Season 10 of “American Idol” is in the books. But before we get to the result, let’s talk about how bad the performances on the show were overall, in rapid-fire fashion….

The Top 13 performed Lady GaGa’s “Born This Way,” and we all expected GaGa to come out and join them, but she didn’t. Oh, but the performance was awful, and why do they make them wear all white like the Good Humor Man for these group numbers?

Then James Durbin sang with Judas Priest, and that was one of the night’s highlights. Next was Jacob Lusk singing with Kirk Franklin and Gladys Knight. That wasn’t bad, and who doesn’t love Gladys? Then Casey Abrams sang “Fat Bottom Girls” with Jack Black. Funny, but not all that great a performance. Next, the Top 6 ladies (Lauren sat this one out) performed a medley of craptastic Top 40 songs and were joined by Beyonce. Yawn. Then Haley Reinhart sang a duet with Tony Bennett, and at 85 Tony is starting to forget lyrics on stage, which is painful to watch. But he can still sing, and Haley sounded really good on this one.

Then TLC was paired with Lil Jon and the Top 6 ladies again. Where were the guys??? Next, Tim McGraw was paired with Scotty McCreery on “Live Like You Were Dying,” and that was pretty cool. Scotty really held his own too. Next, Marc Anthony performed (dude has some pipes) and his wife J-Lo came out to dance and shake her booty on stage, literally. Oh, and Sheila E. played percussion.

Finally the guys performed a number, a medley of Tom Jones songs, and yep, Sir Tom Jones made an appearance. Dude looks pretty good and sounds really good too. Good for him. But Tom Jones and Tony Bennett on “American Idol?” Okay.

Next came a very cool moment. Scotty and Lauren talked about their respective teachers who influenced them, and both teachers were asked last week at the homecomings to attend the finale, so they were there last night. Then, Scotty and Lauren presented them with brand new Fords, and they too were awarded Ford vehicles (their own choice of any model!). Mrs. Mike asked the obvious question….are they old enough to drive?

Next, Lady GaGa did perform. Mrs. Mike pointed out that that GaGa really can sing, and she is right. But I’m just not a huge fan of all the flashy show stuff. Then Lauren was paired on a duet with Carrie Underwood, and I have to say, I’ve never heard Carrie sound better. Then as part of a “Spider-man” promotion for the Broadway play, they had some dude literally swinging from the rafters while Reeve Carney, who stars in the show, sang with Bono and The Edge from U2. That was pretty cool too but I’m over U2. Then came another judge treat, as Steven Tyler performed “Dream On,” even playing the piano for the first verse. Dude can still belt it for sure.

Finally, the moment of truth. The winner of “American Idol: Season 10” is…….Scotty McCreery! I had him pegged as a dark horse weeks ago, but I thought Lauren was going to win. Still, this could have gone either way, and both Scotty and Lauren are going to have nice country careers. Congrats Scotty, on a great season and on bring the title back to Garner, North Carolina.

Thanks to you all for reading this season, and we’ll see you back here in 2012!

Though he was a rich man, an underrated singer in his own right, and the co-founder of Capitol Records, Johnny Mercer is, 34 years after his death, nowhere near as famous as the author of such brain-burrowing mid-century lyrics as “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)”, “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” “That Ol’ Black Magic,” “Satin Doll,” “Laura,” and “Moon River” really should be. Lyricists rarely get the respect composers do. Moreover, Mercer worked primarily in Hollywood, which in his day meant more money but less prestige than writing songs for Broadway. That’s show business.

“Johnny Mercer: The Dream’s on Me” suffers slightly from the ill-fitting inclusion of some new material featuring super jazz fan and executive producer Clint Eastwood chatting with film composer John Williams and others, but overall, this TCM documentary written by Ken Barnes and directed by Bruce Ricker is a massively engaging documentary look at Mercer’s often surprising career. The 90-minute film efficiently covers his personal riches-to-(not quite)-rags-to-greater-riches story and tumultuous personal life, including a lifelong affair with Judy Garland, but wisely focuses on the music and takes full advantage of some priceless archival footage. Performances and interviews featuring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Louis Prima and Keely Smith, Julie Andrews, Blake Edwards, Ray Charles, a young Barbara Streisand, a middle-aged Bono, and new performances by Jamie Cullum, Dr. John and others (seen in their entirety on the DVD bonus disc), beautifully illustrate Mercer’s gifts and chart his extraordinary influence. An obvious labor of love, “The Dream’s On Me” is not exactly great filmmaking but it’s got great taste and is a must for fans of great popular music.

Click to buy “Johnny Mercer: The Dream’s on Me”

* Anne Thompson rakes the muck on the Hollywood Film Festival. Fascinating. I have my doubts about L.A. ever getting a really world-class festival, and this one sure doesn’t seem to be helping.

* I caught up with “Zombieland” last night and managed not to become overly upset at the gore. (I have this whole issue with excess blood and ick, yet also like the kind of stuff that sometimes features excess blood and ick — it’s a conflict.) Still, I don’t know if I’ll ever truly understand why people enjoy being disgusted. I find being disgusted disgusting.

Otherwise, it was nicely paced, slightly poignant, and very funny, thanks to a nice and cleverly profane dialogue, decent writing, and a good cast. Unlike Bullz-Eye’s David Medsker, however, I found the movie enjoyable but a little thin, especially during the second half. Some of the most ballyhooed aspects (the superstar cameo, which Dave didn’t love either) were less hilarious than I expected, however. I’m surprised we haven’t heard about a sequel yet as in some ways plays more like a well-produced TV pilot than anything else.

* Not that he hasn’t earned the right to be astonishingly wealthy as much as any human can, but how rich must Steven Spielberg be? I mean, if someone owed you a few hundred million bucks would you be all, like, “ah, that’s okay — you can wait until 2017. Just give me a 5.25% share of your income. I’ll be cool.” And, according to La Finke, the language of the contract refers to him as “Steven.” I know Hollywood loves first names, but it’s a contract. Aren’t those supposed to be formal?

* It’s not really movie news at this point, but speaking of musicals this musical lover never asked for, the Bono/Edge Spiderman musical directed by Julie Taymor continues to gasp. Personally, I’ve had my curiosity about a “Spiderman” musical sated already. Much as I love cocktail lounges and the song “Fever,” this was not a high point.

First of all, I’m quite sure that in previous seasons at this stage, they showed the three finalists going to their hometown with a whole montage on that before performing, but this time they shortened the show to an hour and though I haven’t looked at the listings, I’m expecting a longer results show tonight. But anyway, each contestant would sing something a judge or judges picked for them, and another song of their choice.

Danny Gokey went first and the song was Paula Abdul’s selection of Terence Trent D’Arby’s “Dance Little Sister.” Not a bad choice at all, with the tone and funky chorus that is right in Gokey’s wheelhouse. The problem is that the song never really goes anywhere, but Danny did a fine job with it. Randy said it was “dope,” Kara said the song was in Danny’s money spot but that she didn’t like the dancing, Paula said she was proud of Danny, and that she as a choreographer DID like his dancing (say what?), and Simon agreed with Kara but said it was a good vocal.

Kris Allen was next, and since there are now four judges, Kara and Randy tag-teamed on this one, picking One Republic’s “Apologize.” Kris played it painfully safe, sitting at the piano and doing a good job with it, but wowing positively no one. I was bummed that they kind of gave him a lame choice. Randy said the song fits who Kris can be, Kara liked the choice but wished Kris would have changed up the arrangement and said it wasn’t a home run, Paula said she understood the song choice and that she was proud, and Simon thought it was too copycat and he gave Kara a really hard time about Kara giving Kris a hard time about the arrangement of a song she chose for him. Ha!

Adam Lambert had U2’s “One,” chosen by Simon Cowell after Cowell received the personal permission necessary from Bono to let Adam perform the song. I can feel the pressure of Cowell’s and Bono’s big heads swelling from here. Get over yourselves. Anyway, it went from subtle to screamy and I am being totally honest when I say I thought it was all over the place. More exciting than Kris but for me, not quite as good as Danny. Randy said Adam is in the zone but he didn’t like the way he changed up the melody, Kara said it was “unbelievable,” Paula said it was “One brilliant song” and that she is looking at “One American Idol.” So basically Paula was handing Adam the crown. Whatever. Simon of course said it was a brilliant song choice and a brilliant performance. Whatever.

Then after a segment about “Idol Gives Back” with Carrie Underwood going to Africa, it was back to business.

Danny went first, and his choice was Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful,” which Randy appropriately pointed out was written by the late, great Billy Preston. It was a cool arrangement, and for me, this was Danny’s one moment….I think he showed with this performance that he is very capable of winning it all. Randy said Danny “can really sing!” Kara said it was “stunning,” Paula said she was “breathless,” and Simon said that while he didn’t love the arrangement, it was a “vocal master class.” Well said.

Kris then stunned the entire world by taking on Kanye West’s “Heartless.” Say WHAT? But as he’s done before, Kris strapped on a guitar and completely re-did the arrangement, making it one of his best performances this season at a time when he desperately needed it. Randy was blown away, saying it was better than the original, Kara said it was bold, brave and fearless, Paula said it was brave and “relevant,” and Simon said that he had written Kris off, but that after that performance he gave him a shot to make it one more week.

Adam closed out the night with Aerosmith’s “Cryin’,” probably remembering that Kara preferred the new, more schmaltzy Aerosmith to the drunken rock star Aerosmith of the “Dream On” and Toys in the Attic days. Not a bad choice, but somewhat safe at this point, because it was a good performance, but not nearly a “Whole Lotta Love” moment for me. Naturally, the judges touted Adam’s brilliance again. Randy said it was one of his best ever and that he was a true rock star, Kara said “see you at the finals,” Paula went on about, “If Steven Tyler was a mentor, blah blah blah.” And Simon said it’s easy to assume that Adam will reach the final 2 and that we shouldn’t crown him just yet, but that with his showing tonight, he truly deserves to be here next Tuesday. I’m not going that far.

So here is what we’ve got…..Danny was decent on his opener, phenomenal on his second song….Kris was mediocre on his opener, phenomenal on his second effort….and Adam was pitchy and screamy on his first song, and decent on his closer. By my accounts, Danny is safe, and and despite what the judges said, Kris and Adam are going to duke it out for that second spot. I wouldn’t be so sure America is giving Adam a free pass….because America loves Kris and he has many pimps like me. But if Kris goes home, I could totally see that happening too.

So what’ll it be America? What do you think? I’m going to make a bold prediction here…Adam is going home. Remember you read it here!