(FOX)
That’s what they call a game-changer.
After weeks of Lee DeWyze having just about all of the momentum on “American Idol,” Crystal Bowersox turned it around on Tuesday night, handily beating Lee in all three rounds of the final competition.
We predicted long ago that Crystal was going to take the “Idol” crown this year, even if she’s not quite as “commercial” as she probably needs to be. While we lost faith in her ability to close the deal over the last couple of weeks, after Tuesday night, we think our gut feeling just might have been the right one.
Maybe.
VOTE: Crystal or Lee — Who should be America's next Idol?
That said, Crystal’s gorgeous singing and powerful stage presence were upstaged a few times by her slightly off-kilter personality. After her show-stopping final performance of “Up to the Mountain,” Crystal interrupted what was arguably her biggest moment of the season to awkwardly wish Simon good luck in his post-“Idol” life. Kissing up much?
She followed that up with a terrible wisecrack about being “beside” Ryan Seacrest, which made us realize once and for all that there’s nothing worse than having no one laugh at your joke.
VIDEO: Paula Abdul Returning to 'Idol.'
But back to what really matters: the performances.
Lee kicked off the contestants’ choice round with “The Boxer” from inspirational week. Our first thought was, “We just heard him do this a few weeks ago – boring!” But “The Boxer” is sort of the Lee DeWyze anthem, right? Working class guy, a fighter, paint store, etc. etc.
WATCH Lee Dewyze revisit the “The Boxer.”
However, the judges, who are usually almost a little too kind to Lee, weren’t very enthused. Randy said he wasn’t sure it was “energetic” enough, Kara thought he should “punch harder,” and Simon said it was like a “kiss on the cheek when I wanted a kiss on the lips.”
The criticism didn’t seem to bother Lee much though, who floated through the entire night with a dreamy look in his eyes, like he couldn’t believe his good fortune.
Crystal went next with “Me and Bobby McGee,” sounding better than she has in weeks. The song had a nice gradual buildup, and showed how Crystal is equally excellent whether she’s singing softly or belting it out. Round one goes to Crystal, easily.
WATCH Crystal perform "Me and Bobby McGee."
Round two: Lee croons “Everybody Hurts,” and we have to say we liked the upbeat arrangement of the song even more than the original. The performance was forgettable at best though. Crystal was sexy and sultry on “Black Velvet,” but we wouldn’t say she did that much better than Lee. Simon, however, said she “absolutely nailed it” even though he’s “almost allergic to that song.” Round two again goes to Crystal.
Last round. Lee opens with U2’s “Beautiful Day,” a made-for-the-arena rock anthem that seems made in Lee heaven. However, the end result was no match for U2’s version, even though we’ve never been sure if we even like that song. Simon said Lee “made the most of it” — faint praise if we’ve ever heard any — but closed by saying that Lee is the contestant the competition was designed for, “somebody who needs a break working in a paint shop … a nice guy.”
Lee’s guy-next-door appeal, however, was no match for Mama Sox’s breathtaking performance of “Up to the Mountain,” which actually gave us the chills. It was intense, it was emotional, it was, as Randy put it, “amazing.” Definitely one of the two or three best performances of the entire season.
And there you have it, America: your choice of two Midwestern 24-year-olds. Crystal Bowersox, a slightly quirky, perhaps over-confident earth mother whose voice reflects the depth and wisdom of someone who’s seen a lot for her 24 years, and Lee DeWyze, humble, nervous, less shy than he was a few months ago, ready to get out there and make the kind of rock music that you hear when you listen to Top 40 in your car.
May the best woman (or man) win.
—Jennifer D’Angelo Friedman, Amos Content Group