Hello my friends one last time! It's partly bittersweet, it's partly a relief but inevitably it is finally here. This is my final recap for American Idol's initial broadcast run. Of course, I have to word it like this because there is all of this talk about how one day (probably sooner than later) it may return in a new form. So, I can't necessarily rule out any future musings from yours truly if I make the unwise decision to fall into the inescapable trap again! Yes, I joke around. I may act like I hated every minute but anyone that's still sticking with this recap to the bitter end knows that I loved mostly every minute of it. For all of the awful performances, cheesy moments, judging table round robins, this was one crazy 15 year experience. And there is no denying it, stars DID emerge from this show. They may have found the best ones early on, but we've been treated to some great performances over the years.
The actual final performances of our final 2 tonight is almost an afterthought to what this season really represented. It was a celebration of achievement of American Idol's entire run. If anyone watched the recap special Tuesday night it was a nice retrospective on the accomplishments of the series. From the uncertainty of everything in season 1 to the fully established mega-phenomenonthe show became. They bookended the retrospective with Kelly Clarkson's audition and with her final live performance earlier this season. And that pretty much says it all. This show really was what it was because they found a SUPERSTAR in that 1st season. Every season after that had contestants who aspired to come on the show and become the next Kelly. And sure, they found some that may have had equal or more success, but it was Kelly that started it all. Even Carrie Underwood admitted in the retrospective that Kelly inspired her to audition. But, no one needs me to keep hammering home who my favorite (Who are we kidding? the BEST) idol is!? I've brought it up every season multiple times! Kelly will be on Thursday night's series finale but in a pre-taped performance due to her being extremely near giving birth to her 2nd child.
Okay, I'm rambling. It's been awhile since I did that right? We do have a job to do tonight and that is to pick one final winner of American Idol. I've gotten 8 of 14 picks correct. The whole male guitar trend really threw me off in the 2nd half of the series. Could it possibly happen again in this final season? Only one way to find out. It's time to dive into our real-time recap ONE LAST TIME!
