Is it really the end of the season?

On one level, I don't know how this season of Idol passed so quickly. On another level, a part of me can't wait for this season to be over.

I'm not ready to say that Idol has jumped the shark, but clearly something needs to be done. By my reckoning, Idol started it's downhill slide a couple of years ago; the moment was when Simon first rolled his eyes, not because the singing was bad, but because he was bored.

Since then, there have been some changes; I won't list them all, but I think people vastly underestimate how important Nigel Lythgoe was to the show and now that he's gone, they tinkered with the show in ways that proved to be unfortunate at best and disastrous at worst.

Is Idol dead? The naysayers are proclaiming so. Simon is leaving. Ratings are down. The show is no longer the find-an-amateur-singer machine it once was. It's been taken over by advertisers and product placement, from the cups on the table to the mentors.

I don't think Idol will crash and burn without Simon, but they need to make some changes. First of all, the show needs to back to being about the singers, not the judges or the host.

Second, they need to clean house at the judges's table. Randy needs to go because he hasn't had a constructive thing to say since about seven years ago. Kara needs to go because she's annoying and condescending. Ellen is okay, but she can't carry the show. I'd also say that Seacrest needs to be voted off the island, but I've read that he's the only one who's safe.

Third, the show needs to start picking singers based on talent, not to fill a role (dumb blonde girl, angry white guy, black R&B guy, black girl belter, etc.).

Will Idol listen? Maybe TPTB already are. As reported on MJ's Big Blog, they've tinkered with the schedule, making the results shows a half hour (the singular plank of my Presidential platform) and cutting back on the performance shows.

Now if they'd only eliminate the killer themes and bring in mentors who are interested in bettering the singers instead of shilling for their own next project or album . . .

The performance show tonight is only an hour; after this, I'll switch over to the 2 hour marathon DWTS results show.

There was a coin toss to determine the singing order. Crystal won and she smartly chose to go second.

That means Lee is going first. The first song is a recycled version of a previous performance and he sings "The Boxer". I still find him to be a boring looking person and I'm uninspired by the performance. I don't see what is so great about him, but that's just me. Vocally, it's okay, but it caters to his fanboys/girls and will surely garner him a lot of votes.

CBX is next and she's reprising "Me and Bobby McGee", which is a good choice for her. I would have picked "Hand in My Pocket" or "People Get Ready". It's as good as the first time, but her problem is that she's been so consistently good all season that it's hard for her to improve.

Right before I fired up the blog tonight, I was invited to run Dar Narbugud and I had to pass. I guess that's good since my radiance right now stinks.

For Lee, Simon Fuller picked R.E.M. which is one of the worst songs to get stuck with. Talk about a depressing song . . . . What do you want to be that Randy rips Lee for his song choice. This is bad, but it's not Lee's fault. The wailing is awful. And what's up with the choir? Simon points out that he's nervous, which is either a ploy to get him more sympathy votes or will cause him to implode on stage.

I guess we can officially rename the producer's choice the "Simon Fuller Wheel of Death™".

And what's up with all the commercials? How much do you want to bet that the show runs over? If you're taping/DVRing "Glee", set it to run 15 minutes over now.

Crystal gets Alanna Miles from Simon Fuller, which is a good choice. After all the maneuvering they did to get Lee into the finale, are they now trying to hand it to Crystal? Despite the fact that this has been done to death, it's the almost perfect song for Crystal. As with "Everybody Hurts", it's a lousy song choice, but it fits her style more than REM was good for Lee. At least it wasn't a straight cover.

It's 8:31 and there are only two performances left. Maybe they'll actually come in on time.

It looks like someone at Idol opened up the checkbook because Lee is singing some U2. I'm just happy the CCS isn't some schlock written by Kara or her spiritual sibling. He still seems nervous. If the only measuring stick were stage presence, Crystal would be wiping the floor with him. She's close as it is. The problem with this song for Lee is that it's over produced. There are too many people on the stage. It's too loud. The venue is drowning him. This is the absolute wrong outlet for him; he doesn't have a big voice and the song is doing him no favours. He should have gone acoustic and not let the producers tell him he had to have three whole string sections on stage.

I'm freaking out there; it's 8:40 and there is only one song left.

Simon tells Lee that he is the kind of person Idol was designed to benefit, which is absolutely 100% correct. Idol has become an outlet for semi-professional singers to get exposure, but in its early days, the show truly was about finding undiscovered talent. It's too bad the show got away from that.

The final Pimp Spot of the season is taken by CBX. Where Lee's song was over the top, Crystal goes acoustic and that's smart for her, since that's how she'll sound when she strikes out on her own and joins the Lilith Fair tour. The song drags in parts, but for her, it could not have been better. Randy calls it one of the greatest performances in the history of the show, which is a bit of hyperbole, but it was still good.

Damn, I wish Kara would just shut the eff up.

Yeah, Crystal just crushed Lee.

The Good
Crystal, "Up to the Mountain"

The Bad
Crystal, "Me and Bobby McGee"
Crystal, "Black Velvet"
Lee, "Beautiful Day"
Lee, "The Boxer"
Lee, "Everybody Hurts" (but it's not really his fault)

The Ugly
no one tonight

I think Lee's nerves got the best of him tonight. The show was too big for him and when the lights came on, he wilted. Part of it isn't his fault. Simon Fuller picked a crappy song for him. The producers made the show too big for him.

I think Crystal will run away with this thing. You'll notice that neither Randy nor Simon have been giving rounds away. If they did, all three would have gone to Crystal.

There are four hours of voting and Lee's powervoters need to work overtime or he won't only lose tomorrow, he'll lose in a landslide. I'm going to fold the blog for the night and switch over to the DWTS finale.

High Lord. Pie-Eating Champion. Out.