5/26 Season 9 Finale Part 2 *Spoilers*

[echo226]

Well - I am a Lee fan and voted for him more than I have ever voted for a finale. It looked like he was on the verge of passing out and throwing up. I imagine this week that Lee's nerves got the best of him. But as he has training and gains more experience - I think he will be spectacular. I love the rasp in his voice. And truthfully - most of American doesn't hear off-key and out of tune with any singer.

I thought Crystal gave up a few weeks ago - what she did at the finale was too little too late. She is an amazing singer but Ellen hit the nail on the head the other day when she said that there are no other contemporary singers like Crystal. That is what was ultimately her downfall - she isn't current and that is why she lost the younger vote. I say Kudos to Crystal for staying true to herself. She'll have a great career making independent albums and playing to older crowds but she will never appeal to the younger crowds and without mass appeal - you can't win idol.

It has been proven time and again that to win Idol you have to appeal to the larger audience - David A, Adam and Crystal all have a niche and that was probably their ultimate downfall on Idol but will also is great for them in their solo careers.

I don't see the need to knock Lee down - it doesn't make Crystal any better. Ultimately, making it to the Top 6 is all any truly talented singer needs to gain the exposure and get the contacts to succeed.

What you are saying here sounds very reasonable to me.

Crystal actually wanted to quit didn't she? I wouldn't call her arrogant, but I did get the distinct impression that something wasn't sitting right with her. Maybe she purposely opened the door for someone to slip though ahead of her.

I also don't see why so many are knocking Lee down. He worked as hard, as any of the finalists and absolutely deserved to win. He has just been a bundle of nerves since his home visit when I think the reality of the situation hit him ... hard.

I do like Crystal's voice a lot and liked it immediately, but I like Lee's better. It's as simple as that and I don't see why when ALL of the finalists have hit an abundance of sour notes ... there is so much sour grapes.

[MsDiva2007]

Simon is gone and so am I. Idol is apparently for the last 2 years not into talent. I can wait for X factor to start AI has lost its luster with the lackluster winners for the past 2 years.

[pillbeam]

I do like Crystal's voice a lot and liked it immediately, but I like Lee's better. It's as simple as that and I don't see why when ALL of the finalists have hit an abundance of sour notes ... there is so much sour grapes.

It's not sour grapes. A bunch of us have been complaining about Lee being off-key for weeks, long before his win, long before the judges started to praise him. Of course, an occasional bum note is acceptable. But Lee had an avalanche of them.
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[ibot2much]

It's not sour grapes. A bunch of us have been complaining about Lee being off-key for weeks, long before his win, long before the judges started to praise him. Of course, an occasional bum note is acceptable. But Lee had an avalanche of them.
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But apparently "America" didn't hear them, but there were things about Crystal that America did see and found not to their liking. Lee won -- probably for those things
that America noted about Cyrstal.

[pillbeam]

But apparently "America" didn't hear them, but there were things about Crystal that America did see and found not to their liking. Lee won -- probably for those things
that America noted about Cyrstal.

My complaints about Lee have nothing to do with Crystal, who was only one of several favorites I had this year. If Lee had been competing against a prairie dog, I would have still winced at his singing.
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[NFL1]

Some of us appreciate this instead of the Lady Gagmes, Miley Cyrus' and Justin Bobbleheads of the world.

DITTO - the only finale I really enjoyed, aside from the Prince appearance!! I never watch the other "guests" on results shows...

[marlap]

Joe Cocker was SO fab!!!!!!!

[JavaJo]

That's an interesting point. But keep in mind that the judges did not start praising Lee until Crystal had been the frontrunner for weeks, and the media said the contest was over. That scared the living daylights out of the producers, who wanted drama and competition for the finals or their ratings would tank. So, as the judges have done each year, they pumped up a contestant (Lee) cuz they thought he had the best chance of giving the frontrunner (Crystal) a contest. The problem is, they overshot their mark (and you can see the disappointment on their faces when they were "clapping" for Lee after he won).

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I'm sorry, I have to respectfully disagree. Lee was Simon's favorite all season. He looked pleased that Lee won. Kara not so much, but Simon, yes. Ellen really liked him, too.

Crystal hurt herself by not singing anything really current. She could have taken any song and 'folked' it out. She just chose to stick with the classics, which is great because they suit her voice but she didn't really try to sound more current. And that's fine because she's talented and she'll do something amazing. But she won't have the main stream following her.

[NFL1]

I hope Crystal comes out of this knowing she has tons of fans (many people who watch never cast a vote) and that plenty of people think she is fine just as she is - and just as she was when she auditioned. All of the harsh criticism of her appearance was unnecessary and, frankly, downright mean-spirited. Reminded me of teenage girl stuff.

Thank you - I was trying to figure out a graceful way to say all that!

Did it bother anyone else when Aaron sings he always has 4 fingers up in the air holding the microphone?? It drove me crazy, it blocks his face and distracts even more than those who keep beat by "patting" the mic with those fingers!

[pillbeam]

I'm sorry, I have to respectfully disagree. Lee was Simon's favorite all season. He looked pleased that Lee won. Kara not so much, but Simon, yes. Ellen really liked him, too.

Okay, we can agree to disagree. To me, Simon's expression looks forced and not that happy. But who knows? I can't read his mind when he is clapping. I do know that Lee was not Simon's "favorite" all season. Simon gave Crystal praise for several weeks when he didn't even seem to notice Lee. It was only when Crystal started to run away with the contest that Simon started to say very positive things about Lee.
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