Probably the most viewed show on television this week was the “American Idol” finale. We saw Jordin Sparks outlast Blake Lewis to be named season six’s winner. What a long finale show it was! I mean, I was really only interested in seeing who won, but it just went on and on! There were performances by former Idols (Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks, Chris Daughtry, even this year’s 7th place contestant, Sanjaya Malakar, got to sing). I guess Katharine McPhee was busy. Anyhow, in addition to all the Idol talent, we also saw Tony Bennett, Bette Midler, Gwen Stefani (albeit via satellite), the African Children’s Choir, Joe Perry (from Aerosmith), Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, and Green Day. Then Kelly, Taylor, Carrie, Ruben, and the top 12 contestants from this season sang a tribute to Sgt Pepper’s (which turns 40 soon!).
Finally, in the last three minutes, the new idol was named. It looked like even Blake knew Jordin was going to win, but he did handled it with grace and maturity. Regardless of who won, they should both get recording contracts, as well as many others in the top 12. After all, last year six of the top ten contestants release albums.
As one reality show ended, another began. This was the premiere week for “So You Think You Can Dance.” I actually enjoy this one much better than “Dancing with the Stars” because I love seeing the undiscovered talent. And they actually showed some of it last night! Of course, they concentrated a bit on the really bad dancers (that terrible guy who insists on being called “Sex” was back – again), but we saw a teacher and student who were both good (and made it to Vegas), we saw Stanislav’s (who made it to the top 20 last year) sister, who was just as good if not better than he was, and then there was the highlight of the show, Jamal. I am not sure how far Jamal is going to make it, but his swing routine was so funny and it looked like there was actually some choreography in there. By the end, he had all three judges on their feet, cheering. He made it through the choreography round, unlike his friend E-Knock, who I originally thought was the better dancer. So maybe we will see more of Jamal in Vegas. After all, last night, Nigel (one of the toughest judges) told him “You sir, are a star.”
For Jericho fans, there is a campaign going to help keep the show on the air. Check out Nuts Online (where fans are sending actual nuts to CBS executives) or Jericho Lives for more information on the campaign.