It was quite the duel last night on Idol.   I think it was fairly obvious who won the night, but just for the heck of it, let’s dissect the show and Season 9 to figure out who is going to win this thing.   

In usual Idol fashion, there were three rounds:  contestant’s pick from the season; Simon Fuller’s (executive producer) pick; and the contestants’ first Idol single release.  Here’s where I wonder about stuff.  Which songs do they get handed to them first?  If you know you’re singing a slow song, like Lee did in Round 2, wouldn’t you pick an upbeat, get-the-crowd-on-their-feet song? That would be the winning strategy.  Apparently, that’s not what happens…or the contestants didn’t think about a winning strategy. 

American Idol: Crystal and Lee answering questions at the American Idol press conference.

Round 1:  Contestant’s Pick 

Lee Dewyze: Lee sang his song from Inspiration Week.  “The Boxer”, originally recorded by Simon and Garfunkel, is a song well-suited for Lee.  It’s an emotional ballad about someone who is being attacked and is threatening to leave if it doesn’t stop…basically a fighter, like Lee is.   Lee Dewyze grew up in suburban Chicago.  He attended a number of schools but never graduated high school, according to his Wikipedia page.  He was a paint salesman up until his time with Idol began.  Musically, he actually has a couple of albums to his credit.  While he didn’t have the toughest of lives, he has worked hard at it.  His life comes out in this song, but it’s not a song I would have picked on the final performance night.   Of his past performances, I would have chosen “A Little Less Conversation” to show off his rocker side…and it is a heck of a lot more upbeat.   In his next song of the night, he can show his emotional attachment to a song.  

Anyway, Lee performed the song well.  His vocals were spot on, and it was a solid performance, but it was a little boring….a little more emotion in his face would have served him better.  I’ll give him a ‘B+’ for this song. 

Crystal Bowersox:  Crystal sang “Me and Bobby McGee” from the Billboard #1 Hits Week.  This was probably one of her best performances of the season, and she sang it when she was at her peak, back in the Top 11.   Crystal, who is originally from Ohio, was a struggling musician for much of her adult life.  She’s entertained people in train stations and subways.  She’s also performed at local cafe’s.  Now she’s entertaining the world.   

Her performance was very good.  She seemed to get a little lost between her guitar playing and singing in the beginning of the song…and it was a distraction for me.  She bounced back quickly with lots of energy and passion.  Passion is what the song is about and that’s what she showed in this performance.  I’ll give her an A- for this round. 

First round goes to Crystal. 

Second Round:  Simon Fuller Pick 

American Idol: Lee Dewyze performs in the Final Two.

Lee Dewyze:  Lee got the better of the songs in this round with REM’s “Everybody Hurts”.   He did Michael Stype proud.  I loved this performance!!!! He changed up the melody a little bit and made it his own.  With that said, I don’t like it when Lee holds his notes too long…his voice gets whiney.   Anyway, the addition of the choir was an excellent touch on this song.  I give the performance an ‘A-’ 

Crystal Bowersox: Crystal got a good song choice as well in “Black Velvet”, originally sung by Alannah Myles.  These are the kind of songs Crystal would sing when she records an album.   Despite it being a good song choice, this is an overplayed song on Idol…and I’m a little tired of hearing it, to be honest.  Yet, this was another energetic performance from Crystal, which is needed on this big stage.   Speaking of the stage, I think she shouldn’t walk around too much….she seemed awkward, and her voice became a little shaky while she was walking.  That’s okay, she hit a big ol’ note toward the end.  I give her an ‘A-’ for this round. 

Second round goes to Lee…by a hair.  

Third Round:  Idol Anthems 

Lee Dewyze: He got U2′s song, “Beautiful Day”.   When Ryan Seacrest announced the song last night, I was excited.  I figured this would be perfect for Lee.  I was wrong.  I thought it was very karaoke.  I felt his voice seemed disjointed from the song like he wasn’t singing along to the music.  The second half of the song was much better than the first half, but it still wasn’t great.  I did like his stage presence more in this song, because he was walking around the stage amongst various the various musical accompaniments.  I’ll give him a ‘B-’ for this song. 

American Idol: Crystal Bowersox performs in the Final Two.

Crystal Bowersox: Crystal sang “Up to the Mountain”.  I really didn’t know much about this song other than Kelly Clarkson sang it a couple of years ago on Idol Gives Back.  Crystal sang it much better than Kelly did.  This is a song inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr’s “Up to the Mountain” speech given on the day before he died.   The song is obviously surrounded by a ton of emotion, and Crystal sang it perfectly…steady and passionate.  Crystal gets an ‘A’ for this one.  But, here’s the problem with this song….do you really think this song will do well on  the radio? It might.  I wouldn’t run to my computer and download it.  

Third round goes to Crystal. 

To recap..here are my grades for the night: 

1st Round: Lee B+, Crystal A-
2nd Round: Lee A-, Crystal A-
3rd Round: Lee B-, Crystal A 

So…the night goes to Crystal…by far.  Does Season 9 go to Crystal? No. I don’t think it will.  Much like Adam deserved to win last year, Crystal deserves to win this year.  She was steady through the season, but she peaked back between the Top 12 and Top 9….too early. While her following performances were very good, they didn’t top those 4 nights.  Lee, on the other hand, steadily moved up (except for one blip in “Kiss from a Rose”).  He had some strong performances in the early going as well.  I also think that Lee is going to get that younger vote…as did Kris last year.  So…Lee has the momentum and the vote.  I said it on the Rhode Show this morning.  I am 99.9% sure that Lee is going to win.  Wow, huh?! Lee Dewyze will be your next American Idol.  

Don’t forget to watch our half hour special at 7:30pm on Fox Providence tonight.  Amadeo and I will be on after the Idol Finale on Fox Providence at 10 to discuss the results….and we’ll do that again on the Rhode Show Thursday morning.