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Revenge of the word nerd
Here are a few random thoughts I had while watching the American Idol season seven finale tonight. I’m happy with the result, but I would have been happy if it had gone the other way, too. I’m wishy-washy like that (and I’m still not sure how the winner feels about it). But how great was it to see the top twelve again? It really makes me want to go to the Idol tour.

I’ll skip the opening acts, because the show tonight didn’t really take off for me until Jason Castro sang “Hallelujah.” That was a spectacular reprise of one of the high points of the season, and it points out again what the contestants are told from start to finish, that song choice is the key to success.

Donna Summer looked and sounded great, didn’t she? The medley she sang with the top six girls was a lot of fun and had great energy. The duet of Surprising Departures Carly Smithson and Michael Johns on “The Letter” showed the potential both of them had to dominate the competition, if only they’d been able to stick it out one more week.

The Bryan Adams medley by the top six guys made me wonder why there wasn’t a Bryan Adams week, because his songs are more suited to the talents of singers in this kind of group than those of some of the mentors they brought in this season. His songs made all of the six contestants sound better than any of them did during Andrew Lloyd Webber week.

David Cook fit right in with ZZ Top, and it’s that kind of music that highlights his strengths as a performer. David Archuleta was so good singing “Apologize” with OneRepublic that it occurred to me that Timbaland could do a lot with his voice to give him a marketable, contemporary style that maybe Clive Davis wouldn’t be quite as prepared to do.

Other things I liked tonight: The “Teach Your Children” duet with Graham Nash and Brooke White. The Guitar Hero commercials with each of the Davids. The two-David duet on “Hero.” Jimmy Kimmel, Jack Black, “Mariska Hargitay,” and Simon’s apology to David Cook. Actually, the whole show was a step up from previous finales, and not nearly the waste of two hours “Idol Gives Back” was a few weeks ago.

Finally, I might have to pull back just a little on my harshness toward the songwriting contest. Maybe it was just the way David Cook sang it, but this year’s winner, “Time of My Life,” didn’t sound half bad. And that’s saying something, compared to every other song I’ve heard come out of that competition.

And now, not a moment too soon, it’s on to So You Think You Can Dance.

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