night, I was actually thinking that she may have a chance to win. If the winner were determined by the last performances, then we'd be looking at Crystal as the next Idol for sure. I just think Lee had too much momentum going into this week. Plus, with Casey being eliminated, I think many of his votes would swing to Lee anyway.

PREDICTIONS:

• Lee will win.
• Paula Abdul will be on the show tonight (thanks Tony!).
• Norman Gentle will be on the show tonight (he recently recorded a farewell song to Simon, so I have a hunch).
• There will be two or three cheesy medleys by the Top 12.
• Seacrest will do or say at least three things that will make the audience uncomfortable.
• Simon will shed a tear.
• Tomorrow will be Pool Boy's last Idol blog....ever.

Enjoy the Finale tonight!

Pool Boy Out