The Finale: It’s Not Over
American Idol 6, The Finale: It’s Not Over by Jenn Brasler -- 05/24/2007 The season may be over, but for the final two Idols, it’s just beginning. Which will be crowned the new American Idol? Which former Idols will stop by and give us a show? And how many performances can we jam into two hours? A couple of days ago I went back to look at Betsy’s and my recaps of the audition episodes from this season; I couldn’t remember some of my first impressions of the contestants and I wanted to refresh my memory. I’d actually forgotten that I was the one who recapped the Seattle auditions, which means I recapped both of the final two singers. Here’s what I had to say about them then: Blake Lewis has spiky hair and thinks he’s Ryan. Simon is not amused, I don’t think. Blake loops vocals and is the beatbox champion of… somewhere. Seattle or Washington or something. Actually, he’s not bad. Think Justin Timberlake beatboxing. He sings Seal’s “Crazy” and sounds very generic boy-band to me. The beatboxing was better. Simon says he’s good but over-the-top. He doesn’t think Blake is as good as he thinks he is. … Some dreams have been crushed, but 16-year-old Jordin Sparks hopes that she won’t have hers dashed. She’s been waiting to audition because she’s just now old enough. She has a nice personality and an even nicer voice. She sings Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me,” gaining early points from Simon. Jordin hits the high notes, has a lot of control, and doesn’t get flustered when the judges start whispering among themselves. Paula and Randy love her. Funny how I originally liked Blake’s beatboxing more than his singing, huh? And how in a later recap (the top 24 announcements, I believe), I said I thought Jordin’s age and lack of experience would hurt her. Shows what I know! Ryan says this is the night we’ve all been waiting for. It’s beatbox vs. sweetheart, and there can only be one Idol. Of course, whoever doesn’t win is already famous and will mostly likely have a good career ahead of him or her, so it’s not that big a deal. Except it is. Randy asks Ryan to call it now. Ryan says he would be in big trouble if he did it now. He thinks Simon looks bored already. Simon says that’s because he’s listening to Ryan. He set himself up for that, didn’t he? We start out with a duet - Jordin and Blake sing the Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There.” It’s much more Jordin’s style than Blake’s, but it’s a cute performance. They sound pretty good together, too. Oh, but if they do this on the tour, Blake will need lifts or have to stand on a step or something, because the height difference is a little awkward. Gwen Stefani is on tour right now, but she’s gracing us with a via satellite tour performance of “4 in the Morning.” We’ve already covered Gwen this season, so let’s move on. Oh, except her dress looks like she came out of the bathroom with it tucked into her pantyhose and no one told her. Awkward! Kelly Clarkson, our original Idol, is here to sing her awesome single “Never Again.” I figured she would be open to coming back for the finale since her album is coming out next month and her tour is around the corner. She sounds a little hoarse, but it’s still nice to see and hear her again. Since I can’t help commenting on fashion tonight, I have to say that Kelly looks much better than she did on Idol Gives Back in that hideous dress she wore. The black says, “I’m a rocker now,” and the boots say, “Don’t mess with me.” Well, the song says that, too. Three J’s in the audience: Jerry Springer, Jeff Foxworthy, and Jennifer Hudson, wearing some cute glasses. Did you ever think you’d see the three of them in the same room? I mean without the apocalypse happening. It’s time for the annual Golden Idols, honoring the best and worst (mostly worst) of the auditions. For Best Presentation, the nominees are X-Centric (who I described as Kevin Federline on drugs), Isadora Furman (who wouldn’t tell Ryan her first name), and Margaret Fowler (Big Bird). The sound guys put in some Looney Tunes-esque sound effects. I love you, sound guys. The winner is Margaret, whom Nigel helps out of her chair and up to the stage. She then proceeds to maul Ryan. Michael Chiklis is amused. Margaret does a modified chicken dance while Ryan tries to put some distance between them. As he’s chatting with her, her phone starts ringing and Ryan answers it. Margaret gives a shout-out to… well, every city in the U.S. She has a poem for us. It doesn’t rhyme. Ryan tells Simon they gave her his number. The top six guys come out all in white and sing “Ooh Baby Baby.” Sanjaya starts us off. Who let him back in? Brandon and Chris Sligh sound the best individually, but together, the guys actually sound pretty good. Plus, they’re singing a capella, which is always sexy. They should extend the tour to the top 12 - I think Brandon and Stephanie deserve to go on the road with the others. Anyway, then Smokey Robinson joins them and sings “Being With You.” The guys are his backup singers. Then they all do a dorky little dance and sing “Tears of a Clown.” Paula (who looks very pretty tonight) sings along. I’m tired of schilling for that band-discovery show, so… I won’t. Ryan claims that a lot of people complained about Blake not getting to beatbox in his final song last night, so now he gets another chance. He and Doug E. Fresh rap and beatbox… um… something. It’s fine, if you like that stuff. I find it overstimulating, but that’s me. Blake, please just sing again. At least Paula’s enjoying herself. Jordin’s brother claps politely. “Just like the days of Justin and Kelly,” Ryan says. Heh. The next Golden Idol category is Most Original Vocal Performance. The nominees are Nicholas Zitzmann (“Unchained Melody” and scary eyes), Sandie Chavez (pretty but unintelligible on “Black Velvet”), and Sholandric Stallworth (40 years old and shrieking “If Ever You’re in My Arms Again”). The winner is Sholandric, who appears to be a very nice guy and I’m kind of embarrassed for him. Ryan lets him sing without a mic to see if he can reach the back of the theater. Randy requests “Silent Night,” and indeed, Sholandric is audible without a microphone. Time for the top six girls to sing together. They’re also all in white and perform “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.” Haley is, predictably, wearing a very short dress. Stephanie’s is long and gorgeous. We barely hear from Melinda, but she introduces Gladys Knight (looking fabulous), who sings “I Feel a Song (In My Heart).” Then the seven sing “Midnight Train to Georgia.” Melinda and LaKisha are showcased, and there’s a duo who should definitely sing together on the tour. The seven sound so good together, I kind of wonder if someone turned off Haley’s mic. Just kidding! Sort of. Another J is in the audience – Justin Guarini. Fortunately, he doesn’t look bitter that no one asked him to sing. David Hasselhoff is also there, so whoever wins has the chance to follow in Taylor’s footsteps in another way by making him cry. (I wonder if anyone told Sligh. That’s his dream!) Since Tony Bennett didn’t get to perform back in April, he’s back tonight to sing “For Once in My Life.” It’s interesting to hear this version, since usually the song is fast and jazzier. He can definitely still blast it. Next in the Golden Idol awards: Best Buddies. The nominees are Jonathan and Kenneth (Simon’s main targets), Amanda and Antonella (of course), and Simon and Ryan (ha!). This leads to a clip show of Ryan and Simon’s fights from the season. Ryan teases that Simon doesn’t have an Emmy or a Golden Idol. The winners are Jonathan and Kenneth, which is good, because I can’t stomach any more of Antonella and Amanda. They talk about all the red carpets they’ve gotten to walk. Kenneth addresses Simon’s “bush baby” comment, noting that if Simon hadn’t said it, Kenneth wouldn’t be semi-famous. Good point. Ryan shows us a photo of a real bush baby, adding that the show is sponsoring one on Kenneth’s behalf at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Its name is Simon. Okay, this is getting weird. Melinda used to sing backup for BeBe and CeCe Winans, and tonight she gets to sing “Hold Up the Light.” If at all possible, I would like to look as good as CeCe when I’m her age (43), please. Aaaaand… we’re at the halfway point! Set up your DVR for Lost and stick with me. I get lonely. The Ford commercial (I thought we were done with those) is a behind-the-scenes look/blooper reel at past Ford commercials to “Time After Time.” It’s actually pretty cute, and it’s nice to see the Idols just goofing around and obviously enjoying their time together. For making it to the finals, Jordin and Blake get brand-new Mustangs. Does Jordin even have her license? Carrie Underwood is in the house to sing “I’ll Stand By You” again. Girl is bringing big hair back. So I totally have this theory that every Tuesday night, Kelly and Carrie get together to drink margaritas and watch the show together. Who’s with me on that? Teri Hatcher, David Alan Grier, and Brad Garrett are in the audience, and Smokey Robinson has stuck around. Clive Davis comes out on stage to “Smooth.” Huh? He wants to give us a “report card” on the Idols’ albums. Well, you can get that from Chartwatch by our very own Donna! This is just redundant. He talks up the judges and Jennifer Hudson, then asks us to toast songwriters. He also says nice things about Kelly, probably trying to mend fences. He keeps talking. I fall asleep. Finally, Clive gets to the point – he’s handing over a special award to Carrie for basically taking over the music world over the past couple of years. Carrie thanks everyone who got her here, but what she really wants is to find out who the winner is. The African Children’s Choir is back. They sing… something. They’re still really cute. Sanjaya pimping. Kill me now. He sings “You Really Got Me” with Aerosmith’s Joe Perry. He actually has energy this time, maybe because he doesn’t have to worry about being voted off and can just enjoy the performance. Sobby McPigtails is there. Oh, for the love of… She’s crying again, of course. Her future children are going to tease her mercilessly about this. Green Day (!) are here to sing John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero” from an upcoming tribute album called Instant Karma, which is sponsored by Amnesty International and the proceeds of which will go to help out in Darfur. Hey, it’s Taylor! I’m not sure he ever left the theater after last season. He sings “Heaven Knows,” which is apparently one of his songs enjoyed by the 14 people who bought his album. I can’t help but wonder where Blake and Jordin are. We’ve barely seen them. I’ll just pretend that Jordin is taking a much-deserved nap and Blake is out test-driving his new car. Oh, right, back to Taylor. The harmonica and spazzing come out, so there’s not much to report here. Carry on. Oh, here’s Jordin! She and Ruben sing “You’re All I Need to Get By.” It’s a great performance; they sound very nice together. And his pink tie matches her dress! How sweet. Jordin is like an actress who can have chemistry with anyone - I think she can adapt and sound good no matter who she’s dueting with. Brad Garrett has taken Paula’s seat. Poor Paula. Our next super-special guest star is Bette Midler, who sings “Wind Beneath My Wings.” No, really. She sounds kind of flat, but it’s Bette Midler, so I really have no place to criticize. Randy and Paula pretend to fly in the audience. Paula is definitely having fun tonight. Ryan pimps So You Think You Can Dance, returning tomorrow night. I’m embarrassingly excited. (You can check out our preview here.) Now that the show has gotten its hands on some Beatles songs, we get a “tribute” to “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (which turns 40 soon), starting with Kelly singing the title song while Joe Perry completely shreds a guitar. Then Taylor sings “A Day in the Life.” Okay, depressing. And they don’t let him sing “turn you on,” just “turn you…” (Interesting, considering what’s coming next.) Carrie sings “She’s Leaving Home,” backed by this season’s Idols. Ruben is up next with “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.” Um, producers? You know what this song is about, right? This is getting surreal, especially when the Idol guys show up in black clothes. The top 12 get to take the stage with “With a Little Help from My Friends,” complete with the line “I get high with a little help from my friends.” Family show! Family show! Sadly, they don’t sing “When I’m 64,” which would be much more appropriate. (They also don’t sing “Lovely Rita,” which makes my sister-in-law happy because that’s her name and she hates that song, as I learned when her sister serenaded it with her in the limo on the way to her wedding.) Remember how this is a results show? Like, THE results show? Oh, yeah! Finally Jordin and Blake are back on stage with Ryan and some guy who has a sealed envelope. I love how Jordin’s parents are dressed up and Blake’s are in their normal casual clothes. First, Ryan polls the judges. Randy thinks this is Jordin’s win. Paula blathers about something or another, calling both stars. Simon wrestles with Paula and calls it for Jordin, based on the final song. Ryan starts his spiel about the votes, and Blake and Jordin aren’t even listening; he’s whispering something in her ear. They’re so cute. And the winner is… (Pause) (Pause) Jordin Sparks! Jordin’s parents hug each other and Blake gives Jordin a huge hug. She’s not crying as much as I expected. Blake tells his parents he loves them. Jordin tries to keep it together. Ryan asks her how she feels. She’s very grateful for everyone for keeping her around, as well as for her parents and grandparents. Smokey Robinson hugs Jordin’s dad, it looks like. Ryan tells Jordin it’s okay to be emotional. The show will be back in January, and now we get to celebrate our newest Idol, who sings her soon-to-be new single, “This is My Now.” She barely makes it through without bursting into tears. And she even hits the high note. Nice! At the end, the top 12 gather on stage for a group hug. Anyone who’s read my recaps this season knows I love Jordin, so of course I’m thrilled about the outcome. I wish that Melinda had gotten to the finals, but Jordin has done a terrific job this season, and she’s earned this. I’m also happy for Blake, who made it so far and also did a great job. Even if I don’t like his beatboxing that much, he’s obviously an incredibly nice guy, which is much more important than talent. Here’s hoping both of them tons of success, and some much-deserved sleep after a whirlwind past few months.
American Idol 6, The Finale: It’s Not Over by Jenn Brasler -- 05/24/2007 The season may be over, but for the final two Idols, it’s just beginning. Which will be crowned the new American Idol? Which former Idols will stop by and give us a show? And how many performances can we jam into two hours? A couple of days ago I went back to look at Betsy’s and my recaps of the audition episodes from this season; I couldn’t remember some of my first impressions of the contestants and I wanted to refresh my memory. I’d actually forgotten that I was the one who recapped the Seattle auditions, which means I recapped both of the final two singers. Here’s what I had to say about them then: Blake Lewis has spiky hair and thinks he’s Ryan. Simon is not amused, I don’t think. Blake loops vocals and is the beatbox champion of… somewhere. Seattle or Washington or something. Actually, he’s not bad. Think Justin Timberlake beatboxing. He sings Seal’s “Crazy” and sounds very generic boy-band to me. The beatboxing was better. Simon says he’s good but over-the-top. He doesn’t think Blake is as good as he thinks he is. … Some dreams have been crushed, but 16-year-old Jordin Sparks hopes that she won’t have hers dashed. She’s been waiting to audition because she’s just now old enough. She has a nice personality and an even nicer voice. She sings Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me,” gaining early points from Simon. Jordin hits the high notes, has a lot of control, and doesn’t get flustered when the judges start whispering among themselves. Paula and Randy love her. Funny how I originally liked Blake’s beatboxing more than his singing, huh? And how in a later recap (the top 24 announcements, I believe), I said I thought Jordin’s age and lack of experience would hurt her. Shows what I know! Ryan says this is the night we’ve all been waiting for. It’s beatbox vs. sweetheart, and there can only be one Idol. Of course, whoever doesn’t win is already famous and will mostly likely have a good career ahead of him or her, so it’s not that big a deal. Except it is. Randy asks Ryan to call it now. Ryan says he would be in big trouble if he did it now. He thinks Simon looks bored already. Simon says that’s because he’s listening to Ryan. He set himself up for that, didn’t he? We start out with a duet - Jordin and Blake sing the Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There.” It’s much more Jordin’s style than Blake’s, but it’s a cute performance. They sound pretty good together, too. Oh, but if they do this on the tour, Blake will need lifts or have to stand on a step or something, because the height difference is a little awkward. Gwen Stefani is on tour right now, but she’s gracing us with a via satellite tour performance of “4 in the Morning.” We’ve already covered Gwen this season, so let’s move on. Oh, except her dress looks like she came out of the bathroom with it tucked into her pantyhose and no one told her. Awkward! Kelly Clarkson, our original Idol, is here to sing her awesome single “Never Again.” I figured she would be open to coming back for the finale since her album is coming out next month and her tour is around the corner. She sounds a little hoarse, but it’s still nice to see and hear her again. Since I can’t help commenting on fashion tonight, I have to say that Kelly looks much better than she did on Idol Gives Back in that hideous dress she wore. The black says, “I’m a rocker now,” and the boots say, “Don’t mess with me.” Well, the song says that, too. Three J’s in the audience: Jerry Springer, Jeff Foxworthy, and Jennifer Hudson, wearing some cute glasses. Did you ever think you’d see the three of them in the same room? I mean without the apocalypse happening. It’s time for the annual Golden Idols, honoring the best and worst (mostly worst) of the auditions. For Best Presentation, the nominees are X-Centric (who I described as Kevin Federline on drugs), Isadora Furman (who wouldn’t tell Ryan her first name), and Margaret Fowler (Big Bird). The sound guys put in some Looney Tunes-esque sound effects. I love you, sound guys. The winner is Margaret, whom Nigel helps out of her chair and up to the stage. She then proceeds to maul Ryan. Michael Chiklis is amused. Margaret does a modified chicken dance while Ryan tries to put some distance between them. As he’s chatting with her, her phone starts ringing and Ryan answers it. Margaret gives a shout-out to… well, every city in the U.S. She has a poem for us. It doesn’t rhyme. Ryan tells Simon they gave her his number. The top six guys come out all in white and sing “Ooh Baby Baby.” Sanjaya starts us off. Who let him back in? Brandon and Chris Sligh sound the best individually, but together, the guys actually sound pretty good. Plus, they’re singing a capella, which is always sexy. They should extend the tour to the top 12 - I think Brandon and Stephanie deserve to go on the road with the others. Anyway, then Smokey Robinson joins them and sings “Being With You.” The guys are his backup singers. Then they all do a dorky little dance and sing “Tears of a Clown.” Paula (who looks very pretty tonight) sings along. I’m tired of schilling for that band-discovery show, so… I won’t. Ryan claims that a lot of people complained about Blake not getting to beatbox in his final song last night, so now he gets another chance. He and Doug E. Fresh rap and beatbox… um… something. It’s fine, if you like that stuff. I find it overstimulating, but that’s me. Blake, please just sing again. At least Paula’s enjoying herself. Jordin’s brother claps politely. “Just like the days of Justin and Kelly,” Ryan says. Heh. The next Golden Idol category is Most Original Vocal Performance. The nominees are Nicholas Zitzmann (“Unchained Melody” and scary eyes), Sandie Chavez (pretty but unintelligible on “Black Velvet”), and Sholandric Stallworth (40 years old and shrieking “If Ever You’re in My Arms Again”). The winner is Sholandric, who appears to be a very nice guy and I’m kind of embarrassed for him. Ryan lets him sing without a mic to see if he can reach the back of the theater. Randy requests “Silent Night,” and indeed, Sholandric is audible without a microphone. Time for the top six girls to sing together. They’re also all in white and perform “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.” Haley is, predictably, wearing a very short dress. Stephanie’s is long and gorgeous. We barely hear from Melinda, but she introduces Gladys Knight (looking fabulous), who sings “I Feel a Song (In My Heart).” Then the seven sing “Midnight Train to Georgia.” Melinda and LaKisha are showcased, and there’s a duo who should definitely sing together on the tour. The seven sound so good together, I kind of wonder if someone turned off Haley’s mic. Just kidding! Sort of. Another J is in the audience – Justin Guarini. Fortunately, he doesn’t look bitter that no one asked him to sing. David Hasselhoff is also there, so whoever wins has the chance to follow in Taylor’s footsteps in another way by making him cry. (I wonder if anyone told Sligh. That’s his dream!) Since Tony Bennett didn’t get to perform back in April, he’s back tonight to sing “For Once in My Life.” It’s interesting to hear this version, since usually the song is fast and jazzier. He can definitely still blast it. Next in the Golden Idol awards: Best Buddies. The nominees are Jonathan and Kenneth (Simon’s main targets), Amanda and Antonella (of course), and Simon and Ryan (ha!). This leads to a clip show of Ryan and Simon’s fights from the season. Ryan teases that Simon doesn’t have an Emmy or a Golden Idol. The winners are Jonathan and Kenneth, which is good, because I can’t stomach any more of Antonella and Amanda. They talk about all the red carpets they’ve gotten to walk. Kenneth addresses Simon’s “bush baby” comment, noting that if Simon hadn’t said it, Kenneth wouldn’t be semi-famous. Good point. Ryan shows us a photo of a real bush baby, adding that the show is sponsoring one on Kenneth’s behalf at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Its name is Simon. Okay, this is getting weird. Melinda used to sing backup for BeBe and CeCe Winans, and tonight she gets to sing “Hold Up the Light.” If at all possible, I would like to look as good as CeCe when I’m her age (43), please. Aaaaand… we’re at the halfway point! Set up your DVR for Lost and stick with me. I get lonely. The Ford commercial (I thought we were done with those) is a behind-the-scenes look/blooper reel at past Ford commercials to “Time After Time.” It’s actually pretty cute, and it’s nice to see the Idols just goofing around and obviously enjoying their time together. For making it to the finals, Jordin and Blake get brand-new Mustangs. Does Jordin even have her license? Carrie Underwood is in the house to sing “I’ll Stand By You” again. Girl is bringing big hair back. So I totally have this theory that every Tuesday night, Kelly and Carrie get together to drink margaritas and watch the show together. Who’s with me on that? Teri Hatcher, David Alan Grier, and Brad Garrett are in the audience, and Smokey Robinson has stuck around. Clive Davis comes out on stage to “Smooth.” Huh? He wants to give us a “report card” on the Idols’ albums. Well, you can get that from Chartwatch by our very own Donna! This is just redundant. He talks up the judges and Jennifer Hudson, then asks us to toast songwriters. He also says nice things about Kelly, probably trying to mend fences. He keeps talking. I fall asleep. Finally, Clive gets to the point – he’s handing over a special award to Carrie for basically taking over the music world over the past couple of years. Carrie thanks everyone who got her here, but what she really wants is to find out who the winner is. The African Children’s Choir is back. They sing… something. They’re still really cute. Sanjaya pimping. Kill me now. He sings “You Really Got Me” with Aerosmith’s Joe Perry. He actually has energy this time, maybe because he doesn’t have to worry about being voted off and can just enjoy the performance. Sobby McPigtails is there. Oh, for the love of… She’s crying again, of course. Her future children are going to tease her mercilessly about this. Green Day (!) are here to sing John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero” from an upcoming tribute album called Instant Karma, which is sponsored by Amnesty International and the proceeds of which will go to help out in Darfur. Hey, it’s Taylor! I’m not sure he ever left the theater after last season. He sings “Heaven Knows,” which is apparently one of his songs enjoyed by the 14 people who bought his album. I can’t help but wonder where Blake and Jordin are. We’ve barely seen them. I’ll just pretend that Jordin is taking a much-deserved nap and Blake is out test-driving his new car. Oh, right, back to Taylor. The harmonica and spazzing come out, so there’s not much to report here. Carry on. Oh, here’s Jordin! She and Ruben sing “You’re All I Need to Get By.” It’s a great performance; they sound very nice together. And his pink tie matches her dress! How sweet. Jordin is like an actress who can have chemistry with anyone - I think she can adapt and sound good no matter who she’s dueting with. Brad Garrett has taken Paula’s seat. Poor Paula. Our next super-special guest star is Bette Midler, who sings “Wind Beneath My Wings.” No, really. She sounds kind of flat, but it’s Bette Midler, so I really have no place to criticize. Randy and Paula pretend to fly in the audience. Paula is definitely having fun tonight. Ryan pimps So You Think You Can Dance, returning tomorrow night. I’m embarrassingly excited. (You can check out our preview here.) Now that the show has gotten its hands on some Beatles songs, we get a “tribute” to “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (which turns 40 soon), starting with Kelly singing the title song while Joe Perry completely shreds a guitar. Then Taylor sings “A Day in the Life.” Okay, depressing. And they don’t let him sing “turn you on,” just “turn you…” (Interesting, considering what’s coming next.) Carrie sings “She’s Leaving Home,” backed by this season’s Idols. Ruben is up next with “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.” Um, producers? You know what this song is about, right? This is getting surreal, especially when the Idol guys show up in black clothes. The top 12 get to take the stage with “With a Little Help from My Friends,” complete with the line “I get high with a little help from my friends.” Family show! Family show! Sadly, they don’t sing “When I’m 64,” which would be much more appropriate. (They also don’t sing “Lovely Rita,” which makes my sister-in-law happy because that’s her name and she hates that song, as I learned when her sister serenaded it with her in the limo on the way to her wedding.) Remember how this is a results show? Like, THE results show? Oh, yeah! Finally Jordin and Blake are back on stage with Ryan and some guy who has a sealed envelope. I love how Jordin’s parents are dressed up and Blake’s are in their normal casual clothes. First, Ryan polls the judges. Randy thinks this is Jordin’s win. Paula blathers about something or another, calling both stars. Simon wrestles with Paula and calls it for Jordin, based on the final song. Ryan starts his spiel about the votes, and Blake and Jordin aren’t even listening; he’s whispering something in her ear. They’re so cute. And the winner is… (Pause) (Pause) Jordin Sparks! Jordin’s parents hug each other and Blake gives Jordin a huge hug. She’s not crying as much as I expected. Blake tells his parents he loves them. Jordin tries to keep it together. Ryan asks her how she feels. She’s very grateful for everyone for keeping her around, as well as for her parents and grandparents. Smokey Robinson hugs Jordin’s dad, it looks like. Ryan tells Jordin it’s okay to be emotional. The show will be back in January, and now we get to celebrate our newest Idol, who sings her soon-to-be new single, “This is My Now.” She barely makes it through without bursting into tears. And she even hits the high note. Nice! At the end, the top 12 gather on stage for a group hug. Anyone who’s read my recaps this season knows I love Jordin, so of course I’m thrilled about the outcome. I wish that Melinda had gotten to the finals, but Jordin has done a terrific job this season, and she’s earned this. I’m also happy for Blake, who made it so far and also did a great job. Even if I don’t like his beatboxing that much, he’s obviously an incredibly nice guy, which is much more important than talent. Here’s hoping both of them tons of success, and some much-deserved sleep after a whirlwind past few months.