Jordin Sparks is the New American Idol

Like KellyClarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Hicks before her, Jordin Sparks has won American Idol.

Jordin is very deserving of the title, and will no doubt go on to join Kelly, Carrie and the others in selling millions of records. Blake, too, will likely have a very nice career, and he was humble and gracious in defeat.

I was happy for Jordin as Seacrest announced her name at 10:05PM (those who Tivo'ed the show were probably pissed), but I couldn't help feeling the coronation felt a little anticlimactic. If there was any doubt that Jordin was going to win this competition after Melinda was eliminated, it was removed entirely once Blake opened his mouth to sing "This is My Now" on last night's show. There was practically no suspense and no build up to the announcement, which took a bit of fun out of the proceedings.

And that was the other problem -- last year's festivities were so fun, in a circus freakshow kind of way (remember the Clay Aiken lookalike? I mean, that is genius television), and the talent level was so high (Mary J. Blige singing with Elliott? Prince?), that this year's finale was bound to suffer by comparison.

I did love that almost all of the former winners were back (Fantasia couldn't get out of The Color Purple), and they were all in fine form. I was especially pleased to see my girl Kelly Clarkson rocking out and doing her thing -- she sounded amazing on "Never Again" and was definitely the highlight of the Beatles medley. It was also nice to see some of the Top 12 again -- I realized I had almost forgotten about Brandon and Stephanie, and I also realized I wish I could forget about Sanjaya (poor Joe Perry must have wondered what he got himself into when Sanjaya started to sing).

I didn't love, however, the random performances from Tony Bennett and Gwen Stefani. This is a night about Idol, and the two of them just felt boring and out of place (even Dancing with the Stars was able to resist the temptation of having out-of-place musical guests). I'm also sick of Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight -- does Idol have them on retainer? They seem to show up at almost every Idol event.

Green Day I didn't mind, because I love Green Day, and the African Boys Choir were just as adorable as they were on "Idol Gives Back," but Bette Midler -- oy! I was prepared to be psyched for The Divine Ms. M, but she really disappointed me. She sounded awful, and seriously, Bette, enough with miming the wings. That performance was kind of a disaster.

Melinda Doolittle fared much better singing with Bebe and Cece Wynans, and, although Jordin and Ruben gelled really nicely on "You're All I Need to Get By," I can't help but think she got cheated out of singing with a bigger star, or someone cooler. I mean, Blake got jam with Doug E. Fresh (which was fierce), they couldn't find someone else to sing with Jordin? And how come Sanjaya got to sing but LaKisha didn't? These are questions I will probably never get the answers to.

All in all, it wasn't a painful evening (unless you count the horrible Golden Idol awards, which I am choosing not to think about), but it wasn't quite the electricity-filled night last year's finale turned out to be.

Having said that, we've got a great, deserving winner, and a great, deserving runner-up -- in a season of crazy ups and downs, that's all we can really ask for.

Congratulations Jordin, and thanks to the whole crew for one helluva season.

Even though Idol is over, there will still be news on former contestants (including this year's group), sales and radio information, best-of lists, and recaps of summer shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Big Brother. Bookmark Idol Thoughts now!

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Lots More Buzz on Tonight's Finale Extravaganza - Spoilers!

Lots of information is trickling in about tonight's American Idol finale extravaganza.

DO NOT READ IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED

While there had been rumors circulating that Britney Spears might be showing up at the Kodak Theater tonight, Star magazine is reporting that Green Day will be the surprise guest at tonight's festivities, closing the show a la Prince last year.

Other celebrity performers expected include Tony Bennett, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight (who will likely perform with the Top 6 girls), and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry (who will perform with the Top 6 boys). Former Idols Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Hicks will also be on hand to perform.

Rumors continue to circulate that Jordin will perform with the Dreamgirls, and Jennifer Hudson's appearance in the audience last night did little to dispel that gossip. Blake will supposedly perform with Doug E. Fresh.

Oh yeah, and Peter Noone from Herman & The Hermits will be there. I mean, really, enough with the freakin' Hermits already.

Keep checking Idol Thoughts for more updates.

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