Dude, those Idol guys never sounded better this season than they did in their Miracles number. The girls were less convincing, but Gladys Knight stole the show without trying, and its nice to see her not singing in Mormon.

The Beatles thing was phenomenally bad, worse than any theme park revue. Why the hell did they follow up Sgt. Pepper w/ A Day in The Life and have With a Little Help from My Friends at the end? Oh yeah, to finish wioth a song about friends - oh God it was so horrible. Like the Brady Bunch Variety Hour.

And why Tony Bennett? I mean, he is always awesome, but why?

That show was a cluster--- but I rather enjoyed it. Although I did read a book with the sound way low for most of it.

I'm interested to see if Jordan will be a star - she's not very black but still too black for Country, which is the only place I see her wholesome churchy image working.

WTF was that?

That was a complete disaster. I never thought I'd say this, but that 'tribute' makes the 70's movie with Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees look like 'Casablanca'.

American Idol is a celebration of mediocrity constructed on a foundation of cruelty. In other words, given what's happened in America since the onslaught of the "Reagan Revolution," it IS truly Americam. Why shouldn't the season finale of this gleaming exercise in vapidity juxtaposed against humiliation-as-entertainment show us exactly what it really is?

Now we have another manufactured pop star who will sing competent, unremarkable songs and climb the pop charts, and we have completed another social experiment demonstrated just how petty and mean-spirited the average American is.

Yay?

Hey, don't be so tough on American Idol. I missed the first hour, but I enjoyed the part I saw. I liked the Children's African Chorus, the duet with Jordin and Rueben and the high schoolish rendition of Sgt. Pepper. They weren't the Beatles, but at least they were in tune. I thought Carrie Underwood, whom I've never particularly cared for, actually slammed a home run with "She's leaving home." American Idol has won me over. In the beginning of the series, it seemed like a lot of the singing was overwrought and gooey, but, lately, at least they're trying to expand the kinds of singers they let get through. Okay, maybe a modern day Bob Dylan or Cat Stevens would never make it, but I thought putting Green Day on was a stroke of genius.

It's still entertaining and is getting better each year despite some weak moments.

To watch American Idol is to understand why the DVR was invented. The spouse and I watched the program last night -- namely, the last few minutes. When you fast forward through all the commercials and blather, American Idol is a reasonably interesting and entertaining show that requires only a small investment of time.

Dunno about big bird... but the other 'winners' clearly knew what they were doing. The bush baby guy nailed it when he said that they wouldn't even be there if Simon hadn't insulted him. The guy is goofy looking but not stupid. Hell, I'd do a WIlliam Hung if I could bank $1m. It's winning the lottery. In 10 years no one will even remember.

It's show biz (on FOX no less)... at its core it's about humiliating yourself for cash and/or 15 min of fame.

Those that are really talented can transcend this. The rest of us? Take the cash and have fun.

David Marchese wrote the review I would have written of last night's American Idol finale ... thanks for saving me the trouble.

I'd like to see the results of an instant vote-off poll as to which was more painful last night ... Bette Midler or the Sgt. Pepper disaster. (I think I heard someone actually say "Dr. Pepper" during the course of that segment, which seems about right since several of the singers appeared to have never heard the original.)

I thought it was a nice touch (coronation?) that Gladys Knight gave Melinda such a long hug at the end of their performance. Melinda not being on stage singing at the end, though, was the worst part of the season for me. Jordin is actually good (even if lacking in substance), but Melinda was better all season.

This year's winner didn't make Hoff cry!!!

This year's winner didn't make Hoff cry!!!

Jello Biafra said everything that needs to be said about American Idol decades ago, and I'm sure I'm not the first to point this out.

Is my cock big enough

Is my brain small enough

for you to make me a star

Give me a toot

I'll sell you my soul

Pull my string and I'll go far!

-- Pull My Strings

Dead Kennedys

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the DVR snowjob perpetrated by the inability to keep the show running on time. For anyone who recorded the show and didn't have the foresight to record the time slot after Idol, such as myself, we were rewarded with two hours of tripe (with limited highlights, such as the Blake-Doug E. Fresh throwdown) only to miss out on the entire point of the night - the coronation. Well done, Fox ... although one has to wonder if Idol was merely fulfilling its role as the slave to corporate advertisers by throwing up a middle finger to those of us who routinely skip commercials.

Marchese nailed pretty much everything I thought about the finale. The guest artists were random, to say the least. Joe Perry? Green Day? Actually, I enjoyed them the most (hate me if you must). I don't know why Bette had to sing that dreck when she has some campier, more enjoyable tunes in her repertoire. It also looked like Gwen Stefani's lame performance was lip synched

Have to agree about the DVR making American Idol tolerable. You can FF though the crap (Sanjaya) and linger on the good (Melinda). Although, like another person said, we missed the final coronation because the show ran too long.

Finally, I am making a personal plea to Ray Davies to pay Sanjaya whatever it takes to get him to stop murdering your song.