Oh, Frick

I admit to starting off tonight's American Idol finale in a bad mood, because it was so obvious that Melinda could sing rings around both Blake and Jordin. Notwithstanding Paula's "frickin's" and the overall enthusiasm of both Randy and Simon, it struck me as a pretty desultory finale. They both seem very nice, but I can't imagine either Blake or Jordin ever making much of a mark in the marketplace. But...God knows I've been wrong before.

The voting should be very interesting, because Jordin clearly won the night on a performance level...BUT...her victory was due almost solely to her ability to outclass Blake in singing a truly awful song, the songwriting contest winner. Have at me, but it's really hard for me to put in words how much I hate songs like that.

Prediction? Jordin.

Best career? Either Melinda or Lakisha.

UPDATE: Alan Sepinwall agrees, particularly about the last song:

Now, is that fair, America? Asking Blake to sing this song is like asking Dennis Kucinich to dunk a basketball. Asking Jordin to do it is like asking Paris Hilton to be nasty and conceited. It just comes naturally to her, and she hits a sustained glory note near the end that Blake would never in a million years even think of attempting. History was already on Jordin's side, as she had never been in the bottom three, and the only person to accomplish that and not win was Clay Aiken, who lost on a night when producers underestimated the number of votes that would be cast and the phone banks got swamped. And whoever you think was better in the first two rounds, Jordin made Blake look absolutely foolish on the coronation song. If the votes are based entirely on these performances, Jordin's going to win in a landslide. Blake's only prayer is that his fanbase is bigger and more rabid than Jordin's fans and the casual voters put together.