Well okay then. American Idol is wrapping up, and I'm going to stick with it to the end with some ramblings. Not sure if the format will allow me to even change my mind since there are so many reprises. But my daughter is planning on voting and isn't sure who to vote for, so I guess this night is important to someone. Here goes, and as always, I comment before I hear the judges:

Lee - "The Boxer" - Love the song, of course. A little mellow to start, but solid.

Crystal - "Me and Bobby McGee" - This accomplished what Lee was hoping for as an first song, better because it picked up at the end - ironic that both songs contained "la-da-da-da" lyrics.

Lee - "Everybody Hurts" - great pick for a song, but he may be in trouble - felt like this wasn't quite in the pocket - it was emotional and good in general, but wasn't quite there.

Crystal - "Black Velvet" - wow, this song isn't a parody of itself yet? Hard to take it seriously after hearing all the AI first rounders destroy it. That being said, she did great. I love her voice.

Lee - "Beautiful Day" - okay, so this will be his single, and I guess their getting away from the AI original song? Also, who picked it? Anyway, he did well - but it's odd - he gets to the emotional core, and then he just stops and stays at that place too long, so it ends up not quite elevating. He's a shoo in for second place, I'm sayin'.

Crystal - "Up to the Mountain" - Very good. She should win. So glad I heard that song instead of a generic song trying to generate the same emotion through cliche after cliche.

Looking forward to tomorrow night, hoping that the spectacle machine is in full effect! (also hoping that they don't go too goofy with the Simon sendoff) Enjoy!