OK, Fox, It's Lee vs. Crystal!

Idolites -

Well, the producers of Idol couldn't have been more clear as to who they want in the Finale next week. I was feeling kind of bad for Casey for awhile, but realized how far he has gotten and understand that he'll be just fine.

Pool guru, James Munger, e-mailed me last week saying how interesting it was that Casey James has pretty much ignored the judges all along. He has done his own thing, played feel-good, guitar heavy songs, yet has still ended up in the Final 3...quite admirable. I mean, the judges often circle back to the phrase "this is a singing competition". However, when they let contestants start playing instruments, it has become much more than that. They can say it's all about how well you can sing, but there is no telling a voter they can't vote for Casey because he's cute and plays a really mean guitar.

That being said, Casey was given an uphill challenge last night. He was asked to sing first, which is always more difficult. Then, Kara & Randy screwed him over by picking "Daughters" by John Mayer as his final song. Top it off with overt gushing over Crystal & Lee by (of all people) Simon and Casey will find himself going home tonight.

When you look back at past final 3's, you often find that the 3rd place finisher was a pretty obvious choice when you got down to 3. I mean, there was really no way that Nikki McKibbon, Kimberly Locke, Jasmine Trias, Vonzell Solomon, Elliot Yamin, or Syesha Mercado were going to the finals, much less win. Melinda Doolittle & Danny Gokey were the only third place finishers that had a realistic chance of being in the final 2. Casey will be a nice addition to this group.

Yes, Casey will finish 3rd. I guarantee it. The Southern vote will not save him. Plus, Lee will become the first contestant to become Idol by beating a contestant that is from a city farther East of him. Yes, I said Lee will win.

...on to the show...

CASEY #1 - "OK, It's Alright With Me" Classic Casey! A feel good, Southern rock song while hanging out in the bar. Casey owns this category, along with all of the cougars at that bar. I think they will be too drunk to dial on enough votes, though.

CRYSTAL #1 - "Come To My Window" As always, Crystal is good. This song just seemed SO obvious. With very little done to the arrangement, it sounded (to me) like a really good karaoke version of that song. That's the one thing about the final 3, there is no question who each of them are as an artist.

LEE #1 - "Simple Man" Lee must know about the Southern vote. Since he cannot all of a sudden be from the South, he channels the ultimate Southern rock band in Lynrd Skynrd. Best performance so far...by far. He really looked confident and ready to complete. I really wish he would have done the whole song acoustic, but...

CASEY #2 - "Daughters" "Give it to them!" says Kara to Casey. Did she mean give them Ambien? That's what you and Randy did by giving him this song. I actually liked Casey's version, but I kind of agree with Simon...this is the song you're leaving people with on this night? Like a slow fade into third place. It was a nice ride Casey.

CRYSTAL #2 - "Maybe I'm Amazed" Ellen comes through!! While I have become increasingly underwhelmed by Ellen's presence on the judging panel, she chose a great song for Crystal and she killed it. She looked a bit awkward as she waddled up behind the judges towards the end of the song, but the singing was fantastic.

LEE #2 - "Hallelujah" Talk about setting someone up to win. Not only does Lee get a highly emotional song, but he also gets the backup choir, smoke and cool lighting. I don't want to take anything away from a very good performance by Lee, but it almost seemed like a forced great performance and reaction by the judges. They so badly wanted a "moment" to end the show and, hopefully, boost ratings going into next week that the praise was a bit over the top. Had he done the entire song acoustic, I personally feel it would have had a more genuine impact. That being said...Lee will win.

Given my commentary, I don't feel the need for my predictions.

I think Susannah Searson has a clear path to wining this pool, as she has 62 points (4th place tie)...is just two out of first...and has Casey 3rd, Crystal 2nd and Lee winning, which will put her on top by far.

Let's see if America can stick it to me...enjoy the show tonight!

Pool Boy Out!