"Idol" Is Finally Over!

With performances by Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson and BeBe and CeCe Winans, last night Jordin Sparks was crowned the latest "American Idol" on what seemed more like a "Solid Gold" rerun than the finale of the most watched show on television! Nothing says 2007 like ... Bette Midler?!
American Idol Finale
TMZ has the rundown on last night's eight-hour live broadcast:

The finale rambled on longer than a Paula Abdul interview! Something's broken on Paula -- and it ain't her nose!

The "Golden Idol Awards" -- Um ... No! Making fun of an infantile overweight woman dressed like Big Bird and two peculiarly challenged young men does nothing for "Idol's" industry cred ... who knew minstrel shows were making a primetime comeback? Why do producers want to add a crappy awards show to a crappy award show?

Gladys Knight -- She's gotten rid of the Pips -- and all facial expression! Thankfully, the only thing Botox didn't kill was her voice. Girlfriend needs an eyelash/weave wrangler.



Smokey Robinson
-- When did he become "Whisperin' Smokey Robinson?" At least one wide-eyed Jurassic crooner knows what notes he can still hit.

Doug E. Fresh
-- Thank you, "Idol," for transporting us all the way into ... 1985! *pah-chunk foomph-a-foomph*

Tony Bennett
-- Nobody hit the money note last night better than Tony -- who's 80!

Sanjaya/Joe Perry
-- Enough about Sanjy's hair. What the f**k was going on with Joe Perry's ratty bird's nest weave?! You Really Got Me!

Clive Davis -- Since he won't trash Clarkson in public, he'll just rave about Carrie Underwood (aka the un-Kelly) like she cured cancer. And can someone remind him Clay Aiken did NOT win "Idol" -- Ruben Studdard did! Poor Rube! While he pointed out everyone from Chris Daughtry to Jennifer Hudson (what no Carmen Rasmussen?!), Clive forgot to mention the Velvet Teddy Bear himself.

Kelly Clarkson -- "Idol's" prodigal daughter comes home. Love her or hate her (Clive!) she knows how to transform a poetry slam into an "Idol" performance. Metalicious! By the way, how much must it suck when your album sells 10 million copies (more than Saint Carrie), you win 2 Grammys and your songwriting ability is honored by ASCAP -- yet your label Prez still shelves your new album because it isn't "pop" enough?! Was Kat McPhee's non-selling album pop enough for ya, Clive?

Carrie Underwood
-- Country Barbie could get a DUI and flash her hay and she'd still be "Idol's" Patron Saint. The twangy gal can do no wrong ... except when it comes to Beatles songs!

Melinda Doolittle/BeBe and CeCe Winans
-- Hallelujah! Sometimes when you lose, you really win.

Green Day -- Through the magic of television, we were transported out of the Kodak Theater to the regular "Idol" stage and back -- in just under four minutes! How'd they do that?!

Bette Midler
-- Where was Kermie?! Somebody knocked out the wind beneath her wings! Que paso?! The only thing worse than the not-so Divine Miss M's Vegas-bound performance was the rubber S&M bathmat she transmogrified into a skirt! Ya gotta have friends!

Beatles Songs -- Michael Jackson might want to reconsider the worth of the catalog; it was seriously devalued by last night's shrill salute, exemplified by Taylor Hicks' special needs rendition of "A Day in the Life."

Blake Lewis -- Was there ... we think.

Jordin Sparks -- She should sing next to Ruben more often -- she suddenly became a size 2! Oh, by the way, nice how they tossed in at the end that Jordin won. Goodnight everybody!

Tags: American Idol, AmericanIdol

Relevant Posts

Reader Comments

(Page 4 of 10) Previous 15 Comments | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

46. BORING! BORING! AND MORE BORING! THIS DEFINITELY WAS THE WORST SEASON OF IDOL AND THIS WAS THE WORST FINALE. JORDIN WINS AND IT'S SQUEEZED INTO 2 MINUTES OF JUST NOTHING - NO REAL CELEBRATION, NO TICKER-TAPE, NOTHING!! BUT THE SGT. PEPPER MEDLEY HAD BOTH JOHN AND GEORGE ROLLING OVER IN THEIR GRAVES - WHAT A DISGRACE AND WHY WOULD ANY SHOW DISHONOR THE GREAT BEATLES BY HAVING STAGED THAT CRAP LAST NIGHT??? NO WAY AM I WATCHING THIS GARBAGE NEXT SEASON. THE SHOW HAS BECOME A JOKE AND ALL THE WRONG PEOPLE GOT THE ATTENTION FOCUSED ON THEM LAST NIGHT. (CLIVE DAVIS' SPEECH WAS BETTER THAN A SLEEPING PILL).

Posted at 3:19PM on May 24th 2007 by Lydia

47. MAN, I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT LAST NIGHT'S IDOL.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW WHY THEY HAD THOSE IMBECILE AWARDS LAST NIGHT, BEFORE THEY CROWNED THE NEW IDOL? IT'S SIMPLE AND THE ANSWER IS SUMMED UP WITH ONE WORD:
A-D-V-E-R-T-I-S-I-N-G!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THE LONGER THE SHOW TAKES, THE MORE COMMERCIALS ARE SHOWN, THUS ENABLING THE AI MACHINE TO EARN MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS WITH JUST....
A-D-V-E-R-T-I-S-I-N-G!!!!!!!
THEY KNOW THE PEOPLE WILL HANG AROUND TO SEE THE WONDERFUL PERFORMANCES (EXCEPT FOR BETTE MIDLER--WHO MUST HAVE PAID SOMEONE OFF BIGGGG TIMMMMME TO GET IN THERE)
WHERE THE HELL WAS JOSH GROBAN? COME ON,. PEOPLE IT IS NOT 1977---DON'T GIVE US CRAP LIKE MIDLER!!! I AM SO SURE THAT GROBAN, OR BUBLE, OR LIZA MINNELLI WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE FUN TO SEE!)
AND WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GET SOME HELP FOR THAT ETERNALLY BOO-HOOING TWEEN????? IT IS NOT FUNNY THAT SHE CRIES OVER SANJAYA!!!! THE GIRL HAS SOME ISSUES, AND ALL THAT HER MOM CAN DO IS SMILE WHILE THE KID IS HAVING SOME SORT OF MENTAL BREAKDOWN.
AND IDOL DID NOT DISAPPOINT THOSE WHO DO NOT CARE ABOUT CHILD EXPLOITATION. EVEN SANJAYA WENT UP TO HER, IN HIS QUEST TO TRY TO LOOK LIKE HE CAN EMIT EMOTIONS FROM SOMEONE. ONCE HE SAW THAT THE CAMERAS CAPTURED THE "MOMENT" HE WENT BACK ONSTAGE AND CONTINUED TO SCREECH HIS SONG! YA KNOW? SANJAYA LIVES RIGHT HERE IN MY HOME TOWN.
WHEN HE CAME HERE FOR A "HOMECOMING" PARTY, ONLY TWEENS SHOWED UP, SOME WERE CRYING (BECAUSE HAVING SEEN THAT HE PAID ATTENTION TO A CRYER, THEY WANTED THAT AS WELL.) BUT MOSTLY THE MALL WAS....EMPTY.
CONTRAST THAT TO BLAKES APPEARANCE UP NORTH IN SEATTLE, AND IT WASN'T EVEN CLOSE. NOT BY MILLIONS OF MILES!! BLAKE GOT HIS PARADE, MELINDA GOT HERS, AND SO DID JORDIN.
WHEN SANJAYA ASKED FOR A PARADE AND KEYS TO THE CITY, OUR MAYOR SAID NO, WHICH WAS A REALLY STUPID MOVE ONLY BECAUSE THE MAYOR HAS OBVIOUSLY NOT HEARD OF THE PHRASE THAT NO PUBLICITY IS BAD PUBLICITY.
OUR TOWN COULD HAVE BEEN SHOWCASED ON A SHOW WITH MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS WATCHING, ALL AROUND TO ALL OF THE FREE WORLD, AND PERHAPS MANY OF SANJAYA'S FANS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY WOULD HAVE COME TO VISIT AND THAT MEANS R-E-V-E-N-U-E !!!!!!!!!
OUR MAYOR IS A PUTZ. REALLY. THE MAN IS AS CLUELESS AS CAN BE. I HOPE THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LETS HIM HAVE IT. BUT IF THEY DON'T, I WILL MOST CERTAINLY TAKE HIM TO TASK.

NOW, ABOUT BETTE MIDLER: SHE LOOKED LIKE SHE DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO BE THERE. AND DID ANY OF YOU SEE THE PART WHERE SHE PLAYED COQUETTISH WITH HER SKIRT? WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?! SHE WAS FLIRTIN WITH AN FRONT AUDIENCE OF.....TEENAGERS! SHADES OF MARY KAY LETOURNEAU!
DOWN, GIRL, DOWN!
NO ONE SEEMED REALLY INTERESTED IN TAYLOR HICK'S PERFORMANCE LAST NIGHT. HE EVEN HAD TO COERCE THE AUDIENCE TO APPLAUD TO HIS SONG.
KELLY CLARKSON HAD NO SUCH PROBLEMS.
ACTUALLY BETWEEN HE AND BETTE MIDLER, IT'S A TOSS UP.
THEY WERE BOTH OLD, AND BORING.
CONTRAST THAT TO THE YOUTH AND EXUBERANCE OF BLAKE LEWIS, AND JORDIN, AND THAT'S WHO THE VIEWING AUDIENCE WANTED TO SEE!
SMOKEY ROBINSON AND GLADYS KNIGHT WERE SUPERB. AND TONY BENNETT?
THE MAN IS STILL A CHAMP! DID YOU HEAR THOSE HIGH NOTES???
OHHHH, TO-NYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I SURE WISH FRANK SINATRA WERE STILL AROUND, BECAUSE, NOW THAT WOULD HAVE BLOWN TONY OUT OF THE WATER--BUT TONY IS ONE OF THE LAST REMAINING STARS--AS IN- KNOCK 'EM DEAD WONDERFUL!
wHERE WAS KATHERINE MCPHEE?? IS THAT WHY BETTE DAVIS WAS PERFORMING, BECAUSE SHE WAS FILLING IN FOR KATHERINE????
MELINDA SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE TO DO THAT, THEN.
BETTE MIDLER---HONEY, RETIRE ALREADY! YOU AIN'T NO TONY BENNETT!
YOU COULDN'T EVEN HIT THE LOW NOTES, AND YOU BEGAN YOUR SONG WITH NOTES THAT WERE SUPER "PITCHY" AS RANDY WOULD SAY.
SIMON WOULD HAVE EATEN HER FOR LUNCH IF HE WERE CRITIQUE-ING HER PERFORMANCE! SHE WOULD NOT HAVE EVEN MADE IT TO HOLLYWOOD!
REMEMBER ALL, THAT BETTE MIDLER MADE HER CAREER NOT BY SINGING WELL- BUT BY BEING AS RAUNCHY AS A PERFORMER COULD BE.
SO, WHEN SHE COULD NO LONGER BE RAUNCHY, SHE LOST HER AUDIENCE.
NO ONE WANTS TO SEE A RAUNCHY GRANDMOTHER!!!!
BLAKE WILL BE ALRIGHT--HE WILL GET HIS RECORD DEAL, ETC.
JORDIN WILL BE WINNING MANY, MANY, MANY AWARDS! SHE IS SOMEONE PEOPLE CAN REALLY AND TRULY RESPECT.
SHE IS SOMEONE WHO IS ALSO SUPER GORGEOUS, AND THAT WILL MEAN MANY ENDORSEMENT DEALS.
THIS WAS QUITE THE SEASON!
A NOTE TO AMERICAN IDOL: YOU AND YOUR STUPID AWARDS! THAT WAS YOUR WAY OF LOOKING WARM AND FUZZY AFTER YOU HAD SIMON ALREADY INSULT THEM AWARD RECIPIENTS. THAT WAS SO TRANSPARENT!
OH, AND YOUR COMMERCIALS? I SAW NONE OF THEM BECAUSE I WOULD SWITCH CHANNELS DURING THE ENDLESS STREAM OF ADS.
NOTE TO ADVERTISERS: WE DID NOT SEE YOUR COMMERICALS. SO I SUGGEST YOU SAVE YOUR ADS FOR THE SUPERBOWL, BECAUSE I FOR ONE WILL BOYCOTT THE ADVERTISERS WHO ENABLE AI TO GO ON FOR HOURS, JUST TO GET YOUR MONEY. RIDICULOUS!

I WISH ALL OF THE AI FINALISTS LOTS OF LUCK AND MANY HAPPY TIMES AHEAD!
YOU DESERVE IT!

Posted at 9:23PM on May 27th 2007 by IT WAS A CRAZY IDOL!

48. Jealous Much???

Posted at 6:39AM on May 25th 2007 by Kelly

49. Geez. There is so much negativity in here, it is painful. I thought last night's show was entertaining. I think that's the point of it. Stop bitching about everything...

Posted at 3:26PM on May 24th 2007 by Birdie

50. This show has turned into a joke! All they talk about is how many people called in, at how much per call? Add it up, they are raking in tons of money for the worse talent show on TV. This season lost some of its best performers early on and we were left with a beatboxer and an inconsistent singer. Don't get me wrong, she has her moments, but Melynda was always good and they kicked her off. The voting system is a joke, which is proven by the length of time that idiot Sanjaya stayed on. This show needs to get a new program or get off the air.

As for last nights show: I am 44 years old and I felt like I was at a concert for my grandmother. I mean come on, was this a retro version or what!!!? And what the heck was the purpose of the stupid awards, are they that desperate to fill in time slots. I'd rather watch paint dry!. I won't watch again next year after the poor show they gave us this year.

Posted at 3:33PM on May 24th 2007 by Jen

51. Did no one else notice that the Divine Miss M's ear pieces weren't working? She was motioning to the producers or whomever from the start. She couldn't hear herself nor the music, so she was out there alone. Give the girl a break!

Of course she still has her voice. Do you really think that Ceasar's would sign her on for two years if she has lost her voice. puh-lease!

Posted at 3:50PM on May 24th 2007 by barbara

52. I just didn't get it at all! Why the Beatles tribute? Then no Paul McCartney. Why give out those stupid awards? Those people had their 15 minutes when they auditioned. It was an absolute train wreck. I understand why Tony Bennett and Gwen were on since they were coaches, but why Gladys, Smokey, Bette (who btw sounded horrific, what happened? She used to be a solid entertainer). My head is still spinning thinking about it. Half way through I was so bored I finally just looked online to see who had won so I would not have to sit through the mess. I think this was the worst finale in the history of the show. Even the judges looked bored.

Posted at 3:31PM on May 24th 2007 by Give me a break

53. Can I just say that the person who wrote this up is AMAZINGLY FUNNY. Really, I laughed so hard! The stuff about Clive/Kelly/Carrie is SO true. And after Jordin sang with Ruben I thought maybe Blake would sing with one of the winners...but didn't. I think they forgot about him.

And yes, the Golden Idols should go!

Posted at 5:37PM on May 24th 2007 by Dan R.

54. Sanjaya ia AWFULLLLL!!! I am glad Jordin won but Idol was boring and sucky this year. Blake is boring and can't sing at all!! what a waste of time!

Posted at 3:32PM on May 24th 2007 by de

55. #10 say it again!!!! It is obvious the writers at TMZ are still children who have yet to develope a sense of class and if TMZ's daily reporting is any evidence they never will.

Posted at 3:34PM on May 24th 2007 by yadontknow

56. Honest to pete people, why on earth do column writers and the like have to absolutely tear down AI all the time? As if shows like "Lost" or "CSI" etc are "REAL" ! That just goes to show the mentality of critics. I am so sick and tired of all the negativity put forth for Idol. We all thought it was a good 2 hours spent and made our own fun celebrating the fact that Jordin won! If you don't like the show, don't watch it! It has everyone talking so it can't be that bad now can it? Its wonderful to see people like Jordin/Blake etc. get their giants steps toward huge careers without having to go thru a bunch of rings. The talented get overlooked while the crap that is out there called music gets all the credit. I get a kick out of people that would rather watch fiction shows like Lost, etc. rather than watch a bright young role model realize her dream. I for one can't wait until January to do it all over again! You wouldn't know what a great tv show was if it hit you in the face! Now go find some creature on an island somewhere... you know, go get "Lost" !

Posted at 3:34PM on May 24th 2007 by CGDunne

57. The show Rocked.... TMZ I read you all the time for entertainment... I watch Idol for the same. I was truly entertained by the show. In fact I think the ratings could be cut in half and it would still rule the networks. You are way off base with your comments... Oh well I guess you're just shooting for the shock value as usual...

Posted at 4:25PM on May 24th 2007 by JC

58. First of all, Melinda, the best singer, was not in the competition. Second, the fill TWO HOURS with mostly meaningless music and short-change the real reason everyone was watching. My TiVo cut off right after the last group number, so I didn't see any of the results portion. If they can't budget their airtime better than that, they should CUT something!! Insanity.

Also, I am a singer & was truly shocked to hear Bette Midler. The interesting thing is, after she hit her first 3 notes, I knew she couldn't hear herself and said so out loud. (I rarely do this because I live alone!) I don't normally excuse any off-pitch singing, but it was obvious to me that she couldn't hear. For a program that should have a professional crew, they have more mic errors that I have ever seen on any show. There were several mics that were not on when people started singing, so someone was asleep at the switch all night.

Posted at 3:45PM on May 24th 2007 by Jules

59. I usually love Bette Midler's voice and I don't mean to be cruel, but what as with her voice last evening?

Congrats Jordin! How exciting for a 17 year old to have her life changed so quickly. She seems like a very mature and sweet young lady and I wish her only the best.

Blake is very talented and will probably do better without the restrictions of the AI label. ;) Best of luck~ :)

Posted at 3:48PM on May 24th 2007 by Jujlie

60. HEY EVERYONE

You guys know what TMZ is like, SO why are you so surprised or shocked when they give their take on something?!

If you dont like it -- dont read it. AND please don't comment on it about how shocked or appalled you are. If you want a straight-forward review read the TV Guide!

THIS WAS A DEAD ON RECAP

Posted at 3:45PM on May 24th 2007 by Beth

Previous 15 Comments | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments