I'm kinda bummed out to admit that I am one of the 35 millions or so suckers who let themselves being sucked into the whirlwind of this cheesy drama/show.  If I was in the country I did my best not to miss the show.  I missed the most parts of Season 4 so I couldn't say much about it. My favorite is Clay Aiken, the geeky underdog whose angelic voice shot him to stardom overnight.  Kelly Clarkson and Tamyra Gray were fun to watch for their immense talent. I don't have a favorite this season but recognize some very good performers.

While there are a few very talented contestants this season (Mandisa, Paris, Chris), the two finalists either didn't give their best performance or are not as great as their predecessors (again, discounting Season 4's final which I missed).  I liked Taylor Hicks from the very beginning and I sensed right away -i.e. after he sashayed his way toward the judges with his harmonica (man, this man has personality and charm that nobody else in the competition has ever shown!)-  that he would win. He has a very strong fan base since day one and I can understand why. The Idol boards were always inundated with hundreds of thousands of posts on Taylor, about 3-5 times the number other contestants got. He is not the most consistent performer of the bunch, but his stage presence prevails and his charisma wins the heart of his audience. I don't think he's a strong vocalist, but he's edgy.  He's unique.  He's different and he can be mesmerizing with the right songs.  He's not Kelly Clarkson who could pull out every song every week withnout even one single flat note (Kelly, imo, is the most consistent, the most "ripe" of all contestants of all seasons.  She deserves the status of the original Idol). 

Katharine McPhee, on the other hand, got my attention when she sang "Till You Come Back to Me" perhaps on the second or third week of the top 12 stage, which I think was really good.  She looked good, she sounded great.  It was just the right song for her.  Yes, she has the voice.  She has the looks (look at those teeth my gosh, can anyone be born with such a perfect smile?).  She has the curves that make her male audience drool and subsequently vote so just to see more of her and her cleavage the next rounds.  Yes, she is very saleable indeed. Yet, as a singer, objectively speaking, she's not all that. She's not as versatile and effortless as Kelly.  She is good for "easy range" stuff that deosn't require her to belt out the song.  The judges are right, she ain't no Whitney Houston and it became apparent when she tried "I have Nothing."  She's not a Mariah Careyesque powerhouse, her voice screeches when attempting high notes and she hit flat notes way too often to be considered a great performer. She had one or two shiny moments but it's at the cost of other more talented contenders for her to be in the final two.  She should have been voted off before Chris and Elliot. Yes, I believe it should have been Chris and Taylor at the final. Like the previous two seasons, the curse was repeated this season: one of the best contestants finished fourth.  Tamyra Gray -who was a sophisticated performer and a favorite early on- finished 4th on season one.  I would have loved to see her box with Kelly, instead of the lame Justin Guarini.  And then Latoya London finished fourth on season three.  These two were the most robbed.  And now Chris (though I can't say he's my favorite and please don't forget Mandisa).

Bottom line, Kat is overrated simply because she has the most gorgeous looks.  If Mandisa looked like her, she would have been in the final too, and she would have performed better.  And as such she drew the most controversy among the audience, especially after Chris was booted: people are split between hating and loving her.

And as the result we had a mediocre final.  Performances -apart from a few exceptions such as Taylor's first number- that are so bland and uninspiring.  I was underwhelmed.  It wasn't a grand sowcase of the ultimate performers.  Compare it to the way Fantasia (or even Diana de Garmo) shone on the final of season 3, on how she bared her soul belting out the songs.  We didn't see it last Tuesday coming from either of the finalists (partly to blame was the awful song choice and singles).  Sure, the lesser between two evils is Taylor.  He at least has a captivating personality and charm. He's very entertaining for the most part.  He's soulful. He's a league of his own.  I would want him to win, if simply for those reasons alone (considering I don't have a favorite).  We don't need another generic, good looking pop performer.  Good is not enough.  It has to be great.

And none of them was all that great last Tuesday.  The hype of idol way exceeds its substance this year.  It might be the most watched, but it's definitely the worst final ever.

PS: on a different note, I don't see much appeal in Carrie Underwood either, probably in part because I don't care much for country music.