American Idol 9 - The Finale of Lee vs. Crystal

So we come down to a rising star by the merits of this competition, as Lee went from outside shot at the title to a 50/50 chance, outlasting Casey, Mike, and Aaron unexpectedly. However, the soft rock type of guy has done well recently with David Cook taking the title and Kris Allen pretty much hitting a close genre last year. Meanwhile, Crystal has been the frontrunner since the finals started thanks to really outshining all the girls (Siobhan was the second girl at 6th!) and then never letting up. So let's see if the first woman in the finals since Jordan Sparks will win it.

Lee - The Boxer - Lee goes with his inspirational week song, which was when the judges started loving him way too much. Again, he gives a decent performance of the song but nothing earth-shattering. Good performance for him but he will likely need to do better than this to win the final. He definitely did it better this time than the first time, so kudos there. And we're off...
GRADE: B

Crystal - Me and Bobby McGee - Crystal starts off a little weak in this one but she builds up to the crescendo that is the chorus of this song. A little cheesy but she did OK and at least matched Lee. I think the ending basically saved it for her despite the slow start. Not a legendary start to the finale.
GRADE: B

Lee - Everybody Hurts - The producer decides he wants to hear Lee crone on with many long notes with this one, which actually worked out better than I thought for him. The angelic choir is up to 20 since 8 did not work for him last week. For a song I do not like that well, he did a nice job with it. However, he had no control over the song choice so I'll bump him up half a grade from what I've thought.
GRADE: B-

Crystal - Black Velvet - This was a lot more rock than her usual vibe, and I suppose the producers are slightly stretching the abilities of both our finalists. However, when given a challenge, Crystal comes up roses. She gets a little breathless and a little shouty, but it was not Siobhan shouty so it turned out OK. And it's song appropriate. I cannot give this a full A, but I enjoyed it enough to grade it better than Lee.
GRADE: B+

Lee - Beautiful Day - This song is surprising only because I really did not expect them to do covers for their first song. That's a new wrinkle, but I suppose it fits the show since we're all just watching karaoke anymore. Lee's take on the U2 song is a not very interesting one, as the minor stuff he changes does not sound any better. He's also back to not looking like a star, which hurts him. Another mediocre performance here and I think the finals will be decided by the lack of going for it by the pain seller.
GRADE: B-

Crystal - Up To The Mountain - While this is not exactly what I had in mind for her first single, she does a nice job with the song. Shows off her true vocal talent and how she blows Lee out of the woodwork with her voice. This locked up the finals as a nearly perfect performance. I don't think there should be any doubt in America's mind, whether or not Crystal makes it big time (the odds are in her favor as woman winners have done tons better than the guys).
GRADE: A

So that's the finale, and not a shocker as really only big Mike had the pipes to compete with Crystal in a three song show. Unless there's a real surprise, and I don't read one this time, Crystal will be your next American Idol. So we'll see you tomorrow night.

YOUR AMERICAN IDOL IS - Crystal
CONDOLANCES TO - Lee