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!

So this was it. Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina were competing for all the marbles–the coveted prize of being the next American Idol. They were also, at 17 and 16 respectively, the youngest two contestants ever to reach the finale. They would sing three songs each–the first being their personal favorite from this past season; the second a song chosen by their own idol; and the third being the lead single if they won. In the latter case, that meant a craptastic formulaic country song (apologies to my songwriting pals in Nashville).

So here we go…..

SCOTTY McCREERY
Round 1: “Gone” by Montgomery Gentry. Scotty nailed this one a few weeks back, and that performance vaulted him into contention. Last night it wasn’t as magical, but still very strong and a good way to kick things off.

Round 2: “Check Yes or No” by George Strait. Strait chose his own song for Scotty, and I thought it was a good choice but was kind of a bland performance–good but not great.

Round 3: “I Love You This Big,” the single. Wow, this song was brutally horrible. Scotty did it justice, but let’s face it — you just can’t polish a turd.

LAUREN ALAINA
Round 1: “Flat on the Floor” by Carrie Underwood. Now, they had mentioned that Lauren blew out a vocal cord during rehearsal. Yikes. It’s not like she needs that or anything. But they brought the staff doctor out, who said he gave her meds and that she’d be fine. I don’t want to know how much cortisone they gave young Lauren. Anyway, she was tentative, but still gave a kickass performance.

Round 2: “Maybe it was Memphis” by Pam Tillis, chosen by Carrie Underwood. I thought this was a better “idol” choice than Scotty’s, and Lauren delivered it nicely.

Round 3: “Like My Mother Does,” a way better single than Scotty’s and even more appropriate for Lauren since her mom has been with her every step of the way. Lauren spontaneously walked out to her mom in the audience and hugged her while singing through tears, and I said to Mrs. Mike that she may have just won.

So interestingly, they blazed through the one-hour show, but so much so that there were over 30 minutes remaining after each contestant sang two songs. And at that point, they asked the judges to comment. Randy said he gave round 1 to Scotty and round 2 to Lauren; J-Lo agreed, saying it was an explosive start; and Steven gave both rounds to Lauren, telling Scotty that Lauren was “prettier.” Ha!

Then they had Taio Cruz sing the show’s song contest winner, “Positive,” complete with a heavy dose of auto-tune. Blech!

After Scotty’s single performance, Randy said it was a brilliant vocal but he didn’t love the song. I love it. J-Lo said Scotty is a great storyteller; and Steven said he nailed it again. Translation–they both agreed with Randy that the song sucked.

Lauren made more of an impression in round 3–Randy said it was an amazing choice; J-Lo said it was a tight race but that Lauren “may have just won.” Hey, I said that first! And Steven pointed out that he thought she was “the one” way back in the Nashville auditions last summer, and he still believes that and that she will win.

Me, I give Scotty a B+ and Lauren an A-. So yeah, I have Lauren winning too, in large part because she had a better single, but also because she played to everyone’s emotions, a powerful vote-gathering move.

But wait, there are five minutes left. Oh, David Cook would sing the Simple Minds classic, “Don’t You Forget About Me,” Cook’s version that was the exit music for each contestant booted off this past season.

So tonight is the finale. Last year they had all kinds of big names show up, and they will no doubt try to out-do themselves again. It should be interesting to see who shows up and performs. See you back here tomorrow with the results!

We’re finally approaching the final week of the 2011 American Idol season. Last night, after 95 million votes poured in, the results were announced as to who would be in the final two shows next week. But first, a cheesy Italian pop/opera group, Il Vollo performed. Blah. Then a performance by Nicole Scherzinger and 50 Cent. Blah again. The Ford video. Blah again.

But what wasn’t blah was watching Haley, Scotty and Lauren go home last week and getting to see the outpouring of affection for each contestant. That was awesome. Especially when Josh Turner came out on stage to surprise Scotty.

Finally, it was time for the results….the first person in the finale….Scotty McCreery. Okay….down to Lauren and Haley. The other person in the finale…Lauren! So Haley was going home, and he looked mighty pissed for about 30 seconds before gaining her composure and singing “Benny & the Jets” on her way out. See you on the classic rock cover band circuit, Haley. But hey, now we’ve got Lauren and Scotty squaring off in the youngest pairing of an Idol finale yet–with Lauren being 16 and Scotty 17. Yikes. And both are country singers.

So there you have it, America. We’ll see you next week with the final two episodes of the season!

Last night’s “American Idol” finalists performed three songs each, and suffice to say that the judges tried to be careful with their critiques–especially after Randy and J-Lo almost sent Haley home last week with some blistering comments after her first song. But then again, there were no dud performances last night, and only two that I saw that were a cut above. Here is how it went down….

First of all, Ryan Seacrest announced that next week the show will move to Tuesday and Wednesday. That’s the absolute dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, what with next week being the final week of the season. Seriously. And now they are going up against the finale of “The Biggest Loser.” Damn you, FOX. Anyway, last night they sang three songs–one of their own choice, one chosen by Jimmy Iovine, and a third by the judges. So here we go…..

SCOTTY McCREERY
Song 1: “Amazed” by Lonestar.
I made note that Scotty has such great, natural tone, and he surely has been the most consistent performer in this thing. But does he have enough to win it all? I’m not sure, but I can’t rule out any of these three. Steven said Scotty keeps getting better, J-Lo said she likes the progression of Scotty’s performances over the season, and Randy said it was a great song choice–smart, and with couple of pitch issues–but still a great choice.

Song 2: “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?” by Thompson Square. Have any of you heard this song? Jimmy, what are you doing? But Scotty kicked it into high gear for this one and it was really pretty good. Steve said he liked how Scotty delivered the choruses, J-Lo said it was awesome and that Scotty was in the zone, and Randy said Scotty reminded him of his idol, Garth Brooks, and that Scotty is “in it to win it!”

Song 3: “She Believes in Me” by Kenny Rogers.A nice song with a nice sentiment and probably chosen for Scotty because of the way Mr. Rogers drops his voice down in the verses. Steven said it was another instance of Scotty hitting with a big chorus, J-Lo said that Scotty showed them what he’s capable of and that she is so proud, and Randy said he likes the way Scotty stretched himself on this song.

OVERALL GRADE: B+

LAUREN ALAINA
Song 1: “Wild One” by Faith Hill.This was very good but I can’t say it was Lauren’s best shot. J-Lo said she liked the way Lauren attacked the song, Randy said he appreciated Beyonce’s mentoring (oh yeah, forgot to mention this!), and Steven said Lauren looked like she was having so much fun and that she just owned the song.

Song 2: “If I Die Young” by Perry.
I guess this one is on the charts now, which is good for Lauren, but not good for anyone voting who may not follow these charts, like say, everyone. But hey, it was a good performance. J-Lo said she loves Lauren’s tone, and that she has the most beautiful tone out of this season’s finalists (I disagree, that distinction should go to Scotty), Randy said there were a couple of stumbles but he loved the song choice, and Steven said Lauren nailed it.

Song 3: “I Hope You Dance” by LeAnn Womack. This was a home run of a song choice, and a grand slam of a performance. J-Lo said goosebumps don’t lie, and she is right, Randy said Lauren slayed it, and Steven said it was like Lauren owned the Grand Ole Opry. Um, okay.

OVERALL GRADE: A-

HALEY REINHART
Song 1: “What Is and What Should Never Be” by Led Zeppelin. Well, no one can accuse Haley of not going for it. This was, in my humble opinion, one of the best performances by anyone this season, and even better that her dad performed on guitar with the band. Randy said “this is what it’s all about” and that Haley just “slayed it,” Steven made light of the fact that Haley fell down and kept on going, saying “it’s not how many times you fall but how many times you get back up,” and J-Lo said it was a difficult song choice but that Haley nailed it and finished a strong first round. Randy then gave her the win for the round and I bet no one would argue that.

Song 2: “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac.Sometimes Jimmy just shows why he is where he is, and he picked the perfect song for Haley. Not because Haley sounds like Stevie Nicks and was dressed to look like her, but because this song made Haley sing and not scream, and it was a cool moment. Randy said it was a good job and that Haley is in a zone, Steven said it was just like Stevie, and J-Lo said it was a beautiful moment and not too much of a vocal acrobatic song choice. Exactly.

Song 3: “You Oughtta Know” by Alanis Morissette.If “Rhiannon” was understated, this one was way overstated, but in a good way. This was the shouty song Haley needed to make a statement to end the night, but I think some of the lustre was taken off the song when the lyric “will she go down on you in the theater” was replaced with “will she go out with you to the theater.” Blah! So stupid. Randy said Haley is, wait for it, “in it to win it!” Steven said it was amazing, and J-Lo said she did a good job on the choruses.

OVERALL GRADE: A-

Okay, so to recap, Scotty gets a B-plus, while Haley and Lauren each get an A-minus. By my scorecard, Scotty should be going home, but he probably won’t because he’s hung on this long. But seriously, any one of them could be sent home and it wouldn’t be their fault. It was just a hard week to pick a winner. So what do you think? See you tomorrow with the results!

We know that Steven Tyler has an infamous history of drug use and living the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. But it was Randy Jackson and Jennifer Lopez that I thought were on crack last night on “American Idol.” More on that in a moment.

First, the Final Four of James, Scotty, Lauren and Haley had the task of picking two songs each–one that personally inspires them, and another from the great Leiber and Stoller catalog. For the latter, they would be mentored by Lady GaGa. Anyway, here is how it went down and how I saw it:

JAMES DURBIN
Song 1:
“Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey. UGH. If I never hear this song again as long as I live, I still will have heard it a million times too many. “The Sopranos'” biggest whack was whacking this song into the ground, and it’s still being whacked into the ground. But James decided to beat a dead freaking horse some more, and I’m sorry, the dude is not Steve Perry. Few are in that league, if any. But of course the judges were brainwashed by the sellout factor of the song. Steven said “nice going,” which may have been an underhanded slam; J-Lo said it was a great job; and Randy said it was a song with a high degree of difficulty, and that James set the bar with it by going first with that song. Are you kidding me? I hope they watched it back.

Song 2: “Love Potion Number 9” was originally performed by The Clovers, but James likely did a number on it last night, giving it a metal flair that Mike Stoller, sitting in the front row, must have loved (I’m being mildly sarcastic). But hey, it was really good, even though he barely moved his hips the way Lady GaGa suggested. J-Lo said James can sing anything; Randy said James started peaking at the right time, making a weird sports analogy; and Steven said James has come a long way.

OVERALL GRADE: B+

HALEY REINHART
Song 1: “Earth Song” by Michael Jackson. It was awesome. I turned to Mrs. Mike and said so, and she agreed. Anyway, you know how when Lauren doesn’t reach for a note and sometimes just backs off it? Haley never does that, and last night she just attacked this song and her passion for the sentiment came through as well. You’d think that would please the judges, right? Well, not really. J-Lo loved the inspiration but said she should have chosen a sellout song like James did. What???? Sellout was my word, but still. Randy AGREED with J-Lo, and said Haley wasn’t in it to win it with that choice and that she was screaming too much at the end. Then Steven set the record straight by saying that J-Lo and Randy were both wrong, and that she showed everyone what she was capable of with that performance. Thank you, Mr. Tyler. You are indeed the sober one now.

Song 2:“I Who Have Nothing,” originally released by Ben E. King in 1963, and most recently for you Idol fans, was done by Jordin Sparks. Well, this time Haley left no doubt, even though, to be honest, this song is less well-known than the “Earth Song.” Right, J-Lo? Well, no. J-Lo said, “Look what you’re capable of!” Please! She was capable on both songs. Randy said that was Haley’s “moment” and that now she’s in it to win it. Um, no, Randy. She was in it to win it before, too. Steven said it was a classic moment and “classic Haley.” There ya go. But I think the judges did irreparable damage to Haley’s chances already.

OVERALL GRADE: A

SCOTTY McCREERY
Song 1: “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning” by Alan Jackson. Folks, close your eyes and ears for a moment. The lyrics to this song are just cringe-worthy, they are so bad and naive, especially that line about not knowing the difference between Iraq and Iran. Of course, our 3 year old son put things in perspective when he started singing “Old McDonald” during Scotty’s performance. Son, you have no idea how prophetic that was. Anyway, it really wasn’t a bad performance, just very sleepy. Of course, the judges were drooling. Randy said it was a great song choice and that Scotty was ready for superstardom; Steven said it was beautiful; and J-Lo professed her love for Scotty. Really?

Song 2: “Young Blood,” originally done in the musical revue, “Smokey Joe’s Cafe.” It was okay, but nothing to get too excited about. I mean, for my money, Scotty was not in the same league as the other three, and I’m a fan. Lady GaGa gave Scotty some hilarious advice too, when she said she wanted him to make love to the microphone, and told him to pretend his girlfriend said “Stick your tongue down my throat or we’re through.” Ha! Scotty, the good ol’ country boy, kissed the cross around his neck. Classic. Anyway, Randy said it was a good time and felt like a Scotty concert; Steven said he loved the humor Scotty portrayed on stage; and J-Lo said Scotty is hitting his stride but that he’s capable of even more. In other words, it wasn’t great, right J-Lo?

OVERALL GRADE: B-

LAUREN ALAINA
Song 1:“Anyway” by Martina McBride. It was one of Lauren’s best performances yet, and proved that with the right song choices, she is capable of winning it all. Steven said Lauren did it again, and delivered a “blue plate special'” J-Lo said she was so proud of Lauren and that it was a great vocal; and Randy said that Lauren was “back, and that was hot!”

Song 2:“Trouble” by Elvis Presley. Once Lady GaGa convinced Lauren that singing about being “evil” was humorous and not a bad thing, Lauren went with it and took things to a new level. Anyway, it was good but not as good as her first performance. Steven said it was well done, and that he just loves Lauren; J-Lo said it was mature and that Lauren just attacked the song; and I didn’t write down Randy’s comments but I’m pretty sure he liked it too.

OVERALL GRADE: A-

But even though I gave Haley the highest marks of the night, the judges (well, J-Lo and Randy) did not. So I have to believe Haley is going home unless Lauren stole enough southern votes from Scotty to give Scotty the fewest votes. We’ll see. In my mind, Scotty should be going home, but I feel like it will probably be Haley. See you tomorrow with the results!